We are not waves. A wave is moved by forces outside itself, carried wherever the water pushes, spending itself on a shore it did not choose.

We just wrapped the 2026 King Kamehameha I Lei Draping Ceremony in Washington, D.C., and this one felt different.

July 2026 issue of Ka Wai Ola

Iwi Nails was born in late 2021 by owner Līhau Willing’s desire to create nail art designs that reflect her culture and identity rooted in Hawaiʻi.

Lānaʻi Air Will Begin Flying Between Oʻahu and Molokaʻi in September

The Barack Obama Presidential Center just opened last month in Chicago; arriving at a moment when many of the values championed during the Obama years are under attack by the current presidential administration.

Many of us have left a doctor’s visit with important health advice: lower your blood pressure, bring down your blood sugar, improve your cholesterol, lose weight, or protect your kidneys.

Registration for Liliʻuokalani Trust’s Fall Term and Fall Break programs is now open!

News Briefs | July 2026 Issue of Ka Wai Ola

Aloha pumehana kākou. Ma waena o nā momi i loko o nā nūpepa kahiko, aia nā kiʻi o nā manawa iki (moments) i paʻi kiʻi ʻia – nā manawa iki e hōʻike ana i ka hanohano o ka lāhui Hawaiʻi.

Warm greetings. Amongst the pearls within historic newspapers are moments that were photographed – moments that show the nobleness of the Hawaiian people.

The proposed FY2027 federal budget is the most sweeping and aggressive attempt to dismantle Native Hawaiian programs since Rice v. Cayetano (2000), when the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated Hawaiian-only voting for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA).

ʻAha ʻŌpio, OHA’s flagship Native Hawaiian leadership and civic engagement program, concluded last month.

Every year, on July 31, the Royal Order of Kamehameha I Moku o Kohala, Hui Aloha Aina, and community members gather at Luakini Puukohola to commemorate Kamehameha’s unification by celebrating La Hoihoi Ea.

“One Hawaiian at a time” is a phrase Uncle Walter Kahumoku has used to describe the kuleana he holds in supporting Kānaka Maoli in accomplishing their goals.

Kokia cookei and Hibiscus arnottianus ssp. immaculatus. Hau hele ʻula is the genus, and kokiʻo is the species of Kokia cookei. Kokiʻo keʻokeʻo is Hibiscus arnottianus ssp. immaculatus.

We are raising our Native Hawaiian grandson Kaimana, who is 6 years old.

A beautiful new mural representing the Hawaiian creation chant, Kumulipo, now graces the east-facing wall of the Waiakamilo Industrial Complex building on the corner of Nimitz Highway and Waiakamilo Road in Honolulu.

The first time I crossed the threshold into the Kūpuna Islands was the summer of 2008.

Today, more than half of Native Hawaiians reside outside of the pae ʻāina. Some leave in search of opportunity, education, or stability. Others leave because staying has become too difficult.