OHA Board of Trustees issues statement in solidarity with Kamehameha Schools’ amid challenge to admissions policy

Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees issued a statement last week, standing in solidarity with Kamehameha Schools amid a challenge from Virginia-based group “Students for Fair Admissions.”

The OHA trustees expressed “unwavering solidarity” with Kamehameha Schools and its “enduring mission” to “uplift Native Hawaiians through education grounded in Hawaiian values, identity, and ʻāina-based stewardship.”

Trustees note that the campaign was launched from a group “with no connection or commitment to Hawaiʻi.” In the statement OHA trustees said the challenge, “is not only a direct affront to the will and legacy of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, but also an attack on the right of Native Hawaiians to care for our own, on our own terms.”

Kamehameha Schools is a private educational institution established through the will of Princess Pauahi, a high chiefess and direct descendant of Hawaiʻi’s first king, Kamehameha the Great.

“In her wisdom and foresight, she dedicated her vast estate to the education and betterment of her people. That legacy has provided generations of Hawaiian children with the opportunity to thrive—rooted in culture, grounded in community, and prepared to lead,” according to the OHA trustee statement.

The trustees noted that as a fellow Native Hawaiian-serving trust, OHA shares a parallel kuleana: “to steward the resources entrusted to us prudently, purposefully, and always in service to our beneficiaries. This kuleana includes defending our institutions, lands, and trusts from external efforts that seek to undermine their purpose, integrity, and rightful independence.”

The OHA trustees said these attacks are not new—but are escalating.

“They aim to dismantle the hard-won protections that enable our people to heal, rise, and chart our future. It is incumbent upon all who believe in justice, equity, and self-determination to defend Princess Pauahi’s legacy and condemn efforts to erase the progress Native Hawaiians have fought for over generations,” the OHA trustees wrote.

Vowing vigilance, OHA trustees said: “We call upon our community, allies, and all who stand for indigenous rights to reject this harmful narrative and to speak clearly and boldly: Princess Pauahi’s will must be protected. Our trusts must be respected. Our futures must be self-determined.”

Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. was founded in 2014, as a nonprofit membership group of more than 20,000 students, parents, and others who believe that “racial and ethnic classifications and preferences in admissions are unfair, unnecessary and unconstitutional.”

Kamehameha Schools’ admissions policy is to “give preference to applicants of Hawaiian ancestry to the extent permitted by law.”