Two-day summit begins today to cover Native Hawaiian homesteads
US Sen. Brian Schatz will be the keynote speaker at Sunday’s session
U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, the state Senate Hawaiian Affairs chairwoman and a Molokaiborn law professor will headline a free Zoom conference on Hawaiian homeland issues this weekend.
The Sovereign Council of Hawaiian Homestead Associations and the Association of Hawaiians for Homestead Lands are hosting the virtual 2020 Homestead Summit that runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. today and 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
“The 2021 year and those that follow are especially important to our HHCA beneficiaries, real people, with families, that can absolutely flourish and be a part of Hawaii’s economic recovery,” Robin Puanani Danner, SCHHA Chairwoman Robin Puanani Danner said in a news release Friday.
University of Hawaii at Manoa law school professor Malia Akutagawa, who was born on Molokai, will kick off the two-day summit from 9 to 11 a.m. today. State Sen. Maile Shimabukuro, chairwoman of the Hawaiian Affairs Committee, will be the keynote speaker at noon. The day’s sessions will focus on water rights, economic development, grant writing and available grant and loan programs for families through the SCHHA’s nonprofit.
Schatz will be the keynote speaker at noon Sunday. The day’s agenda includes the annual report of SCHHA and AHHL. During a one-hour dialogue, Native Hawaiians that tune into the session will review, step by step, the content of three bills drafted for introduction to the state Legislature in January.
Maui-based Pa‘upena Community Development Corporation is an event co-sponsor, and Pa‘upena Chairwoman Kekoa Enomoto is a panelist in two summit sessions. She will offer grants-related tips at 12:15 p.m. today and will participate in the closing session at 1:30 p.m. Sunday.
To access the summit, visit us02web.zoom.us/j/2514418 123 or call (669) 900-6833. The meeting ID is 251 441 8123.
To receive a copy of the two-day agenda, email info@ hawaiianhomesteads.org or visit Danner’s Facebook page.