Ka Wai Ola News

Ka Wai Ola News Indigenous media outlet sharing news, features and events with a focus on the Native Hawaiian community

The December issue of Ka Wai Ola is out now!This month, our cover story discusses the use of private prisons on the cont...
12/02/2025

The December issue of Ka Wai Ola is out now!

This month, our cover story discusses the use of private prisons on the continent to house inmates from Hawaiʻi. Decemeber 2025 marks 30 years since the state started sending paʻahao across the country.

Read the full article and more at kawaiola.news.

Cover photo: ©️ Nick Oza - USA Today Network via Imagn Images

Each year, on November 28, Hawaiʻi lifts its voice in remembrance of Lā Kūʻokoʻa — the Day of Independence. It marks the...
11/28/2025

Each year, on November 28, Hawaiʻi lifts its voice in remembrance of Lā Kūʻokoʻa — the Day of Independence. It marks the moment in 1843 when the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi was recognized among the nations of the world. Thanks to the courage of Timoteo Haʻalilio, William Richards, and George Simpson, Hawaiʻi stood tall in sovereignty. Today, we honor the strength, dignity, and enduring spirit of our lāhui! Lā Kūʻokoʻa is more than a date; it is a celebration of dignity, resilience, and the enduring spirit of Hawaiʻi.

To learn more: https://www.ksbe.edu/article/celebrating-la-kuokoa-independence-day

Photos: Royal Emissary of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi Timoteo Haʻalilio, Courtesy of Hawaiʻi State Archives; Postcard of a painting of the Hawaiian flag draped with maile and feather lei, undated, Courtesy of Lyman Museum and Mission House

All our OHA offices will be closed on Thursday, November 27 and Friday, November 28. Business will resume on the followi...
11/27/2025

All our OHA offices will be closed on Thursday, November 27 and Friday, November 28. Business will resume on the following Monday, December 1. If you have any inquires, please email [email protected] and our office we will respond to your inquiry on Monday. E kala mai for any inconvenience. Hau‘oli LāHo‘omaika‘i.

One word we encourage people to avoid is “ancient.” While often used respectfully, it can imply that Native Hawaiian cul...
11/21/2025

One word we encourage people to avoid is “ancient.” While often used respectfully, it can imply that Native Hawaiian culture and people no longer exist. That we are relics of another time.

Referring to our kūpuna (ancestors, elders) as “ancient” risks separating them from who we are today. In truth, our kūpuna are not distant figures. Their knowledge, values, and practices are alive in us, in the way we care for ʻāina, raise our families, and practice our traditions.

Read more online kawaiola.news/columns/lamaku-hookipa/honoring-our-living-culture-the-power-of-word-choice/

At the end of December, the Hawaiian Legacy Foundation founded in 1986 will close. The mission has been to document, pre...
11/20/2025

At the end of December, the Hawaiian Legacy Foundation founded in 1986 will close. The mission has been to document, preserve, and perpetuate Hawaiʻi’s cultural heritage through music, film and video, educational programs, community outreach, and archival work.

Thanks to the strong leadership of Chancellor Maenette Benham, the UH Foundation Eddie & Myrna Kamae Endowment has been established to raise money to create student internships, fellowships, and faculty grants ensuring the Kamae archive is utilized by students, faculty, and the community.

Read more online kawaiola.news/hoonaauao/the-kamae-archive-carrying-forward-a-hawaiian-legacy/

Their coffee service focuses on quality beans, careful preparation, and friendly service. Their breakfast highlights fre...
11/19/2025

Their coffee service focuses on quality beans, careful preparation, and friendly service. Their breakfast highlights fresh, satisfying favorites — like breakfast burritos served with their signature creamy garlic sauce.

The Café is quite the gathering place – especially on Fridays when the kūpuna come to kanikapila.

Read more online kawaiola.news/columns/kanaka-forward-on-the-homesteads/lihue-cafe-serves-up-aloha/

Between 2014 to 2018, Native Hawaiian women had the highest rates of breast cancer and breast cancer deaths in Hawaiʻi.I...
11/18/2025

Between 2014 to 2018, Native Hawaiian women had the highest rates of breast cancer and breast cancer deaths in Hawaiʻi.

In recent years, doctors are seeing more cases in women under 50, with rates in younger women rising faster than in older age groups.

Studies worldwide show 30-50% of breast-cancer cases could be prevented through healthy lifestyle choices.

Read more online kawaiola.news/columns/malama-i-kou-kino/breast-cancer-and-hawaiian-women-lifestyle-matters/

“As a father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, I can speak from my experiences raising keiki,” Hao wrote in a 2018 me...
11/17/2025

“As a father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, I can speak from my experiences raising keiki,” Hao wrote in a 2018 message to Hui Mālama Ola nā ʻŌiwi beneficiaries shortly after his appointment.

“One of the most important things we can pass along to our keiki is values. Of these values, I want to highlight the importance of respect. As a community, we need to respect our kūpuna, the ʻāina, and all that supports us. Families have to love each other and respect one another. If we take care of each other, the ocean, and the ʻāina, we will be a healthier and happy people.”

Read more online kawaiola.news/kaiaulu/hehoomanao/a-life-of-service-and-advocacy-for-native-hawaiians/

The Waiʻanae Economic Development Council (WEDC) is a community-based corporation serving Waiʻanae Coast residents. Its ...
11/16/2025

The Waiʻanae Economic Development Council (WEDC) is a community-based corporation serving Waiʻanae Coast residents. Its mission is to support community members who are passionate about entrepreneurship by offering business and financial services rooted in Hawaiian values.

Founded in 2015, the council is composed primarily of Native Hawaiians, and its leaders and staff are either from the Waiʻanae Moku or have worked within the community for many years.

Read more online kawaiola.news/hookahuawaiwai/supporting-entrepreneurship-on-the-waianae-coast/

The four counties offer a kuleana property tax exemption that reduces the real property tax on kuleana lands to at least...
11/15/2025

The four counties offer a kuleana property tax exemption that reduces the real property tax on kuleana lands to at least the minimum real property tax. To qualify, the kuleana land must be owned in whole or in part by a lineal descendant of the person that received the original title to the kuleana.

Read the full column at kawaiola.news/columns/e-ninau-ia-nhlc-ask-the-native-hawaiian-legal-corporation

A human geneticist, Fox helped build the start-up Variant Bio which has been developing genomic drugs in Seattle since 2...
11/10/2025

A human geneticist, Fox helped build the start-up Variant Bio which has been developing genomic drugs in Seattle since 2018. As in other areas of his life, he’s driven in this work to further the lāhui in a field that lacks Pasifika representation.

After Fox completed his Ph.D. he landed a postdoctoral fellowship at UCSD and is now an associate professor involved in various programs such as the Department of Anthropology, the Global Health Program, the Climate Action Lab and the Indigenous Futures Lab.

Read more at kawaiola.news/on-the-continent/faces-of-the-diaspora-bringing-ike-kupuna-to-genome-sciences

the Commission on Water Resource Management’s (CWRM) is working to permit accelerated groundwater extraction for new dev...
11/07/2025

the Commission on Water Resource Management’s (CWRM) is working to permit accelerated groundwater extraction for new developments in Kona.

Designation of the Keauhou Aquifer System as a groundwater management area would require water development decisions be made in public and include processes to protect Hawaiian rights.

Unfortunately, designation was aggressively opposed by developers and the County of Hawaiʻi.

In 2014, Kona native Herbert Kai testified his ʻohana once practiced fishing, gathering, drinking and bathing practices but “flowing fresh water, fresh water springs, brackish water pools, and ʻōpae ʻula are gone – or at least not easy to find; they’ve been slowly diminishing.”

Communities across the pae ʻāina are experiencing the trifecta of extreme drought, over-extraction, and passive management.

Read the full story at kawaiola.news/aina/ka-wa-o-ka-wai-protecting-the-waters-of-kona

Address

560 N Nimitz Highway #200
Honolulu, HI
96817

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 8am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 8am - 4:30pm
Thursday 8am - 4:30pm
Friday 8am - 4:30pm

Telephone

+18085941888

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Ka Wai Ola News posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category