Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 31, Number 2, 1 February 2014 — Native American Veterans' Memorial [ARTICLE]

Native American Veterans' Memorial

A long-awaited memorial honoring Native Hawaiian, Alaska Native and American Indian veterans will heeome a reality on the Nahonal Mall now that President Ohama has signed a bill introduced by Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawai"i). A bill establishing a Nahonal Native American Veterans' Memorial originally passed in 1994, led by Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) and the late Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawai'i). However, funding and logistical concerns stymied its construction. The Native American Memorial Amendments Act of 2013, whieh passed unanimously in the House and Senate, allows the National Museum of the American Indian to accept donations to privately fund the memorial and take on a more active role in planning and eonstruction, Schatz's office said in a news release. Previous legislation called for the memorial to be built inside the museum.

Ohama signed the bill Dec. 26 while on vacation in Hawai'i. The bill was co-signed by: Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), Mark Begich (D-Alaska), Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawai'i), James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Jon Tester (D-Mon-tana.), John Thune (R-S.D.), and Ron Wyden (D-Oregon).