 
 CHAPTER 70--STRENGTHENING AND IMPROVEMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY 
                                 SCHOOLS
 
   SUBCHAPTER IX--INDIAN, NATIVE HAWAIIAN, AND ALASKA NATIVE EDUCATION
 
                        Part B--Native Hawaiians
 
Sec. 7902. Findings

    The Congress finds and declares as follows:
        (1) Native Hawaiians are a distinct and unique indigenous people 
    with a historical continuity to the original inhabitants of the 
    Hawaiian archipelago, whose society was organized as a nation and 
    internationally recognized as such by the United States, Britain, 
    France, and Japan, as evidenced by treaties governing friendship, 
    commerce, and navigation.
        (2) At the time of the arrival of the first non-indigenous 
    people in Hawai`i in 1778, the Native Hawaiian people lived in a 
    highly organized, self-sufficient subsistence social system based on 
    a communal land tenure system with a sophisticated language, 
    culture, and religion.
        (3) A unified monarchial government of the Hawaiian Islands was 
    established in 1810 under Kamehameha I, the first King of Hawai`i.
        (4) From 1826 until 1893, the United States recognized the 
    sovereignty and independence of the Kingdom of Hawai`i, which was 
    established in 1810 under Kamehameha I, extended full and complete 
    diplomatic recognition to the Kingdom of Hawai`i, and entered into 
    treaties and conventions with the Kingdom of Hawai`i to govern 
    friendship, commerce and navigation in 1826, 1842, 1849, 1875, and 
    1887.
        (5) In 1893, the sovereign, independent, internationally 
    recognized, and indigenous government of Hawai`i, the Kingdom of 
    Hawai`i, was overthrown by a small group of non-Hawaiians, including 
    United States citizens, who were assisted in their efforts by the 
    United States Minister, a United States naval representative, and 
    armed naval forces of the United States. Because of the 
    participation of United States agents and citizens in the overthrow 
    of the Kingdom of Hawai`i, the Congress, on behalf of the people of 
    the United States, apologized to Native Hawaiians for the overthrow 
    and the deprivation of the rights of Native Hawaiians to self-
    determination through Public Law 103-150 (107 Stat. 1510).
        (6) In 1898, the joint resolution entitled ``A Joint Resolution 
    to provide for annexing the Hawaiian Islands to the United States'', 
    approved July 7, 1898 (30 Stat. 750), ceded absolute title of all 
    lands held by the Republic of Hawai`i, including the government and 
    crown lands of the former Kingdom of Hawai`i, to the United States, 
    but mandated that revenue generated from these lands be used 
    ``solely for the benefit of the inhabitants of the Hawaiian Islands 
    for educational and other public purposes''.
        (7) By 1919, the Native Hawaiian population had declined from an 
    estimated 1,000,000 in 1778 to an alarming 22,600, and in 
    recognition of this severe decline, the Congress in 1921 enacted the 
    Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920, which designated approximately 
    200,000 acres of ceded public lands for homesteading by Native 
    Hawaiians.
        (8) Through the enactment of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 
    1920, the Congress affirmed the special relationship between the 
    United States and the Native Hawaiians, as expressed by then 
    Secretary of the Interior Franklin K. Lane, who was quoted in the 
    committee report for the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920, as 
    saying: ``One thing that impressed me . . . was the fact that the 
    natives of the island who are our wards, I should say, and for whom 
    in a sense we are trustees, are falling off rapidly in numbers and 
    many of them are in poverty.''.
        (9) In 1938, the United States Congress again acknowledged the 
    unique status of the Hawaiian people by including in the Act of June 
    20, 1938 (52 Stat. 781 et seq.), a provision to lease lands within 
    the National Parks extension to Native Hawaiians and to permit 
    fishing in the area ``only by native Hawaiian residents of said area 
    or of adjacent villages and by visitors under their guidance.''.
        (10) Under the Act entitled ``An Act to provide for the 
    admission of the State of Hawai`i into the Union'' approved March 
    18, 1959 (73 Stat. 4), the United States transferred responsibility 
    for the administration of the Hawaiian Home Lands to the State of 
    Hawai`i but reaffirmed the trust relationship which existed between 
    the United States and the Hawaiian people by retaining the exclusive 
    power to enforce the trust, including the power to approve land 
    exchanges and legislative amendments affecting the rights of 
    beneficiaries under such Act.
        (11) In 1959, under the Act entitled ``An Act to provide for the 
    admission of the State of Hawai`i into the Union'', approved March 
    18, 1959 (73 Stat. 4), the United States ceded to the State of 
    Hawai`i title to the public lands formerly held by the United 
    States, but mandated that such lands be held by the State ``in 
    public trust'' and reaffirmed the special relationship which existed 
    between the United States and the Hawaiian people by retaining the 
    legal responsibility to enforce the public trust responsibility of 
    the State of Hawai`i for the betterment of the conditions of Native 
    Hawaiians, as defined in section 201(a) of the Hawaiian Homes 
    Commission Act, 1920.
        (12) The United States assumed special responsibilities for 
    Native Hawaiian lands and resources at the time of the annexation of 
    the Territory in 1898, upon adoption of the Hawaiian Homes 
    Commission Act, 1920, and upon admission of the State of Hawai`i 
    into the Union in 1959, and has retained certain of those 
    responsibilities.
        (13) In recognition of the special relationship which exists 
    between the United States and the Native Hawaiian people, the 
    Congress has extended to Native Hawaiians the same rights and 
    privileges accorded to American Indian, Alaska Native, Eskimo, and 
    Aleut communities under the Native American Programs Act of 1974 [42 
    U.S.C. 2991 et seq.], the American Indian Religious Freedom Act [42 
    U.S.C. 1996, 1996a], the National Museum of the American Indian Act 
    [20 U.S.C. 80q et seq.], the Native American Graves Protection and 
    Repatriation Act [25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.], the National Historic 
    Preservation Act [16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.], and the Native American 
    Languages Act [25 U.S.C. 2901 et seq.].
        (14) In recognition of the special relationship which exists 
    between the United States and the Native Hawaiian people, the 
    Congress has enacted numerous special provisions of law for the 
    benefit of Native Hawaiians in the areas of health, education, 
    labor, and housing.
        (15) In 1981, the Senate instructed the Office of Education to 
    submit to the Congress a comprehensive report on Native Hawaiian 
    education. The report, entitled the ``Native Hawaiian Educational 
    Assessment Project'', was released in 1983 and documented that 
    Native Hawaiians scored below parity with national norms on 
    standardized achievement tests, were disproportionately represented 
    in many negative social and physical statistics, indicative of 
    special educational needs, and had educational needs which were 
    related to their unique cultural situation, such as different 
    learning styles and low self-image.
        (16) In recognition of the educational needs of Native 
    Hawaiians, in 1988, the Congress enacted title IV of the Augustus F. 
    Hawkins-Robert T. Stafford Elementary and Secondary School 
    Improvement Amendments of 1988 to authorize and develop supplemental 
    educational programs to benefit Native Hawaiians.
        (17) In 1993, the Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate released a 
    ten-year update of the Native Hawaiian Educational Assessment 
    Project, which found that despite the successes of the programs 
    established under title IV of the Augustus F. Hawkins-Robert T. 
    Stafford Elementary and Secondary School Improvement Amendments of 
    1988, many of the same educational needs still exist for Native 
    Hawaiians. For example--
            (A) educational risk factors continue to start even before 
        birth for many Native Hawaiian children, including--
                (i) late or no prenatal care;
                (ii) half of Native Hawaiian women who give birth are 
            unmarried; and
                (iii) high rates of births to teenage parents;

            (B) Native Hawaiian students continue to begin their school 
        experience lagging behind other students in terms of readiness 
        factors such as vocabulary test scores;
            (C) Native Hawaiian students continue to score below 
        national norms on standardized education achievement tests at 
        all grade levels;
            (D) both public and private schools continue to show a 
        pattern of lower percentages of Native Hawaiian students in the 
        uppermost achievement levels and in gifted and talented 
        programs;
            (E) Native Hawaiian students continue to be overrepresented 
        among students qualifying for special education programs 
        provided to students with learning disabilities, mild mental 
        retardation, emotional impairment, and other such disabilities;
            (F) Native Hawaiians continue to be underrepresented in 
        institutions of higher education and among adults who have 
        completed four or more years of college;
            (G) Native Hawaiians continue to be disproportionately 
        represented in many negative social and physical statistics, 
        indicative of special educational needs, for example--
                (i) Native Hawaiian students are more likely to be 
            retained in grade level and to be excessively absent in 
            secondary school;
                (ii) Native Hawaiian students are the highest users of 
            drugs and alcohol in the State of Hawai`i; and
                (iii) Native Hawaiian children continue to be 
            disproportionately victimized by child abuse and neglect; 
            and

            (H) Native Hawaiians now comprise over 23 percent of the 
        students served by the State of Hawai`i Department of Education 
        and there are and will continue to be geographically rural, 
        isolated areas with a high Native Hawaiian population density.

        (18) The findings described in paragraphs (1) through (17) are 
    contrary to the high rate of literacy and integration of traditional 
    culture and Western education achieved by Native Hawaiians through a 
    Hawaiian language-based public school system established in 1840 by 
    Kamehameha III.
        (19) After the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawai`i in 1893, 
    Hawaiian medium schools were banned. After annexation, throughout 
    the territorial and statehood period, and until 1986, use of 
    Hawaiian as a medium of education in public schools was declared 
    unlawful, thereby causing incalculable harm to a culture that placed 
    a very high value on the power of language, as exemplified in the 
    traditional saying: ``I ka `olelo no ke ola; I ka `olelo no ka make. 
    In the language rests life; In the language rests death.''.
        (20) Despite the consequences of over 100 years of nonindigenous 
    influence, the Native Hawaiian people are determined to preserve, 
    develop, and transmit to future generations their ancestral 
    territory, and their cultural identity in accordance with their own 
    spiritual and traditional beliefs, customs, practices, language, and 
    social institutions.
        (21) The State of Hawai`i, in the constitution and statutes of 
    the State of Hawai`i--
            (A) reaffirms and protects the unique right of the Native 
        Hawaiian people to practice and perpetuate their culture and 
        religious customs, beliefs, practices, and language; and
            (B) recognizes the traditional language of the Native 
        Hawaiian people as an official language of the State of Hawai`i, 
        which may be used as the language of instruction for all 
        subjects and grades in the public school system.

(Pub. L. 89-10, title IX, Sec. 9202, as added Pub. L. 103-382, title I, 
Sec. 101, Oct. 20, 1994, 108 Stat. 3794.)

                       References in Text

    Public Law 103-150, referred to in par. (5), is Pub. L. 103-150, 
Nov. 23, 1993, 107 Stat. 1510, which is not classified to the Code.
    A Joint Resolution to provide for annexing the Hawaiian Islands to 
the United States, approved July 7, 1898, referred to in par. (6), is 
act July 7, 1898, No. 55, 30 Stat. 750, known as the Newlands 
Resolution. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see 
Tables.
    The Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920, referred to in pars. (7), 
(8), (11), and (12), is act July 9, 1921, ch. 42, 42 Stat. 108, as 
amended, which was classified generally to sections 691 to 718 of Title 
48, Territories and Insular Possessions, and was omitted from the Code. 
Section 201 of the Act was classified to section 692 of Title 48.
    Act of June 20, 1938, referred to in par. (9), is act June 20, 1938, 
ch. 530, 52 Stat. 781, which is classified to sections 391b, 391b-1, 
392b, 392c, 396, and 396a of Title 16, Conservation. For complete 
classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables.
    An Act to provide for the admission of the State of Hawaii into the 
Union, referred to in pars. (10) and (11), is Pub. L. 86-3, Mar. 18, 
1959, 73 Stat. 4, as amended, popularly known as the Hawaii Statehood 
Admissions Act, which is set out as a note preceding former section 491 
of Title 48, Territories and Insular Possessions. For complete 
classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables.
    The Native American Programs Act of 1974, referred to in par. (13), 
is title VIII of Pub. L. 88-452, as added by Pub. L. 93-644, Sec. 11, 
Jan. 4, 1975, 88 Stat. 2324, which is classified generally to subchapter 
VIII (Sec. 2991 et seq.) of chapter 34 of Title 42, The Public Health 
and Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see 
section 2991 of Title 42 and Tables.
    The American Indian Religious Freedom Act, referred to in par. (13), 
is Pub. L. 95-341, Aug. 11, 1978, 92 Stat. 469, as amended, which is 
classified to sections 1996 and 1996a of Title 42, The Public Health and 
Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short 
Title note set out under section 1996 of Title 42 and Tables.
    The National Museum of the American Indian Act, referred to in par. 
(13), is Pub. L. 101-185, Nov. 28, 1989, 103 Stat. 1336, which is 
classified generally to subchapter XIII (Sec. 80q et seq.) of chapter 3 
of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see 
Short Title note set out under section 80q of this title and Tables.
    The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, referred 
to in par. (13), is Pub. L. 101-601, Nov. 16, 1990, 104 Stat. 3048, 
which is classified principally to chapter 32 (Sec. 3001 et seq.) of 
Title 25, Indians. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, 
see Short Title note set out under section 3001 of Title 25 and Tables.
    The National Historic Preservation Act, referred to in par. (13), is 
Pub. L. 89-665, Oct. 15, 1966, 80 Stat. 915, as amended, which is 
classified generally to subchapter II (Sec. 470 et seq.) of chapter 1A 
of Title 16, Conservation. For complete classification of this Act to 
the Code, see section 470 of Title 16 and Tables.
    The Native American Languages Act, referred to in par. (13), is 
title I of Pub. L. 101-477, Oct. 30, 1990, 104 Stat. 1153, which is 
classified generally to chapter 31 (Sec. 2901 et seq.) of Title 25, 
Indians. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short 
Title note set out under section 2901 of Title 25 and Tables.
    The Augustus F. Hawkins-Robert T. Stafford Elementary and Secondary 
School Improvement Amendments of 1988, referred to in pars. (16) and 
(17), is Pub. L. 100-297, Apr. 28, 1988, 102 Stat. 130, as amended. 
Title IV of the Act was classified generally to chapter 61 (Sec. 4901 et 
seq.) of this title prior to repeal by Pub. L. 103-382, title III, 
Sec. 363, Oct. 20, 1994, 108 Stat. 3975.
