Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 14, Number 7, 1 July 1997 — OHA works toward eeonomie self-sufficiency [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OHA works toward eeonomie self-sufficiency

i j • 1 For more than a decade after it was created by the 1978 Constitutional Convention, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs was virtually without resources for the cultural, scholarship, business loan, eommunity development and other programi whieh it now manages. Staff was minimal, and trustees served without salary, even paying for their own inter-island travel to meet with beneficiaries. The passage of landmark legislation in 1990 and the subsequent back-payment settlement for the use of ceded lands, began a new chapter for OHA. Since 1990, OHA's

investment portfolio has grown from $19 million to more than $250 million today ane has earned the praise of state auditors and many others. But even as the Office of Hawaiian 5 Affairs looks at ways to expand programs for native Hawaiians - while still growing its investment portfolio - debates at this yeafs legislature showed just how fragile OHA's finandal security ean be, with several lawmakers calling for massive cutbacks in the sharing of revenues from cededlands. "We should not rely on the whims of

state government for our support," says OHA

Chair Clayton Hee. "In order to establish successful long-term programs to benefit Hawaiians, we are going to have to look to

ourselves to establish our own eeonomie resources and manage our own eeonomie future." Potential strategies for eeonomie self-sufficiency are being discussed by OHA Trustees in many different areas including: . • Establishment of a strong eeonomie foundation. OHA began employing professional financial managers to build a portfolio of long-term investments worth nearly a quarter of a billion dollars, with dividends being reinvested to grow the fovmdation. Earnings from this endowment also support programs to benefit

Hawaiians. • More effective management of ceded lands. Currently, the largest portion of OHA funding comes from Hawaiians' share of revenues from leases, rents and fees paid by individuals and companies who use public lands for their own purposes. Trustees hope that a comprehensive cededlands inventory directed by this ^eaP s legislature will indicate how effectively these lands are being managed and whether or not Hawaiians as well as the general public - - are being properly compensated for their usage. • Self-management of certain ceded lands. As an alternative to a state-managed appioaeh, OHA is looking to manage some ceded lands directly, including the funding of infrastructure to increase the value of those lands. Possibilities may include development of visitor attractions, industrial areas, agricultural enterprises or retail activities. • Partnerships with the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. According to DHHL Director Kali Watson, "We want to use some of our assets whieh are land-based and work with OHA to develop these lands and form an eeonomie base. This way, homesteaders ean have jobs and businesses and money coming » in." Recently, representatives from OHA and DHHL joined together for an all-day workshop with native leaders from New Zealand and Alaska, as well as a representative from the Wall Street firm of Goldman Sachs, to leam about successful eeonomie piograms that have been developed elsewhere for the benefit of native peoples. These programs are as diverse as the shared ownership of a fishery, visitor attractions and oil production revenue-sharing. "Establishing eeonomie selfsufficiency isrit a radical eoncept," says Hee. "We want to understand how other native groups have made this work, learn from their mistakes and build on their successes. Hawaiians are not alone in this quest."

i "Eeonomie I self sufficiency isn't o radical concept. "

Hee