Page 4 - Hawaii Island MidWeek - Jan 5, 2022

4 HAWAI‘I ISLAND MIDWEEK JANUARY 5, 2022
With a new executive director now in place, the team at Native Hawaiian Legal Corp. is marching forward, eager to continue protecting its Tcommunity’s rights.
he Native Hawai- was with Microsoft Corp., ian Legal Corp. was where she served as part of founded during a its legal department’s se-
Members of Native Hawaiian Legal Corp. include, from left, Henderson Huihui, Ashley Kaho‘omino‘aka Kaiao Obrey and David Kauila Kopper.
Naholowa‘a brings a wealth of experience to the position. Most recently, she
Huihui was awarded a two-year legal fellowship from Washington, D.C.- based Equal Justice Works. Sponsored by NHLC, the fellowship aims to provide advocacy for Hawaiian Homes Commission benefi- ciaries. Huihui explains that
time of change within the nior leadership team as the
community — and the state writ large. It was the 1970s and people were being evict- ed from their homes, wa- ter rights were in jeopardy and Native Hawaiians were fighting to solve land issues under the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act. It was in this climate that NHLC took root and, since then, the non- profit law firm has continued to provide low- to no-cost legal services to the Native Hawaiian community.
chief of staff for the general counsel. The Columbia Law School graduate is also a sup- porter of NHLC and has held leadership positions with the National Native American Bar Association.
Now in its 47th year, NHLC recently announced the appointment of Makalika Naholowa‘a as its new exec- utive director. Naholowa‘a stepped into the role after former executive director Summer Sylva was appoint- ed to serve as the senior ad- viser for Native Hawaiian affairs to U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland.
Henderson Huihui, 27, is an Equal Justice Works fel- low and staff attorney for NHLC.
She joins a dedicated team of professionals who are all driven by the vision — and very personal reasons — to care for the Native Hawaiian community and ensure that their rights are protected.
“I am a fourth-generation homesteader from Waimāna- lo Homestead,” he states.
SEE PAGE 5