THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	133
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

requesting the Department of agriculture to adopt rules authorizing rodeos on lands zoned for agricultural use.

WHEREAS, the State possesses a rich ranching history and cowboy culture preceding that of the American West; and

WHEREAS, in 1793, Captain James Vancouver presented Kamehameha I with six cows and a bull on which Kamehameha I imposed a kapu to prevent the cattle from being hunted or killed; and

WHEREAS, over time, the herd flourished and turned feral, becoming a nuisance and danger to Native Hawaiians as the herd would rampage through villages and destroy crops, eat thatch off the roofs of houses, and occasionally hurt or kill people; and

WHEREAS, in 1832, Kamehameha III sent one of his chiefs to Alta California to enlist cowboys who could teach his people how to work cattle; and

WHEREAS, the chief returned with three vaqueros who taught aspiring Native Hawaiian cowboys to rope, slaughter, and breed cattle; cure hides; construct fences and paddocks; and ride horses; and

WHEREAS, Native Hawaiians took quickly to the skills and techniques that the vaqueros introduced, iterated on these skills and techniques, and developed a distinct Hawaiian cowboy culture; and

WHEREAS, Hawaiian cowboys, known as paniolo, crafted their saddles and gear in a style unique to them, created their own genre of music accompanied by the guitar and ukulele, and also developed a singular Hawaiian style of open-tuning for the guitar called kihoalu, or slack key; and

WHEREAS, in 1908, three paniolo, Ikua Purdy, Archi Kaaua, and Jack Low, traveled to Cheyenne, Wyoming, to compete in the biggest rodeo at the time: Frontier Days; and

WHEREAS, the three paniolo emerged victorious over many of America's best cowboys, shocking the American public; and

WHEREAS, when the three paniolo returned to Hawaii, they were hailed as heroes with poetry and hula being composed in their honor; and

WHEREAS, authorizing rodeos on lands zoned for agricultural use would honor the State's rich ranching history and paniolo culture; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2025, that the Department of Agriculture is requested to adopt rules authorizing rodeos on lands zoned for agricultural use; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture.

Report Title:

DOA; Land Use; Rules; Rodeos