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

The Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law was featured in the May 2008 issue of Mālamalama magazine as one of the 100 University of Hawai‘i contributions that “made a difference” in the last 100 years. The Center was included in the category of “Greater Good.”

The Center congratulates our Director, Melody Kapilialoha MacKenzie, on receiving the Law School’s prestigious Student Choice Award! This award is given every year to only one professor at the Law School, based solely on student nominations and votes. Congratulations, Melody!

Students in Professor Melody K. MacKenzie’s Native Hawaiian Rights course, working with Liam Skilling (’07) as part of KTUH’s Campus & Community Voices project, created five educational audio pieces on Native Hawaiian issues. Participating students and their topics are: Moani Crowell (’08) on the OHA v. HCDCH case; Jodi Higuchi (3L) on Community- Based Fisheries Management; Nick Lee (3L) on the OHA Ceded Lands Revenue Dispute; Jade Wong (2L) on Hawaiian Sovereignty; and Ka‘ano‘i Walk (’08) on the laws relating to ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i. Listen for these informative and educational audio clips on KTUH!

In recognition and celebration of Kamehameha Day and Kamehameha’s role as the first law-giver of a unified Hawai‘i, the Education Hale at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) invited students in the Native Hawaiian Rights course to give weekly presentations during the month of June on legal issues and cases affecting the maoli community. Derek Kauanoe (’08) and Greg Schlais (‘08) started off the series with a discussion on Federal Recognition and the Akaka Bill; Sunny Greer (3L) analyzed the landmark case on gathering rights, Kalipi v. Hawaiian Trust; Lisa Dohrn (3L) did a presentation on the Doe v. Kamehameha Schools case; and Evan Silberstein (3L) closed out the series with a discussion of the Rice v. Cayetano case.

Center Director Melody K. MacKenzie, Assistant Professor Kapua Sproat and 2008 graduate Derek Kauanoe were recently featured on the OHA Nā ‘Ōiwi ‘Ōlino radio program on 940 AM. They discussed the Center’s classes and fellowship programs, as well as the ‘Ahahui o Hawai‘i’s LSAT preparation course and the Native American Moot Court team’s outstanding performance at the moot court competition in February. Also participating were Davis Price (2L), who talked about his Summer Fellowship working in OHA’s Native Rights Hale and his experience with the LSAT prep course, and Liam Skilling (’07) who teaches the LSAT prep course. Liam also introduced an audio clip created by 2008 graduate Moani Crowell on the OHA v. HCDCH case.

The June issue of Ka Wai Ola, the newspaper of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, featured an article on our three recent graduates who received Pacific-Asian Legal Studies - Specialty in Native Hawaiian Law certificates. Hulo, hulo! Congratulations to Derek Kauanoe, Moani Crowell, and Ka‘ano‘i Walk.

The Center’s Assistant Professor D. Kapua Sproat published an article with recent graduate Aarin F. Gross, The NW. Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument, which appeared in the American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources publication, NATURAL RESOURCES & ENVIRONMENT, Vol. 22, No. 4, Spring 2008.

The Center congratulates Professor Eric K. Yamamoto, who was recently notified that he was selected to receive the national 2008 American Courage Award. The American Courage Award, given by the Washington, D.C.-based Asian American Justice Center, recognizes an individual, company, or organization that has shown extraordinary courage or commitment to the cause of civil or human rights. Yamamoto is the first scholar-lawyer to receive the award. He will travel to Washington, D.C, in October to receive his award at the National Press Club.

The Center welcomes its 2008 Summer Fellows, Julian Aguon, Sunny Greer, Mana Moriarty, Davis Price, and Evan Silberstein. Our Summer Fellowship Program, now in its third year, provides law students the opportunity to work on cutting edge legal issues at organizations that serve the Native Hawaiian community. Julian will spend part of the summer in Australia and Aotearoa (New Zealand) researching the potential uses and impacts of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Upon his return, Julian will conduct community forums to discuss the relevance of the Declaration for Native Hawaiians. Sunny will spend her summer at Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation working primarily on Native Hawaiian burial issues. Mana is working at Paul, Johnson, Park & Niles, representing the Office of Hawaiian Affairs in a water rights case on Maui. Davis will spend his summer working at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs in its Native Rights, Land, and Culture Hale. Evan is working at KAHEA, the Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance, on issues such as the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, environmental justice, and community education about genetically modified organisms.

We also welcome our 2008 Research Assistants, Malia Gibson, Sunny Greer, Li‘ulā Kotaki, Nat Noda, Scott Shishido, and Nāpali Souza, who will spend the summer researching, writing and editing the second edition of the Native Hawaiian Rights Handbook.

The Center also congratulates the Law School’s Native American Moot Court (NAMC) team, Moanikeala Crowell, Scott Hovey, Edward Hu, Derek Kauanoe, Ann Kanoelehua Otteman, Rafael Renteria, Christopher Santos, Greg Kimo Schlais, Terrence Thornburgh, Richard Wallsgrove, and Anosh Yaqoob. At the 16th Annual National Native American Law Student Association Moot Court Competition at Arizona State University in February 2008, Hawai‘i’s NAMC team won four awards – more than any other law school team at the competition. For more on the team, see UPDATE ON NATIVE AMERICAN MOOT COURT in this issue of Ka He‘e.