[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 93 (Friday, June 19, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S6849]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 195--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 
                                  HALL

  Mr. INOUYE submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 195

       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 Kalakaua 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 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'' (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
       Resolved, 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.

  Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I rise to introduce a resolution that 
recognizes the Bishop Museum on its 120th Anniversary and celebrates 
the reopening of its historic Hawaiian Hall.
  The Bishop Museum was founded in 1889 by Charles Reed Bishop in honor 
of his late wife, Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, the last descendant 
of the royal Kamehameha family. The museum was established to house the 
extensive collection of Hawaiian artifacts and royal family heirlooms 
of the Princess, and has expanded to include millions of artifacts, 
documents and photographs about Hawaii and other Pacific island 
cultures.
  Today, the Bishop Museum is the largest museum in the State of Hawaii 
and the premier natural and cultural history institution in the 
Pacific, recognized throughout the world for its cultural collections, 
research projects, consulting services and public educational programs. 
It also has one of the largest natural history specimen collections in 
the world. The museum provides a great service to the State of Hawaii 
and I commend them for their long time commitment of serving and 
representing the interests of native Hawaiians.

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