NIHIPALI, R. Kunani, Sr.
Party: Nonpartisan · Backing: Independent
Platform: Huliau — 'Change We Must!' Retired officer and farmer demanding OHA accountability, ceded lands revenues, and a path to Native Hawaiian self-determination.
- Demands OHA receive its full mandated share of ceded lands revenues from the 5(f) trust, arguing the current legislative cap deprives OHA of funds needed to serve Native Hawaiian beneficiaries; OHA's asset portfolio is estimated at $884 million but the ceded-lands revenue shortfall hinders its mission.
- Calls for OHA to revive explicit nation-building and self-governance initiatives, citing a 2023 Civil Beat op-ed by former OHA Trustee Peter Apo that OHA has 'abandoned its commitment to self-governance' and is 'defaulting on one of its primary reasons it was created.'
- Advocates for full implementation of the four steps of reconciliation following the 1993 U.S. Congressional Apology Law — Recognition, Responsibility, Reparation, and Restoration — which he argues have never been meaningfully acted upon.
- Promotes the Kuleana Waiwai Like Project, a 20-plus year 'Economic Sovereignty Re-alignment' blueprint conceived by a hui of Independence-minded Native Hawaiians to achieve self-determination and self-governance.
- Previously ran for OHA Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi Resident Trustee in the 2024 election cycle; now seeking the At-Large seat. Campaign website is nihipali.org.
- Retired police officer; off-grid farmer of native and non-native sustainable crops in Molokaʻi; emphasizes lived experience of Native Hawaiian socioeconomic challenges dating to his 1950s childhood in Honolulu.
Editorial summary: R. Kunani Nihipali Sr. is a persistent OHA reform candidate with a published platform calling for structural change — fuller ceded-lands revenues, authentic self-governance work, and economic sovereignty for Native Hawaiians. His 'Huliau!' framework (change we must) draws on both his police-officer background and subsistence-farming lifestyle to ground a critique of OHA as an institution that has drifted from its founding mandate. He is among the most programmatically detailed At-Large Trustee candidates in the 2026 field.
Key issues: Ceded lands revenues, Native Hawaiian self-determination, OHA accountability and reform, Economic sovereignty, Reconciliation
Profile last reviewed: 2026-06-03