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Promised Land

A Failed Housing Pledge to Native Hawaiians

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser and ProPublica are investigating the decadeslong failure of the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to return Native Hawaiians to ancestral lands.

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Promised Land

Lawmakers Approve $600 Million to Help Fix Housing Program for Native Hawaiians

State legislators passed landmark legislation to help buoy a long-troubled program for making reparations to Native Hawaiians. The move follows a ProPublica and Star-Advertiser investigation.

by Rob Perez, Honolulu Star-Advertiser,

Local Reporting Network

Promised Land

Lawmakers Propose $600 Million to Fix Housing Program for Native Hawaiians

Hawaii legislators are seeking to infuse $600 million into the state’s native land program. The move follows a Star-Advertiser/ProPublica investigation.

by Rob Perez, Honolulu Star-Advertiser,

Local Reporting Network

12 stories published since 2020

Some Residents Can Get Home Loans in This Area, but Native Hawaiians Say They Can’t. Officials Want to Know Why.

by Rob Perez, Honolulu Star-Advertiser,

The Military Pledged to Remove Unexploded Bombs From This Island. Native Hawaiians Are Still Waiting.

by Rob Perez, Honolulu Star-Advertiser,

Native Hawaiians Are Split Over How to Spend $600 Million to Help Those Who Need Housing

by Rob Perez, Honolulu Star-Advertiser,

These Native Hawaiians Waited Years for Homes on Their Ancestral Land. Then the Problems Began.

by Rob Perez, Honolulu Star-Advertiser,

Do You Live in the Kanehili or Kauluokahai Subdivisions? We Have Questions About the Quality of Your Homes.

by Rob Perez, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, and Beena Raghavendran, ProPublica,

The U.S. Broke Its Promise to Return Land to Hawaiians. My Family Knows Something About Land Loss.

by Rob Perez, Honolulu Star-Advertiser,

The U.S. Owes Hawaiians Millions of Dollars Worth of Land. Congress Helped Make Sure the Debt Wasn’t Paid.

by Rob Perez, Honolulu Star-Advertiser,

How the Deals Approved by Congress Bypassed Thousands of Hawaiians Waiting for Homes

by Rob Perez, Honolulu Star-Advertiser,

DHHL sign in front of palm trees.

Hawaii’s Big Fix to Its Housing Shortage for Native Hawaiians? A Casino.

by Rob Perez, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, and Agnel Philip, ProPublica,

The Government Promised to Return Ancestral Hawaiian Land, Then Never Finished the Job

by Rob Perez, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, and Agnel Philip, ProPublica,

To Reclaim Ancestral Land, All Native Hawaiians Need Is a $300,000 Mortgage and to Wait in Line for Decades

by Rob Perez, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, and Agnel Philip, ProPublica,

How We Found Low-Income Hawaiians Were Left Behind by the Homesteading Program

by Agnel Philip, ProPublica, and Rob Perez, Honolulu Star-Advertiser,

What We’re Watching

During Donald Trump’s second presidency, ProPublica will focus on the areas most in need of scrutiny. Here are some of the issues our reporters will be watching — and how to get in touch with them securely.

Learn more about our reporting team. We will continue to share our areas of interest as the news develops.

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Sharon Lerner

I cover health and the environment and the agencies that govern them, including the Environmental Protection Agency.

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Andy Kroll

I cover justice and the rule of law, including the Justice Department, U.S. attorneys and the courts.

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Melissa Sanchez

I report on immigration and labor, and I am based in Chicago.

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Jesse Coburn

I cover housing and transportation, including the companies working in those fields and the regulators overseeing them.

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