Leading Hawaiian Institutions
During the 19th century, when the Hawaiian people continuously fought for the future of the Hawaiian Kingdom, the Aliʻi saw fit to leave their substantial land holdings in trusts for the betterment of the Native Hawaiian people. Today, these Aliʻi Trusts are among the wealthiest in the world in regards to land holdings.
Department of Hawaiian Homelands
Kamehameha Schools
Office of Hawaiian Affairs
Queen Liliʻuokalani Trust
Queen’s Health System – Queen Emma Land Company
Department of Hawaiian Homelands
Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole spearheaded the passage of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act in 1921, in response to the dwindling native Hawaiian population. Designed as a rehabilitation program for Hawaiians, the Act set aside approximately 200,000 acres of land to establish a permanent homeland for native Hawaiians, who were a landless and “dying” people. Today, the Department of Hawaiian Homelands oversees and implements the management of these lands. hawaiianhomelands.org
Kamehameha Schools
Kamehameha Schools is a dynamic and nurturing learning community committed to educational excellence. The Schools assist people of Hawaiian ancestry to achieve their highest potential as “good and industrious men and women.” Kamehameha Schools’ mission is to fulfill Princess Bernice Pauahi’s desire to create educational opportunities in perpetuity to improve the capability and well-being of people of Hawaiian ancestry. ksbe.edu
Office of Hawaiian Affairs
At the state Constitutional Convention in 1978, delegate Frenchy De Soto and others led efforts to establish a state agency dedicated to the welfare of Hawaiians, funded by a share of ceded-lands revenue. Today, under the direction of nine trustees elected statewide, OHA functions operationally as both a government agency with a strong degree of autonomy, and as a trust. Unlike the Bishop Estate, the Queen Emma Foundation, the Queen Liliʻuokalani Trust, the Lunalilo Trust and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands — with their specific, respective purposes of education, medical care, children’s welfare, kūpuna care and homesteading — OHA has a much broader mandate. Its purpose is to provide the opportunity for a better life and future for all Hawaiians. oha.org
Queen Liliʻuokalani Trust
In 1909, Queen Liliʻuokalani established a private foundation dedicated to the welfare of orphan and destitute children. She declared that “all the property of the trust estate, both principal and income, . . . shall be used by the Trustees for the benefit of orphan and other destitute children in the Hawaiian Islands, the preference to be given to Hawaiian children of pure or part aboriginal blood.” Queen Liliʻuokalani Children’s Center is a social service agency created to fulfill the Queen’s mission. qlcc.org
Queen’s Health System – Queen Emma Land Company
Queen Emma Land Company is a nonprofit organization established in 1979 to support The Queen’s Medical Canter and its affiliates in providing quality health care in Hawaiʻi. The company accomplishes this by managing and enhancing the income-generating potential of lands left to The Queen’s Hospital by Queen Emma in 1885, and additional properties owned by The Queen’s Health Systems. queenshealthsystems.com
How important are these institutions to our future? See the article, The Case for Economic Sovereignty.