WHAT’S NEW AT THE CENTER?
FACULTY, STAFF AND BOARD NEWS

On November 7th, Center Director Melody Kapilialoha MacKenzie and 3rd year Native Hawaiian law student and ‘Ahahui o Hawai‘i alaka‘i (student leader) Derek Kauanoe, met with the Mānoa Pre-Law Association to discuss the law school admissions process, the Hui’s Law School Admission Test (LSAT) Preparation Course, and the Center’s courses and programs. In the spring of 2006, the Hui established a recruitment program that offers LSAT Preparation classes to Native Hawaiians interested in pursuing a legal education. For more information, please visit http://www2.hawaii.edu/~ahahui.

On November 1st, Moses Haia, Center Advisory Board Member and staff attorney with the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, spoke at the Center’s Maoli Thursday event, From Wai to Kanawai: Exploring Maui Water Issues. On the same day, at UC Berkeley School of Law, Director of Educational Development Susan Serrano spoke at a conference, Reclaiming and Reframing the Dialogue on Race and Racism, co-sponsored by the Thelton Henderson Center for Social Justice, the Equal Justice Society, and the William S. Richardson School of Law.

Recent Native Hawaiian law graduate Jocelyn Macadangdang-Doane, with help from Center staff and law students Derek Kauanoe, Ashley Obrey, Sarah Wong, Lance Larsen and Nick Lee, held a hands-on workshop and simulated courtroom experience for Native Hawaiian and Native American high school students on October 26. The workshop was part of a program sponsored by Nā Pua No‘eau and the National Indian Education Association to provide career exploration and educational enrichment experiences for Native students.

On October 12 and 13, Center Director Melody Kapilialoha MacKenzie and Assistant Professor Kapua Sproat participated in the Western Pacific Chapter American Association of Law Libraries conference, Legal Connections: Hawai‘i and the Pacific Rim. Professor MacKenzie spoke on the panel, Protection of Indigenous Knowledge, Cultures, and Peoples: Current Issues in Intellectual Property Law and also gave a presentation: Hawai‘i: Historical and Legal Overview. Professor Sproat moderated the panel, Papahānaumokuākea: Unveiling the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument.

On September 29, Assistant Professor Kapua Sproat spoke at Hawai‘i’s Thousand Friends’ Water Issues conference as part of the plenary session on current water disputes and litigation. The conference brought together elected representatives, state and county decisionmakers, and grassroots community groups to share information and craft common solutions for today’s water challenges. That same day, Center Director Melody Kapilialoha MacKenzie was a keynote speaker at E Kū Ikaika Kākou! /Let Us All Stand Strong Together!, a conference sponsored by the Native Hawaiian Education Association in conjunction with Windward Community College. The conference, which received major funding from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, brought together cultural practitioners from across O‘ahu to discuss and identify endangered Native Hawaiian cultural traditions, practices, and rights and begin a process to find ways to safeguard these endangered traditions and practices.

On September 25, Center Director Melody Kapilialoha MacKenzie and 3rd year Native Hawaiian law student Derek Kauanoe appeared on OHA’s Nā ‘Ōiwi ‘Ōlino radio show, on KKNE 940 AM, to share information on the Center and its work.

The Center congratulates three 2007 Native Hawaiian law graduates, Malina Koani-Guzman, Jocelyn Macadangdang-Doane, and Kalikolīhau Hannahs, on passing the Hawai‘i Bar Exam and being sworn in as attorneys! Malina, Jocelyn and Līhau were the first-ever recipients of Pacific-Asian Legal Studies Certificates with a Specialty in Native Hawaiian Law.

Finally, the Center congratulates William S. Richardson School of Law Native American Moot Court team members Moani Crowell, Scott Hovey Jr., Derek Kauanoe, Greg Schlais and Anosh Yaqoob on their excellent op-ed piece, Too Early to Determine Akaka Bill Impact, in the Sept. 4, 2007 edition of the Honolulu Advertiser.