THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	40
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

REQUESTING THAT THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE ISSUE A COMMEMORATIVE STAMP HONORING PRINCE JONAH KUHIO KALANIANAOLE.

     WHEREAS, Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole, known as the last Prince of the Hawaiian Monarchy, was the son of High Chief David Kahalepouli Piikoi and Princess Victoria Kuhio Kinoiki Kekaulike and great-grandson of Kaumualii, the last reigning chief of the island of Kauai; and

     WHEREAS, Kuhio was born on March 26, 1871, at Hoai, Kualu in the Koloa district of the island of Kauai; and

     WHEREAS, his mother and father both died when he was still very young, Kuhio and his brothers were adopted by their aunt, Kapiolani, who was the wife of Kalakaua; and

     WHEREAS, King Kalakaua and Queen Kapiolani ascended to their thrones in 1874, and thirteen-year-old Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole and his brothers were subsequently made Princes by royal decree in 1884; and

     WHEREAS, Prince Kuhio was very well trained and educated both at home and abroad in England; and

     WHEREAS, upon the death of the Prince's uncle, King Kalakaua, the King's sister Liliuokalani ascended the throne, and upon doing so, named the young Prince as an heir; and

     WHEREAS, in 1893, Queen Liliuokalani was illegally overthrown by a group of foreign businessmen; and

     WHEREAS, in support of his aunt, the Queen, Prince Kuhio joined with a group of Hawaiian Nationals and Loyalists in an attempt to return the Queen to the throne and was subsequently arrested and imprisoned for treason; and

     WHEREAS, at the same time that the Queen was released from imprisonment, Prince Kuhio was also released and pardoned on all charges; and

     WHEREAS, after Hawaii's annexation to the United States and the subsequent passage of the Organic Act, in 1902 Prince Kuhio was persuaded to accept the Republican Party's nomination as a delegate to Congress; and

     WHEREAS, Prince Kuhio won his first bid for election to Congress, and many more thereafter, serving as Hawaii's delegate from 1903 to 1921; and

     WHEREAS, his keen wit and ready good humor made him well liked by his fellow Hawaiians and fellow legislators in Washington, D.C.; and

     WHEREAS, Prince Kuhio earned great respect for his commitment and staunch support of the native Hawaiian people, for whom he worked tirelessly; and

     WHEREAS, Prince Kuhio made great achievements in his nearly twenty years in Congress, including securing Kalaupapa Leper Settlement as a territorial institution, establishing county governments, developing Pearl Harbor, and advocating for passage of the Hawaiian Rehabilitation Act and the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act; and

     WHEREAS, Prince Kuhio endeavored to restore native Hawaiians' pride in their race by re-organizing the Royal Order of Kamehameha I and organizing the Hawaiian Civic Club, both of which are still very active organizations, and including civic clubs that have been established across the United States to address the concerns of native Hawaiians; and

     WHEREAS, Prince Kuhio died at his home on Waikiki Beach on January 7, 1922 at the age of fifty; and

     WHEREAS, Prince Kuhio, the last designated heir to the Hawaiian throne, was given the last state funeral held in Hawaii for an alii and is buried at Mauna Ala (Royal Mausoleum) in Nuuanu Valley amongst numerous other members of the Hawaiian Monarchy; and

     WHEREAS, upon his death, the Governor of the Territory of Hawaii proclaimed that Prince Kuhio was sincere, loyal, and courageous and possessed a unique, distinctly Hawaiian kindness of heart that is identified, interpreted, and glorified in Hawaii's Aloha; and

     WHEREAS, Kuhio Park in Koloa, Kauai, was dedicated to and named for him in 1928, only six years after his passing; and

     WHEREAS, numerous places, including schools, roads, parks, housing developments, and a federal building, have all been named for Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole; and

     WHEREAS, in 1949, the territorial Legislature passed a resolution marking March 26th as a holiday honoring Prince Kuhio, which has now become a State holiday known as "Kuhio Day"; and

     WHEREAS, in 2002, a statue in Prince Kuhio's likeness was erected on Waikiki Beach to honor Prince Kuhio; and

     WHEREAS, Prince Kuhio is fondly remembered as "Ke Alii Makaainana" (The Citizen Prince); now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2009, that this body, in recognition of the work and achievements of Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole as a representative and supporter of the native Hawaiian people and his significance in Hawaiian history as the last designated heir to the Hawaiian throne, therefore encourages and requests that the United States Postal Service issue a commemorative stamp honoring Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the United States Postmaster General, the Chief Executive Officer of the United States Postal Service, the Chair of the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee of the United States Postal Service, the District Manager of the United States Postal Service for the District of Hawaii, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, the Hawaiian Civic Club of Honolulu, the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, and Princess Abigail Kinoiki Kekaulike Kawananakoa.

Report Title: 

Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole; Commemorative Stamp