Senate Committee on Indian Affairs holds final field hearing in Hawaii

Senate Committee on Indian Affairs: Field Hearing titled “Upholding the Federal Trust Responsibility: Funding & Program Access for Innovation in the Native Hawaiian Community” (Part 1)

Thursday, June 2, 2022

Indianz.Com

• Link to Livestream: youtu.be/W0ztyPt-Hio

The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs is holding a second and final field hearing as it focuses on Native Hawaiian issues.

The hearing takes place on Thursday at 10:30am Hawaii Time (4:30pm Eastern) in the Lumi Pāhiahia (Large Auditorium) of Haleʻōlelo (College of Hawaiian Language at the University of Hawai‘i in Hilo, on the big island of Hawaiʻi. Like the first one a day prior, it is titled “Upholding the Federal Trust Responsibility: Funding & Program Access for Innovation in the Native Hawaiian Community.”

Senate Committee on Indian Affairs: Field Hearing titled “Upholding the Federal Trust Responsibility: Funding & Program Access for Innovation in the Native Hawaiian Community” (Part 2)

The witness list for the second field hearing follows:

PANEL 1

Ms. Nāmaka Rawlins – TESTIMONY [PDF]
Alaka‘i – Senior Director
Hale Kipa ‘Ōiwi at ‘Aha Pūnana Leo
Hilo, Hawaii

Ms. M. Kāhealani K Naeole-Wong – TESTIMONY [PDF]
Poʻo Kula – Head of School
Kamehameha Schools, Keaʻau Campus
Keaʻau, Hawaii

Dr. Keiki Kawai’ae’a, Ph.D. – TESTIMONY [PDF]
Director
Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani College of Hawaiian Language
University of Hawai‘i at Hilo
Hilo, Hawaii

Ms. Amy Kalili
Partner
Pilina First LLP
Kailua, Hawaii

PANEL 2

Ms. Luana Kawelu – TESTIMONY [PDF]
President
Merrie Monarch Festival
Hilo, Hawaii

Dr. Noa Kekuewa Lincoln, Ph.D. – TESTIMONY [PDF]
Advisor, Hawai‘i ‘Ulu Cooperative, President, Māla Kalu‘ulu Cooperative & Associate Research Professor
University of Hawai‘i
Hilo, Hawaii

Mr. Kūha’o Zane – TESTIMONY [PDF]
Creative Director, Sig Zane Designs and SZKaiao & Kālaimoku Board of Directors
Edith Kanakaʻole Foundation
Hilo, Hawaii

According to the committee’s website, the field hearing will be broadcast on YouTube. A direct link was not yet available as of early morning on Thursday, Hawaii Time. [UPDATE: Link to Livestream: youtu.be/W0ztyPt-Hio]

The first field hearing took place on Wednesday at the Keoni Auditorium of the East-West Center in Honolulu, the state capital on the island of Oʻahu.

“We brought the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs to Hawai‘i to hear directly from the Native Hawaiian community on how the federal government can continue to help and provide more resources,” Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), the chair of the legislative panel, said in a post on social media as the first hearing started on Wednesday.

“Mahalo to all the Native Hawaiian leaders who joined our Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing today in Honolulu,” he said later in the day. Mahalo is a Native Hawaiian term used to express thanks, gratitude, admiration, praise, esteem, regards or respects.

We brought the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs to Hawai‘i to hear directly from the Native Hawaiian community on how the federal government can continue to help and provide more resources. WATCH our live field hearing in Honolulu: https://t.co/cONbQeosgU
— Senator Brian Schatz (@SenBrianSchatz) June 1, 2022

Mahalo to all the Native Hawaiian leaders who joined our Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing today in Honolulu. pic.twitter.com/aLXEQIQMFY
— Senator Brian Schatz (@SenBrianSchatz) June 2, 2022