Ka Wai Ola
Native Hawaiian indigenous advocacy
Background
Ka Wai Ola — whose name translates roughly to 'the living water' — was first published in February 1984 as the official newspaper of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, a semi-autonomous state agency established by a 1978 Hawaii constitutional amendment to advocate for and administer programs benefiting Native Hawaiians. The paper was created to give OHA a direct communication channel to the Native Hawaiian community and to document the agency's work. It is distributed free of charge and has grown to roughly 64,000 print subscribers and 20,000 digital subscribers. In January 2020, OHA launched KaWaiOla.news, a companion digital platform with video, photo archives, and digitized back issues going back to 1980. The publication has won multiple awards from the Native American Journalists Association, including nine awards in 2019–2020. Because it is produced by and for OHA, its editorial orientation consistently reflects OHA's institutional mission: advancing Native Hawaiian self-determination, land rights, cultural preservation, and access to federal programs. Coverage of the Trump administration's second term has highlighted threats to Native Hawaiian federal funding streams — particularly the risk that programs under the Native Hawaiian Education Act and Native Hawaiian Health Care Act could be eliminated as DEI initiatives — and has documented OHA leadership's lobbying trips to Washington to defend those programs.
Sources
- About - Ka Wai Ola
- Ka Wai Ola - Wikipedia
- Ka Wai Ola News: Overview | Muck Rack
- Report on March Visit to Washington, D.C.: Advocating for Native Hawaiian Programs and Policies - Ka Wai Ola
- OHA Takes Native Hawaiian Voice to Washington, D.C. - Ka Wai Ola
- OHA chair to discuss Trump administration impacts on Native Hawaiian community - Hawaii News Now
- Office of Hawaiian Affairs - Wikipedia
Profile compiled 2026-08-08; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.