Akaka Co-Hosts Native Conference on Legal Empowerment for Indigenous Peoples

Press Release

U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) returned to Capitol Hill today to co-host a conference intended to discuss the significance of legal empowerment for Indigenous Peoples with regard to international policy and public policy in the United States. Senator Akaka was also honored in a Naming Ceremony held by the Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) at the conference.

"I was honored to co-host this event and to receive these honorary gifts, they will serve as a reminder of our lives together, as Native peoples, and of our long history together, Hawaii with Alaska," said Senator Akaka. "I recognize the Alaska Federation of Natives, the Institute for Liberty and Democracy, and their many partners for working together to make this conference a success."

"As Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and Vice-Chairman of the Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee, I intend to do everything possible to better the relationship between the Federal and Native governments and address the concerns of all our nation's indigenous communities - including the Native Hawaiians and our cousins the Alaska Natives."

Akaka was given names in three different Alaska Native cultures - "Jín da aadí" meaning "Helper" in Tlingit, "Akumleq" meaning "Chair" in Yupik, and "Ilaagudax" meaning "Helper" in Unangam Tunuu, the Aleut Language. Akaka's wife, Millie, was also given names during the ceremony - "K'eikaxwéin" meaning "beautiful" in Tlingit, "Atsaq" meaning "sustaining berry" in Yupik, and "Millidax" meaning "Millie" or "endearing" in Unangam Tunuu.

The cultural significance of giving names differs among the Alaskan Natives cultures. Tlingit names are owned by clans and have been passed down through generations for thousands of years. Names are given to individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to Native society. In receiving these names, Senator and Mrs. Akaka also become part of an extended family network. Tlingit names bestow a symbolic immortality to individuals since succeeding generations will carry these names. Giving a Yupik name is a time-honored tradition and heritage of the Yupik people and Atsaq is a berry that is significant in Yupik lore and diet, and is believed to lead to a healthy human being.

The conference, sponsored in part by AFN and the Institute of Liberty and Democracy (ILD) of Lima, Peru, brought together Members of Congress, Obama Administration officials, Indigenous leaders, and representatives of multilateral institutions to begin work to connect the legal empowerment and Indigenous Peoples movements, and to define a legal empowerment agenda for U.S. policy.

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