News

OHA and the State Department of Human Services collaborate on Native Hawaiian data related to COVID-19

HONOLULU (June 26, 2020) – OHA and the Hawaiʻi Department of Human Services (DHS) announced today a collaboration whereby DHS will share Native Hawaiian data tables from its programs with OHA to help assess the impacts COVID-19 is having on…

Survey launched to assess local views on the future of Hawaiʻi’s economy

HONOLULU (June 1, 2020) – OHA, Liliʻuokalani Trust and Kamehameha Schools launched a new survey today to better understand what Native Hawaiians and non-Native Hawaiians think the state’s economy should look like after the pandemic. Hawaiʻi’s Economy: Visions of a Better…

New report details challenges, needs & potential of Hawaiian businesses during & after pandemic

HONOLULU (May 29, 2020) – While Native Hawaiian businesses are experiencing “sudden, severe, and lasting impacts” from COVID-19, they may play a crucial role in Hawaiʻi’s economic recovery because they are less dependent on the tourism industry, according to a new report released today. “As expected, the report…

Mahiʻai pic from Rising Sun Organic Farms

OHA Board approves $3 million in COVID-19 emergency relief funds

HONOLULU (May 8, 2020) – The OHA Board of Trustees today announced the approval of a $3-million emergency relief package to help individual beneficiaries as well as Native Hawaiian communities impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and associated economic crisis. “The…

OHA provides $450,000 to support community efforts to feed kūpuna during crisis

HONOLULU (April 14, 2020) – OHA announced today the launch of Kaiāulu Meals, a $450,000 program that partners with a statewide network of community organizations to deliver 12 weeks of locally-sourced food to nearly 1,500 kūpuna in need. “The kūpuna are the…

OHA urges Governor to increase relief for Hawaiʻi renters

Honolulu (April 1, 2020) – OHA Chief Executive Officer Sylvia Hussey sent a letter yesterday to Gov. David Ige urging the adoption of additional policies to close critical gaps left by the new federal moratorium on evictions and the state’s…

OHA files motion for summary judgement in Maunakea lawsuit

On Monday, March 2, 2020, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs filed a Motion for Summary Judgment in connection with its lawsuit against the State of Hawaiʻi and the University of Hawaiʻi over their continuous mismanagement of Maunakea. “It is beyond…

Group of Native Hawaiians to bring home iwi kūpuna housed at English institution for over a century

CAMBRIDGE, England (February 29, 2020) – OHA and a hui of cultural practitioners today received 20 iwi kūpuna (ancestral bones) housed for over a century at the University of Cambridge, ending a decade-long effort to return the Native Hawaiian remains to Hawaiʻi….

OHA scholarship deadline is March 2

HONOLULU (February 25, 2020) – Native Hawaiian students have one more week to submit their applications for the Hoʻonaʻauao Higher Education Scholarship Program, a partnership between OHA and the University of Hawaiʻi-Mānoa Native Hawaiian Science & Engineering Mentorship Program. Applications…

OHA asks court to determine whether Trustees must turnover attorney-client privileged information to the State Auditor

HONOLULU (February 14, 2020) – OHA filed a complaint today asking the First Circuit Court for a declaratory judgment on whether trustees must provide the State Auditor with attorney-client privileged information, with the hope that a court decision will help clear…