Featured in photo defending Bill 1549, Dean Sakamoto (left), SHADE Executive Director and
Iwalani Laybon-McBrayer (left), Kaupe’a Homestead Association, President, and the Sovereign Council of Hawaiian Homestead Associations (SCHHA), Oahu Mokupuni Council
SB 1549 is important because this bill will ensure the necessary funding from the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to construct the Kānehili community hale and related infrastructure.
"Kānehili needs community spaces where our culture can be celebrated and practiced freely. Hawaiians need a place where we can connect as a community and be able to practice our culture authentically, not just in Waikiki. ... [This] vote today is a step in honoring our shared commitment of the Hawaiian people and our Heritage. This is our chance to protect Hawaiian culture and invest in the future and uphold the promise to the Native Hawaiian Lahui." -Iwalani Laybon-McBrayer
