Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 35, Number 6, 1 June 2018 — Senator Daniel Akaka: Proud to be Hawaiian and Proud to be American [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Senator Daniel Akaka: Proud to be Hawaiian and Proud to be American

From the time I was a teenager and throughout my years in various careers, every opportunity to meet or talk with the late Senator Akaka left a deep and lasting impression upon me. When I took a group of youth leaders to visit his office while on a trip to our nation's capital, I was impressed with the gentleness and warmth he extended. It was just as if these youth were visiting their own "tutu kane." Back home in Hawai'i, during

a conversation we had at the Pacific Club, I had the opportunity to piek the Senator's brain. We talked about his upbringing in a Christian home, his World War II military service, his years as a teacher, and his distinguished career as a United States Senator. In all these roles, it was clear that Senator Akaka bridged two worlds. He was a Hawaiian, loved being a Hawaiian and was proud of it. And he was an American, loved being an American and was also proud of it. Perhaps more than anyone else I know, Senator Akaka brought together the essence of being an American and being a Hawaiian, not just in words, but in the very life he lived and legacy he has left. In his December 2012 farewell address, given on the floor of the U.S. Senate, Senator Akaka bid aloha to his colleagues and

again, acknowledged his pride in being Hawaiian and American. "I am proud to be the first Native Hawaiian ever to serve in the Senate, just as I am so proud to be one of the three U.S. Army World War II veterans who remain in the Senate today," Senator Akaka said. "The United States is a great eountry. One of the things that makes us so great is that though we have made mistakes, we change, we correct them, we right past wrongs." "In Congress and in our nation, we are truly all together in the

same eanoe," Senator Akaka continued. "If we paddle together in unison, we ean travel great distances. If the two sides of the eanoe paddle in opposite directions, we will go in circles. I urge my colleagues to take this traditional Hawaiian symbol to heart, and put the American people first, by working together." At a time when it is so easy for people to be divided over many issues, we ean look to an example in Senator Akaka of the power of bringing people together in the spirit of Aloha. E Hana Kākou / Let's work together! ■ Trustee Akina welcomes your eomments and ean be reached at Trustee Akina@oha.org.

Keli'i Akina, Ph.ū. Trustee, At-large

K lilli W Jftep 7/i Trustee Akina and Sen. Daniel Akaka. ■ Photo: Courtesy