October 29, 2008 - Update regarding Native Hawaiian Legal Issues

CEDED LANDS

On October 1, the Supreme Court of the United States granted cert to the State of Hawaii in its appeal from the State of Hawaii Supreme Court's ruling in Office of Hawaiian Affairs v. Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawaii case.

The State's Petition for Cert is available here.

KAMEHAMEHA SCHOOLS

Earlier this year it was made known that there would be an attempt to legally attack the admissions policy of Kamehameha Schools again.  The Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported that a lawsuit was filed in federal court identifying the plaintiffs as Doe plaintiffs on August 6.

Yesterday, October 28, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported that Federal Magistrate Barry Kurren ruled that "the names of four children legally challenging Kamehameha Schools' admissions policy must be made public."

EVICTIONS OF NATIVE HAWAIIANS

The local Hawai'i media has reported on evictions that will remove families from Kahana Valley; families that have ancestral ties to to the area.  

In its article, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin provided, 

Six families living in Ahupuaa o Kahana State Park on Oahu's Windward side are facing sudden eviction today because of confusion over their expired leases with the state.

The article continued with, 

In ancient Hawaii, Kahana was once a fishing and farming community, a segment of land from the mountain to the ocean known as an ahupuaa, according to DLNR's Web site.  The state bought the land in 1970 to preserve the ahupuaa.

Senator Clayton Hee described these evictions as unnecessary.