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| Nā Aikāne o Puʻuhonua | |
|---|---|
| Name | Nā Aikāne o Puʻuhonua |
| Native name | Nā Aikāne o Puʻuhonua |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Type | Nonprofit cultural advocacy |
| Headquarters | Puʻuhonua, Hawaiʻi |
| Region served | Hawaiʻi Island; Maui; Oʻahu |
| Leader title | Executive Director |
| Leader name | Keola K. Hoʻomalu |
Nā Aikāne o Puʻuhonua is a Hawaiian community organization formed in the early 21st century to defend traditional land use, protect wahi pana, and support Native Hawaiian rights through direct action, legal intervention, and cultural education. The group arose amid contested disputes over development, sacred site protection, and sovereignty debates involving Native Hawaiian organizations, state agencies, and private developers. It has engaged with courts, legislatures, and grassroots networks while coordinating with Native Hawaiian activists, cultural practitioners, and preservationists.
Nā Aikāne o Puʻuhonua was established in 2006 during heightened conflict over land access on Hawaiʻi Island and Maui, linking its origins to protests associated with the University of Hawaiʻi, Kahoʻolawe, and Mauna Kea movements. Early members drew inspiration from precedents set by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the Sovereignty movement, and kūpuna-led ʻāina occupations similar to actions at Mauna Kea, Waiāhole, and Kahoolawe. Its campaigns intersected with litigation before the Hawaiʻi State Judiciary, administrative appeals to the Department of Land and Natural Resources, and public testimony during Hawaiʻi State Legislature hearings. Over time the organization has navigated relationships with ʻAhahui Kūʻokoʻa, Hui Kū Maoli Ola, and other community groups while responding to rulings from the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court and federal decisions involving the National Historic Preservation Act and Native Hawaiian claims.
The stated mission focuses on protecting puʻuhonua, wahi kapu, and customary rights, aligning with tenets affirmed in the Apology Resolution and Native Hawaiian cultural revival efforts. Objectives include preserving wahi pana, asserting kūpuna stewardship roles, preventing commercial development on sacred sites, and promoting ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi as part of broader cultural resurgence. The organization frames its goals in relation to precedents set by the Kamehameha Schools, Bishop Museum, and Hawaiian Renaissance-era institutions while seeking policy changes at the Legislature and regulatory reforms within the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and the Board of Land and Natural Resources.
Membership comprises cultural practitioners, kanaka maoli, legal advocates, kupuna, and allies drawn from ʻohana across Oʻahu, Maui, and Hawaiʻi Island, with chapters modeled on community hui and lāhui structures. Governance follows a council model influenced by konohiki-era stewardship, with an executive director, a board of trustees, and advisory councils including kūpuna councils, legal committees, and cultural advisors. The group has collaborated with attorneys associated with the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, mediators from the Kuaʻāina Ulu ʻAuamo network, and researchers from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs for policy briefs and ethnographic documentation.
Nā Aikāne o Puʻuhonua conducts site protection, cultural training, and legal support, organizing occupations, ceremonial protocols, and educational workshops similar to the work of the Kānehūnāmoku Voyaging Society, Hoʻokahua ʻĀina, and community-based sitedefense actions. Programs include moʻokūʻauhau documentation projects, ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi revitalization classes in partnership with Kamehameha Schools and Pūnana Leo networks, and archives collaborations with Bishop Museum and Hawaiian Historical Society. The organization has mounted administrative appeals before the Board of Land and Natural Resources, submitted testimony to the Hawaiʻi State Legislature and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and participated in mediation with developers, nonprofit land trusts like the Trust for Public Land, and the Hoʻokupu model of cultural stewardship.
Activities emphasize mālama ʻāina, aloha ʻāina, and kapu protocols, drawing on traditions practiced in ancient moku stewardship systems and contemporary movements such as the Hawaiian Renaissance. Ceremonies incorporate oli, hula, hoʻokupu, and lāʻau lapaʻau teachings with guidance from kumu hula, kupuna kahuna, and cultural practitioners tied to aliʻi lineages and canoe voyaging communities. The group invokes precedents from Hawaiian genealogical systems, kanaka maoli customary practices recognized in adjudications involving kanaka maoli rights, and values recorded by ethnographers and at institutions such as Bishop Museum and Hawaiʻi State Archives.
Nā Aikāne o Puʻuhonua engages in strategic litigation, legislative advocacy, and administrative appeals, aligning with legal strategies used by the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, Earthjustice, and Community Associations in cases reaching the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court and federal district courts. Key legal themes include Native Hawaiian customary rights, public trust doctrine, and compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act and Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. The organization provides witness affidavits, expert testimony from anthropologists at the University of Hawaiʻi and legacy scholars, and files petitions during rulemakings at the Board of Land and Natural Resources, while lobbying legislators and providing oral testimony at Capitol hearings.
Public reception is mixed: supporters include cultural practitioners, sovereignty advocates, and environmental groups such as Sierra Club Hawaiʻi, while critics comprise developers, some state officials, and property-rights advocates. Controversies center on confrontational tactics during occupations, clashes with law enforcement including county police departments and state DLNR enforcement, and debates over the balance between cultural protection and economic development promoted by chambers of commerce and tourism stakeholders. High-profile incidents have prompted coverage in local media outlets and prompted policy responses from the Hawaiʻi State Legislature, sparking broader debates involving Native Hawaiian self-determination, land stewardship models, and the role of community-based protection efforts in contemporary Hawaiian governance.
Category:Native Hawaiian organizations Category:Hawaiian culture Category:Organizations established in 2006