Aloha mai kakou,

For those of you who are reading this and are Native Hawaiian, have you ever been told
that you dont look Hawaiian? Or you dont act Hawaiian? Have you ever received comments
about how they are surprised that you are Hawaiian even with your Haole green eyes or your
Asian hair? Have you ever received comments about how youre just not Hawaiian enough?
My name is Ashley Kupau, Native Hawaiian and senior at the University of Hawaii at Manoa,
and I am here to show support of HB 1931 and its movement in reducing the minimum
Hawaiian blood quantum requirement of certain successors to lessees of Hawaiian home lands
from one quarter to one thirty-second.
I recognize the length of the list of families that are currently awaiting the reward of
Hawaiian homestead lands however, I also recognize that by asking for a specific blood quantum
is asking for something that is beyond our control. The land that we are currently laid upon is
land that is rightfully ours from our ancestors. Rather than trying to divide what little land we
have amongst native hands, we should be spending our energy in reclaiming all of our land.
The legislature emphasizes that many descendants of lessees of Hawaiian home lands do
not quality as successors because interracial marriages and blended families produce descendants
who are less than twenty-five per cent Hawaiian. These disruptions create undue hardships of
displacement and interfere with families abilities to maintain the equity of their homes and
businesses. As children, we were always taught that Hawai`i is our home and always will be,
but what happens when we cant afford to live in Hawai`i anymore? These lands that were so
graciously passed down to us are stripped from our hard-working hands to support government
movements that do not support the Native Hawaiian community. The lands are calling for us to
not only come home, but stay home.
Mahalo piha,
Ashley Kupau