From Democracy Now

AMY GOODMAN: Senator Akaka, can you tell us about your background, your family background, as illustrative of Hawaii, the population there?

SEN. DANIEL AKAKA: Yes. My family is a local family in Hawaii. My mother was pure Hawaiian. My dad was a mixture of Hawaiian and Chinese. His family came from Fukien, China, in the middle 1800s to Hawaii. And in those days the Chinese men married Hawaiian women. And this is where we come from. And my family now, I should tell you -- Millie and I have grandchildren, and in the grandchildren we have fourteen different bloods around the world. So this is how diverse Hawaii is becoming. And in the case of the Native Hawaiians, we want to bring parity and bring recognition to them and a relationship with the United States government.