HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	29
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

AFFIRMING THAT THE DESCENDANTS OF THE RACES INHABITING THE ISLANDS OF HAWAI`I, MAUI, MOLOKA`I, LĀNA`I, KAHO`OLAWE, O`AHU, KAUA`I, NI`IHAU, and NIHOA TO KANEMILOHA`I (KURE ATOLL) PRIOR TO WESTERN CONTACT IN 1778 COMPRISE THE INDIGENOUS, ABORIGINAL, "MAOLI" PEOPLES OF HAWAI`I.

     WHEREAS, traditional Hawaiian lore tells of the origins of the earth, flora, fauna, the gods and kanaka – man – in such cosmogonic genealogies as the Kumulipo (source from the dark); and

     WHEREAS, in an important mo`olelo (story) of our kūpuna, sky-father Wākea and his beloved Ho`ohōkūkalani give birth to their first child, Hālolaukapalili, who emerges stillborn, and, later, from his grave, sprouts the first kalo (taro), staff of life of the Hawaiian people; and

     WHEREAS, Hāloanaka, their second son, lives, and is the progenitor of all indigenous Hawaiians, with the profound responsibility of caring for and respecting his kaikua`ana (elder sibling), the kalo; and

     WHEREAS, Western anthropology traces early Polynesian settlement in the previously uninhabited Hawai`i as early as the time of Christ with origins from Nukuhiwa, and much later in 1000 A.D., from Tahiti; and

     WHEREAS, that ancient central Polynesian culture and society evolved into a sophisticated system of island governments where the ali`i or nobility ruled, and the maka`āinana or general citizenry worked the land and sustained life and cared for the land; and

     WHEREAS, the sciences, including celestial navigation, aquaculture, agriculture, meteorology, and medicine evolved to the highest forms in all of Polynesia due to relative isolation in Hawai`i except for periodic voyages to Tahiti and other distant lands primarily for religious and political purposes; and

     WHEREAS, utilitarian and aesthetic Hawaiian arts including woodwork, weaving, fiber arts, and feather work are among the finest in all of Polynesia; and

     WHEREAS, Hawai`i and indigenous Hawaiian people are a part of a larger, ancient Polynesian family system that includes the aboriginal populations of Aotearoa (New Zealand), Nukuhiwa, Te Ao Maohi (French Polynesia), Rarotonga, Sāmoa, Tonga, and more; and

     WHEREAS, since 1778, Hawai`i has been visited and settled by Europeans, Americans, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Filipinos, and virtually every human race; and

     WHEREAS, through more than two hundred twenty-eight years of socio-political change and cultural assimilation, Native Hawaiians have maintained their uniquely Hawaiian cultural practices and share those practices with kama`āina and malihini alike and others throughout the world; and

     WHEREAS, the Hawaiian cultural practices that pre-date Western arrival and settlement and are still very much alive today include `ōlelo Hawai`i (Hawaiian language), mo`okū`auhau (genealogical study), hula (traditional dance), oli (chant), he`e nalu (surfing), hoe wa`a (canoe paddling), ho`okele wa`a (navigation), mahi`ai kalo (taro farming), loko i`a (fishponds/aquaculture), hana lei (lei making), haku hulu (featherwork), hana kapa (bark cloth making), uhi kākau (tattooing), kālai lā`au (wood carving), and dozens more; and

     WHEREAS, according to the 2000 United States Census, Hawai`i citizens of indigenous, aboriginal, "maoli" descent number approximately two hundred fifty thousand, while Native Hawaiians living in the continental United States number one hundred sixty thousand; and

     WHEREAS, Hawai`i is the only place on Earth that is the ancient, original home to the indigenous, aboriginal, "maoli" Hawaiian population; and

     WHEREAS, neither the United States nor the State of Hawai`i governments have explicitly acknowledged that Native Hawaiians are the indigenous, aboriginal, "maoli" people of Hawai`i; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2009, the Senate concurring, that the Legislature affirms that Native Hawaiians are indeed the only indigenous, aboriginal, "maoli" people of Hawai`i nei; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor of the State of Hawaii, the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

OFFERED BY:	_____________________________
	By Request

Report Title: 

Recognizing the descendants of the races inhabiting the islands of Hawaii, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe, Oahu, Kauai, Niihau, and Nihoa to Kanemilohai (Kure Atoll) prior to western contact in 1778 comprise the indigenous, aboriginal, maoli peoples of Hawaii.