Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 22, Number 12, 1 December 2005 — Many strides in OHA's 25th year [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Many strides in OHA's 25th year

For 25 years, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs has worked to better the conditions of 'ōiwi Hawai'i - indigenous Hawaiians. With more than 250,000 Hawaiians and part-Hawaiians in Hawai'i, and an additional 170,000 on the continent, our kuleana is daunting. Nine publicly elected trustees and a staff of more than 125 in offices throughout Hawai'i and in Washington, D.C., work tirelessly in the areas of governance, culture, education, housing, health, human services, eommunieations, eeonomie development, community grants and more - with a collective focus of bettering the lives of Native Hawaiians. I am saddened when OHA is accused of doing a "pathetic job" in bettering the conditions of native Hawaiians and Hawaiians. I am saddened because these accusations do not emanate from Thurston Twigg-Smith, John Goemans or other revisionists, but from a small vocal minority of beneficiaries, who should know better. It is easy to cast aspersions and criticize OHA when one does not know the facts, so here they are: When I first joined OHA in 2001, the agency was characterized by the State Auditor as being in a state of institutional crisis. She further noted that the Board of Trustees had not adequately planned to improve the conditions of Hawaiians, and that this inability severely hampered the agency's efforts to meet the needs of its beneficiaries. In 2005, I am proud to declare that the Office of Hawaiian Affairs has an updated and functional strategic

plan encompassing 10 goals and a multitude of strategies to ensure the betterment of the conditions of Hawaiians. We have coupled our strategic plan with a comprehensive time/ labor management application whieh tracks all expenditures and employee efforts to specific goals and objectives. Eaeh workday hour and eaeh dollar spent ean be directly related to one of the 10 OHA goals. Allow me to be more specific. In calendar year 2005, OHA granted more than $6 million to almost 100 agencies and nonprofit organizations committed to benefiting the Native Hawaiian community. These grants included over $2 million to Alu Like, the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation and Nā Pua No'eau, an organization whieh promotes the development of our gifted and talented youth. We provided $2.2 million to the burgeoning charter school initiative and $250,000 to partner with the federal government in the acquisition of Wao Kele o Puna, a 25,000-acre forest preserve of enormous natural and cultural significance. We assisted the Audubon Society in its efforts to restore Waimea Valley, one of the few remaining ahupua'a in the state. We granted financial assistance to Ka Liu 'Oihana - a consortium of the Building Industry Association, the Hawai'i īeehnieal Institute and the Wai'anae Maritime Academy - to foster vocational opportunities in the Native Hawaiian community. In 2005, we have loaned over $805,000 to 16 Native Hawaiian small businesses. We also provided more than $140,000 in emergency assistance loans to 37 Hawaiian families. In addition, $350,000 was distributed to 12 agencies to promote community-based eeonomie development within Native Hawaiian communities. In addition to producing 24

roundtable discussions for our award-winning 'Ōlelo pub-lic-access TV series, Ho'oulu Lāhui Aloha, OHA commissioned the Edgy Lee documentary The Hawaiians: Reflecting Spirit, whieh vividly increased national understanding of Hawaiian issues, traditions and beliefs. At the Legislature, OHA reviewed over 4,500 bills and resolutions and submitted testimony on more than 300 measures relating to Native Hawaiians. Significant legislative achievements include the enactment of the "legacy lands" bill designed to protect natural area reserves on ceded land and a measure allowing OHA increased fiscal autonomy. We also responded to more than 350 environmental, conservation and shoreline assessments with the intent of minimizing impacts on historic, cultural or burial sites. Our monthly Ka Wai Ola newspaper enjoys an improved circulation of over 60,000, including more than 4,000 households on the mainland. Similarly, Kau Inoa enrollment now exceeds 40,000 registrants nationwide - 40,000 Native Hawaiians committed to the concept of fairness and justice. On a related note, we continue to fund the Native Hawaiian Coalition, a group of individuals and organizations who have taken on the task of establishing the steps to build a nation. Coalition members are now in the process of determining election protocol and procedures. We are also continuing our advocacy efforts on behalf of the Akaka Bill to preserve the "nation-within-a-nation" model as a viable self-governance alternative. These are but some of the facts, representing just a portion of our efforts and accomplishments. Want to know more? Visit us at www.oha.org, or eall the office at 594-1888. □

— MAI KA LUNA HO'OKELE • FRDM ĪHE ADMINISTRATDR

By Clyde Nāmu'ū ŪHA Administrator