H. Res. 541 
In the House of Representatives, U. S., 
September 8, 2009. 
Whereas the Bishop Museum was founded in 1889 in Hono-
lulu, Hawai‘i, by Charles Reed Bishop in memory of his 
beloved wife, Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, the great 
granddaughter of Kamehameha I, to house the personal 
legacies and bequests of the royal Kamehameha and 
Kala¯kaua families; 
Whereas the mission of the Bishop Museum since its incep-
tion is to study, preserve, and tell the stories of the cul-
tures and natural history of Hawai‘i and the Pacific 
Ocean; 
Whereas the Bishop Museum’s collections include some 
24,000,000 objects, collectively the largest Hawai‘i and 
Pacific area collection in the world, including over 
1,200,000 cultural objects representing Native Hawaiian, 
Pacific Islands, and Hawai‘i immigrant life, more than 
125,000 historical publications including many in the 
Hawaiian language, 1,000,000 historical photographs, 
films, works of art, audio recordings, and manuscripts, 
and over 22,000,000 plant and animal specimens; 
Whereas a primary goal of the Bishop Museum is to serve 
and represent the interests of Native Hawaiians by ad-
vancing Native Hawaiian culture and education, pro-
tecting the collections and increasing access to such col-
•HRES 541 EH 
lections, and strengthening the Museum’s connections 
with the schools of Hawai‘i; 
Whereas the national significance of the Bishop Museum’s 
cultural collection lies in the Native Hawaiian collection, 
which collectively represents the largest public resource in 
the world documenting a unique way of life and a source 
of knowledge and inspiration for numerous visitors, re-
searchers, students, Native Hawaiian craftsmen, teach-
ers, community, and spiritual leaders over the years, es-
pecially since the Hawaiian cultural revival, which has 
been steadily growing and gaining in popularity in recent 
years; 
Whereas over 300,000 people visit the Bishop Museum each 
year to learn about Hawaiian culture and experience Ha-
waiian Hall; 
Whereas the primary reason for visiting the Bishop Museum, 
given by an average of 400,000 visitors each year, is 
their desire to see Hawaiian Hall and to learn about Ha-
waiian culture; 
Whereas Hawaiian Hall is the Nation’s only showcase of its 
size, proportions, design, and historic context that is de-
voted to the magnificent legacy of Hawai‘i’s kings and 
queens, and the legacies of its Native Hawaiian people of 
all walks of life and ages; 
Whereas Hawaiian Hall, one of three interconnected struc-
tures known as the Hawaiian Hall Complex and con-
structed between 1889 and 1903, is considered a master-
piece of late Victorian museum design with its Kameha-
meha blue stone exterior quarried on site and extensive 
use of Native koa wood, and is one of the few examples
•HRES 541 EH 
of Romanesque Richardsonian-style museum buildings to 
have survived basically unchanged; 
Whereas Hawaiian Hall, designed by noted Hawai‘i architects 
C.B. Ripley and C.W. Dickey in 1898, was placed on the 
National Register of Historic Places in 1982 based on its 
unique combination of architectural, cultural, scientific, 
educational, and historical significance; 
Whereas the restoration and renovation of Hawaiian Hall and 
its exhibits, conducted by noted Hawai‘i architect Glenn 
Mason and noted national and international museum ex-
hibit designer Ralph Appelbaum, is integral to the Bishop 
Museum’s ability to fulfill its mission and achieve its pri-
mary goal of serving and representing the interests of 
Native Hawaiians; 
Whereas the restoration and renovation of Hawaiian Hall, 
commenced in 2005, included the building of a new gath-
ering place in an enclosed, glass walled atrium, improved 
access through the installation of an elevator in the new 
atrium to all three floors of the Hall and other buildings 
in the Hawaiian Hall Complex, improved collection pres-
ervation through the installation of new, state of the art 
environmental controls, lighting, security, and fire sup-
pression systems, and restored original woodwork and 
metalwork; 
Whereas the restoration and renovation of the Hawaiian 
Hall’s exhibits brings multiple voices and a Native Ha-
waiian perspective to bear on the Bishop Museum’s treas-
ures by conveying the essential values, beliefs, complexity, 
and achievements of Hawaiian culture through exquisite 
and fragile artifacts in a setting that emphasizes their 
mana (power and essence) and the place in which such 
artifacts were created;
•HRES 541 EH 
Whereas the new exhibit incorporates contemporary Native 
Hawaiian artwork illustrating traditional stories, legends, 
and practices, and contemporary Native Hawaiian voices 
interpreting the practices and traditions through multiple 
video presentations; 
Whereas the new exhibit features over 2,000 objects and im-
ages from the Bishop Museum’s collections on the open 
floor, mezzanines, and the center space conceptually or-
ganized to represent three traditional realms or wao of 
the Hawaiian world—Kai A¯kea, the expansive sea from 
which gods and people came, Wao Ka¯naka, the realm of 
people, and Wao Lani, the realm of gods and the ali‘i, 
or chiefs, who descended from them; 
Whereas the new exhibit’s ending display celebrates the 
strength, glory, and achievements of Native Hawaiians 
with a large 40-panel mural titled Ho‘ohuli, To Cause An 
Overturning, A Change, made by students of Native Ha-
waiian charter schools in collaboration with Native Ha-
waiian artists and other students, and interpreted by Na-
tive Hawaiian artists and teachers in a video presen-
tation; and 
Whereas the people of the United States wish to convey their 
sincerest appreciation to the Bishop Museum for its serv-
ice and devotion: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) recognizes the reopening of historic Hawaiian 
Hall on the 120th anniversary of the founding of the 
Bishop Museum in Honolulu, Hawai‘i; and 
(2) honors and praises the Bishop Museum, on the 
occasion of its reopening and 120th anniversary, for its
•HRES 541 EH 
work to ensure the preservation, study, education, and 
appreciation of Native Hawaiian culture and history. 
Attest: 
Clerk.