Report Title:

International Indigenous Health Conference; Appropriation

 

Description:

Makes an appropriation for preliminary planning to host the international indigenous health conference in Hawaii in 2010.

 


HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1947

TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

MAKING AN APPROPRIATION TO PLAN FOR AND TO HOST THE INTERNATIONAL INDIGENOUS HEALTH CONFERENCE, "HEALING OUR SPIRIT WORLDWIDE" IN HAWAII.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 


     SECTION 1.  Native Hawaiians are the indigenous people of Hawaii.  Other indigenous peoples are found around the world and despite untold hardships and tragedies resulting from contacts with people from other cultures and traditions; they have continued to prove to the world the richness of their cultures and traditions.  The core values of all indigenous peoples are shared and provide to all the peoples of the world a path by which all peoples can navigate to improve their lives and their wellbeing.

     In 1990, with support from the World Health Organization, the International Congress on Alcohol and Addictions included a special track on indigenous health issues at its Berlin Conference.  Attended by the indigenous peoples of Canada, New Zealand, and Australia, this forum led a discussion that became the foundation for an international healing movement.  The first gathering of this new movement entitled "Healing Our Spirit Worldwide" was held in Edmonton, Canada in 1992 and attracted 3,300 people from seventeen countries around the world.  The leadership of the conferences is the International Indigenous Council, a group of indigenous leaders who meet throughout the year to discuss world health and wellness issues.  Today the International Indigenous Council consists of indigenous leaders from Canada, United States, New Zealand, and Australia.

     Since 1992, with leadership from the International Indigenous Council, different countries of the world through relevant native peoples organizations have hosted the "Healing Our Spirit Worldwide."  The stated mission of the conferences is "to gather in a cultural celebration inviting the world to share holistic healing experiences of Indigenous peoples in the movement toward healthy lifestyles."   Healing Our Spirit Worldwide conferences have been held in:

     1992:  1st Gathering:  Edmonton, Canada (Health Canada);

     1994:  2nd Gathering:  Sydney, Australia;

     1998:  3rd Gathering:  Rotorua, New Zealand (National Maori Health Board);

     2002:  4th Gathering:  Albuquerque, United States (American Indian Health Board); and

     2006:  5th Gathering:  Edmonton, Canada (Native Counseling Services of Alberta).

     At its last meeting held in Canada in August 2006, the International Indigenous Council selected Hawaii as possibly the next site for the conference.  Papa Ola Lokahi, the Native Hawaiian Health Board, has been asked to facilitate the conference.  At its board meeting in September 2006, the Papa Ola Lokahi board of directors agreed to take on the responsibility for facilitating the 2010 conference on behalf of Hawaii.

     The Healing Our Spirit Worldwide Conference has become a large international event that generates intense interest among health professionals, government officials, traditional practitioners, and members of the general public around the world.  The benefits of hosting the 2010 Healing Our Spirit Worldwide in Hawaii include:

     (1)  Substantial income to the State from excise and hotel room taxes;

     (2)  Substantial revenues re-circulated by conference participants to local businesses and cultural venues such as museums and educational institutions;

     (3)  Enhanced exposure of Hawaii to potentially new visitors from countries around the world; and

     (4)  The opportunity to attract many first-time participants from all over the Pacific and the world.

     The hosting of this conference offers an exciting opportunity for the State of Hawaii to showcase its indigenous Native Hawaiian population and to participate in actively demonstrating its support for the host culture.  The visitor industry has already begun to make substantial logistical contributions to this effort and the Native Hawaiian community has already expressed its excitement at hosting this event.  More than six thousand conference participants are being projected for the 2010 conference.

     The purpose of this Act is to make an appropriation for planning to bring the Healing Our Spirit Worldwide conference to Hawaii in 2010.

     SECTION 2.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $125,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2007-2008, to bring the Healing Our Spirit Worldwide conference to Hawaii in 2010, and to begin preliminary planning for the 2010 conference by developing tentative venues involving the Native Hawaiian and other indigenous communities and the general public on all of the major Hawaiian Islands and by beginning to inform indigenous populations around the world about the upcoming 2010 conference.

     The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of business, economic development, and tourism for the purposes of this Act.

     SECTION 3.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2007.

 

INTRODUCED BY:

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