HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.C.R. NO.26          
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                     HOUSE  CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION

  RELATING TO SELF-DETERMINATION FOR NATIVE HAWAIIANS.


 1        WHEREAS, the Hawaiian archipelago, stretching from Hawaii
 2   Island to Kure Atoll, was first populated by Polynesian
 3   settlers over two thousand years ago; and
 4   
 5        WHEREAS, over the centuries these Hawaiians thrived and
 6   expanded in population until they numbered in the hundreds of
 7   thousands; and
 8   
 9        WHEREAS, during this time, various native Hawaiian
10   governments were formed, dissolved, and changed according to
11   the will of the Hawaiian people and their native leaders; and
12   
13        WHEREAS, through this unique culture of native Hawaiians,
14   a strong identity and island nation emerged; and
15   
16        WHEREAS, the Hawaiian Kingdom continued to be governed by
17   native leaders until 1893, when the government of Queen
18   Lili`uokalani was replaced by a group of businessmen aided by
19   armed forces of the United States; and
20   
21        WHEREAS, subsequently the lands formerly held by the
22   Kingdom of Hawaii were ceded to the United States; and
23   
24        WHEREAS, the general society and specifically the native
25   Hawaiian population have in recent years undergone a period of
26   rediscovery and recovery of political and cultural history,
27   moving the Hawaii body politic to examine issues of injustice
28   and justice, of sharing the powers of governance, of
29   appropriate jurisdiction over former citizens of the Hawaiian
30   Kingdom and their descendants, of the special place the native
31   Hawaiian people hold within Hawaiian and American society, and
32   of the appropriate division of proceeds from resources obtained
33   from "ceded lands"; and
34   
35        WHEREAS, the Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii
36   supports all responsible initiatives for self-determination by
37   native Hawaiians; and
38   

 
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 1        WHEREAS, in 1993, United States President William J.
 2   Clinton signed Public Law 103-150, a joint resolution also
 3   known as "The Apology Bill"; and
 4   
 5        WHEREAS, President Clinton also called for the
 6   establishment of a process for "reconciliation" with the
 7   Hawaiian people to correct the wrongdoings of 1893; now,
 8   therefore,
 9   
10        BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
11   Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
12   of 1999, the Senate concurring, that the President of the
13   United States and the United States Congress establish a
14   process of reconciliation between the native Hawaiian people
15   and the United States through all means necessary, ensuring
16   that a broad representation of native Hawaiians is fully
17   involved in the development of such a process, the end result
18   being a formal recognition of Hawaiian sovereignty; and
19   
20        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
21   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the
22   United States, the President of the Senate of the United
23   States, the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the
24   United States, Hawaii's congressional delegation, the Governor
25   of Hawaii, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Office
26   of Hawaiian Affairs, and to the Chairperson or other designated
27   leader of the following native Hawaiian organizations: the
28   Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, Ha Hawaii, Ka Lahui
29   Hawaii, Ka Pakaukau, and the State Council of Hawaiian
30   Homesteaders Association.
31 
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34                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________