Welcome to the Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law, established under a federal grant administered by the U.S. Department of Education, at the William S. Richardson School of Law. The Center focuses on education, research, community outreach, and the preservation of invaluable historical, legal, and traditional and customary materials. It also offers new courses and supports Native Hawaiian law students as they pursue legal careers and leadership roles.

The Center is guided by a group of distinguished attorneys and community leaders who serve on the Center's Advisory Board:  William S. Richardson, Chief Justice of the Hawai`i Supreme Court (Ret'd); Beatrice K. Dawson, Esq;  Jonathan K. Osorio, Director of the Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies; Dee Jay Mailer, CEO of Kamehameha Schools; Moses K.N. Haia III, Esq.; and Summer Kupau, Esq.

Advisory Board Meeting

Front row: Jonathan K. Osorio, William S. Richardson, and Dee Jay Mailer

Back row: Beatrice K. Dawson, Moses K.N. Haia III, Summer Kupau, Melody MacKenzie, and Avi Soifer

Education

One of the goals of the Center is to increase education, knowledge, and understanding of the unique aspects of Native Hawaiian law and the intersection of state and federal laws affecting Native Hawaiians. The Center is offering new courses related to Native Hawaiian traditional and customary rights, a course examining the principles of federal Indian law as applied in the Native Hawaiian context, and an advanced legal studies course in Native Hawaiian issues. These courses will be added to the basic Native Hawaiian Rights courses and Native Hawaiian Rights clinic already offered by the Law School.

Community Outreach

The Center recognizes the importance of discourse between the legal community and the Native Hawaiian community. Law students and faculty - through workshops, symposia, and community meetings - will inform and educate, and be educated and informed by, the Native Hawaiian community about significant legal issues stemming from Native Hawaiian history and development of law.

Accessing Hawaiian Legal and Historical Materials

Currently, there is limited access to early Hawaiian legal and historical resources at the Archives of the State of Hawai`i. A key project of the Center is the creation of an on-line archive of Hawaiian legal and historical resources that will allow these materials to be readily accessible by law students, lawyers, and the general community.

Native Hawaiian Legal Research Guide: A Guide to Print and Digital Resources, Available at the William S. Richardson School of Law Library.