
GRACIOUS STATESMAN. Senator Daniel Akaka, the first Native
Hawaiian to serve in the senate, leaves the senate chamber on
Capitol Hill in Washington after delivering his farewell speech,
in this December 12, 2012 file photo. The former senator, the
humble and gracious statesman who served in Washington with
aloha for more than three decades, died April 5, 2018 at the age
of 93. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
From The Asian Reporter, V28, #8 (April 16, 2018),
page .
Daniel Akaka, first Native Hawaiian in
congress, dies at 93
By Caleb Jones
The Associated Press
HONOLULU — Former senator Daniel Kahikina Akaka, the first
Native Hawaiian elected to congress who served for more than
three decades, has died. He was 93 years old.
Akaka died in Honolulu after being hospitalized for several
months, said Jon Yoshimura, the senator’s former communications
director.
The Democrat served 14 years in the U.S. House before he was
appointed to replace senator Spark Matsunaga, who died of cancer
in spring 1990. Akaka won the election that fall for the rest of
Matsunaga’s term, and voters sent him back for consecutive terms
until 2012, when he chose not to seek re-election.
His legislative style was described as low-key, a
characterization he embraced.
"I have a Hawaiian style of dealing with my colleagues," he
said.
Akaka developed a reputation as a congenial legislator who
made many friends while making few waves in pressing the
interests of the 50th state.
"Senator Daniel Kahikina Akaka embodied the aloha spirit,"
senator Mazie Hirono of Hawai‘i said in a statement. "He
dedicated his life to serving the people of Hawai‘i as an
educator, and in the U.S. Army, state government, the U.S.
House, and the U.S. Senate. In congress, senator Akaka’s care,
empathy, and collegiality served as an example for us all."
In 1996, Akaka sponsored federal legislation that ultimately
resulted in Medals of Honor — the Army’s highest honor for
bravery — for 22 Asian-American soldiers who fought during World
War II. Those soldiers included the late senator Daniel Inouye,
who was severely wounded in Italy while serving with the famed
Japanese-American 442nd Regimental Combat Team.
Akaka once said his main accomplishment in congress was
obtaining federal funds for Hawai‘i for education, energy, and
Native Hawaiian programs.
In the 2006 general election, the then-82-year-old senator
stressed the value of his senate seniority and his opposition to
the war in Iraq. Akaka went on to become chairman of the senate
Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
He expanded his harsh criticism of the George W. Bush
administration, getting involved in a number of issues with a
more aggressive congressional staff. A World War II veteran,
Akaka often stressed the hidden damage of war, including mental
illness among veterans.
"As we work to meet the needs of all returning service
members," Akaka said, "we must pay close attention to the full
range of war wounds, from eye trauma and damage to service
members’ hearing, to (post-traumatic stress disorder) and
depression, to burn injuries."
He introduced several measures to improve services to
veterans, help aging Filipino vets who fought for America in
World War II, and end contactor waste and fraud in Iraq.
But Akaka gained the most attention for his fight to pass
legislation that carried his name.
The Hawaiian Recognition Bill, known widely as the Akaka
Bill, was intended to give Native Hawaiians the same recognition
as Native Americans and Alaska Natives.
Opponents called it unconstitutional favoritism toward one
race even though it had broad bipartisan support in Hawai‘i, a
state where no ethnic group makes up the majority of residents.
Even some Native Hawaiians expressed doubts, arguing it would
give the federal government too much immunity from their claims
regarding land or other issues.
House minority leader Nancy Pelosi remembered Akaka as a
strong advocate for all Native people.
"Daniel Akaka was a clarion voice for the rights and needs of
Native peoples, ensuring that our commitment to Tribal nations
and Native Hawaiians was never forgotten," Pelosi said in a
statement.
Akaka’s first foray into elective politics was an
unsuccessful primary race for lieutenant governor in 1974. He
eventually became a special assistant to then-governor George
Ariyoshi.
Two years later, Akaka easily won election in Hawai‘i’s 2nd
Congressional District — encompassing rural Oahu and the islands
of Hawaii, Kauai, Maui, Molokai, and Niihau — and was re-elected
six more times with at least 86 percent of the vote.
Born in 1924, Akaka grew up in a devoutly Christian home in
Honolulu. He was the youngest of eight children of a Native
Hawaiian mother and a Hawaiian-Chinese father.
After serving in the Army Corps of Engineers during World War
II, Akaka earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in
education at the University of Hawai‘i. He was a public school
teacher, principal, and program specialist for 18 years before
becoming director of the Hawai‘i Office of Economic Opportunity
in 1971.
Akaka is survived by his wife, Mary Mildred "Millie" Chong,
four sons, a daughter, and many grandchildren and
great-grandchildren.
Associated Press writers Sophia Yan in Honolulu and Becky
Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska, contributed to this report. |