(B) accorded full diplomatic recognition to 
the Kingdom of Hawaii; and 
(C) entered into treaties and conventions 
with the Kingdom of Hawaii to govern com-
merce and navigation in 1826, 1842, 1849, 
1875, and 1887; 
(5) pursuant to the Hawaiian Homes Commis-
sion Act, 1920 (42 Stat. 108, chapter 42), the 
United States set aside approximately 203,500 acres 
of land to address the conditions of Native Hawai-
ians in the Federal territory that later became the 
State of Hawaii; 
(6) by setting aside 203,500 acres of land for 
Native Hawaiian homesteads and farms, the Hawai-
ian Homes Commission Act assists the members of 
the Native Hawaiian community in maintaining dis-
tinct native settlements throughout the State of Ha-
waii; 
(7) approximately 6,800 Native Hawaiian fami-
lies reside on the Hawaiian Home Lands and ap-
proximately 18,000 Native Hawaiians who are eligi-
ble to reside on the Hawaiian Home Lands are on 
a waiting list to receive assignments of Hawaiian 
Home Lands; 
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(8)(A) in 1959, as part of the compact with the 
United States admitting Hawaii into the Union, 
Congress established a public trust (commonly 
known as the ‘‘ceded lands trust’’), for 5 purposes, 
1 of which is the betterment of the conditions of Na-
tive Hawaiians; 
(B) the public trust consists of lands, including 
submerged lands, natural resources, and the reve-
nues derived from the lands; and 
(C) the assets of this public trust have never 
been completely inventoried or segregated; 
(9) Native Hawaiians have continuously sought 
access to the ceded lands in order to establish and 
maintain native settlements and distinct native com-
munities throughout the State; 
(10) the Hawaiian Home Lands and other 
ceded lands provide an important foundation for the 
ability of the Native Hawaiian community to main-
tain the practice of Native Hawaiian culture, lan-
guage, and traditions, and for the survival and eco-
nomic self-sufficiency of the Native Hawaiian people; 
(11) Native Hawaiians continue to maintain 
other distinctly native areas in Hawaii; 
(12) on November 23, 1993, Public Law 103– 
150 (107 Stat. 1510) (commonly known as the 
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‘‘Apology Resolution’’) was enacted into law, extend-
ing an apology on behalf of the United States to the 
native people of Hawaii for the United States’ role 
in the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii; 
(13) the Apology Resolution acknowledges that 
the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii occurred 
with the active participation of agents and citizens 
of the United States and further acknowledges that 
the Native Hawaiian people never directly relin-
quished to the United States their claims to their in-
herent sovereignty as a people over their national 
lands, either through the Kingdom of Hawaii or 
through a plebiscite or referendum; 
(14) the Apology Resolution expresses the com-
mitment of Congress and the President— 
(A) to acknowledge the ramifications of the 
overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii; 
(B) to support reconciliation efforts be-
tween the United States and Native Hawaiians; 
and 
(C) to consult with Native Hawaiians on 
the reconciliation process as called for in the 
Apology Resolution; 
(15) despite the overthrow of the government of 
the Kingdom of Hawaii, Native Hawaiians have con-
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tinued to maintain their separate identity as a single 
distinct native community through cultural, social, 
and political institutions, and to give expression to 
their rights as native people to self-determination, 
self-governance, and economic self-sufficiency; 
(16) Native Hawaiians have also given expres-
sion to their rights as native people to self-deter-
mination, self-governance, and economic self-suffi-
ciency— 
(A) through the provision of governmental 
services to Native Hawaiians, including the pro-
vision of— 
(i) health care services; 
(ii) educational programs; 
(iii) employment and training pro-
grams; 
(iv) economic development assistance 
programs; 
(v) children’s services; 
(vi) conservation programs; 
(vii) fish and wildlife protection; 
(viii) agricultural programs; 
(ix) native language immersion pro-
grams; 
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(x) native language immersion schools 
from kindergarten through high school; 
(xi) college and master’s degree pro-
grams in native language immersion in-
struction; and 
(xii) traditional justice programs, and 
(B) by continuing their efforts to enhance 
Native Hawaiian self-determination and local 
control; 
(17) Native Hawaiians are actively engaged in 
Native Hawaiian cultural practices, traditional agri-
cultural methods, fishing and subsistence practices, 
maintenance of cultural use areas and sacred sites, 
protection of burial sites, and the exercise of their 
traditional rights to gather medicinal plants and 
herbs, and food sources; 
(18) the Native Hawaiian people wish to pre-
serve, develop, and transmit to future generations of 
Native Hawaiians their lands and Native Hawaiian 
political and cultural identity in accordance with 
their traditions, beliefs, customs and practices, lan-
guage, and social and political institutions, to con-
trol and manage their own lands, including ceded 
lands, and to achieve greater self-determination over 
their own affairs; 
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(19) this Act provides a process within the 
framework of Federal law for the Native Hawaiian 
people to exercise their inherent rights as a distinct, 
indigenous, native community to reorganize a single 
Native Hawaiian governing entity for the purpose of 
giving expression to their rights as native people to 
self-determination and self-governance; 
(20) Congress— 
(A) has declared that the United States 
has a special political and legal relationship for 
the welfare of the native peoples of the United 
States, including Native Hawaiians; 
(B) has identified Native Hawaiians as a 
distinct group of indigenous, native people of 
the United States within the scope of its au-
thority under the Constitution, and has enacted 
scores of statutes on their behalf; and 
(C) has delegated broad authority to the 
State of Hawaii to administer some of the 
United States’ responsibilities as they relate to 
the Native Hawaiian people and their lands; 
(21) the United States has recognized and re-
affirmed the special political and legal relationship 
with the Native Hawaiian people through the enact-
ment of the Act entitled, ‘‘An Act to provide for the 
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