There will be at least $100 million left in the estate of the so-called last Hawaiian princess to support Native Hawaiian culture.

In life, Abigail Kawānanakoa embodied the complexities of Hawaii: Many considered her a princess — a descendant of the royal family that once ruled the islands.

But she was also the great-granddaughter of a sugar baron and inherited vast wealth thanks to Westerners who upended traditional ways of life through the introduction of private property and the diversion of water for industrial plantations.

Now, more than a year after her death at age 96 and the bitter battles over her fortune in the twilight of her life, her estate has been settled. And recently finalized court documents show that after doling out tens of millions to various people — including former housekeepers, other longtime employees and her wife — there will be at least $100 million left to support Native Hawaiian causes.

  • Flying Squid
    29•10 months ago

    Please read the article, because she did do a lot when she was alive and more of her fortune would have gone to the Indigenous Hawaiian people except her partner married her after she was impaired to get a hold of her fortune and an unofficially adopted son as well as some others also went to court for a share of the money.

    The indigenous Hawaiian people have been treated terribly since colonization, but it sounds like she was doing things to make people’s lives better. She was not the problem. The problem is outlined in the article by Dr. Naleen Andrade:

    “Quite frankly, the needs of Hawaiians in education, in social welfare, in housing, in health far exceed the capacity of these trusts,” she said. “They augment what federal and state dollars should be doing for Hawaii’s Indigenous peoples.”

    So don’t blame Abigail Kawānanakoa, blame the state and federal governments.