[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 541 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 541
Recognizing and honoring the restoration and renovation of the Bishop
Museum's historic Hawaiian Hall, the Nation's premier showcase for
Hawaiian culture and history, on the occasion of the Museum's 120th
anniversary.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 12, 2009
Mr. Abercrombie (for himself and Ms. Hirono) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Recognizing and honoring the restoration and renovation of the Bishop
Museum's historic Hawaiian Hall, the Nation's premier showcase for
Hawaiian culture and history, on the occasion of the Museum's 120th
anniversary.
Whereas the Bishop Museum was founded in 1889 in Honolulu, Hawai`i, by Charles
Reed Bishop in memory of his beloved wife, Princess Bernice Pauahi
Bishop, the great granddaughter of Kamehameha I, to house the personal
legacies and bequests of the royal Kamehameha and Kalakaua families;
Whereas the mission of the Bishop Museum since its inception is to study,
preserve, and tell the stories of the cultures and natural history of
Hawai`i and the Pacific Ocean;
Whereas the Bishop Museum's collections include some 24,000,000 objects,
collectively the largest Hawai`i and Pacific area collection in the
world, including over 1,200,000 cultural objects representing Native
Hawaiian, Pacific Islands, and Hawai`i immigrant life, more than 125,000
historical publications including many in the Hawaiian language,
1,000,000 historical photographs, films, works of art, audio recordings,
and manuscripts, and over 22,000,000 plant and animal specimens;
Whereas a primary goal of the Bishop Museum is to serve and represent the
interests of Native Hawaiians by advancing Native Hawaiian culture and
education, protecting the collections and increasing access to such
collections, and strengthening the Museum's connections with the schools
of Hawai`i;
Whereas the national significance of the Bishop Museum's cultural collection
lies in the Native Hawaiian collection, which collectively represents
the largest public resource in the world documenting a unique way of
life and a source of knowledge and inspiration for numerous visitors,
researchers, students, Native Hawaiian craftsmen, teachers, community,
and spiritual leaders over the years, especially since the Hawaiian
cultural revival, which has been steadily growing and gaining in
popularity in recent years;
Whereas over 300,000 people visit the Bishop Museum each year to learn about
Hawaiian culture and experience Hawaiian Hall;
Whereas the primary reason for visiting the Bishop Museum, given by an average
of 400,000 visitors each year, is their desire to see Hawaiian Hall and
to learn about Hawaiian culture;
Whereas Hawaiian Hall is the Nation's only showcase of its size, proportions,
design, and historic context that is devoted to the magnificent legacy
of Hawai`i's kings and queens, and the legacies of its Native Hawaiian
people of all walks of life and ages;
Whereas Hawaiian Hall, one of three interconnected structures known as the
Hawaiian Hall Complex and constructed between 1889 and 1903, is
considered a masterpiece of late Victorian museum design with its
Kamehameha blue stone exterior quarried on site and extensive use of
Native koa wood, and is one of the few examples of Romanesque
Richardsonian-style museum buildings to have survived basically
unchanged;
Whereas Hawaiian Hall, designed by noted Hawai`i architects C.B. Ripley and C.W.
Dickey in 1898, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1982 based on its unique combination of architectural, cultural,
scientific, educational, and historical significance;
Whereas the restoration and renovation of Hawaiian Hall and its exhibits,
conducted by noted Hawai`i architect Glenn Mason and noted national and
international museum exhibit designer Ralph Appelbaum, is integral to
the Bishop Museum's ability to fulfill its mission and achieve its
primary goal of serving and representing the interests of Native
Hawaiians;
Whereas the restoration and renovation of Hawaiian Hall, commenced in 2005,
included the building of a new gathering place in an enclosed, glass
walled atrium, improved access through the installation of an elevator
in the new atrium to all three floors of the Hall and other buildings in
the Hawaiian Hall Complex, improved collection preservation through the
installation of new, state of the art environmental controls, lighting,
security, and fire suppression systems, and restored original woodwork
and metalwork;
Whereas the restoration and renovation of the Hawaiian Hall's exhibits brings
multiple voices and a Native Hawaiian perspective to bear on the Bishop
Museum's treasures by conveying the essential values, beliefs,
complexity, and achievements of Hawaiian culture through exquisite and
fragile artifacts in a setting that emphasizes their mana (power and
essence) and the place in which such artifacts were created;
Whereas the new exhibit incorporates contemporary Native Hawaiian artwork
illustrating traditional stories, legends, and practices, and
contemporary Native Hawaiian voices interpreting the practices and
traditions through multiple video presentations;
Whereas the new exhibit features over 2,000 objects and images from the Bishop
Museum's collections on the open floor, mezzanines, and the center space
conceptually organized to represent three traditional realms or wao of
the Hawaiian world--Kai Akea, the expansive sea from which gods and
people came, Wao Kanaka, the realm of people, and Wao Lani, the realm of
gods and the ali`i, or chiefs, who descended from them;
Whereas the new exhibit's ending display celebrates the strength, glory, and
achievements of Native Hawaiians with a large 40-panel mural titled
Ho`ohuli, To Cause An Overturning, A Change, made by students of Native
Hawaiian charter schools in collaboration with Native Hawaiian artists
and other students, and interpreted by Native Hawaiian artists and
teachers in a video presentation; and
Whereas the people of the United States wish to convey their sincerest
appreciation to the Bishop Museum for its service and devotion: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) recognizes the reopening of historic Hawaiian Hall on
the 120th anniversary of the founding of the Bishop Museum in
Honolulu, Hawai`i; and
(2) honors and praises the Bishop Museum, on the occasion
of its reopening and 120th anniversary, for its work to ensure
the preservation, study, education, and appreciation of Native
Hawaiian culture and history.
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