Maoli Thursdays
As part of its ongoing programming, Ka Huli Ao hosts Maoli Thursday, a monthly lunchtime forum and speaker series, typically held on the first Thursday of each month. The series brings together, on average, over eighty law students and faculty—along with occasional students from other disciplines and community members—to hear speakers on topics ranging from traditional and customary rights, international law, resource management, ancestral lands, legal challenges affecting Native Hawaiian programs, and career opportunities in Native Hawaiian Law.
More Soon this Spring 2026!
Join us as we delve into our theme for 2025–2026: Ua Ao Hawaiʻi.
Surviving Doe: Understanding Threats to Kamehameha, Hawaiʻi, and Beyond
On November 6, 2025, Professor Susan Serrano ‘98 moderated the Maoli Thursday panel Surviving Doe: Understanding Threats to Kamehameha, Hawaiʻi, and Beyond. Featuring William S. Boyd School of Law Professor Addie Rolnick and Councilmember Esther Kiaʻāina, the panel examined the legal and political implications of the recent lawsuit, Students for Fair Admissions v. Trustees of the Estate of Bernice Pauahi Bishop (D. Haw. 2025), which challenges the Kamehameha Schools’ long-standing admissions policy and the legacy of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop.
Duty to Aloha ʻĀina: Examining Military Leases on Hawaiʻi’s Public Land Trust ʻĀina
On October 2, 2025, 2L Heona Ayau-Odom ʻ27 moderated the Maoli Thursday panel Duty to Aloha ʻĀina: Examining Military Leases on Hawaiʻi’s Public Land Trust ʻĀina. The panel brought together Wayne Tanaka ʻ09, Director of Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi, and Ashley Obrey ʻ09, Senior Staff Attorney at Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, for an in-depth conversation on ongoing military lease negotiations, accountability, and restorative justice.
Ua Ao Hawaiʻi
On September 4, more than one hundred people attended the Maoli Thursday panel, Ua Ao Hawaiʻi, featuring Dr. Larry Kimura. The event honored Dr. Kimura’s life’s work and his mele, Ua Ao Hawaiʻi, with its enduring call to uplift ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi in education and law. In celebration of its 20th anniversary, Ka Huli Ao has centered its work on this call—a powerful reminder 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). (Read more)
Hele nō ka ʻAlā, Hele nō ka Lima: Past and Present Work in the Native Hawaiian Rights Clinic
On April 3, Professor Kapua Sproat ʻ98 moderated the final Maoli Thursday of the 2024–25 academic year, Hele no ka ʻAla, Hele no ka Lima: Past and Present Work in the Native Hawaiian Rights Clinic. The panel featured Keʻeaumoku and Uʻilani Kapu of Nā ʻAikāne o Maui and JoAnne Kaona of Waiʻoli Valley Taro Hui. From the loʻi of Waiʻoli on Kauaʻi to the valley of Kauaʻula in Maui Komohana, panelists shared how the Clinic’s work creates ripples across our pae ʻāina—supporting communities as they navigate permits, shape legislative policy, and protect wai, ʻāina, and culture through non-litigation legal advocacy grounded in local expertise.
ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi in the Law
On February 6, Ka Huli Ao hosted a Maoli Thursday panel, ‘Ōlelo Hawaiʻi in the Law, featuring scholars Dr. Kamanamaikalani Beamer and Post-J.D. Legal Fellow Kaulu Luʻuwai ‘21. The panelists discussed how ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi is foundational for legal research and scholarship in Hawaiʻi, as it grounds the law in Hawaiian cultural values and empowers Kānaka to reclaim their identities and assert their rights.
Pathways in Native Hawaiian Law
On November 7, 2024, Honolulu Field Office Director at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Jocelyn Doane ‘07 moderated a panel discussion featuring Chief Administrator of Kilohana at the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement Tyler Gomes ‘12, Alapa & Otake, LLLC attorney Natasha Baldauf ‘11, and Hawaiʻi State Senator Jarrett Keohokalole ‘13. The panel reflected on the many ways Ka Huli Ao graduates represent the lāhui in groundbreaking and important spaces and continue to make major strides to advance Native Hawaiian interests in the law, public policy, private practice, government service, nonprofits, and beyond.
How to be a pono Ally
On October 3, 2024, Earthjustice Regional Engagement Specialist Marti Townsend ʻ05 moderated a panel discussion featuring Professor of English Dr. Candace Fujikane and Dan and Maggie Inouye Distinguished Chair in Democratic Ideals (and former Ka Huli Ao Post-JD Fellow) Julian Aguon ‘09. The panel shared their personal experiences in supporting Kānaka Maoli and the larger lāhui as non-Kānaka, epitomizing what it means to be a pono ally.
Looking Back on 20 Years of Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law
On September 5, 2024, Ka Huli Ao hosted the first Maoli Thursday of the 2024-25 academic year. This year’s theme Manafesting Ka Huli Ao celebrates twenty years of Ka Huli Ao and excellence in Native Hawaiian Law, including those who have been significant forces in Ka Huli Ao’s establishment and are key to its continued success. Professor Susan Serrano ‘98 moderated a discussion featuring Founding Director and Professor Emerita Melody Kapilialoha MacKenzie ‘76 and Assistant Professor Derek Kauanoe ‘08. The panel explored Ka Huli Ao’s humble beginnings and reflected on its growth into the academic center that it is today.
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