[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 60 (Thursday, April 3, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2169-S2170]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     REMEMBERING MARY KAWENA PUKUI

 Ms. HIRONO. Madam President, in January, the U.S. Mint 
released a dollar coin featuring Mary Kawena Pukui, the renowned Native 
Hawaiian scholar, anthropologist, ethnographer, author, composer, 
dancer, and teacher who has influenced generations of individuals 
through her work on Native Hawaiian language preservation, history, and 
culture. Mary is being featured through the U.S. Mint's Native American 
$1 Coin Program. I had previously called for her to be featured in 
another similar program, so I am excited to see her recognized for her 
accomplishments.
  Mary Kawena Pukui was born in Ka`u, HI, on April 20, 1895, to father 
Henry Nathaniel Wiggin and mother Pa`ahana Kanaka`ole. From an early 
age, Mary was raised by her maternal grandmother, who taught her 
valuable lessons about Hawaiian language, history, and culture. Shortly 
after her grandmother's passing in 1904, she returned to live with her 
parents. But she carried those early lessons from her grandmother with 
her for the rest of her life.
  Mary was not only dedicated to maintaining her personal connection to 
heritage, but was also passionate about educating others and raising 
awareness of Hawaiian culture within her community. In 1921, her 
passion led her to the start of what would be a long relationship with 
the Bishop Museum, the celebrated historical, cultural, and 
environmental institution established in Honolulu, HI, in 1889, and 
designated as the Hawaii State Museum of Natural and Cultural History 
in 1988. At the Bishop Museum, she taught various classes and 
collaborated with museum scholars on matters concerning the Hawaiian 
language. These collaborations led to several books that she co-
authored over the years, like ``Hawaiian Stories and Wise Sayings,'' 
``Hawaiian Folktales,'' and ``The Legend of Kawelo and other Hawaiian 
Folktales.'' Perhaps her greatest collaboration during that time, 
though, was the English-Hawaiian Hawaiian-English Dictionary, which was 
crucial to the revitalization of the Hawaiian language.
  Later in life, starting in the 1950s, Mary also dedicated a 
significant amount of her time to traveling throughout Hawaii to make 
recordings of Hawaiian elders. During this time, she collected a wide 
variety of recorded materials, from everyday conversations, to songs 
and chants. Today, these recordings are preserved at the Bishop Museum 
in Honolulu.
  In addition to her role as a scholar, educator, and author, Mary was 
also a skilled musician and dancer. Throughout her lifetime, she 
composed over 150 mele and oli, or Hawaiian songs and chants. 
Furthermore, to ensure the retention of this practice within her own 
ohana, she shared her knowledge of hula with her three daughters 
Patience, Faith, and Pele.
  Mary's work had a direct impact on the revitalization of Hawaiian 
language and culture during the 1960s and 1970s, which is referred to 
as the Hawaiian Renaissance for the cultural resurgence that occurred 
during this period and that continues today. She was an important force 
in the resistance against the erasure of Hawaiian culture and ensured 
the preservation of

[[Page S2170]]

the Hawaiian cultural identity for generations to come. Her work was 
critical then and remains so now.
  So today, we honor and thank Mary Kawena Pukui for her work. Mahalo, 
Kumu Mary, for all your contributions to our State and this 
Nation.

                          ____________________