{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://tokuda.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-tokuda-leads-bipartisan-bill-to-secure-more-funding-for-native-hawaiian-arts-and-culture", "Rep. Tokuda Leads Bipartisan Bill to Secure More Funding for Native Hawaiian Arts & Culture", "2025-11-21", "2025", "2025-11", "Democrat", "House", "HI", "Jill N. Tokuda", "T000487", "tokuda.house.gov", "tokuda", "https://tokuda.house.gov/media/press-releases?PageNum_rs=2&", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Representative Jill Tokuda (HI-02) reintroduced a bipartisan bill to clear longstanding administrative hurdles that have limited Native Hawaiian\u2013serving arts and cultural organizations\u2019 access to federal grant opportunities.\n\nThe Native Arts and Culture Promotion Act streamlines the grant application process for Native Hawaiian-serving organizations by eliminating outdated signatory requirements that currently delay or block applications. Additionally, the bill would remove offensive and unnecessarily restrictive statutory language that limits program accessibility for Alaska Native applicants.\n\n\u201cThis bill is about ensuring that Native Hawaiian and Alaska Native artists, cultural practitioners, and organizations can access the resources they have always been promised by Congress. By breaking down outdated barriers, we are strengthening the ability of our communities to preserve, teach, and share their arts and cultural traditions on their own terms,\u201d said Rep. Tokuda. \u201cInvesting in Native arts and culture isn\u2019t just about honoring the past\u2014it\u2019s about safeguarding the knowledge, creativity, and identity that will carry our Indigenous communities forward for generations.\u201d\n\n\u201cThroughout my prior service on the House Natural Resources Committee\u2019s Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs, and as a member of the House Appropriations Committee, I have worked to expand and fund programs that promote, sustain and honor the culture and art of our nation\u2019s indigenous peoples,\u201d said Rep. Ed Case (HI-01), cosponsor of the bill. \u201cI\u2019m happy to once again join Rep. Tokuda in this initiative to expand our Native Hawaiian Culture and Arts Development Grant Program so that Hawaii\u2019s indigenous peoples can continue to perpetuate traditional knowledge, strengthen their spiritual connection to the land and ancestors and reaffirm their cultural identity and resilience in the modern world.\u201d\n\nEstablished in 1994, the Native Hawaiian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts Development Program provides grants through the National Park Service to support the preservation, study, and instruction of both traditional and contemporary Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian arts and culture. The program also promotes the long-term sustainability of these cultural practices by supporting educational centers, academic programs, and community-based initiatives that cultivate skills, knowledge, and artistic expression for future generations.\n\n\u201cAllowing the National Park Service to award more grants to a greater variety of Native Hawaiian organizations provides a more easily accessible and streamlined process for Native Hawaiian organizations who are often understaffed and under-resourced to readily submit proposals for their unique initiatives which perpetuate the storytelling and expression of Native Hawaiian arts and cultural practices,\u201d said Janet Bullard, Acting Director of Government Relations for Bishop Museum.\n\nIn addition to Rep. Case, Rep. Nick Begich (R-AK-At Large) is a cosponsor of the bill.\n\nThe full text of the bill can be found here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:52:45Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://tokuda.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-tokuda-leads-bipartisan-bill-to-secure-more-funding-for-native-hawaiian-arts-and-culture"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3943109661340714, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}