August 27, 2004

"Hawaiian Community Assets"

Welcome to Leadership Talks with Kehaulani Filimoe’atu, Board President of Hawaiian Community Assets (HCA), and a 2003 Leadership for a Changing World award recipient. Questions and answers will appear below starting at 2 pm EST on Friday, August 27. Filimoe’atu will discuss how HCA works to educate and support Native Hawaiians in their fight to reclaim land and become homeowners. Read background

Leadership for a Changing World
Welcome to Leadership Talks with Kehaulani Filimoe'atu, Board President of Hawaiian Community Assets, and a 2003 Leadership for a Changing World awardee.

Kehaulani, can you give us a brief history of how you got involved in your work?

Kehaulani Filimoe'atu
My ancestors' bones lay on the slopes of Haleakala, the oldest dormant volcano in the USA. I grew up in a time of transition of an annexed independent kingdom nation's form of government. I was 12 when Hawaii became the 50th State. And while the hooplah was a great time for some, many of us natives, or Hawaiians, were clueless to the ramifications that would impact generations to come.

I've seen the USA become involved in awful wars where sons of Hawaii have not returned home. I've witnessed a native population become disenfranchised, alienated, and physically removed from their homelands. And I have been taught to acclimate, assimilate from a 'brown' into a 'white' man's culture. The white missionaries called my people heathens and smothered us. They convinced my people we were wrong in the way we had lived for centuries and confused us.

And I believe, because of all of this, it has been my fate to do the work Blossom and I do for our community, for our island state, and for our people.

Stuarts Draft, Va
Could you explain why the issue of homeownership is so important to native Hawaiians?

Kehaulani Filimoe'atu
Native Hawaiians the actual concept of land tenure if foreign and mainly because over the centuries it’s because who occupies the land and who takes care of the land defaults to what we would call land ownership. In ancient Hawaii, there was no such thing as individual land ownership. We were a kingdom and in that respect the king owned everything, but allowed his people to use the land to feed them. So in today’s world a Hawaiian is disconnected if he has no place in which to live and take care of. And the only thing we can connote to equal that would be home ownership or land acquisition. So for Hawaii, home ownership is basically a single family dwelling on a plot of land, not a lateral or high-rise unit.

Columbia, S Carolina
I read that some Hawaiians have been waiting for homes for over 40 years--what do they do in the meantime, and what kind of support is out there for them?

Kehaulani Filimoe'atu
Historically, or as we say hysterically, many of them for the past 40 years, up until the time we had started working this list, have done nothing but wait. The other thing that has happened is that they have died waiting. What we have started to do now is prepare them to accept an award and to build a house on that residential award. And just to clarify, those people that are on that wait list actually represent three different kinds of awards that they may be given. The land trust has three different kinds of awards. One is agriculture or farming award, one is a pastoral or ranching award, and then the longest list is that residential award. And the residential award is what we are closely working on for our people, so they may get a piece of land and be able to build a house on it or to live on it.

New York, NY
What is the role of corporate lenders in obtaining housing for Hawaiians? Do they generally lean toward supportive or obstructive, or are they even involved in the process? How do you deal with such large, wealthy institutions vis a vis your smaller, more local community?

Kehaulani Filimoe'atu
In Hawaii, we have or have had for the past I’d say up to 10 years ago, basically two banks or only two lenders. They were the Bank of Hawaii and the First Hawaiian Bank. Both of those banks do not do lending on Hawaiian homelands, even till today. They don’t do the mortgages that can only be the mortgages that Hawaiians can use on Hawaiian homelands. In fact, very few of the banks that are presently in Hawaii do mortgage lending on Hawaiian homelands. Washington Mutual, who’s one of the big banks who does government loans on the mainland, had a very short-lived, maybe 6 months, stint in Hawaii. They came in last year and bought out North American Mortgage Company, who did a lot of mortgages on Hawaiian homestead lands, and then just last month they pulled out. So that took that group that was lending on Hawaiian homelands.

The greatest lender at this point on Hawaiian homelands is Countrywide and Home Street, and those big entities, well, they have their base on the mainland. American Savings & Loan, the third big corporate bank, is doing some lending for some construction loans. And Bank of America is doing some loans to developers for infrastructure on the land to start building homes. Other than that, having to deal with the trust land issue and how a state agency handles being the landlord or the landholder of these lands is an issue for many lenders. So we have very few lenders.

And at HCA where we have already created Hawaiian Community Lending, which is HCL, we have experienced this firsthand. HCL is our first nonprofit mortgage broker in the state. So HCL is actually an arm of HCA. And actually the reason for HCL’s creation was basically what I have said, the reasons were all because of what I said before. For people in Hawaii, access to a direct lender was rather difficult, so we started the brokerage to assist with that process. These banks don’t lend because in Hawaii with land and housing at such a high price, our local banks find it more profitable to do the nongovernmental loans and do the non-Hawaiian homestead loans. We at HCL would love to somehow be the community bank that would do it.

Portland, OR
What are some of the particular challenges you face doing your work in Hawaii (vs. mainland)?

Kehaulani Filimoe'atu
I have travelled the world in my previous profession as an owner of a travel agency. And I believe I live in the best place in this world. Of course, I'm biased becaue I come from the soil and I want to die in Hawaii and return back to this "aina" (land).

As far as the difference between Maui and the mainland US, well, we're not one contiguous land mass as a state. And because our non-profit, Hawaiian Community Assets, serves the entire state, we have big travel costs. Logistics are a bit more challenging because of the water that divides our islands. We can't drive to many of our community gatherings. Because Blossom and I aren't Olympic swimmers, we take the ferry between islands, or fly from one island to another. Phone service between the islands are toll calls, so cellphones come in handy. The fact the our community is not physically connected is a big challenge.

Modesto, Cali
When they lease homestead land (to the military, etc.), do Hawaiians profit in any way (i.e., do they get a "cut")? Are there any efforts underway to make sure they get a fair share?

Kehaulani Filimoe'atu
As with any land rental or lease agreement all of the rent collected goes to the landlord initially. So in other words, if land is rented to non-Hawaiians who have rental or lease agreement, all of that money goes to Department of Hawaiian Homelands because they are the landlord. And the reason for the department to receive such monies was to sustain themselves as well as somehow pay for infrastructure needed on the homelands or the homelands award, and in that respect it will trickle down to the lessee or the beneficiary of the trust. So if you ask if there’s some kind of trickle-down effect that would be it. We have always argued that many of the leases to non-Hawaiians have been too low, and many of these leases are to public institutions such as schools and a big chunk to the US of A for military installations, harbors and ports, and airports. And they have been very lax in payment of rent; all of the above actually. We believe there has never been an equitable lease for land use ever drawn up. And the Department of Hawaiian Homelands has repeatedly said the reason for non-awarding of homelands as expeditiously as it should be is because of the lack of monies for basic infrastructure before the awards are given out. Just to clarify, they’re responsible to get the basic infrastructure in and then they give you the plot for the house or farm or ranch.

New York, NY
How do you incorporate Native Hawaiian culture and teachings into your work and leadership?

Kehaulani Filimoe'atu
HCA does mortgage and financial counseling. Homeownership classes come with a curriculum that is culturally-based. Blossom is the choreographer/architect of our unique cirriculum. We realized that financial work is alien to our native populace. That's because our native wealth is reflected in our health, family, and how much "kokua" (help/aid) we can give to others. That concept sustained our people for generations as villages invested back into its people.

Provo, Utah
What happens once a Hawaiian has received his or her land? How do you support these individuals to maintain their homeownership and develop their community?

Kehaulani Filimoe'atu
When they receive their land, and as we are working the system now, we hope that they will be able to then continue on to build their house or acquire the necessary financing to do farming or ag work. HCA works to reduce the economic and other barriers to homeownership to mortgage and finance counseling, a lot of outreach and homeownership training. We do the homeownership training and that extends to not only getting them into the house and qualifying for a loan, but making sure that they’re financially capable for budgeting for the future and sustaining that homestead. The other part is working with the homestead associations that spring up from these communities that are awarded in capacitizing their role to become the voice of their people in their small subdivision to not only the Department of Hawaiian Homelands, but to the general community as a whole or the mainstream community, which would also include non-homestead people. Because although some people would like to have the Hawaiians just all stuck in one corner of the world or one corner of the state, many of their homesteads are sprinkled in between and alongside other communities of the islands.

For example, on the slopes of Helehaala, there is one of the largest homestead tracts that the department has ever issued out at one time. There are 300 acre-lots that have been awarded to native Hawaiians, and their lease fee is a dollar a year for 99 years with an option for another 100 years. Abutting this large subdivision are fee-simple lands that have been sold for a quarter of a million dollars per acre. And both sides are just raw land, in other words, no houses, just land. This particular homestead award had been issued in 1986, and people have only been able to start building within the last 5 years. And again, the reason for that was the basic infrastructure had to be put in by the Department of Hawaiian Homelands, who in 1986, although had awarded these leases, did not have the money to complete that transaction or to get their infrastructure up. Now these lands that were sold next door for a quarter of million, I would say, were sold within the last 10 years. So these new landowners had realized that next door was a dormant subdivision of beautiful land, but they had not really thought about the impact it would have until 5 years ago, when then the Hawaiians started moving in.

There was a lot of discussion from the mainstream community and many of them brought up valid concerns. Many of these new landowners are actually newcomers to our state, who hadn’t really quite realized that concerns have to come up with solutions because this subdivision was not going to be able to be cancelled. It was going to come to fruition. It wasn’t a subdivision that they could curtail or stop from opening up. There are homestead lands even now designated within resort areas that have not been given out.

Anchorage,AK
Aloha and Camai!

I was wondering what advice from your experiences can you give indigenous groups who are trying to protect their rights to land?

Kehaulani Filimoe'atu
I would say, number one, keep at it. Number two, make the general public aware of what they’re fighting for and why, and go global. In Hawaii, we have created the PASH Act and basically it protects public access to the shorelines of Hawaii. And what we have done is go back culturally to that right and that use and bring it forth as a public law that natives always have access to the shorelines. This does not necessarily say that private lands cannot be sold that abut the shoreline. It just means that as a native you’ll always have access. In many cases, it has deterred private investors from purchasing because many of them don’t want people passing through their land.

What we have done is go to our state lawmakers and enact laws to protect their rights to the land as the host culture. And that’s what we have done in Hawaii because as indigenous people of that land they really are the host culture and everyone who has come into that area becomes their visitor. Other indigenous groups need to exert that right. They cannot talk about it, but not do it. If they’re claiming rights to the land for gathering, then they need to do that. You know, people don’t know what their rights are until you tell them. In Hawaii, it’s been an educational process.

Tacoma, WA
How do you make sure you are driven by the community's needs? How do you get their input?

Kehaulani Filimoe'atu
In order to be sure you know your community you need to live in it. Both Blossom and I come from opposite ends of the spectrum of being Hawaiian. There is an old adage from our KUPUNA (elders)...don't just talk/speak of what you can do for us. Show us. No talk, just do.

Because we come from within our communities, we have been able to bring together a lot of our peers and different corners of the community to discuss issues, concerns and needs. We have learned that communities will not listen to someone telling them how to do something if they have not asked for you to do so. By having these discussions, we've been able to garner their support and trust to take the next steps toward joint solutions. The constituents or community become part of the solutions and take ownership of ultimate decision-making.

Cheyenne, Wyoming
How do you instill your work in younger generations? Do you emphasize traditional culture, modern sustainability, or some blend?

Kehaulani Filimoe'atu
The younger generation is actually more adept with modern technology and more knowledgeable of our ancient history than I was at their same age, and that’s good. I would say we have to do a blend of both because another adage that we use is that we tell our generations to look to the future with knowledge of their past. As I was growing up, our native history was never part of what we were taught. And during that period, there were non-Hawaiian speakers, and there’s a whole generation of them, in fact, two generations where our native tongue was actually oppressed because we were not allowed to use it. My grandparents were not allowed to use it. For two generations there were no Hawaiian speakers in public. Only with this generation has that changed tremendously. So the younger generation is becoming very fluent with their mother tongue, unlike my parents and grandparents. It was actually banned in the 40s. This younger generation has a greater responsibility, but a better chance at continuing on the renaissance of being native in Hawaii.

San Francisco
How has receiving an LCW award helped you and supported your work? What has been the biggest change in your work since becoming part of the LCW program?

Kehaulani Filimoe'atu
The award has given us more media coverage and notoriety. It’s been able to give us access to more funding sources, but our actual work has not changed that much. We continue to do the same work we do and we appreciate the coverage that LCW has afforded us by letting the people who we serve know that we have that recognition. It gave us a little bit more credibility in what we do.

Of course the award has opened up to us a lot more peers and been able to allow us networking possibilities of working with like cohorts in different parts of the country, and we value that. We have found more value in speaking with groups outside of the state in seeking alternative solutions to problems very similar to ours outside of Hawaii. Hearing all of this from our peers on the mainland has enhanced our outlook on our local issues. And in many cases, we don’t feel as isolated as before.

Tacoma WA
Not a question, just a comment, thank you for what you're doing, I spent 3 months on Oahu in 2002. I came for a vacation but found myself engulfed in the culture of your people. You are such rich wonderful humans, your belief systems and language are inspiring. I hate it when I run into native Hawaiians here on the mainland who tell me they had to move from Oahu because they couldn't afford to live there any longer, and could only get "service" jobs. Thank you for helping regain what your people lost. The earth will be more whole when Hawaiians hold more of Hawaii. May your spiritual guide help you in your work. -Jeanie

Kehaulani Filimoe'atu
Aloha, Jeanie. Mahalo nui loa for your mana’o. I’m glad for your thoughts. Me kealoha pumehana. Kehaulani ‘o Maui nui a kama.

Leadership for a Changing World
We're about out of time. This will be the last question today.

Kehaulani, how do you sustain yourself and your staff while working on difficult social issues?

Kehaulani Filimoe'atu
Hawaiian Community Assets works to promote economic self-sufficiency among Native Hawaiians and other low-income Hawaiian communities. HCA works primarily to reduce economic and other barriers to homeownership and land acquisition. Specifically, HCA advocates for the thousands of Native Hawaiians who have waited for years or decades to acquire federally subsidized Native Hawaiian Homestead plots, guaranteed under the Homestead Act of 1862.

We operate two offices: a community services office in the native homestead community on the island of Maui, and a community lending office in downtown Honolulu on the island of Oahu.

I sit on the Board of Directors of HCA. I take pride in saying that our staff adopts a vision, buys into it, and accepts our budgeted compensation, knowing that it will be staff who control sustainability. If we come up short of our fundraising goals, I am mentally impacted, but our staff really feels the effects. To that end, I am grateful for the work they do, the passion they exude, and the vision they have embraced.

Leadership for a Changing World
Thank you again for joining us for today's Leadership Talks with Kehaulani Filimoe'atu. For more information about Kehaulani and HCA:

Kehaulani Filimoe'atu
Board President
Hawaiian Community Assets
655 Kaumuali'i Street, #3
Wailuku, HI 96793
Phone: 808-357-9457
Fax: 808-760-5115
Email: Keokala3@yahoo.org

Please join us again for the next Leadership Talks.

Kehaulani Filimoe'atu

Copyright © 2010 Institute for Sustainable Communities
Leadership for a Changing World, Institute for Sustainable Communities
1629 K Street, NW  Suite 200  Washington DC  20006-1629
p 202.777.7560    f 202.777.7577

Site by NetCampaign