Honolulu City Council Honors Ka Huli Ao for 20 Years of Leadership in Native Hawaiian Law

HONOLULU, Hawaiʻi (Nov. 14, 2025) — The William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’sKa Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law marks its 20th anniversary this year, celebrating two decades of education, scholarship, and community advocacy on issues affecting Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, and Indigenous peoples.

In recognition of this milestone, Councilmember Esther Kiaʻāina, on behalf of the Honolulu City Council, presented an honorary certificate to Ka Huli Ao at Honolulu Hale. The presentation honored the Center’s enduring contributions to Native Hawaiian legal education and community engagement.

“Ka Huli Ao is grateful to the Honolulu City Council for this tremendous honor, which is a reflection on Chief Justice William S. Richardson’s enduring legal legacy to Hawaiʻi and our people. Ua Ao Hawaiʻi! In Ka Huli Ao’s 20th year, this guiding theme reminds us that even in our most challenging moments, the path forward is illuminated by Hawaiʻi’s enduring legal foundations, grounded in loina (customs, principles, laws) and ʻike kuʻuna (ancestral knowledge), which continue to guide us toward the light of tomorrow,” said D. Kapuaʻala Sproat ʻ98, Director of Ka Huli Ao and Professor of Law.

Founded in 2005 by Professor Melody Kapilialoha MacKenzie ‘76 through a Native Hawaiian Education Act grant, Ka Huli Ao has become a cornerstone of Native Hawaiian Law. The Center established the first-ever Native Hawaiian Law Certificate program, published Native Hawaiian Law: A Treatise, provides Native Law training to the community and decision-makers, operates a Post-J.D. Legal Fellows program shapes future leaders and leads the Native Hawaiian Law Clinic that provides direct legal services to our rural, neighbor island communities.

Mahalo to the faculty, staff, and fellows of Ka Huli Ao for twenty years of excellence in advancing Native Hawaiian law, rights, and community advocacy.

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About William S. Richardson School of Law

The William S. Richardson School of Law is a collaborative, multicultural community preparing students for excellence in the practice of law and related careers that advance justice and the rule of law. We develop highly qualified, ethical professionals through excellence in teaching, scholarship, and public service. We embrace Hawai‘i’s diversity and values and recognize a special responsibility to our state and the Pacific region.

MEDIA CONTACT

Collin Cedotal, Public Information Specialist
(808) 956-9391 | ccedotal@hawaii.edu