Homestead Lands by Christian Paet of Waimanalo, Hawaii

Homestead Lands 

by Christian Paet 

Waimanalo, Hawaii 

The Hawaiian homestead is the land that was given to the Hawaiian peo- ple through the Hawaiian Homes Commission act of 1920, which was made by the US congress to to protect and improve the lives of the Native Hawaiian peo- ple. The Hawaiian Homestead to me is home. My family acquired land in Waimanalo in the 1940ʻs and have been living there ever since. The homestead lands are extremely important not only to me but all native Hawaiian people. This essay will explain the history and functionality of the Hawaiian homelands along with the impact to the Hawaiian people and the state. Also what the homestead means to me and my family through stories of what it was like growing up there.

The lands are controlled and regulated by the Hawaiian Homes Commis- sion Act of 1920, The act created a Hawaiian Homes Commission to administer certain public lands, called Hawaiian home lands, for homesteads. In order to ob- tain the lands you have to be considered a Native Hawaiian. Native Hawaiians are defined as individuals having at least 50 percent Hawaiian blood quantum. Also in order to pass down the land your heir must be 25 percent Hawaiian which most of the time is not an issue because you usually pass the land to your chil- dren and family.

The Hawaiian homes Act was incorporated as a provision in the State Constitu- tion in 1959 when Hawai’i became the 50th state of America. Responsibility for the Commission and the Hawaiian home lands was transferred to the State at that time. The primary responsibilities of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands are to serve the Hawaiian people and manage the land and the legalities that come with it. The land given to the Hawaiian people is over 200,000 acres on the islands of Hawai‘i, Maui, Moloka‘i, Lāna‘i, O‘ahu, and Kaua’i. The DHHL provides direct benefits to native Hawaiians in many ways, however Hawaiians can never truly own the Hawaiian homestead lands. Beneficiaries may receive 99-year homestead leases at $1 per year for residential, agricultural, or pastoral purposes the leases may be extended for an another term not to exceed 199 years. The DHHL also gives Kanaka financial assistance through direct loans, insured loans, or loan guarantees for home purchase, construction, home re- placement, or repair. (The above paragraph is loosely quoted from https://dhh- l.hawaii.gov/dhhl/)


The Hawaiian homestead lands are so important to the people of Hawaii both Hawaiians and non Hawaiians. After the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893 many Hawaiians were conned out of their ancestral land that they had lived on for centuries. After the provisional government took over Hawaiian lan- guage and culture was banned from schools and almost every other aspect of everyday life in Hawaii. The provisional government made it extremely difficult for the Native Hawaiians to purchase land leaving many of them to be homeless and poor. Native Hawaiians were given land many centuries ago to take care of and be self sustainable. The Hawaiian people are nothing with out the land, Hawai- ians are the land and we are the guardians and safe keepers of the land. So with no land many of the native people had no purpose or way to take care of their families. The people of Hawaii were dying of disease and homeless in our own lands. The Homestead lands were extremely important to get done for all peo- ples of Hawaii. The U.S. government then enacted the Hawaiian homestead act. However, the initial lands given to the people were in Papakolea, on Oahu near punchbowl military cemetery. The first lands were on the side of a rocky mountain with no fertile soil. Leading to many Hawaiians getting extremely upset with the act, thinking of it as another way that the U.S. government to oppresses them. With the lands being on the side of a mountain nobody was able to be self sus- tainable. Then the second homestead lands became available and these were the Waimanalo Homestead lands. The land in Waimanalo was also infertile al- though the lands were a much larger territory. These lands are extremely impor- tant to me and many Hawaiians. These lands gave the Hawaiians a fighting chance and a place to live during a time where many of them did not have a place to live. The land for 1 U.S. dollar a year is an excellent deal and although Hawaiians can never truly own the land it still belongs to the Hawaiian people as a whole. Which to me is extremely important and goes back to the original roots that the land of Hawaii can not truly be owned by anybody only taken care of and nurtured by the people.

The Waimanalo homestead is where my family is from, and where you are from in Hawaii is an extremely big deal. My family was not originally from Waimanalo. The only people that lived there were pig farmers and some fisher- men. My family is from Maui and Big Island or the Island of Hawaiʻi. My mothers grandmas last name is Helepololei and her grandfather’s last name is Andrews. Both of them are 100 percent Hawaiian. My Great grandfather was adopted be- cause he was orphaned during the Overthrow and took on the white last name Andrews. My great grandparents met on Oahu in the 1920ʻs in Nuuanu right above downtown Honolulu. They met and needed a home the Hawaiian Home- stead act gave them and there family an opportunity to have land in Waimanalo. So in 1946 my whole family cousins and second cousins moved to Waimanalo. We have been there ever since, living there and keeping very strong Hawaiian values.

My Grandmother is full Hawaiian and all of her brothers and sisters are full Hawaiian. Our family made a hula halau, Hula Halau O Kamuela, that competes in Merry Monarch festival every year and won the most consecutive overall awards by any halau in the history of the festival. My mom was born in 1979 and lived in Waimanalo for her whole life, Waimanalo like many homesteads are be- low the poverty line and can be considered to be a tougher neighborhood, My mom’s side of the family grew up poor and often did not have much. My mother met my father and had me, My father is from a wealthier family and met my mom in high school. I grew up in the homestead and when I was two my parents split up. My Father however stayed in my life completely even though he moved out.

Growing up in the homestead there was always the sense that everybody around me was my family and people would stop by. My grandmas younger brother lived with us and it was his house just as much as it was ours. In the homestead its something that goes unspoken that you take care of your fami- ly and that family can and will have a place to stay if the need is ever there. So growing up I spent a lot of time with my family and I didn’t know it but we were very Hawaiian. Many people in my opinion have the wrong idea of what Hawaiian is, local people think that they are Hawaiian because their families have been living there for generations but there is a huge difference. I learned and knew so much about the Hawaiian culture and to me it was just casual, my family just was that way many people today want to be “Hawaiian” but for the longest time it was almost a shame to be Hawaiian.

Now I sit back and realize how blessed I was to grow up in such an amaz- ing place and I am so grateful for my heritage and my past, and very excited for my future. I am extremely grateful that I can go to a college all the way in Califor- nia and still have the opportunity to share about my family and where I come from. I feel that as time goes on more and more people come to know what Hawaiian is and want to assimilate with the culture that we have. I am for the An- cient Hawaiians and kingdom era Hawaiians who really wanted Hawaii to be- come an internationally respected place. With more people wanting to learn about Hawaii the goal of recognition and international respect can be achieved.

Below are images of the my house and my family members at my house in the homestead.