Blood Quantum and the Hawaiian Home Lands Preservation Act

Background and Purpose. The Hawaiian Homes Commission Act (HHCA) of 1920 established a federal homesteading program for “native Hawaiians” but restricted eligibility through a minimum blood quantum requirement, thereby defining indigeneity through a socially constructed biological framework. While originally framed as a rehabilitative policy, the HHCA continues to shape access to land and housing across generations. The proposed Hawaiian Home Lands Preservation Act (HHLPA), seeks to amend successor blood quantum requirements in response to growing concerns about intergenerational dispossession. This study examines how blood quantum requirements influence patterns of land succession, housing stability, and well-being among Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians). The research asks: (1) What are the characteristics and projected trends of successorship under current blood quantum requirements? (2) How do beneficiaries and their family experience and interpret blood quantum as a marker of identity and belonging? and (3) How do these structural and lived experiences intersect to shape socioeconomic and cultural well-being?

Methods. This study employs an explanatory sequential mixed methods design grounded in an Indigenous community-engaged research framework. The quantitative phase utilizes survey data gathered from 100 HHCA beneficiaries on the island of Kauaʻi. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses are used to examine patterns of successor designation, eligibility, and overall impacts of blood quantum. The qualitative phase consists of 15 semi-structured interviews with beneficiaries, using purposive sampling to capture diverse experiences with succession. Qualitative data are analyzed using Collaborative Story Analysis (Perron et al., 2024) informed by Indigenous Storywork principles (Archibald, 2008). Interviews explored perceptions of blood quantum, identity, and the impacts of eligibility requirements on family and community well-being.

Results. Findings indicate that blood quantum requirements are increasingly misaligned with the demographic realities of Kānaka families, contributing to a growing risk of housing instability amid Hawaiʻi’s worsening socioeconomic conditions. Quantitative analyses reveal constrained pathways to succession and heightened vulnerability among households with more genealogically diverse descendants. Qualitative findings further demonstrate that participants view blood quantum as a colonial tactic for land theft that conflicts with cultural and genealogical understandings of identity and belonging. Participants describe significant emotional distress, uncertainty, and concern over the potential loss of ʻāina, as well as broader impacts on cultural continuity and intergenerational relationships.

Conclusions and Implications. This study highlights how blood quantum functions as both a policy mechanism and a structural determinant of Kānaka well-being. Findings suggest that current eligibility requirements undermine the long-term sustainability of the HHCA by facilitating land loss and exacerbating housing instability. Implications for social work practice and policy include the need to ground policy reforms and programs in Native kinship systems and to address the interconnected socioeconomic and cultural dimensions of well-being. By generating empirical evidence to inform ongoing legislative efforts such as the HHLPA, this research contributes to advancing equity, strengthening community stability, and promoting sovereignty-centered approaches to Native land governance. Grounded in community-engaged methods and Indigenous knowledge systems, the study positions research as a tool for social change—supporting democratic participation by amplifying community voices and informing policy reforms that advance well-being for Kānaka.