Her tenure as a trustee was marked by a commitment to Native Hawaiians but also ethical challenges and board power struggles.

A long-serving member of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees, Rowena Akana, has died. She was 82.

OHA announced her death Thursday. Further details were not immediately available.

First elected to a seat on the OHA Board of Trustees in 1990, Akana served nearly three decades in office. She was elected seven straight times and served twice as board chair.

She believed that OHA needed to have better control of its finances. A top issue for her was the housing crisis faced by many Native Hawaiians. Akana wanted OHA to partner with developers to build housing so that more Hawaiians could begin to rent or own their own homes.

But Akana was also often

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