III 111th CONGRESS 1st Session S. RES. 195 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES June 19, 2009 Mr. Inouye (for himself and Mr. Akaka) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary July 30, 2009 Committee discharged; considered and agreed to RESOLUTION Recognizing Bishop Museum, the Nation’s premier showcase for Hawaiian culture and history, on the occasions of its 120th anniversary and the restoration and renovation of its historic Hawaiian Hall.

Whereas 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 Kalākaua families; Whereas the mission of Bishop Museum since its inception has been to study, preserve, and tell the stories of the cultures and natural history of Hawai‘i and the Pacific; Whereas the collections of Bishop Museum include more than 24,000,000 objects, collectively the largest Hawai‘i and Pacific area collection in the world, which includes more than 1,200,000 cultural objects representing Native Hawaiian, Pacific Island, and Hawai‘i immigrant life, more than 125,000 historical publications (including many in the Hawaiian language), more than 1,000,000 historical photographs, films, works of art, audio recordings, and manuscripts, and more than 22,000,000 plant and animal specimens; Whereas a primary goal of 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 them, and strengthening the museum’s connections with the schools of Hawai‘i; Whereas the national significance of Bishop Museum’s cultural collection lies in the Native Hawaiian collection, which collectively represents the largest public resource in the world documenting a way of life, and has been a source of knowledge and inspiration for numerous visitors, researchers, students, native craftsmen, teachers, and community and spiritual leaders over the years, especially since the cultural revival, which has been steadily growing and gaining in popularity; Whereas more than 300,000 people visit Bishop Museum each year to learn about Hawaiian culture and experience Hawaiian Hall; Whereas the desire to see Hawaiian Hall and to learn about Hawaiian culture is the primary reason 400,000 visitors each year give for visiting Bishop Museum; Whereas Hawaiian Hall is the Nation’s only showcase of its size, proportion, 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, constructed between 1889 and 1903 and 1 of 3 interconnected structures known as the Hawaiian Hall Complex, 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 essentially 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 by noted Hawai‘i architect Glenn Mason and noted national and international museum exhibit designer Ralph Appelbaum are integral to the 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, begun in 2005, included the building of a new gathering place in an enclosed, glass walled atrium, improved access to the hall through the installation of an elevator in the new atrium to all 3 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 hall’s exhibits bring multiple voices and a Native Hawaiian perspective to bear on 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 they 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 more than 2,000 objects and images from the museum’s collections on the open floor, mezzanines, and the center space, conceptually organized to represent 3 traditional realms or wao of the Hawaiian world—Kai Ākea, the expansive sea from which gods and people came, Wao Kānaka, the realm of people, and Wao Lani, the realm of gods and the ali‘i (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 Bishop Museum for its service and devotion: Now, therefore, be it

That the Senate— (1)recognizes the reopening of historic Hawaiian Hall on the 120th anniversary of the founding of Bishop Museum in Honolulu, Hawai‘i; and (2)on the occasions of the reopening and anniversary of the museum, honors and praises Bishop Museum for its work to ensure the preservation, study, education, and appreciation of Native Hawaiian culture and history.