Our ʻōpio stand at a moment in history when their voices matter more than ever.
As many of you know, I encourage civic engagement – and it’s not just about voting or showing up at the Capitol – it is about understanding the systems that shape our daily lives and choosing to influence them with intention, courage, and aloha.
To that end I encourage our young people to seek out the wisdom of kūpuna, to sit with them, listen to their stories, and learn how they navigated struggles with dignity and resilience. When ʻōpio and kūpuna walk together, we strengthen the political and spiritual backbone of our lāhui. This is how we build a future rooted in justice, compassion, and collective strength.
In every generation, there are young people who rise – not because the path is easy – but because the calling is clear. We have a wonderful article in this month’s Ka Wai Ola that features such a force. Nā ʻŌpio Waiwai is a council of young people who stand with courage, compassion, and cultural grounding to confront one of Hawaiʻi’s deepest wounds: the intergenerational impact of incarceration on our families.
Their work is not simply programmatic; it is restorative. It is a return to the values that have sustained our people for centuries: aloha, kuleana, ʻohana, and the healing power of ʻāina.
At a time when our justice system continues to reflect disparities that fall heaviest on Native Hawaiian youth, Nā ʻŌpio Waiwai offers a different vision. They remind us that empowerment is not an abstract concept. It is lived when young people are given space to lead, to speak truth, and to shape solutions rooted in their own cultural inheritance.
Their focus on healing and justice transformation is not only timely, it is necessary. It is a reminder that the wellbeing of our ʻōpio is inseparable from the wellbeing of our lāhui.
In the last legislative session, House Concurrent Resolution 174 (SD1), which was authored by the haumāna of Nā ʻŌpio Waiwai, reflected that same understanding. The resolution called for a deeper examination of ʻāina based programs for youth in the juvenile justice system, recognizing that healing often begins where the land meets the heart.
In the current legislative session, HB 1626 and companion bill SB 2540 sit firmly in the policy universe that Nā ʻŌpio Waiwai already inhabits: youth justice, system reform, and culturally grounded alternatives for Native Hawaiian youth. These bills seek to strengthen the structures that support youth and their ʻohana, continuing to push us toward a system that uplifts rather than punishes.
Nā ʻŌpio Waiwai’s support of these measures is more than advocacy – it is alignment. Their lived experience, cultural grounding, and unwavering commitment to their peers give these policies meaning beyond the written page. They are the embodiment of what these measures strive to achieve: a justice system that restores dignity, strengthens ʻohana, and opens pathways to wellbeing and systemic change.
To Nā ʻŌpio Waiwai, I offer a deep mahalo. Your leadership is a blessing to Hawaiʻi. Your courage lights the way. And your vision reminds us that when we invest in our ʻōpio, we invest in a future rooted in healing, justice, and hope.
I urge our young people to continue stepping forward — to testify, to organize, to vote, to learn from kūpuna, and to shape the policies that will define their generation. Civic engagement is not a burden; it is a birthright. And when ʻōpio claim that birthright with clarity and aloha, our entire lāhui rises.
