Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 6, Number 6, 1 June 1989 — Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation [ARTICLE]

Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation

N H L C Report

Native Hawaiian Rights Handbook Due In July

By Melody K. MacKenzie Senior Staff Attorney, NHLC

The Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation will be publishing its Native Hawaiian Rights Handbook in July 1989. This sourcebook for those interested in Native Hawaiian legal rights will cover a wide variety of topics. The first chapter gives an historieal perspective on traditional land tenure and the influence of Western contact upon Hawaiians and their rights. Subsequent chapters discuss the ceded lands trust, Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, access and trail rights, water rights, adverse possession, shoreline boundaries, religious freedom, self-governance and sovereignty, and other areas of particular importance to Native Hawaiians. The handbook has been in the works for over five years and was an outgrowth of the Native Hawaiian Rights class taught at the University of Hawai'i William S. Richardson School of Law. Students from that class saw a need for one book, whieh would eompile and organize all the relevant cases, statutes, and regulations affecting Native Hawaiians. It soon became apparent that merely compiling such materials would not be enough. The materials needed to be edited and eaeh area of law specifically analyzed. Based on the research of many law students and private attorneys who have donated their time, NHLC's staff attorneys have written different sec-

tions of the handbook. My role is to complete a final edit of the handbook and prepare it for publication. Writing, editing, and publication of the handbook has been supported by numerous agencies and individuals. NHLC has received support from the Gerbode Foundation, the Dept. of Hawaiian Homelands, the Student Lawyers' Division of the American Bar Association, and the Legal Aid Society of Hawai'i. The largest single grant has eome from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to eomplete the project and publish the handbook. The handbook, while providing a legal analysis of Native Hawaiian rights and the development of those rights, is written in a simple and concise style so that it ean be understood by members of the Hawaiian community and general public. It will be published in three-ring binder form for ease in updating the volume. The Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation is now accepting orders for the handbook. Those ordering before July 31, 1989 will receive a special pre-pub-lication discount and need pay only $17.50 per copy. After publication, the Handbook will be $25.00 per copy. There is a $5 postage and handling charge for eaeh copy ordered. Please use the form below to order copies of the handbook.