Aloha mai kākou,
The 2025 Hawaiʻi State Legislative Session concluded with unfinished business that should deeply concern every Native Hawaiian and every citizen who believes in the rule of law. Once again, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs’ (OHA) effort to compel the state to meet its legal and constitutional obligations under the Public Land Trust (PLT) has been denied, not by reason, but by political maneuvering that delays justice for Hawaiʻi’s first people.
At the heart of the issue lies the 1.8 million acres of Hawaiian Kingdom crown and government lands, “ceded” following the illegal overthrow of our constitutional monarchy and annexed by joint resolution – not treaty – by the United States in 1898, a process which legal scholars and Native Hawaiian advocates widely recognize as illegitimate. These lands were later designated as the Public Land Trust through the Admissions Act of 1959, with a mandate that 20% of the revenues be used for the betterment of Native Hawaiians.
That mandate was enshrined in the Hawaiʻi State Constitution and codified in HRS Chapter 10. Yet, for over four decades, OHA has been denied its full pro rata 20% share. Instead, the legislature has imposed an arbitrary cap of $21.5 million annually, while the state collects hundreds of millions each year from leases, fees, and other uses of these lands. Public facilities such as airports, harbors, parks, schools, and hospitals sit on these lands, yet Native Hawaiians see only a fraction of the returns.
In 2016, OHA commissioned an independent audit of PLT revenues and found that nearly $400 million in applicable revenues were being collected. Today, that figure is likely far higher, yet the cap remains unchanged. OHA has consistently advocated for transparency and accountability by calling for a full and accurate land inventory of PLT lands, necessary to determine what is truly owed. Despite the passage of three legislative acts addressing the PLT since 1990, a complete inventory has not been completed.
Why? Because once the state knows what it owes, it can no longer avoid paying it.
This session, OHA worked on amending SB 903, which sought a third-party audit and the extension of the PLT working group that includes representatives from OHA, the legislature and the executive branch, to determine a fair and lawful payment moving forward.
The bill made significant progress before being gutted in conference by a last-minute amendment that would have forced OHA to agree to negotiating a final settlement once an inventory was complete. OHA rejected this coercive maneuver, and the bill died.
Let it be clear: OHA is not backing down. This is not just about money. This is about justice, reconciliation, and honoring the commitments made in Hawaiʻi’s own laws. Our lāhui deserves what is rightfully ours. We will not accept delay. We will not be pushed into a corner. We will not accept anything less than what is pono.
We are coming for what is owed. The fight continues.
Me ka haʻahaʻa,
Stacy Kealohalani Ferreira
Ka Pouhana | Chief Executive Officer
