In 1997, a group called Bastard Nation used a ballot measure to change adoption laws in Oregon. As a result, adoptee adults in Oregon can now look at their own unfalsified birth certificates.

“The West is maybe catching up with the idea of open adoption,” says Sen. English. “The idea of closed adoption leaves a lot of people wanting.” But adoptee-rights organizations have a long way to go. Oregon is one of only five states that allow such access. Hawai‘i is not one of them—ironically, the homeland of hanai is no leader in the modern field of adoption reform.

Kalani continues to work on formal recognition of hanai, but even he admits there are challenges. “It gets so complex. Anytime you codify culture, you get into trouble. And hanai is so fluid—which is one of its finest qualities.”

The story of Kamaka and his mother illustrates something important about hanai—that it is not about preserving the bloodline, nor about knitting the clan into an ever-tighter circle. The people who were interviewed for this article come from all sorts of genetic backgrounds, including Korean, Chinese, Portuguese and Caucasian. Hanai is about strengthening the ‘ohana, the extended family, and the ‘ohana is inclusive, not exclusive.

“If we strip everything away, hanai is simply about the strong bond of aloha, the strong bond of love,” says Kalani. “The wonderful thing about hanai is that it recognizes aloha in any form it takes. Hanai simply says, ‘Look, these people love each other; they are taking care of each other’—and, after all, that’s what we want.” HH