Hawaiian ceded lands are roughly 1.8 million acres of former Hawaiian Kingdom territory that the United States took control of in 1898 and transferred to the State of Hawaii at statehood in 1959.1Office of Hawaiian Affairs. About Us – History The state holds them in a public trust and manages them through the Department of Land and Natural Resources, bound by five purposes written into federal law, with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs entitled to a share of the revenue they generate. The acreage covers most state-owned land in Hawaii, from airport runways and harbor facilities to forest reserves and submerged ocean floor out to three nautical miles.
How the Lands Became Public Property
The Hawaiian Kingdom divided its public property into two categories. Government Lands belonged to the kingdom and served public functions. Crown Lands were the personal property of the reigning monarch, separate from the monarch’s role as head of state. After the overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani in January 1893, the provisional government and then the Republic of Hawaii merged both categories into a single pool.
Congress annexed Hawaii in 1898 through the Newlands Resolution, which transferred “the absolute fee and ownership of all public, Government, or Crown lands” to the United States and required that any revenue be used “solely for the benefit of the inhabitants of the Hawaiian Islands for educational and other public purposes.”2National Archives. Joint Resolution to Provide for Annexing the Hawaiian Islands to the United States That restriction carried through every later law. The word “ceded” comes from this transfer, though many native Hawaiians reject it because the transfer happened without the consent of the Hawaiian people or their sovereign.
In 1993, Congress passed the Apology Resolution (Public Law 103-150), acknowledging that the overthrow was illegal and succeeded only through the involvement of U.S. diplomatic and military officials, and that the Republic of Hawaii ceded the 1.8 million acres “without the consent of or compensation to the Native Hawaiian people.”3GovInfo. Public Law 103-150, 107 Stat. 1510 The resolution expressly disclaimed any intent to settle claims against the United States. In 2009, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court held in Hawaii v. Office of Hawaiian Affairs that the Apology Resolution’s language was “conciliatory or precatory” and did not strip Hawaii of its authority to alienate the lands.4Library of Congress. Hawaii v. Office of Hawaiian Affairs, 556 U.S. 163 (2009) The state’s legal title stands; the underlying grievance is unresolved.
The Five Purposes the State Must Serve
When Hawaii became a state, the Admissions Act (Public Law 86-3) did not simply hand the lands over. Section 5(b) granted the state title, and Section 5(f) attached permanent conditions on how the lands could be used.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 48 USC Ch. 3 – Hawaii Section 5(f) names five authorized trust purposes:
- Supporting public schools and other educational institutions
- Improving the conditions of native Hawaiians as defined by the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920
- Developing farm and home ownership as broadly as possible
- Funding public improvements, including infrastructure and government facilities
- Providing lands for general public use
These are a binding federal mandate on the state as trustee. Lease payments, permit fees, and any sale proceeds have to serve those five purposes rather than disappear into general government spending. Hawaii’s constitution reinforces the obligation. Article XII, Section 4 directs the state to hold the lands “as a public trust for native Hawaiians and the general public” and specifically excludes Hawaiian Home Lands from this particular trust.6Justia Law. Hawaii Constitution Article XII – Hawaiian Affairs
Who Controls the Lands
Several state bodies share responsibility, each with a distinct role. The system separates day-to-day management from beneficiary advocacy and from decisions about reclassifying land.
Department of Land and Natural Resources
The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) handles daily administration: tracking parcel boundaries, maintaining the ceded land inventory, monitoring the condition of the acreage, and administering leases and permits. The Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) provides oversight. It has seven members: one from each of Hawaii’s four land districts, two at-large members, and a chair. The board reviews and approves lease agreements and land use permits.7Department of Land and Natural Resources. Board of Land and Natural Resources All proceeds from leases and other dispositions of ceded lands must be accounted for under the public trust framework in HRS Section 171-18, which mirrors the five Admissions Act purposes.8Justia Law. Hawaii Revised Statutes 171-18 – Public Land Trust
Office of Hawaiian Affairs
The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) was created at the 1978 Hawaii Constitutional Convention. OHA does not manage ceded lands directly. It serves as the advocacy body for trust beneficiaries, and it has a constitutional right to a share of trust revenue. Its board of trustees is elected by qualified Hawaiian voters, and the state constitution directs OHA to hold title to any property “set aside or conveyed to it which shall be held in trust for native Hawaiians and Hawaiians.”9Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Legal Basis – The Office of Hawaiian Affairs
The Land Use Commission
All land in Hawaii, including ceded lands, falls into one of four districts: urban, rural, agricultural, or conservation.10Office of Planning and Sustainable Development. Land Use Division Reclassifying a parcel from one district to another requires a district boundary amendment approved by at least six of the Land Use Commission’s nine members. Petitions on parcels larger than 15 acres go to the Commission; smaller reclassifications go to the counties, except for conservation land, which always requires Commission review. The Commission holds a hearing on the island where the property sits and must decide within 365 days of accepting the petition.11State of Hawaii Land Use Commission. District Boundary Amendments Any conditions imposed on a reclassification are recorded with the Bureau of Conveyances and bind future owners.
Not the Same as Hawaiian Home Lands
The ceded land trust is often confused with the Hawaiian Home Lands trust. They are separate. In 1921, before statehood, the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act set aside roughly 200,000 acres to establish a permanent homeland for native Hawaiians with at least 50 percent Hawaiian blood.12Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. About DHHL Those lands are managed by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands under their own trust, with different eligibility rules and a different beneficiary definition, and Article XII, Section 4 of the Hawaii Constitution explicitly excludes them from the public land trust.13Hawaii Land Use Commission. The Public Land Trust Both trusts came from the same original pool of Government and Crown Lands, but they operate under separate legal frameworks.
Revenue and the OHA Share
State law entitles OHA to 20 percent of all funds derived from the public land trust. HRS Section 10-13.5 states that “twenty per cent of all funds derived from the public land trust…shall be expended by the office…for the purposes of this chapter.”14Justia Law. Hawaii Revised Statutes 10-13.5 – Use of Public Land Trust Proceeds The revenue comes from a wide range of commercial activity on trust lands, including lease payments at airports and harbors, telecommunications easements, and rental fees from private tenants on state property.
Calculating and actually transferring that 20 percent has been contested for decades. In 2006, with no agreement on an accurate accounting of total trust revenue, the legislature passed Act 178 and set an interim annual payment of $15.1 million to OHA. The law also required state agencies to begin providing an annual accounting of the trust inventory and all receipts generated by trust lands.15Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Fulfilling the State’s Public Land Trust Obligation to Native Hawaiians OHA has long maintained that $15.1 million falls far short of its actual 20 percent share.
The dispute is still live. In 2026, the legislature’s conference committee approved SB903, which would release $55 million in back-owed trust funds that had accumulated under the annual cap. The measure also strengthens the mandate of a Public Land Trust Working Group tasked with developing a “fair, consistent formula for how Public Land Trust revenues are calculated and paid to OHA going forward.” As of mid-2026, the bill had advanced to a final floor vote.16Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Conference Committee Approves Measure Releasing $55 Million to OHA
Can the State Sell Ceded Lands?
Technically yes, but almost never in practice. After the 2009 Supreme Court ruling confirmed the state’s legal authority to alienate the lands, the Hawaii legislature responded by imposing one of the most demanding sale-approval processes in the country. Act 176, codified as HRS Section 171-64.7, bars any sale or gift of a ceded land parcel without a concurrent resolution adopted by at least a two-thirds vote in both the Hawaii House and Senate.17Justia Law. Hawaii Revised Statutes 171-64.7 – Legislative Approval of Sale or Gift of Lands
The resolution must spell out the parcel’s exact location and size, its appraised value, the names of all appraisers, the purpose of the sale, a summary of any development plans, and whether the land was classified as Government or Crown Lands before August 15, 1895. The proposing agency has to send a draft of the concurrent resolution to OHA at least three months before the legislative session begins, giving OHA time to independently determine whether the parcel qualifies as former Government or Crown Lands.17Justia Law. Hawaii Revised Statutes 171-64.7 – Legislative Approval of Sale or Gift of Lands The combined effect of the supermajority vote, the disclosure requirements, and OHA’s advance review makes outright sales rare. Leasing, not selling, is how the state allows private use of trust property.
Traditional and Customary Rights
Control over ceded lands is also limited by native Hawaiian rights that sit on top of the trust. Article XII, Section 7 of the Hawaii Constitution reaffirms “all rights, customarily and traditionally exercised for subsistence, cultural and religious purposes” by descendants of native Hawaiians who lived in the islands before 1778.6Justia Law. Hawaii Constitution Article XII – Hawaiian Affairs The state can regulate those rights but cannot extinguish them.
HRS Section 7-1 protects the right of qualified tenants to gather materials like firewood, house timber, and thatch for personal, noncommercial use, along with rights to drinking water, running water, and right of way. The Hawaii Supreme Court has held that gathering rights also cover materials essential to traditional lifestyles, such as medicinal plants, and that the state’s authority to regulate those rights is not unlimited. Under Ka Pa’akai O Ka ‘Aina v. Land Use Commission, any agency considering a permit or development on trust lands must make specific findings about what traditional practices exist in the area, how the proposed action would affect them, and what the agency will do to protect them. An agency that skips that analysis or passes it off to the applicant risks having its decision invalidated.18State of Hawaii Land Use Commission. Native Hawaiian Traditional and Customary Practices Summary