[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 297 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 297
Recognizing and commemorating Native Hawaiian Delegate Jonah Kuhio
Kalaniana`ole's lifelong advocacy on behalf of Hawai`i and the Native
Hawaiian people on the 100th anniversary of his paramount congressional
achievement--the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 12, 2021
Mr. Schatz (for himself and Ms. Hirono) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Recognizing and commemorating Native Hawaiian Delegate Jonah Kuhio
Kalaniana`ole's lifelong advocacy on behalf of Hawai`i and the Native
Hawaiian people on the 100th anniversary of his paramount congressional
achievement--the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920.
Whereas Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana`ole was born on March 26, 1871, in Koloa, Kaua`i
in the Kingdom of Hawai`i, the youngest of 3 sons to High Chief David
Kahalepouli Pi`ikoi and Princess Victoria Kinoiki Kekaulike;
Whereas, in 1883, Kuhio was named a Prince by royal proclamation of his uncle,
King Kalakaua;
Whereas Prince Kuhio attended St. Alban's College and O`ahu College in Honolulu,
St. Matthew's Military School in San Mateo, California--where he and his
brothers were the first to introduce the sport of surfing in the United
States--and the Royal Agricultural College in Gloucestershire, England;
Whereas Prince Kuhio served in the Kingdom of Hawai`i's Ministry of Interior and
Customs, and later became a close confidant and advisor to the Kingdom
of Hawai`i's last reigning monarch, Queen Lili`uokalani;
Whereas, on January 17, 1893, a group of armed sugar planters, descendants of
missionaries, and financiers, from the United States and Europe deposed
the Hawaiian monarchy, and imprisoned Queen Lili`uokalani;
Whereas a United States Minister thereafter extended diplomatic recognition to
the Provisional Government, without the consent of the Native Hawaiian
people or the lawful Government of Hawai`i, and in violation of
international law and the treaties between the 2 nations;
Whereas, on July 4, 1894, the Provisional Government reorganized as the Republic
of Hawai`i and adopted a constitution prohibiting many Native Hawaiians
and citizens of Asian descent from voting, which frustrated Prince
Kuhio;
Whereas, after failing to annex Hawai`i to the United States by treaty, the
United States took the unprecedented step of annexing Hawai`i by Joint
Resolution on July 7, 1898;
Whereas, on April 30, 1900, President McKinley signed the Act of April 30, 1900
(31 Stat. 141, chapter 339) (commonly known as the ``Hawaii Organic
Act''), formally establishing Hawai`i as a territory of the United
States, even though the Native Hawaiian people never directly
relinquished their claims to their inherent sovereignty as a people or
over their national lands to the United States, either through their
monarchy or through a plebiscite or referendum;
Whereas, in 1902, Prince Kuhio won his first bid for Congress with considerable
Native Hawaiian support, and continued to serve as Hawai`i's delegate
from 1903 to 1921;
Whereas, upon arriving in Washington, DC, Prince Kuhio encountered racial
prejudice and a general lack of knowledge about Hawai`i and the Hawaiian
people on the continent, including in Congress and the executive branch;
Whereas the Governor of the Territory of Hawai`i proclaimed that Prince Kuhio
``engaged in the rough and tumble of public discussion and politics with
a vigor, sincerity, and general spirit of good sportsmanship that
established the merits of his leadership among all elements . . . [and]
[h]e was loyal, courageous, sincere, and his personal integrity was
never attacked even by inference'';
Whereas Prince Kuhio worked tirelessly to protect and perpetuate the Native
Hawaiian people and their culture by re-establishing the Royal Order of
Kamehameha I in 1903, founding the `Ahahui Pu`uhonua O Na Hawai`i
(Hawaiian Protective Organization) in 1914 alongside other Native
Hawaiian political leaders, and helping form the Hawaiian Civic Clubs in
1918;
Whereas Prince Kuhio, as a Member of Congress, secured a $27,000,000
appropriation to improve and expand Pearl Harbor, facilitated
construction of the Makapu`u Point Lighthouse, established a Hawai`i
National Park covering land on Kilauea, Mauna Loa, and Haleakala, shaped
the foundation for Hawai`i's modern government structure by instituting
the county system still in place today, sponsored the first bill for
Hawai`i's statehood in 1919, and lent his support to a territorial
women's suffrage bill;
Whereas Prince Kuhio established a homesteading program for Native Hawaiians
through his historic legislative accomplishment, the Hawaiian Homes
Commission Act, 1920 (42 Stat. 108, chapter 42);
Whereas Prince Kuhio was appointed as the first member of the Hawaiian Homes
Commission, which continues to manage certain public lands, known as
Hawaiian home lands, for homesteading purposes, and served the Native
Hawaiian people in that role until the time of his death; and
Whereas the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920 (42 Stat. 108, chapter 42)
amended the Act of April 30, 1900 (31 Stat. 141, chapter 339) (commonly
known as the ``Hawaii Organic Act'') to set aside roughly 200,000 acres
across the Hawaiian Islands for exclusive homesteading by eligible
Native Hawaiians and continues to guide the Federal Government's
fulfillment of its trust responsibilities to Native Hawaiians as a
distinct and unique indigenous people with a historical continuity to
the original inhabitants of the Hawaiian archipelago: Now, therefore, be
it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) recognizes and commemorates Prince Jonah Kuhio
Kalaniana`ole, a Native Hawaiian Delegate from Hawai`i and
lifelong advocate for Hawai`i and the Native Hawaiian people,
including his work to pass the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act,
1920 (42 Stat. 108, chapter 42);
(2) commits itself to affirming and upholding the special
political and trust relationship that Congress established
between the United States and the Native Hawaiian people
through more than 150 separate statutes; and
(3) encourages the people of the United States to celebrate
Prince Kuhio's legacy and the 100th anniversary of the Hawaiian
Homes Commission Act, 1920 (42 Stat. 108, chapter 42).
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