A century-old state-administered program that promises land to Native Hawaiians in Hawai‘i has become the target of a conservative activist and California-based law firm alleging that the federal law that created the program "discriminates based on ancestry.”
Pacific Legal Foundation, created in 1973 in Sacramento, California, filed a federal lawsuit on Monday on behalf of Eric Ryan, a Honolulu resident who applied for the program last year but was denied due to the 50% Native Hawaiian blood quantum requirement.
Ryan is not Native Hawaiian, and his attorney Caleb Trotter said that the eligibility requirement is unconstitutional. The lawsuit alleges that it violates the U.S Constitution's equal protection clause in the 14th Amendment and the due process clause in the Fifth Amendment.
“The case is about the broader principle of equality under the law, that the 14th and Fifth Amendments ensure that the government must provide and protect for all Americans, not just ones of one select racial or ancestry group,” he said.
Trotter said that if the court was to rule in their favor, it wouldn’t put an end to the state Department of Hawaiian Homelands or take away leases. Rather, he said anyone interested in applying for a homestead lease and placed on the waitlist going forward would not be excluded based on their ancestry. That means anyone who is non-Native Hawaiian can also apply for homestead leases and be on the waitlist.
This case is just one of the latest lawsuits filed against Native Hawaiian programs and institutions.
A full text version of this story will be available later today.
