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OHA (Office of Hawaiian Affairs)
Mililani Trask worked for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs from 1998 to 2000 as a Trustee at Large. After the passage of the Rice Decision in 2000 gave non-Hawaiians voting access in OHA elections, Mililani lost her bid for reelection despite the fact that she won the 1998 election by a previously unprecedented amount of votes cast by Hawaiians since the formation of OHA in 1978. In 2016 she ran for the Big Island OHA Trustee position on the grounds that the Office of Hawaiian Affairs needed to be accountable to its beneficiaries. In press interviews and meetings on the topic, she has addressed the need for reform and a change in leadership. Although she did not win the election, she urged Native Hawaiians to vote. "“OHA wants to retain wardship - have the state provide it with the revenue, but they are not willing to work with their own people to provide critical needs like housing and poverty alleviation. We have to stop making the goal of self-governance be the opportunity to suck at the state and federal teet. It is not that. It is economic self-sufficiency and that’s where we should be going and we’re not.”"

Mililani Trask has stated that, because the decisions made by OHA impact all of Hawaii, there needs to be more accountability and a focus on the most critical needs of Hawaiians, particularly Native Hawaiians in terms of education, housing, healthcare, incarceration, poverty and jobs instead of political campaigns. Mililani Trask also holds eighteen years of experience with ceded Hawaiian land trusts and affordable housing. In 2016 Mililani Trask estimated that OHA would become bankrupt within the next decade from exceeding their trust budget, noting that in 2016 the budget went over by an additional $800,000.

Family
Mililani Trask was born on the island of Oahu in Honolulu, Hawaii. She comes from a long line of politically active family members and she carries on this legacy in her past and present work with Indigenous people worldwide and with her fellow Native Hawaiians. Mililani has four siblings, including her sister and fellow activist Haunani-Kay Trask. Mililani’s grandfather, David Trask, was the first sheriff in Honolulu and was affiliated with the Territorial Legislature for 26 years. Her mother, Huanani Cooper was a school teacher and Huanani’s mother, Iwalani Haia, worked for the Benevolent Societies on Maui while also engaging in efforts to raise awareness around the 1893 overthrow of Queen Lili‘uokalani. Mililani's father, Bernard Trask was a lawyer. Mililani Trask's uncle, David Trask Jr. was a senator, state representative and leader of the Hawaii Government Employees Association and was credited for bringing the power of collective bargaining to the union. Her other uncle, Arthur Trask was a layer and political figure for the Democratic Party who was well known for his abilities as an orator and storyteller.

Other changes made to Mililani's page:
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In addition, Mililani has prompted UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee to acknowledge and respect the claims of Indigenous peoples to World Heritage sites.

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* 2016 – Lannan Foundation Lecture Series “In Pursuit of Cultural Freedom” in Santa Fe, New Mexico, guest speaker.