A racial discrimination lawsuit by a non-Native resident of Hawaii threatens to dismantle a Native Hawaiian land benefit established by Congress more than a century ago. The suit challenges the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1921, a federal law reserving more than 200,000 acres of land in a public trust for Hawaii’s Native population. Residents need to prove they have a 50% blood quantum to qualify for 99-year lease. The plaintiff argues he was denied a lease based on an unconstitutional racial preference. It is one in a series of challenges for similar benefits including school admissions and a health studies scholarship, all giving preference for Native Hawaiians, who do not share the same political protections as Native Americans. We’ll discuss how the lawsuits brings issues of equity, blood quantum, and historic land dispossession to the forefront.

GUESTS

Robin Danner (Native Hawaiian), senior advisor to the Sovereign Council of Hawaiian Homestead Association

Elizabeth Ho’oipo Pa Nakea (Native Hawaiian), attorney, founding president of Hui Na’auao, and executive director of the Native Hawaiian Advisory Council

Patrick Kahawaiolaa (Native Hawaiian), homesteader and elder

Derek Kauanoe (Native Hawaiian), assistant professor of law at the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa