[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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