Office of Hawaiian Affairs
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| Agency overview | |
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| Formed | 1978 |
| Headquarters | 560 N. Nimitz Hwy Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Agency executives |
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| Website | oha |
The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) is a semi-autonomous department of the State of Hawaii created by the 1978 Hawaii State Constitutional Convention.
In 1893, pro-American elements in Hawaii overthrew the monarchy and formed the Republic of Hawaii, which the U.S. annexed in 1898. In 1921, the US tried to make amends with the creation of the Hawaiian Homes Commissions Act which set aside 200,000 acres of land for the use of homelands for Native Hawaiians of 50% blood quantum of more. It was meant to create some compensation for forced colonization of the indigenous peoples, but in 1959 Hawaii was officially adopted as the fiftieth state of the US, with the Statehood Admissions Act defining "Native Hawaiian" as any person descended from the aboriginal people of Hawaii, living there prior to 1778. The Ceded lands (lands once owned by the Hawaiian kingdom monarchy) were transferred from the federal government to the State of Hawaii for the "betterment of the conditions of the native Hawaiians". In 1978 the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) was created in response to the growing Hawaiian sovereignty movement of the 1970s to manage that portion of the ceded lands allotted to Hawaiian Homelands, advance the lifestyle of Native Hawaiians, preserve Hawaiian culture and protect Native Hawaiian rights. It was established during the 1978 state constitutional convention Government funding has created programs, schools, scholarships and teaching curriculums through OHA. Many of these organizations, agencies and trusts like OHA, have had a good deal of legal issues over the years. In the US Supreme court case; "Rice v. Cayetano", OHA was accused of violating the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments to the United States constitution with voting provisions that were raced based. The court found for the plaintif that OHA had violated the fifteenth amendment. OHA has also been questioned for programs and services to Hawaiians of less than the fifty percent, required blood quantum (The minimum requirement to qualify for Hawaiian Homelands).
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