ASSOCIATION OF HAWAIIAN CIVIC CLUBS
A RESOLUTION
No. 2019 -46
ADVOCACATING FOR AND SUPPORTING DATA SCIENCE, DATA ANALYTICS, AND DATA VISUALIZATION AS EMERGING AREAS OF NEED FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN ADVANCEMENT
WHEREAS, data science, data analytics, and data visualization are emerging fields that have the potential to empower data-driven decision making, evidence-based resource allocation, provide competitive advantages, innovate solutions, and support social justice; and
WHEREAS, the lāhui has always embraced and valued data, research, and cultural and traditional knowledge and these are the lenses through which we see the world; and
WHEREAS, we affirm that Native Hawaiians are present and represented in data sciences and physics, astronomy, wayfinding, mathematics and other scientific fields; and
WHEREAS, Hawai‘i, the Pacific region and the global community are generating data (e.g., in healthcare, climate change, environmental monitoring, energy, agriculture, business, economics, transportation and information technologies) at rates unprecedented in human history but the conversion of these data to actionable, useful knowledge requires a new specialized workforce, dedicated cyberinfrastructure and decision support facilities; and
WHEREAS, as evidence-based decision making using large and complex data sets becomes a new societal norm, omission, under-representation and aggregation of data pertaining to Native Hawaiians will limit Native Hawaiian advancement, inclusion and access to resources; and
WHEREAS, contemporary and historical Hawaiian scientific practice across the domains of Papahulilani, Papahulihonua and Papahānaumoku are rich in data and generated an ethical process for actioning data founded in Hawaiian values and epistemology that can inform the practice and civic responsibility of data science; and
WHEREAS, Native Hawaiians have been historically disenfranchised from the wider STEM endeavor and the advent of the ‘data revolution’ means that there is a looming digital divide for Native Hawaiians that will limit Native Hawaiian advancement and career opportunities for our haumana if Native Hawaiians are not represented in, and engaged in, data science; and
WHEREAS, data analytics is a growing area of employment across every economic, social, political, environmental and technological sector, offering opportunities for well-paying, meaningful jobs for Native Hawaiians who are entering the workforce and for re-skilling and up-skilling of currently employed workers; and
WHEREAS, Hawai‘i hosted the 2019 SACNAS STEM Diversity Conference from October 31 through November 2, 2019, in partnership with the University of Hawai‘i, Chaminade University Honolulu, and Kamehameha Schools, and the sessions and presentations emphasized two priority areas: (1) the need for pono science that respects indigenous epistemology, culture and indigenous science, and (2) the emergence and power of data science as a discipline that can inform decision making and promote understanding of the natural and technological worlds; and
WHEREAS, there is a sense of urgency around the need for inclusion of Native Hawaiians in the rapidly evolving field of data science and the shortage of data scientists, and the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs urges action now.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs at its 60th Annual Convention in Lahaina, Maui, in the malama of Welehu and the rising of Lāʻau Pau, this 16th day of November 2019, advocating for and supporting data science, data analytics, and data visualization as emerging areas of need for Native Hawaiian advancement; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the Native Hawaiian community, the Hawai‘i State Legislature, the business sector, K-12 education and higher education organizations, non-profits, agencies and Native Hawaiian-serving organizations are urged to support and advocate for data science, analytics and visualization education and training opportunities that enfranchise the Hawaiian community into the “data revolution;” and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that data gaps which limit Native Hawaiian advancement, evidence-based resource allocation should be a focus of research and advocacy efforts by Native Hawaiian-serving organizations; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the building of necessary cyberinfrastructure and human capital for decision support on Native Hawaiian priorities through data analytics be supported and advocated for by the Native Hawaiian community, the Hawai‘i State Legislature, the business sector, educational organizations, non-profits, agencies and Native Hawaiian-serving organizations; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a certified copy of this resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the State of Hawai‘i Board of Education, Superintendent of the State of Hawai‘i Department of Education, the President of the University of Hawai‘i, Director of the Chaminade University of Honolulu’s Data Science Program, the Director of the Hawai‘i Data Science Institute at the University of Hawai‘i, the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the CEO of Kamehameha Schools, and the CEO of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, as well as the Governor of the State of Hawai‘i, President of the State Senate, Speaker of the State House of Representatives, Chair of the State Senate subject matter committee on Hawaiian Affairs, Chair of the State House subject matter committee on Hawaiian Affairs, and all county mayors.
The undersigned hereby certifies that the foregoing Resolution was duly adopted in the malama of Welehu and the rising of Lāʻau Pau on the 16th day of November 2019, at the 60th Annual Convention of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs in Lahaina, Maui.
Hailama V. K. K. Farden, President
