Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 8, Number 11, 1 November 1991 — Grants fund homestead legal aid [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Grants fund homestead legal aid

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Hawaii Bar Foundation have awarded a total of $100,000 to the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp. for legal services to Native Hawaiians, in particular services to homesteaders. For the first time, there will be a program devoted solely to protecting the rights of Hawaiians in their dealing with the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and to advance the efforts of Hawaiians to move off the waitin<j list and onto the land.

On Oct. 8 the Hawaii Bar Foundation approved a grant of $50,000 to the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation to provide direct legal services to Hawaiians, whieh includes a litigation fund. Such services include legal advice and are not intended solely for the purpose of suing the state, according to Fay Haverly , bar foundation executive director. On Oct. 23 the OHA Board of T rustees voted to provide $50,000 in special funds to Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation to match the grant from the Hawai'i Bar Foundation. OHA funds are directed at legal services to homesteaders. OHA Chairman Clayton Hee said, "The OHA Trustees are proud to be a part of this effort to

provide representation for Hawaiians in their efforts to be awarded land leases from Hawaiian Home Lands and to develop a program of specialized expertise in this area. "Our people have been waiting for generations, and a professional legal staff loyal to Hawaiians, with no loyalty to the State of Hawai'i, is long overdue. The legal team at Native Hawaiian Legal Corp. will be the only paid advocacy group responsible for assisting Hawaiians with Hawaiian Home Lands legal problems."

Sherry P Broder, a member of the board of directors of the Hawaii Bar Foundātion, said that the bar foundation provided its grant because of the history of unresolved problems with the homestead program and the pressing need to address them.

The Hawaii Bar Foundation is responsible for receiving the interest on the lawyers' trust account and making charitable grants from it. The program started in 1983 as a voluntaryprogram. Recently it became mandatory for all lawyers to participate. Grants are used to fund programs designed to provide legal services to the poor, to improve the continued page 23

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This Great White Shark is part of the "Sharks! Fact and Fantasy" exhibit now at Bishop Museum. See story page 11.

Legal aid

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administration of justice, and to educate the lawyers and the public on legal issues.

Funds from the Office of Hawanan Affairs will be made available as soon as processing of the appropriation ean be arranged, Hee said. Broder noted the bar foundation grant will begin in the next 60 days, at the start of 1992. Broder said the grant represents "seed money" and that the Hawaiian people will need mueh more to fund such an effort. However she said the bar foundation grant may be only a one-time gift. Hee said it is possible the OHA trustees would provide additional funds to eonhnue the legal support to homesteaders.

OHA Chairman Hee stressed that funding legal services to homesteaders to resolve claims against DHHL does not represent an adversarial relationship between OHA and DHHL. "For our purposes we would prefer and encourage the mediation process to settle those disputes," he said. Rather, he said it is to encourage Native Hawaiians to seek, and be adequately represented by legal counsel. Hee noted that the Native Hawaiian "Right to Sue" bill whieh passed in 1989 while he was chairman of the Senate Judicial Committee, established process for homesteaders to sue for breach of the homestead trust if claims could not be reconciled without litigation.

While OHA currently funds the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp. via the Land Title Project, the funds awarded last month are different because they will be earmarked for legal services to homesteaders. "I think the Wall Street Journal (article) has defined and exposed certain deficiencies the govemor has agreed exist. This is not an effort to pit one (OHA) against the other (DHHL)," he said, adding that the money will be used to make resolution of controversies "more expeditious."

" What the bar foundation and OHA are doing is not a closed system," he said, adding that other groups should also consider funding legal services needed by Hawaiians in other areas as well. "We are taking a dramatic step in demonstrating our commitment and we are not closing the door on this." Hee said he believes the legislature will also consider providing assistance to DHHL on a larger scale. "The funding allows a lot more flexibility for the legal corporation to specifically address this issue," he said. "Legal representation is a longstanding need of homesteaders." NHLC executive director Mahealani Kamauu said the law corporation was "very pleased" that their Hawaiian Home Lands Legal Project was being funded. "This will enable us to devote a fulltime attorney, along with a complement of support staff, to Hawaiian Home Lands issues. Kamauu said NHLC will focus on breach of trust cases as a major priority.