HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	S.C.R. NO.	151
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007
STATE OF HAWAII
THE SENATE

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

ENCOURAGING THE USE OF THE NAME "PAPAHāNAUMOKUāKEA MARINE NATIONAL MONUMENT".

     WHEREAS, President George W. Bush by Proclamation 8031 of June 15, 2006, established the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument; and

     WHEREAS, the President in his proclamation described the diverse ecosystem of the approximately one thousand two hundred nautical-mile stretch of coral islands, seamounts, banks, and shoals that he wished to protect; and

     WHEREAS, the proclamation also described the area’s great cultural significance to native Hawaiians and its connection to early Polynesian culture; and

     WHEREAS, the President stated that officials would consult with native Hawaiians to give the monument a native Hawaiian name; and

     WHEREAS, the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Native Hawaiian Cultural Working Group (cultural working group) consists of members with extensive involvement in those islands and includes cultural practitioners, community activists, academic scholars, teachers, and resource managers; and

     WHEREAS, the cultural working group requested two distinguished kūpuna, specifically, Uncle Buzzy Agard and Aunty Pua Kanahele, to suggest names for the Monument; and

     WHEREAS, Uncle Buzzy and Aunty Pua offered names, as did native Hawaiian representatives from the Kamakakūokalani, the University of Hawaii Center for Hawaiian Studies, and the United States Department of the Interior’s Office of Hawaiian Relations; and

     WHEREAS, at Washington Place in Honolulu on March 2, 2007, First Lady Laura Bush, following a collaborative effort among federal agencies, state agencies including the Department of Land and Natural Resources, the Kahoolawe Island Reserve Commission, and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and the Cultural Working Group, announced the monument’s Hawaiian name, Papahānaumokuākea, and on that day President Bush amended his Proclamation 8031 to change the title of the monument to Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument; and

     WHEREAS, the name Papahānaumokuākea is filled with meaning and tradition, including reference to the genealogy and formation of the Hawaiian archipelago, all of which strengthens Hawaii's cultural foundation within significant elements of our past through native Hawaiian ancestors, and expresses our hopes for Papahānaumokuākea to provide spiritual inspiration and perpetuation of our natural and cultural resources; and

     WHEREAS, the naming process and the giving of a Hawaiian name is an important and sacred component of traditional Hawaiian culture; and

     WHEREAS, article XV, section 4 of the Hawaii State Constitution makes English and Hawaiian the official languages of Hawaii; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2007, the House of Representatives concurring, that residents, government agencies, and private organizations of the United States and Hawaii are encouraged to refer to the monument by its official new name, the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the First Lady of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the Governor, the President of the Senate of the State of Hawaii, the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the State of Hawaii, the Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, the Mayor of the County of Kauai, the

Mayor of the County of Maui, the Mayor of the County of Hawaii, and the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title: 

Papahanaumokuakea; national monument