OHA
OFFICE OF HAWAIIAN AFFAIRS
Hawaii Civics 101:
Office of Hawaiian Affairs
Why You Should Bother To Vote In The OHA Trustees Election
A former trustee Peter Apo, reminds voters of the significance of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.
Read the full Civil Beat article here from July 23, 2018
The Office of Hawaiians Affairs, as intended by delegates of the state’s 1978 Constitutional Convention, functions somewhat as a sovereign body politic. It functions independent of the state Legislature and governor’s office.
OHA’s mandate is to manage a Native Hawaiian Trust Fund for the “betterment of conditions of native Hawaiians.” Trust fund revenue sources include an entitlement of 20 percent of state revenue derived from the state’s use of state-managed “ceded” lands.
All Native Hawaiians are beneficiaries of the trust.
Another intention of the delegates was that OHA serve as a placeholder institution to manage the trust fund until such time that there occurs a political reconciliation between the United States and Hawaiians over the controversial annexation of Hawaii. The general expectation in 1978 when OHA was created was to seek a nation-within-a-nation relationship with the United States.
Why Should You Vote For OHA Trustees?
It’s an unfortunate norm that the Hawaii electorate has a poor record of showing up at the ballot box. It is more unfortunate that Hawaiians tend to dominate the list of no-shows.
Add the fact that many non-Hawaiian voters who do vote on other races refrain from voting for OHA because they either don’t believe OHA is relevant to their lives – or – they believe Hawaiians should be left alone to elect their own leaders.
OHA is one of the top five most important Hawaiian-rooted economic institutions that collectively pump millions of dollars into the Hawaii economy. The five are the Kamehameha Schools, Queen Liliuokalani Trust, Queen’s Hospital Systems, Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, and OHA.
OHA is one of the top five most important Hawaiian-rooted economic institutions.
~ Civil Beat, 2018
Visit www.OHA.org
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