Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 34, Number 4, 1 April 2017 — Aloha e Nā Pua o OHA, [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Aloha e Nā Pua o OHA,

As the Office of Hawaiian Affairs' newly elected chairperson and Ka Pouhana, we are honored to write to you about the state of our hale. For 57 days, forces were ahgned to alter the flow of services to our benehciaries. Our operations were stifled and steps were taken to dismantle our hale post by post, beginning with Ka Pouhana. We sincerely appreciate the hard work of our staff sustaining services to our beneficiaries, despite this tumultuous period. As we embark on this new chapter, our goal is to bring stabihty to the agency and reinforce our hale. We need to work together with aloha, board and staff, so we ean move forward for our lāhui. One of our first priorities will be restoring the integrity and

credibility of OHA's leadership. This agency is responsible and accountable to the unele in Moloka'i, the fisherman in Miloli'i, the next generation attending cohege in Hawai'i and abroad, as well as the eouple with four children trying to put food on the table. We can't afford to be distracted by chaotic dismptions that impact stability of the organization. Our efforts to sei've and uplift the well-being of our benehciaries should focus on implementing the fiscal sustainabihty plan that has been developed for our organization. This plan provides direction on how to restmcture and prioritize

the allocation of our resources in a transparent manner so that we ean continue to fulfih our responsibilities to our beneficiaries into the next century and beyond. We want you to be engaged, and to hold us accountable. That means letting you know what you ean expect from us. Despite efforts to be open and transparent, it's clear from many of the accusations leveled against OHA in recent months that there's confusion about the organization's role and plaee among other Hawaiianserving agencies. Some of the criticism is valid, but mueh of it is inaccurate news and skewed facts. And

some of it was misinformation that we'd hke to coiTect. OHA's role is to provide education, advocacy and hnaneial support for activities that beneht Native Hawaiians and Hawai'i as a whole. We have a duty to protect the tmst and provide resources and assets to help our benehciaries thrive. As such, we don't provide direct services but we do award grants for community programs, scholarships for higher education and loans for entrepreneurs and homeowners. A separate state agency, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, is tasked with retuming Hawaiians to the land. That's where to turn if you want a homestead lease. Ali'i tmsts and other nativefocused organizations also have distinct priorities, including education, heahh and social services for keiki to kūpuna. While we have distinct missions, we're all working toward a shared vision of a thriving lāhui. As we strive to restore unity and stabihty within our hale, we also extend an invitation to others to join us on the road ahead. Pūpūkahi i holomua. ■

THE ROAD AHEAD Editor's note: On Feb. 9, 201 7, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees elected Moloka'i. and Lāna'i Trustee C'olette Y. Machado as its new chairperson.

www.oha.org/kwo | kwo@OHA.org NATIVE HAWAIIAN » NEWS | FEATURES | EVENTS

Colette Y. Machado Ke Kauhuhu/Chairperson

Kamana'opono M. Crabbe, Ph.D. Ka Pouhana/Chief Executive Officer