The Associated Press
HONOLULU

The U.S. Senate has approved a plan to establish the Henry Giugni Kupuna Memorial Archives at the University of Hawaii.

The archives, which would honor the late Senate sergeant-at-arms who had also been Sen. Daniel Inouye's chief of staff, is in the Higher Education Bill passed Tuesday.

The archives are intended to aid the development of curricula and instructional materials by collecting oral histories that shed light on Native Hawaiian history and culture.

"These archives will enable the sharing and perpetuation of the culture, collective memory and history of peoples Mr. Giugni so dearly loved," Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, said in a news release issued in Washington.

"Henry lived a life full of rich experiences, and along the way he accumulated a wealth of wisdom," Akaka said. "Establishing these archives to perpetuate the traditional knowledge of all indigenous peoples, such as Henry, will ensure that future generations have access to that wisdom and, in a sense, will be able to learn from the original sources themselves."

Giugni, who died in November 2005 at age 80, became sergeant-at-arms to the Senate in 1986 after working with Inouye, D-Hawaii, for many years. He was praised for hiring and promoting minorities and women to make his Senate workforce reflect America.

"During his life, Henry was a positive influence in the lives of the many people he touched, and he took great pride in being a positive role model for Native Hawaiians," Inouye said in Washington.

"With the memorial archives that bears his name, Henry's legacy will endure, and he will still be able to touch many more. His life story, as well as the stories of other accomplished individuals with indigenous backgrounds, will serve to inform and inspire not just Americans of Hawaiian ancestry, but all Americans," the senator said.

July 24, 2007   11:07 PM EDT