In 2003, Kanaka Maoli of Ka Pae ʻĀina Hawaiʻi gathered at the first Ka ʻAha Pono- Native Hawaiian Intellectual Property Rights Conference and united to express our collective right of self-determination to perpetuate our culture under threat of theft and commercialization of the traditional knowledge of Kanaka Maoli, our wahi pana, and nā mea Hawaiʻi. The Paoakalani Declaration, a cultural framework, was endorsed as our collective responsibility to determine a pono future for Hawaiʻi nei, her culture, and indigenous peoples. Since 2003, the Declaration has been shared with rightsholders and stakeholders in Hawaiʻi, Indigenous Peoples throughout the world, and submitted at numerous global meetings. The second Ka ʻAha Pono was held in 2004 and participants from Ka Pae ʻĀina Hawaiʻi included kumu hula, elders skilled in la¯ʻau lapaʻau, traditional and contemporary artists, farmers, teachers, academics, and attorneys. Conference attendees actively participated in discussions regarding the protection of our Traditional Knowledge and Intellectual Property Rights. In Hawaiʻi, many issues have become extremely contentious and increasingly the problems and issues involved native cultural practitioners against academic and industry researchers. Examples of these controversies include: 1. The copyrighting of Hawaiian traditional chants by Disney, Inc, for exclusive use in the Lilo and Stitch movie and cartoon series. 2. The patenting of three (3) hybrid taro and related University efforts to “sell” taro seedlings to traditional farmers. 3. Bioprospecting and patenting of life forms and natural resources belonging to the public trust but unclaimed by the State. Indigenous peoples in Hawaiʻi and the general public are only now becoming aware of these issues. In the State legislature there has been a proliferation of bills proposed to meet the policy vacuum in this area. This year, our third Ka ʻAha Pono will feature State and industry representatives, academics, farmers, cultural practitioners, artisans, and others on a number of topics including trademark, patenting, access and benefit sharing, biodiversity preservation and State policy matters. The conference will also feature keynotes on the topics of international, national and local efforts and approaches to dealing with issues relating to patenting and copyrighting of Traditional Knowledge, (including medicinal knowledge), life forms and the work of the World Intellectual Property Orgnization (WIPO).