What are the Ceded Lands?

ʻŌiwi TV delves into one of the most hotly debated (and long festering) issues in Hawaiian history – ceded lands. We’ve all heard about it, but there’s so much information to digest, it’s hard to wrap our heads around it.

To help simplify the issue, we sought the expertise of UH Law Professor Jon Van Dyke, author of one of the most comprehensive books on ceded lands to date – Who Owns the Crown Lands In Hawaiʻi?

We also sat down with Bill Meheula, a Honolulu-based attorney who has been involved in various lawsuits and settlement negotiations related to ceded lands over the past 17 years. Meheula currently represents the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) in their attempt to settle a dispute over hundreds of millions of dollars in past due claims on land formerly owned by the Hawaiian Kingdom.