Aloha nui kākou,
It is an honor of a lifetime to serve our community through OHA. We strive to be worthy of our roles, to exceed your expectations, and to work tirelessly to fulfill a mission the people of Hawaiʻi ratified when they established OHA nearly 50 years ago. OHA exists not for the advancement of any individual, but to carry forward a collective trust and responsibility to the lāhui—one that each generation is called to strengthen, protect, and ultimately pass on in better condition than it was received.
The work we do is critical, and we appreciate how deeply our community is invested. We understand that you follow not only our board meetings but also our presence in the local media. With that in mind, we believe it is important to provide context on a matter that has received public attention. Four trustees have submitted a filing related to pending litigation. While the filing states that it is made in the trustees’ official capacities, it was not authorized by the full Board and does not reflect the Board’s or OHA’s position. Our kuleana to our beneficiaries compels us to correct—and, to the extent we are able within the bounds of confidentiality, prevent—the spread of misinformation.
It is important that you know OHA’s commitment to transparency, accountability, and aloha has not wavered. For decades, OHA has quietly carried out consequential work on behalf of our beneficiaries—strengthening our organization, advancing transformative initiatives, and fulfilling our constitutional mission. While internal disagreements have drawn public attention, they do not define OHA or diminish that record of service.
These accomplishments did not emerge in isolation; they were built upon the foundation laid by those who came before—through lessons learned, relationships forged, and opportunities stewarded across generations of service. Throughout it all, our work for the lāhui has endured thanks to the dedication of our team, whose collective commitment continues to advance OHA’s mission every day.
Over the past year and a half alone, we have strengthened OHA’s governance through major policy reforms and the adoption of a biennium budget that aligns our resources with our highest strategic priorities. We have advanced work on Kakaʻako Makai and a Native Hawaiian cultural center. We have elevated statewide and national awareness regarding military-leased lands. We restored the ʻAha ʻŌpio and Congressional Fellowship programs. We launched OHA’s Emergency Relief Fund to help communities in times of crisis. We strengthened OHA as an employer by addressing long-standing salary inequities, expanding employee benefits, and investing in recruitment and retention. Those accomplishments belong to all of us.
We’re asking everyone who cares about OHA’s mission to allow us the discretion to resolve these governance, legal, and leadership matters—including matters that have been the subject of differing views among elected trustees—through the appropriate processes established for that purpose. Because they involve pending litigation and confidential personnel information, our ability to discuss them publicly is necessarily limited; however, it is the Board’s desire to make public the findings underlying its actions in a lawful and responsible manner when it can do so. We are grateful to OHA’s supporters for refraining from speculation as we work toward resolution.
In service to our community, OHA moves with shared purpose toward one mission and one enduring legacy: the betterment of conditions of Native Hawaiians. Guided by kuleana, aloha, and a steadfast commitment to the lāhui, we remain focused on ensuring that OHA’s most meaningful contributions are still ahead of us.
Me ke aloha lāhui kūpaʻa mau,
