eVols at University of Hawaii at Manoa

Kahele, Kaialiʻi

University of Hawaii at Manoa Hamilton Library
eVols Repository https://evols.library.manoa.hawaii.edu
Public relations Speeches
TEDx Hawaiʻi County PSA
Congressman Kaialiʻi Kahele Papers
Public relations, Speeches and Statements
https://hdl.handle.net/10524/84312
Items in eVols are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.
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TEDx Hawaiʻi County PSA 
 
 
"We are running out of time.  
 
Our planet is undergoing dramatic changes  
At a pace and scale unlike ever before. 
Instead of fighting over the cause of our problems, we must focus on solutions.  
 
With a culture rooted deep in indigenous wisdom;  
an unshakeable connection with nature  
and a vast network of innovative thinkers  
Hawai’i Island has the potential to be the epicenter of global change.  
 
We have the power and the resources  
to create a better future 
for our children,  
for the aina,  
for Hawai’i  
and for the world.  
 
But we must come together.  
 
On November 13,  
TEDx and the County of Hawai’i will bring together Hawaii’s best innovators, 
thoughtleaders,  
changemakers 
and a community that will prove  
local insights grow global changes.  
 
Learn more and join the movement at tedxcountyofhawaii.com" 


English

TEDx Hawaiʻi County PSA

University of Hawaii at Manoa Hamilton Library
eVols Repository https://evols.library.manoa.hawaii.edu
Public relations Speeches
Wounded Knee speech
Congressman Kaialiʻi Kahele Papers
Public relations, Speeches and Statements
https://hdl.handle.net/10524/84299
Items in eVols are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.
UHM Library Digital Collections Disclaimer and Copyright Information
Wounded Knee Speech 
2021.06.25 
 
 
Aloha kakahiaka kakou! 
 
Good morning to all of you! 
 
For those of you who I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting, I am Kaialiʻi Kahele, a kanaka 
maoli, a Native Hawaiian and the freshman Congressman representing Hawaiʻi. I am deeply 
honored to be here with you today at the National Native American Veterans Memorial. 
 
Today is a historic day. Today all of us stand together at this sacred memorial in solidarity to 
correct history by shining a bright, a disinfecting light, on the atrocities that happened over 130 
years ago during the Wounded Knee Massacre. 
 
I would like to recognize and extend my gratitude to the National Buffalo Soldiers Association for 
their Proclamation in support of rectifying the past wrongs for the descendants of the Wounded 
Knee Massacre. 
 
For far too long, history books across the United States have failed to recount and teach about 
the horrific acts of savagery AGAINST our country’s Indigenous people’s --telling a one sided 
story that dismisses our ancestors stories and erases our cultural experiences from history. 
 
Hawaiians have a saying: E hana mua a pa‘a ke kahua ma mua o ke a‘o ana aku iā ha‘i. 
 
Build yourself a firm foundation before teaching others. 
 
Today - we begin to build that firm foundation together. Today, we gather so that our collective 
voices will be heard loud and clear as one voice. Today we gather to let the world know we 
have not forgotten - and we refuse to be forgotten. 
 
If we are to have any chance at a just and prosperous future, we must begin by demanding the 
truth be told about our collective past. 
 
As a Native Hawaiian serving in Congress, it is my kuleana, my responsibility, to act as a voice 
for my ancestors who have been silenced - like many of your ancestors. 
 
I humbly ask that my kuleana to my ancestors also become a kuleana to your ancestors. I 
humbly ask for the honor of not only lifting up my people - but our people. 
 
I firmly believe that by working together, united under a shared cause, as the Buffalo 
Association and Wounded Knee Descendants are doing right now, we can continue to tear 
down the pillars of colonialism. However, this does not mean we have forgotten the violence, 
more must be done. 
 
To that end, in March, I was honored to reintroduce the Remove the Stain Act in the 
United States House of Representatives alongside the Senate companion bill introduced by 
Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Senator Jeff Merkeley of Oregon. 
 
The Remove the Stain Act will rescind the twenty Medals of Honor unrightfully awarded to the 
members of the United States Army 7th Cavalry following the Wounded Knee Massacre. 
 
By any standard, the actions of U.S. soldiers at Wounded Knee in 1890 shock the conscience. 
Although specific accounts may vary, there is no dispute that the battle was one-sided. 
 
The U.S. forces numbered nearly 500 and were equipped with state of the art munitions, while 
the Sioux tribe of just 120 men were mostly unarmed. 
 
It is estimated that an additional 200 civilian women and children were killed. 
 
In total, 300 people, mostly unarmed, mostly women and children, were massacred. 
 
Did the government respond with disgust and horror? No. Instead, twenty Medals of Honor were 
awarded to soldiers of the 7th Cavalry for these actions. 
 
It would take Congress 100 years to officially recognize the event as a massacre, but 
recognizing the horrors of that day does not go far enough. We must go further. 
 
As a proud veteran and a member of the Armed Services Committee, I know that the Medal of 
Honor is the highest and most prestigious U.S. military decoration. The actions of Medal of 
Honor recipients inspire bravery in those currently serving in the Armed Forces, and motivate 
those who will serve our country in the future. 
 
The fact that twenty individuals who participated in the massacre of hundreds of unarmed 
Native Americans still hold the Medal of Honor tarnishes the integrity of the award, and it stains 
the reputation of those who do live up to the standard. It is time to rescind these twenty Medals 
of Honor. 
 
There was nothing, nothing, honorable about the soldiers' actions that day. And we must - if the 
word honor is to mean anything in this country - if it is to hold any significance for those who 
hold the Medal of Honor today - restore honor to this prestigious award by removing the stains 
of the past. 
 
I am also proud to honor the legacy of the late Senator Daniel K. Inouye - a decorated 
war hero and a recipient of the Medal of Honor in 2000. As many of you know,Senator Inouye 
served as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs where he worked closely 
with the Indian Tribes, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians to advance and protect 
sovereignty. The Senator understood the importance of working together as indigenous peoples 
to advocate for shared causes and issues of particular importance 
to native communities as well as the need to form new alliances. 
 
It was one of his great honors to have been adopted into the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in the early 
2000s. Today, I stand on the foundation Senator Inouye laid before me and I hope to continue 
his hard work and dedication to indigenous issues. The Remove the Stain Act is an example of 
my commitment to native people across the Nation and I am honored to be here at this historic 
event today. 
 
We cannot undo the past, but we can demand that we start to tell the truth about it. And the 
truth matters. It is truth that lights the roads of justice. 
 
While the blood of those massacred over 100 years ago stains the hands of those U.S. army 
soldiers, the lingering injustice stains the collective conscience and moral fortitude of those of us 
who stand here today. 
 
Each one of us here, as especially people of color, knows the ongoing historic trauma that is 
perpetuated and persists every single day that injustice is allowed to go unacknowledged, 
unaddressed, unresolved and unrectified. 
 
So let us make a commitment here today - to our ancestors, to each other as brothers and 
sisters, and to all our descendants - that we will not rest until this injustice is remedied. 
 
We will not allow this injustice to pass on. We will not leave it to our children. This 
pain and hurt will not be part of our legacy for the next generation. 
 
May the bonds we form today never fray, and together, we can ensure that our future 
generations enjoy justice, prosperity, and light. 
 
E Ola Mau Nā Poʻe ʻŌiwi a E Ola Mau Ka Lāhui Hawaiʻi! 
  
Mahalo! 
 
 
--- 
 
WHO: Buffalo Associations and the Wounded Knee Massacre Descendants 
WHAT: Wounded Knee Massacre and passage of the Remove the Stain Act Proclamation 
WHERE: Native American Veterans Memorial 
WHEN: Friday, 6/25 at 9am ET 
 
WHAT: As the House lead on the Remove the Stain Act, Rep. Kahele is invited to speak on the 
significance of the legislation as a Native Hawaiian. Remarks are recommended to be 7 minutes 
long and should address the Buffalo Association and Wounded Knee Descendants. 
 
This historic event is the first time that descendants of ancestral enemies are uniting to address 
humanitarian causes common to their people. One hundred fifty-five years have passed since 
Congress commissioned the Buffalo Soldiers in 1866, 145 years since the Battle of the Little Big 
Horn (June 25th, 1876), and 131 years since the Wounded Knee Massacre (December 29th, 
1890). Although Native Americans and African Americans were once combatants in battle, they 
often fought with respect for each other's loyalty to their cause, and now they come as brethren 
in peace. 
  
Run of Show: 
-    Lakota drum group presenting a flag song/the National Anthem 
-    Posting of colors by the honor guards 
-    Buffalo Soldiers present their Proclamation 
-    Speakers representing the Buffalo Soldiers and the Wounded Knee descendants 
-    Special guests following the Proclamation presentation (KAHELE) 
-    Retrieval of colors, and the drum group will sing an honoring son 
 
Speech prep 
● The significance of the Remove the Stain Act 
● Sharing of causes amongst Native Hawaiians and Native Americans. 
● Forming new alliances among the disenfranchised to advocate for shared causes 
● Sen Inouye being adopted into their tribe 
● The stark contrast of our event, a humanitarian gesture of peaceful unification, with the 
anger and hateful emotions that scorched our nation less than a quarter-mile away on 
January 6th. 
○ Unification event that is happening here vs insurrection 
 
 
 
 
CONGRESSMAN KAHELE REMARKS DRAFT 
 
Aloha kakahiaka kakou!  
Good Morning to my fellow native brothers and sisters.  
I’m Congressman Kaialiʻi Kahele of Hawaiʻi and I am honored to stand alongside 
you here today at the Native American Veterans Memorial in peace to signal a 
historic moment of unity between the proud descendents of once ancestral 
enemies, and to correct history by acknowledging the atrocities that happened 
over 130 years ago during the Wounded Knee Massacre. I commend the 
National Buffalo Soldiers Association for presenting their Proclamation in support 
of the descendants of the Wounded Knee Massacre. For far too long, our history 
books have dismissed the horrific acts of savagery AGAINST Native Americans, 
Native Hawaiians and Alaskan Natives--telling a one sided story that disrespects 
our dignity and pride. We are gathered here today, united, so that our collective 
voices will be heard as one and to let it be known that we have not forgotten and 
we refuse to BE forgotten.  
As one of the only Native Hawaiians to serve in Congress, it is my kuleana, my 
responsibility, to act as a voice for my ancestors who have been silenced like 
many of your ancestors. But by working together, united under a shared cause, 
as the Buffalo Association and Wounded Knee Descendents are doing right now, 
we can move mountains and shake the pillars of colonialism which were 
established on the unmarked graves of our people. But our gathering today, 
which is grounded in unity and peace, is unlike the insurrection which took place 
on January 6th less than a quarter mile away upon the steps of our Nation’s 
Capitol. Although our hearts swell with pain and our spirits yearn for retribution, 
we join together peacefully because our purpose is a righteous one.  
In March, I was honored to serve as a steward of justice for the Wounded Knee 
descendents when I reintroduced the Remove the Stain Act in the United States 
House of Representatives alongside Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senator Jeff 
Markley. Our legislation will rescind the twenty Medals of Honor unrightfully 
awarded to the members of the United States Army 7th Cavalry following the 
Wounded Knee Massacre.  
The actions taken at Wounded Knee in 1890 shock the conscience, even by the 
standards of the time. Although accounts vary, the battle—which Congress 
officially recognized as a massacre in 1990—was incredibly one-sided. The U.S. 
forces numbered nearly 500 and were equipped with state of the art munitions, 
while the Sioux tribe of just 120 men were mostly unarmed. It is estimated that 
200 civilian women and children were killed. More shocking still is that twenty 
Medals of Honor were awarded to soldiers of the 7th Cavalry for these actions. 
 
As a proud veteran and a member of the Armed Services Committee, I know that 
the Medal of Honor is the highest and most prestigious U.S. military decoration. 
The actions of Medal of Honor recipients inspire bravery in those currently 
serving in the Armed Forces, and motivate those who will serve our country in 
the future. The fact that twenty individuals who participated in the massacre of 
hundreds of unarmed Native Americans still hold the Medal of Honor tarnishes 
the integrity of the award, and stains the reputation of those who do live up to the 
standard. It is time to rescind these twenty Medals of Honor. I believe we should 
honor the descendants of the Wounded Knee Massacre and those who hold the 
Medal of Honor today, by removing these stains of the past.  
I am also proud to honor the legacy of the late Senator, Daniel K. Inouye who 
worked closely with the Tribes and Alaska Natives to the end of his days. 
Senator Inouye understood the importance of working together as indigenous 
people to advocate for shared causes and issues of particular importance to 
native communities. He recognized the need to form new alliances among the 
historically disenfranchised indigenous people of this Nation to collectively 
advocate for the needs of our people. In fact, Senator Inouye was even adopted 
into the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in the early 2000s. I stand on the foundation 
Senator Inouye laid before me and I hope to continue his hard work and 
dedication to indigenous issues. The Remove the Stain Act is an example of my 
commitment to native people across the Nation and I am honored to be here at 
this historic event today.  
This is the first time descendants of ancestral enemies have come together to 
address humanitarian causes common to their people. One hundred fifty-five 
years have passed since Congress commissioned the Buffalo Soldiers in 1866, 
145 years since the Battle of the Little Big Horn (June 25th, 1876), and 131 years 
since the Wounded Knee Massacre (December 29th, 1890). Although Native 
Americans and African Americans were once combatants in battle, they often 
fought with respect for each other's loyalty to their cause, and now they come as 
brethren in peace. They march together not to forge a perfect union but to 
achieve the promise of a less imperfect one. 
There is still much work to be done. Our nation must do better. For too long our 
voices have fallen on deaf ears. But I stand before you today to tell you that 
together we can address the darkness of our past and work towards a brighter 
future. Indigenous people continue to rise through the ranks, enacting change 
that will last for generations.  
 
E Ola Mau Nā Poʻe ʻŌiwi a E Ola Mau Ka Lāhui Hawaiʻi! Mahalo!  
 
 
 
---- 
Press Release: 
 
March 26, 2021 
Warren, Merkley, and Kahele Reintroduce the Remove the Stain Act 
Legislation would revoke Medal of Honor from soldiers who slaughtered hundreds of Lakota 
men, women, and children at the Wounded Knee massacre 
 
Washington, D.C. - United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Jeff Merkley (D-
Ore.) and Congressman Kaialiʻi Kahele (D-Hawaii) reintroduced the Remove the Stain Act. The 
bill would revoke the Medal of Honor from the soldiers who perpetrated the Wounded Knee 
massacre on December 29, 1890, when U.S. soldiers slaughtered hundreds of Lakota men, 
women, and children—most of them unarmed—on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. 
Twenty soldiers in the regiment received the Medal of Honor—the highest military decoration—
for their actions at Wounded Knee.  
 
As the country’s highest military honor, the Medal of Honor is awarded in the name of Congress 
for “gallantry beyond the call of duty.” The soldiers’ acts of violence at Wounded Knee were not 
heroic, but rather tragic and profoundly shameful. The 101st Congress (1989–1990) adopted a 
concurrent resolution acknowledging the 100th anniversary of the massacre and “expresse[d] its 
deep regret on behalf of the United States” for the “terrible tragedy.”  
 
Congress has rescinded Medals of Honor before. The Remove the Stain Act respects and 
honors those who lost their lives, advances justice, and takes a step toward righting a profound 
wrong in our nation’s history. 
 
“The horrifying acts of violence against hundreds of Lakota men, women, and children at 
Wounded Knee should be condemned, not celebrated with Medals of Honor,” said Senator 
Warren. “The Remove the Stain Act acknowledges a profoundly shameful event in U.S. history, 
and that’s why I won’t stop fighting for this effort to advance justice and take a step toward 
righting wrongs against Native peoples.” 
 
“We must stop whitewashing and minimizing these horrifying chapters of our history 
immediately, and move forward with a commitment to remembering, reflecting on, and working 
to rectify them,” said Senator Merkley. “I hope this bill helps us tell the true story of what 
happened at Wounded Knee—a massacre of hundreds of innocent Lakota men, women, and 
children—and recognize the battle as an abhorrent tragedy.” 
 
"I'm proud to introduce the Remove the Stain Act in the House. Our bill rescinds the Medal of 
Honor from soldiers who shamefully massacred unarmed Lakota men, women and children at 
Wounded Knee,” said Congressman Kaialiʻi Kahele. “This horrific act of violence must not be 
rewarded. The Remove the Stain Act is legislation that is long overdue and is one step toward 
acknowledging a horrible wrong in our country’s history.”  
 
 
Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) are original 
cosponsors of the bill in the Senate. Representatives Dan Kildee (D-Mich.), Ro Khanna (D-
Calif.), Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-Mo.), Alcee L. Hastings (D-Fl.), Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Betty 
McCollum (D-Minn.), and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) are original cosponsors of the bill in the 
House. 
 
The National Congress of American Indians, United South and Eastern Tribes Sovereignty 
Protection Fund, and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe have all passed resolutions calling for the 
revocation of the medals. In February 2021, the South Dakota State Senate unanimously 
adopted a resolution calling on Congress to investigate and possibly rescind the Medals of 
Honor.  
 
   
### 
 
 
 
 


Wounded Knee speech

Hawaiʻi delegation introduces bicameral legislation to protect U.S. coffee and macadamia nut industries

University of Hawaii at Manoa Hamilton Library
eVols Repository https://evols.library.manoa.hawaii.edu
Public relations Speeches
Speech on violence and racism
towards Asian American & Pacific
Islander communities
Congressman Kaialiʻi Kahele Papers
Public relations, Speeches and Statements
https://hdl.handle.net/10524/84284
Items in eVols are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.
UHM Library Digital Collections Disclaimer and Copyright Information
Aloha, I’m Congressman Kai Kahele of Hawaiʻi and I’m proud to join you today, here at freedom 
plaza, as we take action nationwide against violence & racism targeted at our AAPI 
communities. 
  
This month in May, as proclaimed by President Biden, we celebrate Asian American, Native 
Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month because despite the long history of racism, hate, 
and violence against our communities we have always prevailed. Even in Hawaiʻi, the melting 
pot of the Pacific we are no stranger to this. And to understand what is happening today, it is 
important to know what happened in the past, for the past is where we find our inherent identity, 
who we are, where we came from and ultimately where we will go as a nation.  
 
Just 123 years ago, the Newlands Resolution drafted by the racist Republic of Hawaii & the 
imperialist President McKinley which was adopted by simple majority of Congress to annex the 
Hawaiian Islands to the U.S. in 1898, explicitly banned Chinese from migrating to the Hawaiian 
Islands and the United States.  
 
“There shall be no further immigration of Chinese into the Hawaiian Islands, 
except upon such conditions as are now or may hereafter be allowed by the laws 
of the United States, and no Chinese by reason of anything herein contained 
shall be allowed to enter the United States from the Hawaiian Islands.” 
  
During this same time, by this same racist Republic, Native Hawaiian children were banned 
from speaking the Hawaiian language in public schools because it was against the law. Stripped 
of their language for 100 years, Native Hawaiian children were stripped of their culture and 
traditions. If you want to extinguish a people, you extinguish their language, by taking it away 
from the ears and mouths of future generations you take it away from their children.  
 
But today, by the determined efforts of many, people like you and AANHPI members like me 
who walk the Halls of Congress and who choose to stand up against racism, my daughters and 
other native hawaiian children in Hawai’i and around the world may freely speak their language 
openly and proudly practice the traditions of our culture. 
 
There is still much work to be done. Our nation must do better. For too long our voices have 
gone unheard. For too long, outright racism against Asians, Native Hawaiians and Pacific 
Islanders has been normalized and unidentified. 
   
To those who would try to marginalize us and question our patriotism, I have one message for 
you, whether you like it or not, this country is a nation of immigrants. We are all American’s but 
we are also, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Phillipino, Marshallese, Chamoro, Vietnamese, 
Laotian, Camdionan, Tongan, Samoan, Indian, and Native Hawaiian as well as many others 
and WE collectively are part of the very fabric that makes this country great. 
E Ola Mau Ka Olelo Hawaii. Mahalo!  


Speech on violence and racism towards Asian American & Pacific Islander communities

Congressman Kahele statement on the CDC & FDA's call for pause on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine

University of Hawaii at Manoa Hamilton Library
eVols Repository https://evols.library.manoa.hawaii.edu
Public relations Speeches
Remarks on the Build Back Better Act
and climate change
Congressman Kaialiʻi Kahele Papers
Public relations, Speeches and Statements
https://hdl.handle.net/10524/84321
Items in eVols are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.
UHM Library Digital Collections Disclaimer and Copyright Information
Mister/Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to address the House 
for one minute. 
 
We face a now-or-never moment to reverse the severe consequences of 
the climate crisis. Our narrow margin to avert catastrophe is shrinking, 
and right now, Democrats hold the power to enact aggressive policies to 
turn the tide. 
 
Failing to meet the moment in the Build Back Better Act is a non-starter.  
 
In my home state of Hawai‘i, the devastating effects of climate change 
are crystal clear.  
 
Each year, we experience unprecedented flooding which causes 
landslides, washes out bridges and creates dam failures. Rising sea 
levels that lead to coastal erosion visible along every island. And 
warming waters that cause widespread coral bleaching that kill our fish 
populations and threaten our economy. 
 
As we face these challenges, Hawaiʻi has been a leader in green energy 
sources, including geothermal, ocean and solar energy. 
 
However, while my state can do its part, we need a robust national effort 
if we are to sustain our planet for future generations. We can do this by 
passing the Build Back Better Act - paid for by ensuring our biggest 
polluters and wealthy corporations pay their fair share to fund our 
climate solutions.  
 
Mister/Madam Speaker, the global climate crisis is our greatest national 
security threat. I urge all my colleagues to answer the call to action by 
passing the Build Back Better Act. 
 
Mahalo, and I yield back. 


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TEDx Hawaiʻi County PSA

Wounded Knee speech

Hawaiʻi delegation introduces bicameral legislation to protect U.S. coffee and macadamia nut industries

Speech on violence and racism towards Asian American & Pacific Islander communities

Congressman Kahele statement on the CDC & FDA's call for pause on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine

Remarks on the Build Back Better Act and climate change

September 2021 Newsletter

Op-ed for Star-Advertiser, "Our chance to lift Hawaiʻi’s families and our communities is now"

Congressman Kahele statement on the CDC & FDA’s call for pause on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine

Kahele interviews U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs on priorities important to veterans in Hawaiʻi

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