This article by Native Hawaiian Initiative Alakaʻi (Coordinator) at the University of Hawaiʻi at 惭腻苍辞补 Kamakanaokealoha Aquino was first published in .

As we begin this new year, let us take a moment to reflect on 2025. During the 2024-2025 academic year, the University of Hawaiʻi awarded 2,086 degrees and certificates to Native Hawaiians. As of fall 2025, there are 12,618 Native Hawaiians enrolled.

There are so many accomplishments by students, faculty, staff, and administrators, to programs, community outreach, and engagement to highlight. Here are a few:

• Hear from Native Hawaiian community college students fulfilling their kuleana: Cathryn Krueger, Hawaiʻi CC; Kamananui Anderson, Honolulu CC; Melanie Camat, Kapiʻolani CC; Hiʻilani Cremer, Kauaʻi CC; Stevie Puna, Leeward CC; ʻAleʻa Kimokeo, 东精影业 Maui College; Kauakaweli Haili-Nakamoto, Windward CC.
• 东精影业 Hilo honored Mary Kawena Pukui with a panel that coincided with Women鈥檚 History Month and her posthumous selection as a 2025 honoree for the U.S. Mint鈥檚 Native American $1 coin.
• The Hawaiian collection at the 东精影业 Hilo Edwin H. Moʻokini Library was named the Edith Kanakaʻole Hawaiian Collection.
• 东精影业 West Oʻahu hosted a two-day ʻAha Hoʻoponopono with 300 haku hoʻoponopono, social sector professionals, aloha ʻ腻颈苍补 practitioners, and community members.
• 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补鈥檚 Hawaiian Theatre program celebrated its 10th anniversary with its latest Hawaiian language production Puana, and an invitation to perform at the Kia Mau international Indigenous-led performing arts festival in Aotearoa.
• Windward CC extended its Hawaiian studies program to paʻahao incarcerated at the Saguaro Correctional Center in Arizona, with 25 students enrolled in their first course.
• Haʻina Ko Wehi: Celebrating West Maui in Mele a project by students from 东精影业 Maui College鈥檚 Institute of Hawaiian Music was named Compilation Album of the Year at the 2025 N膩 H艒k奴 Hanohano Awards.
• Honolulu Community College hosted a two-day Indigenous education symposium ʻAha K奴kalahale 2025, uplifting Hawaiian knowledge funded by the K奴kalahale Title III Grant and in partnership with Kanaeokana and Pacific Rim Concepts.
• 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补 Native Hawaiian Student Services鈥� Hawaiian Youths Abroad program Japan took a cohort of 13 students and 6 faculty/staff to explore Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, while retracing connections between the Hawaiian Kingdom and Japan.
• Kuiokalani L. Gapero succeeded Ernie Kaʻaumoana Wilson Jr. to the 东精影业 Board of Regents for a 5-year term.
• Winners of the Board of Regents Medal for Excellence in Teaching included: Mapuana Antonio (public health associate professor, 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补); Ashlee Kalauli (math instructor, Hawaiʻi CC); Tracie Kuʻuipo Losch (Hawaiian studies professor, Leeward CC); Mehana Kaʻiama Makaʻinaʻi (Hawaiian studies instructor, 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补); Peter Kalawaiʻa Moore (Hawaiian studies professor, Windward CC); and Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio (political science associate professor, 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补).
• Kenny Kaʻaiakamanu-Quibilan received the 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补 P膩kela Award for being an outstanding academic advisor.
• Shayla Spotkaeff, a business management major and undergraduate research assistant at the Center for Oral History received the 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补 Student Employee of the Year Award.
• Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law at 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补 William S. Richardson School of Law celebrated 20 years.

Fresh water in West Maui has been mismanaged for more than 180 years, according to many kamaʻāina, Native Hawaiians and community activists, in an issue that has received international attention in the wake of the deadly wildfire that destroyed Lahaina town.

The area from Ukumehame to Honokōhau, known as Maui Komohana, that includes Lahaina, was once flourishing with fresh waterways, loʻi kalo terraces, fishponds, and fields of ʻulu (breadfruit) and ʻuala (sweet potato). Beginning in the mid-19th century, water was diverted for commercial agriculture and eventually to resort hotels, leaving Maui Komohana with insufficient water to cultivate traditional crops and support subsistence lifestyles.

Since 2021, the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa has been assisting Maui Komohana residents in reclaiming their water rights, in a community project through the law school鈥檚 that is also providing law students with invaluable real world experience.

“There鈥檚 an implicit culture in law that says lawyers are the experts. I think the clinic really helped me understand that the experts are the folks in the community,” said Troy Ballard, who first participated as a law school student and is now helping run the clinic as a Post Juris Doctor Fellow. “As lawyers we are meant to serve and co-power and uplift, and this clinic was a unique opportunity to be able to work with experts in the community. I will be forever grateful for the relationships I have built through this opportunity.”

The situation with the return of water rights was exacerbated by the devastating Lahaina fire. An emergency proclamation by Gov. Josh Green that suspended the Water Code, Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes chapter 174C, was lifted one month later. Ever since, the clinic has been back at work helping community members navigate the water use permitting process.

“These permits are vital in helping bring the law to life on the ground and in our communities,” said Kapua Sproat, a 东精影业 professor of law. “What we鈥檝e seen in these communities is that even though the black letter law carries a certain weight, it hasn鈥檛 been respected or implemented or informed water allocations.”

东精影业 law school faculty and students staffing the clinic were in Lahaina in the weeks before the wildfire that leveled the historic town. They met with community members at Waiola Church and were staying at the Nā ʻAikāne o Maui Cultural Center on Front Street. Both of those buildings, along with the vast majority of Lahaina, were destroyed on August 8.

“Nā ʻAikāne o Maui Cultural Center was a hub for the community and a waihona (repository) of priceless work, history and artifacts. Despite their own devastation, the Kapu ʻohana, who stewards that place, rose to serve their community. That is emblematic of the people of this place: selfless, hardworking, and full of aloha,” said Uʻilani Tanigawa Lum, a 东精影业 assistant professor of law and co-director of the Native Hawaiian Rights Clinic.

Seeing the devastation afterwards only strengthened the resolve of everyone involved with Ka Huli Ao Center in helping the multi-generational families who call Maui Komohana home.

“Against the backdrop of a storied history of displacement and mismanagement of water resources, these devastating fires continue to uncover larger and systemic injustices. We are grateful to have the privilege of working with this community because they are some of the most kūpaʻa (steadfast) and strong members who have been fighting this battle for generations,” said Tanigawa Lum.

Melissa Murray, a professor at New York University School of Law, completed a weeklong residency at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa as the Dan and Maggie Inouye Distinguished Chair in Democratic Ideals March 20–24, 2023. She is a leading expert in constitutional law, family law, and reproductive rights and justice.

Murray鈥檚 weeklong residency featured a presentation on her co-authored article, Dobbs and Democracy, visits to classes at the 东精影业 law school and 东精影业 Mānoa鈥檚 American Studies department, a talk with students at an event co-sponsored by the American Constitution Society, and a lunch with faculty and students of , where Murray offered advice about pursuing social justice in a legal environment dominated by a conservative Supreme Court supermajority.

At the culmination of the week, Murray and her co-hosts Professors Leah Litman (Michigan Law School) and Kate Shaw (Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law) recorded of the award-winning “” podcast before a live audience at 东精影业 Mānoa. The episode, and on major streaming platforms, included a segment with special guest U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono. It also featured the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court鈥檚 recent application of “the right to a life-sustaining climate system” in the Hu Honua case, and highlighted the 东精影业 law school鈥檚 Ka Huli Ao Center鈥檚 “pathbreaking work at the intersection of Native Hawaiian rights and environmental law.”

Murray began her residence virtually in October 2022 with a keynote presentation moderated by 东精影业 law school Dean Camille Nelson titled “Unpacking the Court: What Does a Conservative Super-majority Mean for the Court and America?”

More information about the appointment is available at the website.

The William S. Richardson School of Law’s has received an international award for , a digital archives project dedicated to the collection and dissemination of digitized Hawaiian kingdom historical and legal materials.

Established in 2007 by the (ATALM), the Guardians of Culture and Lifeways International Awards Program recognizes organizations and individuals who are outstanding examples of how indigenous archives, libraries and museums contribute to the vitality and cultural sovereignty of native nations.

, director of legal history, archives and student outreach, accepted the award at the 11th International ATALM conference held recently at Prior Lake, Minnesota. Punawaiola is the first bilingual website at the and features many Hawaiian language contributions from students.

Under Poai’s leadership, the archive has gone from 20,000 images from four legal archival collections when it was founded in 2008 to 10 times that number. The images come from more than 36 legal archival collections and include early government records, often in delicate condition. The “blawg” is a new component of the site that highlights images from the past to shed light on Hawaiʻi‘s unique legal history and Hawaiian language materials.

For the full story, see the .

—By Beverly Creamer

On May 18, more than 90 decision-makers, including several newly appointed members of state and county boards, commissions and councils, received a full day of training on key issues in Native Hawaiian law at the at the .

The training, covering four major legal areas affecting Native Hawaiians, is required for members of designated local boards, commissions and councils as part of Act 169, a state law passed in 2015. The specialized training, conducted by faculty members of the , was developed for recently appointed or elected officials.

Participating in the training were Hawaiʻi County councilmembers and staff, Department of Hawaiian Home Lands commissioners and staff, the staff of boards and commissions, and staff members of state agencies. Funding for the training sessions, which are held twice a year, comes from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA).

Topics covered included working with Hawaiian communities to preserve and protect ʻ腻颈苍补, historical and cultural context for Native Hawaiian land and resource rights, and Native Hawaiian traditional practices.

Professor noted that Ka Huli Ao has offered similar training for five years, with hundreds of state and county decision-makers and staff members participating.

“We are very appreciative of the positive response from those attending the training,” she said. “We look forward to continuing to work with OHA to provide this important information to ensure that decisions affecting our natural and cultural resources are made by people who truly understand the law and the impact their decisions have on the Native Hawaiian community and on all in Hawaiʻi.”

For more on the training including a list of presenters and training topics, go the .

—By Beverly Creamer

The (OHA) has finalized an agreement with at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s to continue the Aʻo Aku Aʻo Mai Initiative. This initiative was created to provide access to justice for Native Hawaiians through legal education and direct legal services on issues of importance to the Native Hawaiian community. OHA has committed $150,000 for Ka Huli Ao to offer a minimum of four legal clinics over the next two years.

This latest phase of the initiative aims to expand the base of knowledge and support on issues impacting OHA beneficiaries and Hawaiʻi’s natural resources, especially those in rural, neighbor island communities. For example, during the fall 2015 semester, the Clinic is offering free workshops and informational assistance to more than eighty community members on Maui who are participating in an administrative trial without the assistance of an attorney.

Creating a lasting legacy

OHA and Ka Huli Ao first launched the initiative in 2011 to produce a legal primer and support community outreach on Native Hawaiian land issues, with a focus on quiet title law. Quiet title actions involve a judicial method to determine title to land through which a court decides the interests of the various parties. Quiet title lawsuits often arise when more than one party claims ownership, if there are boundary disputes, or when questions surface about who owns or should own the property. Historically, many Native Hawaiians have lost title to land via this process.

In the first two years of the initiative alone, Ka Huli Ao provided information and assistance to more than 150 people, facilitated 14 community workshops/trainings, and educated 40 law students about quiet title, partition and adverse possession. Given this success, OHA and Ka Huli Ao are now focusing on other areas of Native Hawaiian law.

Explained Ka Huli Ao Associate Professor Kapua Sproat, “The Aʻo Aku Aʻo Mai Initiative has already produced significant benefits for Hawaiʻi’s people and resources. We are honored to continue partnering with OHA in this important endeavor and are thrilled to expand our reach to other legal issues that have an impact on Native Hawaiians, especially those in rural communities. Through this initiative, we hope to create a lasting legacy that will continue ā mau loa.”

Added Richardson School of Law Dean Avi Soifer, “This is yet another example of the crucial role played by Ka Huli Ao through its community outreach. They do extraordinary work in many other realms as well, such as in their teaching and scholarship, including the recent publication of their major treatise, Native Hawaiian Law.”

Established in 2005 at the William S. Richardson School of Law, Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law is an academic center that promotes education, scholarship, community outreach, and collaboration on issues of law, culture, and justice for Native Hawaiians and other Pacific and Indigenous peoples.

A new 1,400-page volume on Native Hawaiian law that touches everything from traditional and customary rights, to self-determination, to securing land titles will be unveiled on October 20. The volume, Native Hawaiian Law: A Treatise, was compiled and edited by three members of the law school faculty who specialize in Native Hawaiian law at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa .

Fifteen years in the making, the new work offers a comprehensive overview as well as historical background for Native Hawaiian law as it relates to U.S. law as well as international law. It also provides detailed explanations of many aspects of law affecting Native Hawaiian cultural and natural resources.

“In doing this new book we realized how much further Native Hawaiian law had been developed since its predecessor, the Native Hawaiian Rights Handbook,” said editor-in-chief Professor Melody Kapilialoha MacKenzie, director of at the law school.

Executive editors are Susan K. Serrano, director of research and scholarship at Ka Huli Ao, and D. Kapuaʻala Sproat, also a professor at the law school who is an expert on Hawaiʻi water rights, among other specialties.

“There’s been an explosion in laws that affect the Native Hawaiian community,” continued MacKenzie. “There has been a substantial increase in the case law, and the federal and state regulatory regimes that affect Native Hawaiians particularly, and Native Hawaiian cultural and natural resources. In the first book we couldn’t include some important areas and now we’ve covered them.”

Said School of Law Dean Avi Soifer, “This extraordinary scholarly accomplishment is also an invaluable tool to aid understanding of the intersection of western law and Native Hawaiian cultural practices. There are multiple reasons to be excited by and proud of what Professor MacKenzie and her team accomplished. In fact, this book is a watershed moment for the law school and its reach will extend far beyond lawyers and scholars.”

“Our state courts have been very supportive and expansive in their interpretation of Hawaiian tradition and custom, and in relation to the trust issues surrounding the national lands of the Hawaiian Kingdom,” said MacKenzie. “We wanted to make sure that these important areas of law were well explained.”

A sampling of the many areas covered by the treatise includes:

• The Public Land Trust
• Water Rights
• Traditional and Customary Access and Gathering Rights
• Burial Rights
• The Hawaiian Homes Commission Act
• Judicial Methods for Securing Land Title
• The Island of Kahoʻolawe
• Konohiki Fishing Rights
• Native Hawaiian Health
• Hawaiian Language and Education

The volume is a joint project of Ka Huli Ao and the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, published by Kamehameha Publishing with support from a number of funders including the State Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation, Kosasa Family Fund, Pōhaku Fund/Tides Foundation, Sukamto Foundation, 笔奴ʻā Foundation, and Spoehr Family Fund.

The book is available in bookstores, through Apple iBooks, and on Kindle, and through , with the paperback version priced at $50, the electronic version at $30 and the boxed hardbound edition at $100.

For the full story, read the .

—By Beverly Creamer

Effective July 1, 2015, Governor David Ige signed HB 207 (Act 169) into law mandating specific state board, commission, and council members to attend a training course on the state’s fiduciary duties and trust obligations to protect Hawaiʻi’s natural resources and Native Hawaiian traditional and customary practices.

under the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa , in partnership with the (OHA), has held three such training courses since 2013. State and county decision makers who have taken the course have given it overwhelmingly positive reviews. The next Native Hawaiian law training course will be offered on Saturday, August 1, 2015, at the William S. Richardson School of Law.

State Representative Kaniela Ing, speaking at the governor’s signing of Act 169, stated, “This measure takes basic steps to ensure that the next generation of public servants will be more knowledgeable of the historical and cultural context of the place for which they are tasked to make decisions.”

Act 169 mandates that members of the Land Use Commission, Board of Land and Natural Resources, Commission on Water Resource Management, Environmental Council, Board of Directors of the Agribusiness Development Corporation, Board of Agriculture, Legacy Land Conservation Commission, Natural Area Reserves System Commission, Hawaiʻi Historic Places Review Board, and the Board of Health take the OHA sponsored training course. The act also allows other state and county decision makers and staff to take the Native Hawaiian Law training course.

For registration information, please contact Shae Kamakaʻala, Native Hawaiian Law Training coordinator via email.

More than 100 state and county governments officials learned about trust obligations in relation to Native Hawaiian cultural and natural resources at University of Kauaʻi at Mānoa’s . The training course was provided by . The training was funded by the and held on January 11, 2014.

Maui County Council Chair Gladys Baisa described the training as “an essential program for public servants in making crucial decisions for the community.”

The training included a variety of speakers and Native Hawaiian law attorney and Ka Huli Ao Director Melody Kapilialoha MacKenzie opened the training and was followed by Office of Hawaiian Affairs Chief Executive Officer Kamanaʻopono Crabbe. William Aila, director of the , spoke about the impact of decision-making on Native Hawaiian culture and practices. Professor of ethnic studies Davianna McGregor provided training attendees with a historical overview and context for understanding Hawaiʻi’s unique laws.

David Forman, director of the Environmental Law Program, presented on Native Hawaiian traditional and customary practices. Kapuaʻala Sproat, former staff attorney and now assistant professor, explained the legal and cultural framework for water resource management in Hawaiʻi. Assistant Professor Malia Akutagawa discussed the laws relating to iwi kūpuna or Native Hawaiian human burial remains.

“As chair of the Maui County Council, I echo Professor Kapuaʻala Sproat’s statement that the best policy is usually based on shared knowledge and not on litigation,” said Baisa. “Understanding our unique history and the priorities set forth by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs are crucial in policy making for proper resource management that is pono.”

“I heard nothing but good things from those who attended,” said MacKenzie. “Everyone really appreciated all of the information and felt that they had substantially increased their understanding of the laws protecting Native Hawaiian natural and cultural resources.”

For a list of the state and county lawmakers and federal employees who attended the training, read the .

The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa William S. Richardson School of Law’s unveiled ʻOhia, a new periodic publication inspired by a line from a chant for King David Kālakaua—ʻohia mai ā pau pono nā ʻike kumu o Hawaiʻi (gather up every bit of the basic knowledge of Hawaiʻi).

ʻOhia features papers on cutting-edge issues impacting Native Hawaiian law. The papers were written by Ka Huli Ao’s post-juris doctor research fellows—Kaʻanoʻi Walk’s article on the Native court systems, Julian Aguon’s Native Hawaiians and international law article, Nāpali Souza’s research on Native government and economic issues and Stephanie Chen’s law clinic on ancestral land preservation paper.

Ka Huli Ao’s director of educational development Susan Serrano explains that ʻOhia is “advancing cutting-edge theory and concepts, fostering understanding of Native Hawaiian history, culture and social context, and linked to on-the-ground Native Hawaiian and other Indigenous justice issues.”

Read about other Ka Huli Ao publications in the .