Navigating a path to the future

The Native Hawaiian Convention will bring together community members to discuss policy that will held shape the future of the community.

Will Caron

About the image: Community leaders and other convention attendees participate in the Homestead Caucus at the 12th Annual Native Hawaiian Convention last year.

Native Hawaiian organizations, leaders and community members will soon come together at the Hawaiʻi Convention Center to discuss policy on topics important to the Native Hawaiian community such as health, housing, education, business, culture and the environment.

Hosted by the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA), the 13th Annual Native Hawaiian Convention will be held from September 30 through October 2. This year’s theme, “We Are Many, We Are One” references the importance of the relationship between individual identities and the broader Native Hawaiian community into which those identities fit.

“The convention has always [been] intended to be a place for meeting, sharing and collaborating with other community members and organizations,” said Michelle Kauhane, the President of CNHA.

This year, the caucus meetings held at the convention will also take place over the first two days this year, rather than only on the first day, allowing convention attendees to sit in or participate in twice as many caucus meetings.

Each caucus will host special guest speakers to lead panels, technical trainings or presentations focused on the topics of Housing, Homestead, Health, Education, Small Business, Native Arts and Cultural Practitioners, Next Generation and Blue Continent (Pacific Island Roundtable).

CNHA is partnering with the Sovereign Councils of the Hawaiian Homelands Assembly (SCHHA) this year, combining the annual meeting of homestead leaders with the annual meeting of Native Hawaiian organizations, members and leaders in various sectors of community work.

CNHA encourages convention attendees to register for this year’s activities and attend a caucus, or several caucus sessions, throughout the first two days. On Thursday, October 2, all the caucus leaders will report their top policy priorities to the convention attendees at the Policy Roundtable.

Online registration for the 13th Annual Native Hawaiian Convention can be found here.

CNHA is a national network of Native Hawaiian organizations, providing assistance in accessing capital and technical resources, and is a policy voice on issues important to Native Hawaiian communities. Its mission is to enhance the cultural, economic, political, and community development of Native Hawaiians.

The SCHHA’s mission is to preserve life and liberty and property of its beneficiaries by providing for practice, preservation of culture, ʻohana, rights and freedom of traditional worship and beliefs as the traditional heirs of the lands.