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Heritage Opportunities in Hawaiʻi (HŌʻIHI)

Tourism is a major economic driver that has long been experienced by the Native Hawaiian community as extractive and transactional.  NATIVE Act funding equips Native Hawaiian Organizations (NHO) across Hawaiʻi with additional resources to change that experience in ways mutually beneficial to visitors and the islands’ original stewards. A sustainable and equitable tourism model recognizes that an enriching visitor experience depends on thriving local communities with deep pilina (connection) to and aloha (love) for Hawaiʻi’s natural and cultural resources.
Hōʻihi Grant Opportunity

Hālau Ke Kai o Kahiki Kumu Hula Laʻakea Perry at the Prince Lot Hula Festival.  PC: Moanalua Gardens Foundation

Core Principle of the HŌʻIHI Grant Program

The Hawaiian value of hōʻihi (to treat with reverence and respect), reflected in the ʻōlelo noʻeau (Hawaiian proverb) “E hōʻihi aku, e hōʻihi mai,” meaning “show respect, get respect” represents the core principle of the Office of Native Hawaiian Relations' program.  Through showing respect, visitors can then be welcomed as guests with a shared kuleana (responsibility) in perpetuating the values and importance of Native Hawaiian traditional knowledge and cultural practices. This ʻōlelo noʻeau serves as a foundational guide for ONHR’s HŌʻIHI Grant Program to aide in actions that:

  • Showcase the heritage, places, art, foods, traditions, history and continuing vitality of the Native Hawaiian Community;
  • Identify, enhance, revive, or maintain lōea (cultural traditions and practices), wahi kūpuna (ancestral spaces) and wahi pana (sacred spaces) that are important to sustain the distinctiveness of the Native Hawaiian Community; and
  • Provide for authentic and respectful visitor experiences in Hawaiʻi.

Additional Information

 

Previous (Closed) Opportunities

 

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