Commemorating Native American Heritage Month

Floor Statement of Chairman Daniel K. Akaka

Wed, November 16, 2011

Remarks as prepared for delivery on the U.S. Senate Floor

    Mr. President, as Chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs, I am sponsoring a resolution, co-sponsored by Majority Leader Reid, Vice-Chairman Barrasso and several members of the Committee, designating November as Native American Heritage Month and November 25^th of this year as Native American Heritage Day.
   
    This resolution recognizes the contributions of Native Americans.  We see the influence of the Iroquois Confederacy on the Founding Fathers of our country as they drafted the Constitution.  And today, Native American contributions in modern agriculture, medicine, music, language, and art are undeniable. 
   
    In that tradition of service, Native Americans have had the highest representation, per capita, in our Armed Forces in every war since World War II.
   
    As a veteran of World War II and as a Native Hawaiian, I celebrate the heroic work of the Code Talkers, and the countless American military victories that were achieved in both World Wars with the unbreakable military code founded on indigenous languages and cultures. 
   
    As we reflect on Native American Heritage Month, it is important to remember our history and the promises we made.  It is time to account for those promises, kept and unkept. 
   
    As a nation, we were built on the highest principles.  Our Founding Fathers embraced equality, liberty, and justice and incorporated them into the very fabric of our Constitution.
   
    They contemplated the unique role of indigenous peoples in our country, and acknowledged their sovereignty in Article one, Section eight of the Constitution.
   
    The Founding Fathers set a high standard.  As Americans, and as members of this body, it is our duty to continue to legislate policies in keeping with our founding principles.
   
    For this reason, I applaud President Obama's recent commitment of U.S. support for the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples-an international standard that I have been championing for more than a decade.
   
    In the Committee on Indian Affairs, I held an oversight hearing on the domestic policy implications of the Declaration.  We found that while the United States is a world leader in recognizing and protecting the rights of indigenous peoples, there is more work to do. 
   
    The rights of self-determination and self-governance contained in the Declaration are American ideas, ones that we have embraced as official federal policy for more than 45 years. 
   
    I am committed to working with my colleagues to enact legislation that gives real meaning to the high principles expressed in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. 
   
    In the United States, November - Native American Heritage Month - is a time when we reflect and give thanks. 
   
    And I encourage my fellow Americans to learn more about the Native peoples of this land, and celebrate Native American Heritage Day on the day after Thanksgiving. 
   
    As we honor the contributions of Native Americans, let us recommit ourselves to the high principles of self-determination and self-governance and strive for what is pono, just and right, for all, including our first Americans.