White House: Waianae Has Most Native Hawaiians

First lady Michelle Obama is going to visit a farm in Waianae next week.

Between hobnobbing with foreign dignitaries at the APEC summit, she is going to be rubbing elbows with working class locals.

On a visit to MA‘O Farms, the first lady will be promoting her Let’s Move! campaign to reduce childhood obesity.

This is how the White House characterized the visit in a press release:

First Lady Michelle Obama will kick off her trip with a visit to MA’O Organic Farms located in the Waianae area, the largest Native Hawaiian community in the world and one of the most economically challenged communities in the state.¹

It’s cool that the first lady is going out of her way to highlight for the world issues facing the Native Hawaiian community and the positive steps being taken at places like MA‘O Farms.

But is the White House’s description of Waianae accurate? Is it the world’s largest Native Hawaiian community? (In a separate Fact Check, we’re evaluating whether it’s among Hawaii’s most economically challenged communities.)

‘Largest Native Hawaiian Community In the World’

Civil Beat looked at 2010 Census data — in particular, Table QT-P9, titled “Race Reporting for the Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander Population by Selected Categories.” (It should be noted that there’s controversy over whether Census data accurately reflects the Native Hawaiian population.)

We analyzed both the total number and percentage of residents who self-identify as at least part-Native Hawaiian in all of the 151 Census Designated Places (CDPs) in Hawaii.

The Census data shows that the five CDPs found within the greater Waianae area — the towns of Maili, Makaha, Makaha Valley, Nanakuli and Waianae — all have significant Native Hawaiian populations.

The most literal, and accurate, definition of “largest Native Hawaiian community” would be the one with the highest total number of Native Hawaiians. And by that metric, Nanakuli and Waianae each rank in the top six in Hawaii. But neither comes first.

Top Native Hawaiian Totals

Town	Total population (all races)	Native Hawaiian alone or in any combination	Rank	Percent Native Hawaiian	Rank
Urban Honolulu	337,256	41,781	1	12.4%	128
Hilo	43,263	14,694	2	34.0%	38
Kaneohe	34,597	10,685	3	30.9%	47
Nanakuli	12,666	9,051	4	71.5%	3
Kailua (Honolulu County)	38,635	9,028	5	23.4%	78
Waianae	13,177	8,018	6	60.8%	8
Pearl City	47,698	7,464	7	15.6%	119
East Honolulu	49,914	6,117	8	12.3%	131
Kapolei	15,186	5,673	9	37.4%	35
Kahului	26,337	5,634	10	21.4%	90
Mililani Town	27,629	5,400	11	19.5%	101
Wahiawa	17,821	4,771	12	26.8%	62
Maili	9,488	4,616	13	48.7%	17
Makakilo	18,248	4,616	13	25.3%	71
Wailuku	15,313	4,465	15	29.2%	54
Makaha	8,278	4,393	16	53.1%	12
…	…	…	…	…	…
Makaha Valley	1,341	582	88	43.4%	21

Source: Civil Beat analysis of U.S. Census data

In fact, the town in Hawaii with the most Native Hawaiians is Honolulu. Of course, Honolulu has far more total residents than Waianae or the other Leeward Coast towns.

But there are mainland cities with even larger populations that one might think could have even more Native Hawaiian residents. So we examined a few of those, including Las Vegas, sometimes called the ninth island. Clark County, Nevada, which contains Las Vegas, is home to 14,071 Native Hawaiians. Even bigger Los Angeles County is home to 13,257 residents who self-identify as at least part-Native Hawaiian.

Las Vegas and Los Angeles don’t beat out Honolulu, but they’re both above Waianae.

Maybe Waianae will fare beter using another measure: percentage of total population?

Top Native Hawaiian Percentage

Town	Total population (all races)	Native Hawaiian alone or in any combination	Rank	Percent Native Hawaiian	Rank
Waimanalo Beach	4,481	3,644	21	81.3%	1
Kualapuu	2,027	1,458	47	71.9%	2
Nanakuli	12,666	9,051	4	71.5%	3
Ualapu’e	425	300	110	70.6%	4
Anahola	2,223	1,558	44	70.1%	5
Maunaloa	376	253	116	67.3%	6
Hana	1,235	814	71	65.9%	7
Waianae	13,177	8,018	6	60.8%	8
Keokea	1,612	890	64	55.2%	9
Kaunakakai	3,425	1,887	40	55.1%	10
Waikane	778	417	101	53.6%	11
Makaha	8,278	4,393	16	53.1%	12
Hauula	4,148	2,188	34	52.7%	13
Waiohinu	213	110	132	51.6%	14
Waimanalo	5,451	2,791	28	51.2%	15
Hawi	1,081	535	93	49.5%	16
Maili	9,488	4,616	13	48.7%	17
Kaaawa	1,379	629	80	45.6%	18
Pakala Village	294	130	129	44.2%	19
Kahaluu	4,738	2,066	37	43.6%	20
Makaha Valley	1,341	582	88	43.4%	21

Source: Civil Beat analysis of U.S. Census data

The five Waianae Coast towns all ranked in the top 21 of 151 towns statewide in terms of percentage of residents who self-identify as at least part-Native Hawaiian. But again, Waianae itself is not No. 1.

Both by total population and by percentage, the town of Waianae doesn’t top the list.

But so far Civil Beat’s analysis has been based on towns, without looking at the bigger picture. What happens if we include all five towns and the rural areas around them?

The entire Waianae Coast would be a more fair representation of the White House’s “Waianae area.” We can do that using other data from the Census.

Census County Divisions (CCDs) are chunks of islands. In all, there are 44 in the state, including seven on Oahu: Ewa, Honolulu, Koolauloa, Koolaupoko, Wahiawa, Waialua and Waianae.

The Waianae Census County Division includes both the town and the greater community.

Let’s take another look at those total and percentage rankings now that we’re talking about the full Waianae area.

Top Native Hawaiian Totals

County Division	Total population (all races)	Native Hawaiian alone or in any combination	Rank	Percent Native Hawaiian	Rank
Ewa	323,118	56,828	1	17.6%	37
Honolulu	390,738	48,024	2	12.3%	40
Koolaupoko	115,164	33,761	3	29.3%	17
Waianae	48,519	28,404	4	58.5%	3
Hilo	45,714	15,357	5	33.6%	10
Keaau-Mountain View	34,266	11,362	6	33.2%	11
North Kona	37,875	8,821	7	23.3%	25
Koolauloa	21,406	6,709	8	31.3%	12
Wailuku	20,729	6,271	9	30.3%	14
Wahiawa	41,216	6,018	10	14.6%	38

Source: Civil Beat analysis of U.S. Census data

By this metric, Waianae comes in fourth in Hawaii, and the top three all have far larger total populations. The Ewa CCD that comes in first contains not only the Ewa plain but also a large swath of Central Oahu. Honolulu includes the downtown area and all that lies east of it. The Koolaupoko region includes Waimanalo and Waimanalo Beach, which we saw earlier is home to many Native Hawaiians.

Waianae makes a much stronger case when the measure is percentage of the total population of a CCD.

Top Native Hawaiian Percentage

County Division	Total population (all races)	Native Hawaiian alone or in any combination	Rank	Percent Native Hawaiian	Rank
Niihau	170	149	41	87.6%	1
West Molokai	2,752	1,865	28	67.8%	2
Waianae	48,519	28,404	4	58.5%	3
East Molokai	4,503	2,616	20	58.1%	4
Hana	2,291	1,314	31	57.4%	5
Kalawao	90	46	42	51.1%	6
Waihee-Waikapu	6,907	2,757	18	39.9%	7
Kekaha-Waimea	5,561	2,069	26	37.2%	8
North Kohala	6,322	2,284	23	36.1%	9

Source: Civil Beat analysis of U.S. Census data

Waianae ranks third in the state, but you’ll notice that all the rest of the leaders are small communities. In particular, Niihau at No. 1 has just 170 residents, 149 of whom self-identify as at least part-Native Hawaiian. That’s not surprising, considering that Niihau, part of Kauai County, is known as the “Forbidden Isle” because the family that owns it allows only Native Hawaiians to live or visit there.

Bottom line: It’s fair to say that Waianae has the highest percentage of Native Hawaiian residents. The two communities ahead of it are too small to be considered for that title. But the White House said Waianae is the “largest” Native Hawaiian community in the world — and largest is generally measured by a total number, not by percentage. Clearly, Honolulu and Ewa have far more Native Hawaiian residents than Waianae. Our grade is “Half True.”

Reporter-host Chad Blair contributed to this report.