The Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, Kamehameha Schools, and the Legacy of Genocide Against Kanaka Maoli

Historical Context and Population Decline

By the early 20th century, the Native Hawaiian population, or Kanaka Maoli, had plummeted from pre-contact estimates of 400,000–800,000 to fewer than 40,000 due to disease, dispossession, and systemic marginalization following Western contact and the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893. Poverty and landlessness were pervasive, as Kanaka Maoli were largely excluded from land ownership under the aliʻi system and subsequent privatization efforts like the 1848 Māhele, which concentrated land in the hands of foreign settlers and elites.

In 1920, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Franklin K. Lane, after visiting Hawaiʻi, remarked:

“One thing that impressed me there was that the natives of the islands, who are our wards, and for whom in a sense we are trustees, are falling off rapidly in numbers and many of them are in poverty. They never owned the land of the islands. The land was owned by the King originally.” (Congressional Testimony, 1920)

This statement reflects the paternalistic view of the U.S. government, which acknowledged the dire circumstances of Kanaka Maoli but mischaracterized their historical relationship to ʻāina (land), which was communally managed under the Hawaiian Kingdom, not solely owned by the monarch.

The Hawaiian Homes Commission Act (HHCA)

In response to the crisis, Congress passed the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act (HHCA) in 1920, signed into law in 1921, establishing a federal trust to provide homestead lands to Native Hawaiians with at least 50% Hawaiian ancestry (42 Stat. 108). The act aimed to rehabilitate the Kanaka Maoli population by enabling access to land for farming and housing. However, its implementation revealed systemic flaws that hindered its reparative intent:

• Blood Quantum Requirement: The HHCA restricted eligibility to those with at least 50% Hawaiian ancestry, a colonial construct that excluded thousands of Kanaka Maoli and fragmented communities by imposing arbitrary racial criteria. This mirrors genocidal policies that erode cultural identity through restrictive definitions of indigeneity.

• Poor Land Quality: Many designated homestead lands were remote, arid, or unsuitable for agriculture, making self-sufficiency challenging for beneficiaries (OHA, 2020).

• Chronic Waitlists: As of 2020, over 28,000 eligible beneficiaries remained on waitlists, with many dying before receiving land due to bureaucratic inefficiencies and underfunding of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) (OHA, 2020).

• Systemic Neglect: The DHHL has faced decades of criticism for mismanagement and failure to deliver timely housing, perpetuating landlessness and economic insecurity (OHA, 2020).

Connection to Genocide

The United Nations Convention on Genocide (1948) defines genocide as acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group, including by deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about physical destruction. The drastic population decline of Kanaka Maoli, coupled with land dispossession and policies like the HHCA’s blood quantum requirement, aligns with this definition. The imposition of blood quantum criteria not only limited access to reparative measures but also sought to assimilate and diminish Native Hawaiian identity by tying rights to a colonial metric of “purity.” Landlessness, enforced through systemic exclusion from ʻāina a cornerstone of Hawaiian culture further eroded cultural practices and self-determination, constituting a form of cultural genocide.

Kamehameha Schools’ Role in Resilience and Reparation

Kamehameha Schools (KS), founded in 1887 by Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, stands as a critical counterforce to the legacy of dispossession and cultural erosion. Pauahi’s vision was to uplift Kanaka Maoli through education and stewardship of ʻāina, using her vast landholdings to fund programs that preserve Hawaiian culture, language, and economic stability. Unlike the HHCA, which has been hampered by bureaucratic failures, KS directly fulfills its mission by:

• Providing education and cultural programs prioritizing Kanaka Maoli, fostering identity and leadership.

• Managing 365,000 acres of land to generate revenue for educational initiatives, ensuring economic empowerment tied to ʻāina.

• Offering scholarships and community outreach to support Native Hawaiian families beyond its campuses.

The recent lawsuit by Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) against Kamehameha Schools’ admissions policy, which prioritizes Native Hawaiian students, challenges this reparative framework. The policy is rooted in addressing historical injustices, including the population decline and landlessness exacerbated by policies like the HHCA. By prioritizing Kanaka Maoli, KS actively works to prevent the cultural erasure that genocidal policies facilitated, ensuring the survival and flourishing of Hawaiian identity.

Why It Matters

The HHCA, while intended as reparative, has perpetuated inequality through its restrictive eligibility, poor land allocation, and systemic neglect. As of 2020, tens of thousands of Kanaka Maoli remain landless or housing-insecure, underscoring the act’s failure to fully address historical wrongs (OHA, 2020). Kamehameha Schools, by contrast, represents a Native-led solution that directly counters the legacy of genocide by empowering Kanaka Maoli through education, cultural revitalization, and economic self-determination. Defending KS’s mission is crucial to ensuring that the systemic harms inflicted on Native Hawaiians through population decline, land theft, and cultural suppression are not repeated.

References

• Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1921, 42 Stat. 108.

• Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA). (2020). DHHL Waitlist Data and Reports.

• Congressional Testimony of Franklin K. Lane. (1920). Hearings Before the Committee on the Territories, House of Representatives.

• United Nations. (1948). Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.