{"id":874,"date":"2026-06-03T05:06:45","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T05:06:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=874"},"modified":"2026-06-03T05:06:45","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T05:06:45","slug":"new-lawsuit-targets-eligibility-requirements-for-hawaiian-homes-leases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=874","title":{"rendered":"New lawsuit targets eligibility requirements for Hawaiian homes leases"},"content":{"rendered":"
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HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A new lawsuit is challenging the constitutionality of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.<\/p>\n

Read more No tsunami expected after magnitude 4.6 quake off Hawaii Island<\/a><\/p>\n

It was filed Monday by attorneys on behalf of a man named Eric Ryan, who tried to apply for a lease, but was denied due to the 50 percent Native Hawaiian blood quantum requirement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe core message of this case is that it\u2019s plainly unconstitutional for the government to benefit one group over another based on nothing more than ancestry,\u201c senior attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation Caleb Trotter said.<\/p>\n

Trotter explained that Eric Ryan is a Hawaii resident who has lived here for most, if not all of his life. But Ryan is not Native Hawaiian, and was deemed ineligible when he tried to apply for a lease online, according to Trotter.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

And that is where Trotter says the program is unconstitutional because of ethnic and ancestral requirements.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not trying to take lands away from anyone. We\u2019re just trying to make sure that everyone in Hawaii who has an interest in obtaining one of these homesteads is on equal footing with qualifying for those leases,\u201d Trotter said.<\/p>\n

Eligibility requirements were established in the congressionally approved Hawaiian Homes Commission Act in 1921, during a time where Native Hawaiians wanted to ensure long-term land access for the declining population. <\/p>\n

Those requirements were later carried over as a condition for statehood.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really kind of unfortunate that this individual would take on this particular effort to undermine what is a really good program,\u201d DHHL chair Kali Watson said.<\/p>\n

Read more Former council member challenges chair in East Honolulu rematch<\/a><\/p>\n

Attorney Trotter said he doesn\u2019t see this as another attack on indigenous land rights, but rather is an effort to ensure equal access to lands.<\/p>\n

Chair Watson disagrees.<\/p>\n

\u201cI definitely consider it an attack because what he\u2019s saying is, the trust would be dissipated by expanding the eligibility as access to our trust, resources for non-Hawaiians. Yeah, I definitely view that as an attack,\u201d Watson said.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Both sides say they\u2019re gearing up for a long legal battle that has potential to go to the nation\u2019s highest court.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in an era where the Supreme Court has shown that it takes government discrimination on the basis of race and ancestry very seriously, and that it\u2019s willing to declare those types of programs unconstitutional,\u201d Trotter said.<\/p>\n

Watson responded, \u201cWe\u2019re gonna remain diligent. We\u2019ve been working with the Attorney General\u2019s office and we\u2019ll take whatever steps needed to protect the trust.\u201d<\/p>\n

With over 29,000 names on the waitlist, Watson said the need for DHHL land and leases are still justified today, over a century since the act was established.<\/p>\n

But Trotter said race-based requirements divide societies, and said now is the time to challenge such standards.<\/p>\n

Read more Spotlight Now: What to expect with hurricane season underway<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The suit was filed by an Oahu resident who is not Native Hawaiian.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":873,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nNew lawsuit targets eligibility requirements for Hawaiian homes leases - Hawaii Moving Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=874\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New lawsuit targets eligibility requirements for Hawaiian homes leases - Hawaii Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The suit was filed by an Oahu resident who is not Native Hawaiian.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=874\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hawaii Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-03T05:06:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=874#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=874\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/590d72f16cb0f571fd45812a3c7ea1d0\"},\"headline\":\"New lawsuit targets eligibility requirements for Hawaiian homes leases\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-03T05:06:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=874\"},\"wordCount\":500,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=874#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/d03f3dfd70f412318b01bc84b8176fc5.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=874#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=874\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=874\",\"name\":\"New lawsuit targets eligibility requirements for Hawaiian homes leases - 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