ACF Messenger
Sept. 1, 2004

PRESS RELEASE
Contact: ACF Press Office
(202) 401-9215

ANA COMMISSIONER QUANAH CROSSLAND STAMPS TO ADDRESS
ANNUAL COUNCIL FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN ADVANCEMENT CONFERENCE

Commissioner Announces New Grants

The Administration for Native Americans (ANA) Commissioner, Quanah Crossland Stamps, will address the opening session of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement’s (CNHA) third annual Native Hawaiian Conference at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Honolulu, Hawaii on September 1, 2004.

The four-day conference, La`ahia ka Mana o Na Oiwi (Empowered for the Future) provides an opportunity for Native leaders, federal and state representatives, elected officials and community members to discuss critical social, economic and cultural issues affecting Native Hawaiian people.

Commissioner Stamps’ address -- entitled “Sharing our Communities” -- will incorporate a panel discussion with Pacific ANA grantees. As Commissioner of the only federal agency serving all Native Americans including Native Hawaiian organizations and Native populations throughout the Pacific basin, Stamps’ remarks will express the Bush Administration’s longstanding commitment to promote self-sufficiency through the funding of discretionary grants that include Social and Economic Development Strategies and Native Language Preservation and Maintenance.

The Commissioner’s trip to Hawaii will include site visits to ANA-fund projects and a roundtable discussion with representatives of Native Hawaiian organizations and other Native Pacific Islanders. She will also be announcing new ANA Grant Awards to the Pacific Region.

“The Bush Administration is dedicated to empowering native communities,” said Dr. Wade F. Horn, assistant secretary for children and families. "These grants will help strengthen the economies of and provide opportunities for Native People, and in so doing will help strengthen the children and families of Native communities."

This year, ANA has provided $25 million to Native communities in social and economic development, language preservation, and environmental regulatory enhancement grants nationally. The total amount of new grant awards for Hawaii and the Pacific Islands is over $4 million. These include Social and Economic Development Strategies (SEDS) grants, which reduce dependency on public funds and social services by increasing commuiy development; and Native Language Preservation and Maintenance grants, developed to ensure the preservation and enhancement of Native languages.

“There is a significant need for social and economic development for Native communities throughout Hawaii and the Pacific Basin,” said Commissioner Stamps. “These grant awards promote the Bush Administration’s goal of self-sufficiency for Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders and provide funding for unique community projects that make a difference in the lives of our Native children, youth and families. ANA is committed to providing financial assistance at the community level and will continue to provide resources and programs that safeguard the health and economic well-being of Native people.”

To view the FY 2004 ANA grant awards to American Samoa, Hawaii, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands, go to http://www.acf.hhs.gov/news/press/2004/ANA_Hawaii.htm.