Organization
Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation
Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, a Honolulu nonprofit law firm formed in 1974, litigates homestead, ceded-lands trust, water and place-protection cases for Native Hawaiians.
- Kind
- Nonprofit public-interest law firm (Hawaii)
- Native-led
- unverified
- Works with
- Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians); HAWAII IS A DISTINCT LEGAL CONTEXT (no US treaty; not a federally recognized tribe)
- Region
- Honolulu, HI
- Focus
- Kuleana and family land rights, quiet title defense, Hawaiian Home Lands, ceded lands trust, water and access rights, burial protection
- Registry
- EIN 99-0161861 (ProPublica)
- Vetting notes
- Site describes 'nonprofit public interest law firm'; 501(c)(3) wording and Native Hawaiian leadership not confirmed on the page read.
What happened
Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation (NHLC) calls itself a nonprofit public interest law firm representing Native Hawaiians. Its history page says it was formed in 1974, as part of a grassroots effort, after Native Hawaiians had trouble getting leases under the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act while those lands were increasingly leased to people the Act was not meant to benefit. ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer lists it as a Honolulu 501(c)(3), tax exemption issued June 1993.
NHLC runs six legal programs. Two of them concern land and places: one protects family homestead and land rights against lease cancellation and adverse possession, and one protects culturally significant places (wahi pana). Its service pages say it holds state officials to ceded-lands trust duties and helps Hawaiian Homes beneficiaries with lost applications, lease cancellations and lot-size cuts. For 2025 it reports more than 560 matters and 170 cases managed.
One recent case is East Maui water. An NHLC senior staff attorney wrote on October 8, 2026 that the Board of Land and Natural Resources denied Nā Moku Aupuni o Koʻolau Hui a contested case hearing three times, on the 2016, 2025 and 2026 permits, and that the Environmental Court each time later found the Board had violated the law. That is NHLC's own account of a case still in progress.
Good to know. The account of the East Maui water case is NHLC's own, and the case was still under way. Its pages give two founding dates, 1974 and 1978.
Summarized with AI assistance from 5 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error
What the sources say, and how this was checked
Well supported by the sources below.
Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation is a nonprofit public interest law firm representing Native Hawaiians
Native Hawaiian Legal CorporationAs part of a grassroots effort to remedy the injustices suffered by Native Hawaiians, NHLC was formed in 1974.
About Us - NHLCProtecting ʻohana homestead and family land rights against lease cancellation, adverse possession, and other land loss.
Programs - NHLCThree times – on the 2016, 2025, and 2026 revocable permits – BLNR denied Nā Moku a contested case hearing.
East Maui Water: Court-Ordered Contested Case Moves ForwardHonolulu, HI Tax exemption issued: June 1993 EIN: 99-0161861
ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer: Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation
Research notes. The East Maui account is written by an NHLC attorney and the contested case hearing had not yet been held when it was published. The 560 matters and 170 cases figures are NHLC's own. The site says it represents Native Hawaiians but the pages read do not state that its board or staff are all Native Hawaiian. One page says 'since 1978' and another says 1974; this entry uses 1974, the formation date its history page gives.
Visit the organization’s website or give directly on its own page. This site takes no money.
Connections
These links were matched automatically by name or date and have not yet been reviewed by a person.
Works in 1
Works with 1
Sources
- nativehawaiianlegalcorp.org/self-description
- Kind
- Organization
- Confidence
- Medium
- Notes
- Distinct legal context