[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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