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THE SENATE |
S.R. NO. |
76 |
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THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025 |
S.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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SENATE RESOLUTION
urging the Governor, MAYORS of each county, and the State to work towards a just climate future by integrating indigenous knowledge into policy and decision-making processes related to climate adaptation, climate mitigation, and climate resiliency.
WHEREAS, due to the current and projected impacts of climate destabilization on Hawaii and the world, immediate action is necessary for human survival and a chance at a just climate future; and
WHEREAS, as the original inhabitants of Hawaii, Native Hawaiians have refined their methods of survival based on science and observation throughout the millennia; and
WHEREAS, Native Hawaiians continue to practice, refine, and share their indigenous knowledge for collective survival; and
WHEREAS, indigenous knowledge includes practices that have sustained native peoples since time immemorial, and is often referred to as ike kupuna, traditional ecological knowledge, indigenous innovations, and, more generally, cultural practices; and
WHEREAS, indigenous knowledge also includes native languages, which serve to connect past, present, and future generations to a shared history, culture, and set of values; and
WHEREAS, indigenous knowledge-based principles are deeply enshrined in the Hawaii State Constitution, as articulated by the right to a clean and healthy environment, protections for the State's natural resources, and the recognition and protection of traditional and customary practices, including Olelo Hawaii; and
WHEREAS, Hawaii's unique geographical location positions itself to not only cultivate indigenous knowledge, but also to use its location to facilitate and connect shared learnings across Moananuiakea (the Pacific region) and the world; and
WHEREAS, on June 11, 2024, traditional leaders from across Moananuiakea signed the Tuurama Ariki Declaration, which commits to ongoing collaboration, dialogue, and the exchange of knowledge among Pacific nations to respond to urgent challenges impacting the Pacific region and the planet; and
WHEREAS, the Legislature recognizes the cascading and ongoing impacts to Hawaii's aina-based, climate-related, and Native Hawaiian groups, due to rapid and ongoing federal level changes that reverse longstanding and critical environmental, social, and political policies, which are likely to impact residents now and for generations to come; and
WHEREAS, an equitable and just climate future cannot be achieved without purposeful, meaningful, and consensus methodologies that integrate indigenous knowledge into the policy and decision-making processes of the State; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2025, that the Governor, Mayor of each county, and the State are urged to work towards a just climate future by integrating indigenous knowledge into policy and decision-making processes related to climate adaptation, climate mitigation, and climate resiliency; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governor, Mayor of each county, and the State are urged to formulate and identify goals to facilitate a just climate future that purposefully and meaningfully includes indigenous knowledge as an integral component; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Olelo Hawaii is urged to be invested in, integrated, and practiced as a key mechanism to achieving a just climate future; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and Mayor of each county.
Just Climate Future; Indigenous Knowledge; Olelo Hawaii