Watch: Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustees inducted during investiture ceremony

Four Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustees were inducted into their terms of office during a special investiture ceremony last week at Central Union Church in Honolulu.

Inducted were newly elected in 2024 Board of Trustees Chairman and Hawai‘i Island Trustee Kaialiʻi “Kai” Kahele and Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau Trustee Dan Ahuna, At-Large Trustee Keliʻi Akina  and Moloka‘i and Lānaʻi Trustee Luana Alapa, all re-elected last year.

The theme of the ceremony was “ʻĀina Aloha,” or “Our Beloved Land.”

Each of the four trustees inducted was called up by Office of Hawaiian Affairs Ka Pouhana (Chief Executive Officer) Stacy Ferreira and a lei hulu, or feather lei, was placed upon them by their family members.

Kahu Ken Makuakāne offered a blessing and charged each of the four trustees being inducted “to serve with pono, with aloha and ʻike kūpuna [ancestral knowledge]” to mālama, or protect, the Hawaiian culture, economy, spiritual resources and rights while advancing the well-being of Native Hawaiians.

Kahele also outlined his priorities as board chairman during his remarks.

“The strength of our lāhui lies in our ability to come together. [The Office of Hawaiian Affairs], internally and externally, must be a space where our people feel heard, respected and supported,” said Kahele. “By fostering mutual understanding and collaboration, we can build bridges across differences and create a future rooted in shared purpose and aloha.”

He reiterated his call for the agency to create affordable workforce housing in Kakaʻako Makai and said safeguarding indigenous rights and advancing restorative justice will be key areas of focus in the coming year.

Members of the Royal Benevolent Societies and aliʻi trusts attended, and former state, county and federal officials joined leaders of the Native Hawaiian community, Office of Hawaiian Affairs staff as well as beneficiaries took part in the event.

The ceremony was livestreamed on the Office of Hawaiian Affairs YouTube channel and Facebook pages and broadcast on ʻŌlelo TV.

It will be rebroadcast on ʻŌlelo Channel 49 throughout the month on the following times and dates:

• 6 p.m. Jan. 20.
• 2:30 p.m. Jan. 23.
• 8 a.m. Jan. 28.
• 10:30 p.m. Jan. 29.

To find more information about the Board of Trustees, its members and what the office is doing, visit the Office of Hawaiian Affairs website.