Maya Iwata, Director of Strategic Partnerships at New Breath Foundation, reflects on her trip last Fall to Hawai’i to learn about systemic drivers behind the incarceration of Native Hawaiians.
As we celebrate Black History Month and welcome the Lunar New Year in February, I reflect on New Breath Foundation’s commitment to cross-racial and cross-cultural solidarity. Last fall, I traveled to Hawai’i with NBF president and founder Eddy Zheng for a collaborative project conducted with the Gerbode Foundation, a longtime funder of Hawaiian organizations, and Hawai’i People’s Fund (HPF), a We Got Us Fund grantee partner. As a grassroots organization led by people with lived experience, HPF provides vital support and resources to community-based organizations. Their deep community ties and expertise in local social justice initiatives have been instrumental in guiding this project. Our goal was to understand the systemic drivers behind a troubling reality: Native Hawaiians comprise only 6% of Hawai’i’s population, yet they represent over 35% of the incarcerated population. This disproportionate impact also extends to other communities in Hawai’i, including Micronesians and the African diaspora, drawing parallels between the experiences of Black people in the continental U.S. and the criminalization of Native Hawaiians in their own homeland.
We wanted our approach on this trip to be different from typical philanthropy. We centered every aspect of planning our trip on Native Hawaiians, their expertise, and their guidance. Instead of rushing through multiple organizational visits, we intentionally spent meaningful time with fewer partners. Our Native Hawaiian colleagues guided our journey, recommending Native Hawaiian-owned accommodations and connecting us with Andrea Dias-Machado of Huliau Aloha LLC, a trusted Native Hawaiian who helped us write our report. We wanted to create something lasting–a funder education tool that could open conversation to help drive resources to these communities.
We’ll share more of what we learned via the funder education report soon, but right now, I want to discuss how centering people’s lived experiences and developing effective community and governmental partnerships can make important systemic changes that impact people’s daily lives.
Transformation through Addressing Root Causes
When we visited the Hawai’i Youth Correctional Facility (HYCF), then-Warden Mark Patterson showed us how addressing root causes can transform systems. As a Native Hawaiian and a longtime corrections system employee, Mark had his realizations and reflections about systemic challenges impacting youth. During his time as the warden of the Women’s Community Correctional Center (WCCC), he saw a troubling cycle of individuals leaving WCCC only to return to the youth correctional facility. Something was not working. In his transition to HYCF, he sought to address the root causes of trauma and issues, helping youth heal and thrive. He created community-based diversion programs, which reduced the facility’s youth population from hundreds to just twenty. Mark worked with judges, community organizations, and different systems, incorporating different levers in his position of power.
Culturally Grounded Solutions for Lasting Change
At EPIC ‘Ohana, we learned how systems often fail to recognize cultural values and family structures. For example, Native Hawaiian families tend to be larger, and when children enter foster care, they’re often separated. Older siblings would run away to care for younger ones, gathering on public beaches–one of the few places freely accessible.* Rather than punishing this behavior, EPIC ‘Ohana began facilitating regular contact between separated siblings and clearly communicating these plans. This simple acknowledgment of family bonds often prevented running away altogether.
Navigating the systemic challenges are complex and interconnected. The astronomical cost of living has forced many Native Hawaiians to leave their homeland—those who remain face housing insecurity, which can lead to involvement with the criminal legal system. Young people aging out of foster care are particularly vulnerable without stable housing or support networks.
Organizations like EPIC ‘Ohana show how community-centered approaches can break these cycles. Their programs help young people reconnect with families, support parents working to regain custody of their children, and assist community members in building stable careers. These community-centric responses create ripple effects, transforming individuals, entire families, and communities. What I love most about their work is how they demonstrate the power of collaboration and persistence in transforming systems by seeing people in all their humanity and creating opportunities for learning rather than punishment.
Prioritizing Holistic Healing
Holistic healing approaches reflect deeper Native Hawaiian religious and cultural values about justice and community. As Ron Fujiyoshi of Ohana Ho’opakele shared, “Hawaiians provided a forgiveness model that even if you did wrong, you could make amends, clean up your life, and come back into society. I think that’s what’s needed in this world.”
What those on the continental U.S.** might view as “cultural,” ‘āina (land), ‘ohana (family), and traditional conflict resolution practices are fundamental to Native Hawaiian life. Their approach prioritizes healing over punishment and believes that community members who have gone astray should return “better than when they left.” I was particularly struck by how Native Hawaiian culture approaches healing holistically. While continental U.S.-based mainstream society is only more recently beginning to accept the understanding of how the body holds trauma and emotions, Native Hawaiians have practiced this integrated approach to healing mind, body, and spirit for generations. Their discussion and conflict resolution methods demonstrate a deep understanding of collective healing that many mainstream systems are just starting to recognize.
Should you visit Hawai’i, I encourage you to look beyond its beauty as a tourist destination. Support Native Hawaiian businesses, be mindful of your impact, and understand these systemic issues. Understanding why Native Hawaiians face disproportionate incarceration in their homeland helps us recognize the humanity of all people caught in the criminal legal system.
Most importantly, it shows us that change is possible when we prioritize healing over punishment and work together to transform these systems with persistence, humility, and hope.
Our upcoming report next month will further explore how systemic challenges have impacted Native Hawaiians and over-incarceration rates. If you’re interested in viewing the report when we release it, make sure to sign up for general updates.
*All beaches in Hawai’i are public except for those under federal control.
**The terms “mainland” and “mainlanders” center the continental United States as primary while positioning Hawaiʻi as peripheral or secondary. These terms reflect colonial perspectives that diminish Hawaiʻi’s sovereignty and distinct cultural identity.