President Joe Biden’s appointment of two Native Hawaiians to the U.S. Department of the Interior could influence federal policy for Hawaii’s Indigenous people and other Pacific Islanders.

Summer Sylva
Summer Sylva, who is currently head of the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, was appointed on Sept. 1 as senior advisor for Native Hawaiian affairs.

Keone Nakoa
Keone Nakoa, the Washington, D.C., bureau chief for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, has been appointed deputy assistant secretary for insular and international affairs.