Transitions carry many emotions. Some are welcome; others long overdue. We should strive for transitions that are supportive, transparent, grounded in integrity, thoughtfully planned, and worthy of celebration. I am proud that OHA’s approaching leadership transition has the makings of just that.
It is fitting that the selection of OHA’s permanent Administrator coincides with potential turnover on our Board. Every incumbent seeks another term while preparing for a new season – whether re-elected or called to serve another way.
The public conversation about what OHA has accomplished – and what more it should accomplish – is intensifying. Expectations are rising. That is a good thing. It means our beneficiaries remain engaged, or are re-engaging, because they still believe in OHA’s promise.
As the executive search closes, I, too, put my name forward for the permanent Administrator and CEO position, offering my hopes and unfinished aspirations for OHA’s next chapter. Whatever the outcome, I am heartened that other leaders are similarly called to OHA’s enduring mission and service to our lāhui.
Soon, the carved form of Kihawahine – the powerful moʻo akua associated with Mokuhinia and Mokuʻula – will begin her journey home after more than 130 years in Germany. Cultural practitioners, advocates and kiaʻi will ensure her safe passage to Maui and, eventually, Lahaina.
Another delegation will travel to Oregon, joining hundreds of Kānaka at the 2026 Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs Convention to continue our tradition of vigorous policymaking and spirited discourse about the forces shaping Hawaiʻi and Hawaiians – living both separated and connected by the sea.
One journey brings an ancestor home. The other sends our people forward to advocate for choices that will shape Hawaiʻi. Both remind us that what we carry from the past matters, as does what we are bold enough to build next.
Kakaʻako Ma Kai is a bellwether for those tensions. Some invoke customary access and environmental protection to oppose Native Hawaiian aspirations for these lands – as though descendants of lawaiʻa, poʻe heʻenalu, and generations of aloha ʻāina must choose between access, stewardship, and advancement.
We reject that false choice. Kānaka defended these shorelines, practices, and places even after displacement.
An unobstructed ocean view may be beautiful. But I can imagine one more beautiful still: Kānaka rising – literally and figuratively – greening our spaces and filling the shoreline with the sights, sounds and spirit of ko kākou Hawaiʻi: ʻōlelo, mele, oli, hula, voyaging, keiki, kūpuna and ʻohana.
Native Hawaiians have every right to dream boldly, build responsibly, create prosperity and shape our own future on our lands. That is the promise of Kānaka-led and informed development – not only at Kakaʻako Ma Kai, but wherever we choose to stand, build, innovate and make our presence known, rooted and enduring.
A cultural center. A seat of Native Hawaiian governance. A piko of the Pacific. A welina mai to Oceania. A source of shared prosperity.
That is the legacy we can place in the hands of the next generation of dreamers, doers, leaders, and never-say-never warriors. That is the next season of OHA.
Aloha ʻāina mau a mau,
Summer Lee Haunani Sylva
Ka Pouhana Kūikawā | Interim Chief Administrator
