Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana‘ole (1871-1922) served 10 terms as a Territorial delegate to Congress. There he championed the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920.
The Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920, as amended, per:
The Congress of the United States and the State of Hawaii declare that the policy of this Act is to enable native Hawaiians to return to their lands in order to fully support self-sufficiency for native Hawaiians and the self-determination of native Hawaiians in the administration of this Act, and the preservation of the values, traditions, and culture of native Hawaiians.
The principal purposes of this Act include but are not limited to:
(1) Establishing a permanent land base for the benefit and use of native Hawaiians, upon which they may live, farm, ranch, and otherwise engage in commercial or industrial or any other activities as authorized in this Act;
(2) Placing native Hawaiians on the lands set aside under this Act in a prompt and efficient manner and assuring long-term tenancy to beneficiaries of this Act and their successors;
(3) Preventing alienation of the fee title to the lands set aside under this Act so that these lands will always be held in trust for continued use by native Hawaiians in perpetuity;
(4) Providing adequate amounts of water and supporting infrastructure, so that homestead lands will always be usable and accessible; and
(5) Providing financial support and technical assistance to native Hawaiian beneficiaries of this Act so that by pursuing strategies to enhance economic self-sufficiency and promote community-based development, the traditions, culture and quality of life of native Hawaiians shall be forever self-sustaining.
. . . In recognition of the solemn trust created by this Act, and the historical government-to-government relationship between the United States and Kingdom of Hawaii, the United States and the State of Hawaii hereby acknowledge the trust established under this Act and affirm their fiduciary duty to faithfully administer the provisions of this Act on behalf of the native Hawaiian beneficiaries of the Act.
The United States has a unique trust responsibility to promote the welfare of the aboriginal, indigenous people of the State, and the federal government has delegated broad authority to the State to act for their betterment; and
The aboriginal, indigenous people of the State retain their inherent sovereign authority and their right to organize for their common welfare.
Pa’upena History
The map from DHHL’s 2004 Maui Island Plan, Section 3-16, page 99, shows 5,057 Waiohuli-Kēōkea acres inside the outlined oblong tract and in the bottom three-fourths, containing an exploratory well and Pu‘u O Kali. Pā‘upena CDC seeks to repatriate the land from non-beneficiaries, for use by beneficiaries of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920 federal trust.
On Dec. 24, 2016, application to the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) for a two-year due-diligence Right-Of-Entry to the acreage – that right of entry was approved. As of now, Pā‘upena has been awarded a 10 year lease of 127 acres of the land and is begging to transform it into a homestead training ground for beneficiaries to learn how to live off the land.
This training ground will include a water catchment system, pastoral land, and farming areas. All of these facilities will be designed and set up for community members to come and observe, ask questions, and practice sustainable techniques for living off the land.