More than 2,000 Native Hawaiians braved the heat and humidity in Waikoloa to give the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA) Convention its biggest turnout yet.
Puʻuanahulu native Kuʻulei Keakealani is no stranger to the dry coastal plains of North Kona. Generations of her ʻohana paniolo have stewarded these lands. She says the convention helped re-energize the surrounding community.
“Me he mea lā ua hiki mai kekahi kai piha a hiki ke ʻike i nā waʻa he nui e lana nei i ka ili o ke kai,” said Keakealani. (It’s as if a rising tide came in and you can see all these canoes floating on the surface of the sea).
Alona Quartero drove over from Puna to support her moʻopuna at the convention, and later found herself attending session after session.
“Thatʻs what this conference has done! Inspired people to connect to the lāhui. Being around a lot of Kānaka is really nice and non-Kānakas too because they can see ‘Oh, this is what the people mean.’ It was worth the trip to get here,” says Quartero.
This was CNHA’s first convention on Moku o Keawe in its 23-year history. CNHA President & CEO Kūhiō Lewis estimates the three-day event infused more than $2 million dollars into the local economy.
“We’re honing in on Hawaiʻi Island, because – as I see it – the future is there,” Lewis said.
CNHA recently acquired 43 acres of land in Kaūmana for the creation of an affordable housing land trust, which could provide homes to ʻohana as early as 2025. Lewis also has his eye on Banyan Drive, which he says could provide job opportunities through a Native Hawaiian-managed hotel.
“If we do it right, Moku o Keawe will lead the rest of the pae ʻāina,” he said.
The annual Native Hawaiian Convention has become a must-attend event for the lāhui, featuring cultural workshops, government updates, and discussions on the latest issues. The gathering is the brainchild of CNHA founder Robin Danner.
“It was wonderful to witness the total relevance of CNHA and the annual convention in 2024, just as it was relevant when founded 20+ years ago, to create space for the mana and manaʻo of Hawaiians,” Danner said.
Speaker after speaker underscored the need to kūʻē and kūkulu – to challenge the status quo and rebuild from a kuanaʻike Hawaiʻi or Hawaiian worldview. This kuanaʻike guided generations of Hawaiians to thrive in these islands for centuries.
Kaʻūpūlehu native and former Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee Hannah Springer says having a Hawaiian voice at the table ensures ʻike Hawaiʻi is part of the decision-making.
“Don’t be afraid of ʻike,” Springer said.
ʻIke Hawaiʻi could provide invaluable insight to tackle Hawaiʻi’s most pressing challenges, but the keepers of this ʻike are sometimes overlooked. This has frustrated Lahaina native Kaipo Kekona, who is helping to lead rebuilding efforts in Maui Komohana.
“They say ‘blank canvas,’ but its not a blank canvas,” said Kekona, “There are communities who have been there for generations, and it would serve us well not to try to act like those voices don’t exist.”
Those voices may soon become a rarity, according to Haʻikū data analyst Matt Jachowski. He presented the latest numbers on Hawaiian migration at the convention.
“Native Hawaiians today make up only 1 in 5 people in the state of Hawaiʻi, but our population is shrinking while the non-native Hawaiian population is growing, and I think that’s a problem,” says Jachowski.
As more Native Hawaiians are forced to leave Hawaiʻi, so too will their repository of ʻike Hawaiʻi, which is needed in Hawaiʻi now more than ever.
State leases with the U.S. military begin to expire in 2029, and Native Hawaiian attorney Camille Kalama says this is an opportunity for the lāhui to make demands.
“If we don’t push, if we don’t try, we’ll get the same as we always got,” says Kalama.
The energy at this year’s convention was one of fearlessness and bold ideas, where decision-making in Hawaiʻi is centered on ʻike Hawaiʻi. We see it reflected in a stewardship model that puts the mauna first and in a new generation of ʻŌiwi leadership in tourism that’s disrupting the industry’s extractive ways.
These changes are only the beginning, said Native Hawaiian educator and social entrepreneur Mahina Paishon-Duarte.
“Its necessary for people to be at ka maka o ka ihe – the tip of the spear – stirring the pot and creating discomfort until there’s enough critical mass calling for change,” Paishon-Duarte said.
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