Lawsuit saying the Hawaiian home lands 50% hawaiian blood requirement is unconstitutional as it's based on race.  This is different from the indian tribes as Hawaiian's were never federally recognized as a tribe.  Do you think it's unconstitutional or should be allowed somehow?

New lawsuit targets eligibility requirements for Hawaiian homes leases
The suit was filed by an Oahu resident who is not Native Hawaiian.
https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2026/06/03/new-lawsuit-targets-eligibility-requirements-hawaiian-homes-leases/

I've always wondered why no one sued Kamehameha for their Hawaiians only like policy.  The kool aid is strong in Hawaii.

I've always wondered why no one sued Kamehameha for their Hawaiians only like policy.  The kool aid is strong in Hawaii.

Kamehameha schools is a private school that doesn't use government funds.  They should be able to dictate which students they take.  It is different from Harvard where they receive federal funds and grants and the Hawaiian Homelands which is a government entity.

Forgot to mention Kamehameha school got sued a couple of times in the past ending with large settlements.  They knew they would lose.  Not sure how it'll turn out this time as on one hand it's an anti-DEI environment, but on the other the crackdown is focused on Government related programs and NGOs and while allowing private organizations to do their own thing.

How much do we taxpayers give DHHL? and what have they done?

I've always wondered how many parcels DHHO has actually given to Hawaiians since 1920 ?
Inquiring minds want to know !

i have been told that the reason they went to free tuition was to dodge at least some of the lawsuit...

Kamehameha schools is a private school that doesn't use government funds.  They should be able to dictate which students they take.  It is different from Harvard where they receive federal funds and grants and the Hawaiian Homelands which is a government entity.

Forgot to mention Kamehameha school got sued a couple of times in the past ending with large settlements.  They knew they would lose.  Not sure how it'll turn out this time as on one hand it's an anti-DEI environment, but on the other the crackdown is focused on Government related programs and NGOs and while allowing private organizations to do their own thing.

Kamehameha schools is a private school that doesn't use government funds.  They should be able to dictate which students they take.  It is different from Harvard where they receive federal funds and grants and the Hawaiian Homelands which is a government entity.

Forgot to mention Kamehameha school got sued a couple of times in the past ending with large settlements.  They knew they would lose.  Not sure how it'll turn out this time as on one hand it's an anti-DEI environment, but on the other the crackdown is focused on Government related programs and NGOs and while allowing private organizations to do their own thing.

Taxes are "government funds."  So, if a private school gets tax breaks as a non-profit, they are in effect receiving government funding in the form of reduced tax liabilities.

Thanks to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, plus a number of Supreme Court cases decided
since then, no private school can discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national origin,
in admissions or in hiring, or anything else; those that do would lose their non-profit status
from the Internal Revenue Service. These IRS regulations enumerate over forty steps that
civil rights enforcers should examine when determining if a private school is acting in a
racially discriminatory manner.

https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/civil-rights-and-private-schools-explainer

So, no matter how you look at it, just filing with the IRS as a non-profit requires them to stop using race or other prohibited criteria for their admissions policies.

If they keep the policies while also taking the tax breaks, I don't think simply taking those breaks away is sufficient.  They know what the rules are -- i.e. not discriminating while taking government money.  Civil rights violations that are deliberate ought to be met with extreme penalties and generous damages to those who were discriminated against.

I used to be a liberal. I learned all about colonialism and the overthrow at UH and supported finding equitable solutions. The I got a peek behind the curtain and discovered the sovereignty movement was infested by marxists working for the CCP and stirring up race hatred so that they could have their glorious revolution. There’s no middle ground with these people, so let’s just follow the constitution. Annexation is the best thing that happened to these islands, and if the US walked away and left the activists in charge it would turn into the Aloha Khmer Rouge

I've always wondered how many parcels DHHO has actually given to Hawaiians since 1920 ?
Inquiring minds want to know !

Seriously, still waiting ! I can only find 150

I used to be a liberal. I learned all about colonialism and the overthrow at UH and supported finding equitable solutions. The I got a peek behind the curtain and discovered the sovereignty movement was infested by marxists working for the CCP and stirring up race hatred so that they could have their glorious revolution. There’s no middle ground with these people, so let’s just follow the constitution. Annexation is the best thing that happened to these islands, and if the US walked away and left the activists in charge it would turn into the Aloha Khmer Rouge

Yes, you are absolutely correct.

To the grievous and eternal loss of the Kanaka Maoli.

Seriously, still waiting ! I can only find 150

n 1921, Congress enacted the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920 (HHCA) to
provide for homesteading by native Hawaiians, placing approximately
200,000 acres of “available lands” into the Hawaiian Home Lands Trust,
with a majority of the lands assuming the status of “Hawaiian home lands.” Hawaiian
home lands may be leased to “native Hawaiians,” defined as persons with at least
50 percent Hawaiian blood, for 99-year terms.[1]
 
When Hawaiʻi was admitted as a state in 1959, Congress transferred title to the
Hawaiian Home Lands Trust to the State pursuant to the Hawaiʻi Admission Act.

https://www.doi.gov/hawaiian/hawaiian-home-lands

As of June 30,1998, the DHHL owned about 197,673 acres of land on the islands of Kauai,
Oahu, Molokai, Maui, and Hawaii and had issued 5,189 residential leases; 1,057 agricultural
leases; 301 pastoral leases; 118 general leases; and 94 revocable permits, which included
permits for agricultural, pastoral, and commercial purposes. For the fiscal year ended
May 3 1, 1999, the DHHL had total revenues of $126.4 million and expenditures of
$55.7 million. In addition, the DHHL reported outstanding direct loans of $48.9 million and
guaranteed loans of $127.8 million.

https://www.doi.gov/sites/default/files/doi-ig-audit-report-followup-of-recommendations-concerning-the-hawaiian-homes-commission-oss-jun-2000.pdf

My math concludes 6,758 total leases and permits were issued as of June 1998, based on the June 2000 audit report.

In addition to my other post, I found that the reason for the Hawaiian Home Lands law was to "rehabilitate the Hawaiian race" after a decline in the Hawaiian population of 84% starting in 1778 thru 1840.

Imagine a program to give property to White US citizens due to a steep decline in population percentage caused by legal and illegal immigration from predominantly non-White countries.

Why is it the government's job to manipulate the racial, ethnic or ancestral composition of the population at all whether at the local, state or federal level?

With all the interracial children being born the last century from mixed race couples, the decline in ANY racial percentage is mostly due to preferences in partners, not a lack of real estate.  I fail to see how giving a single person with 50% Hawaiian blood quantum a 99 year long land lease will "rehabilitate" the race -- not unless the lease requires spouses/partners and their children also meet the 50% threshold.  Otherwise, what's the point?

In addition to my other post, I found that the reason for the Hawaiian Home Lands law was to "rehabilitate the Hawaiian race" after a decline in the Hawaiian population of 84% starting in 1778 thru 1840.

Imagine a program to give property to White US citizens due to a steep decline in population percentage caused by legal and illegal immigration from predominantly non-White countries.

Why is it the government's job to manipulate the racial, ethnic or ancestral composition of the population at all whether at the local, state or federal level?

With all the interracial children being born the last century from mixed race couples, the decline in ANY racial percentage is mostly due to preferences in partners, not a lack of real estate.  I fail to see how giving a single person with 50% Hawaiian blood quantum a 99 year long land lease will "rehabilitate" the race -- not unless the lease requires spouses/partners and their children also meet the 50% threshold.  Otherwise, what's the point?

I knew of only 1 100% Hawaiian, my friends dad. Which makes my friend 50% Hawaiian now as his mom isn't Hawaiian.  I think theres a bum who I woudl always see in the McCully area and he looks like 100% Hawaiian.  He's often carrying what looks like a pillow and in a tattered gray shirt.  Sometimes he's in Kapahulu. When I was in elementry school in the mid 90's, he was around wearing teh same type of clothing that he wears today.

How do they figure out how much percentage of any ethnic group a person has?

If a person is 100% of whatever and he marries someone who has 25% black, 25% white, 25% filipino, and 25% samoan, is the baby still 50% of whatever that 100% person is?

Vs. somebody who is 100% whatever and marries someone who is 100% of another whatever.

Is it the same or not.  I dunno.  I never was good at math.

And no laugh if this was a stupid question.

I knew of only 1 100% Hawaiian, my friends dad. Which makes my friend 50% Hawaiian now as his mom isn't Hawaiian.  I think theres a bum who I woudl always see in the McCully area and he looks like 100% Hawaiian.  He's often carrying what looks like a pillow and in a tattered gray shirt.  Sometimes he's in Kapahulu. When I was in elementry school in the mid 90's, he was around wearing teh same type of clothing that he wears today.

Cool story, bro.   

Imagine if we required a DNA test to determine gender/sex before allowing someone to join women's sports or compete in other spaces reserved for women. 

Seems like discrimination based on biological membership should be across the board, huh?  Maybe we should ask Elizabeth Warren whether it's enough to claim membership in a group simply based on one's belief that they belong?

When she apologized to the entire Cherokee nation for her lifetime of claiming she belonged to their tribe, the Tribal Leaders released a statement:

"Using a DNA test to lay claim to any connection to the Cherokee Nation or any
tribal nation, even vaguely, is inappropriate and wrong," Cherokee Nation Secretary
of State Chuck Hoskin, Jr., said in a statement at the time. "It makes a mockery
out of DNA tests and its legitimate uses while also dishonoring legitimate tribal
governments and their citizens, whose ancestors are well documented and whose
heritage is proven. Senator Warren is undermining tribal interests with her continued
claims of tribal heritage."

https://www.npr.org/2019/02/01/690806434/warren-apologizes-to-cherokee-nation-for-dna-test

That makes a lot of sense.  Rather than set an arbitrary blood quantum or other biological marker in the mandatory requirements, maybe the better, and more Constitutional, approach would be to require applicants for home lands prove they have an established connection to the Hawaiian Kingdom.  Maybe have records of residency and relatives living and working in Hawaii since before statehood or some other date.

This goes back to the age old question as to whether or not someone who was born in Hawaii of parents whose ethnicity is, say Japanese, can claim they are themselves Hawaiian?  Treating citizens as less than those of a particular bloodline is an antiquated practice that our laws seek to eliminate through equal protection.  The same evaluation ought to be applied when deciding on programs everyone pays taxes to support but which only benefit a subset of the population based solely on who their parents and grandparents might have been.

How do they figure out how much percentage of any ethnic group a person has?

If a person is 100% of whatever and he marries someone who has 25% black, 25% white, 25% filipino, and 25% samoan, is the baby still 50% of whatever that 100% person is?

Vs. somebody who is 100% whatever and marries someone who is 100% of another whatever.

Is it the same or not.  I dunno.  I never was good at math.

And no laugh if this was a stupid question.

Good question.  It's not a direct physical test.  It requires one to have documented evidence of their family roots.  Percentages are assigned based on how "diluted" one's heritage becomes when ethnicities other than the one being measured are introduced.

Blood quantum is a concept created by white settlers that refers to the amount of so-called
“Indian blood” that an individual possesses. Blood quantum appears as a fraction and is
“calculated” based on an individual’s family tree. Rooted in eugenics, the concept lacks any
scientific basis. For example, when we have children, our biological features are not split in half.
It’s not possible to actually calculate the amount of Native blood someone has. Blood quantum
is a stand-in device for lineage imposed by the U.S. federal government to disempower
Indigenous people and separate them from their lands, resources, culture, identities, languages,
and futures.

https://nativegov.org/resources/blood-quantum-and-sovereignty-a-guide/

The way in which indigenous peoples are disenfranchised is by using the same criteria created for inclusion in a tribe.  If Hawaiian Race memebership, for example, is set at 50%, and a 50% or better parent has children with an individual with zero Hawaian ancestry, then the children will be "calculated" to have half that of the Hawaiian parent.  Parents with only one having the minimum 50% blood quantum would produce kids having 25% BC and not recognized as Hawaiian by race.  Over time, as mixed offspring are born, fewer and fewer citizens will qualify with the 50% BC minimum.  Therefore, the Hawaiian Race population will continue to be diluted until they all are excluded based on a lower than 50% parentage or they die off.  To perpetuate the race, you'd almost have to create a society where Hawaiians only have children with other Hawaiians in order to maintain the blood quantum of 50%+.

When I first moved to Oklahoma, I volunteered to tutor Native American school kids.  The program was federally funded (I got paid a few bucks per hour), and the kids' families paid nothing for the tutoring.  To qualify, the kid only needed at least one grandparent to have been a member of a Native American tribe.  That eliminated the whole blood quantum calculation, which is a big deal given the divorce and child adoption rates of modern families.

What if instead of a blood quantum requirement, they changed it to a skill and culture based requirement and applicants have to compete for it.  Speak Hawaiian, dance the hula, farm taro fields and fish ponds, make tapa clothing, etc.  That would perpetuate the Hawaiian culture and traditions far more than anything else would while being constitutional.  I don't see a flood of people wanting to do that for a leased property they still have to build a home on.

https://www.doi.gov/hawaiian/hawaiian-home-lands
https://www.doi.gov/sites/default/files/doi-ig-audit-report-followup-of-recommendations-concerning-the-hawaiian-homes-commission-oss-jun-2000.pdf

My math concludes 6,758 total leases and permits were issued as of June 1998, based on the June 2000 audit report.

Thanks for the numbers.
I conclude . . .
 5,189 residential leases at a gracious 10,000 sq ft per lease = 1,300 acres
1,057 agricultural leases at a gracious 20 acre per lease = 21,140
118 general leases at the known average residential of 5k sq, ft. =590,000 sq, ft. =13.5 acre
 94 revocable permits at a gracious 10 acre per lease = 10,570
 I think I'm being generous as the median size of Hawaii farm is 5 acres, majority of farms (2/3) are 1-9 acres as per Hawaii.gov and average residential is 5k sq. ft.

That's a  total of 33,024 acres  or less than 1/6th of the available land distributed in over 100 years.