Kahele Honors Former Big Island Mayor Billy Kenoi On US House Floor - Honolulu Civil Beat
Kahele Honors Former Big Island Mayor Billy Kenoi On US House Floor
The Hawaii congressman described Kenoi as his mentor and one of the people who helped convince him to pursue politics. Reading time: 1 minute.
WASHINGTON Hawaii Congressman Kai Kahele took to the House floor Thursday to honor fellow Big Island politician Billy Kenoi, who died last month at the age of 52 after a lengthy battle with cancer.
Kahele shared a story about the death of his own father, Gil Kahele, in 2016 while he was still serving as a Hawaii state senator.
“We have an awakened generation of Native Hawaiians that know their past, they understand and speak their language and they’re not turning back… People are split about how to right the wrongs, whether it’s through sovereignty or federal recognition, and part of my role is trying to figure out what the future path looks like. Having a voice in Congress and representation at the table is important.”
Representation is also important symbolically, argues Kahele. “It sends a message to indigenous peoples around the world that their voices matter, that their history, language and culture matter, and that you’ll have people fighting for that in the United States of America’s Congress. We can be an example for other countries dealing with these same issues.”
Thursday, December 17, 2020
The next time you walk through the doors at 1849 C Street, NW, the portrait above the security desk may well feature the first Native American Secretary of the Interior. As has been widely reported, Congresswoman Deb Haaland (D-NM-01) and former Interior Deputy Secretary Michael Connor are among several Native American candidates currently being vetted for the position.
As President-elect Joe Biden prepares to take the helm on January 20, his transition team is identifying landing teams, political nominees, policy agendas, and management plans for early action. For Indian Country, the Biden Campaign’s Plan for Tribal Nations serves as a useful framework for early action, with public safety and justice, infrastructure, access to capital, federal procurement, clean energy, climate change, environmental justice, land into trust, and conservation all featured prominently.