WASHINGTON — Many in the crowd that gathered yesterday for the annual lei draping of the King Kamehameha statue in the nation's Capitol were upbeat and determined not to give up even though the Senate dealt a severe blow last week to the Native Hawaiian recognition bill.

"Despite the setback ... we are not deterred, nor are we defeated," Haunani Apoliona, chairwoman of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, said before the crowd of about 350 people.

"We will continue our efforts to advance appreciation and understanding of Native Hawaiians by policymakers and policy implementers, as well as through those who make the difference in determining both: the voters," she said.

Aurora Jane Scott of Richmond, Va., said federal recognition for Native Hawaiians is a good idea and a way to help keep the Hawaiian culture alive.

"I don't think they should give up," said Scott, a graduate of Wai'anae High School. "It's hard but still they should go on."

The ceremony observed Kamehameha Day. It began with traditional Hawaiian music and hula. It concluded with the draping of leis on the 12-foot black-and-gold-colored bronze statue in Statuary Hall.

On most people's minds was the Senate defeat Thursday of an effort to bring the Native Hawaiian bill to the floor for debate and a vote. With help from the White House, which announced late Wednesday it opposed the bill, conservative Republicans turned back a strong bipartisan push on a 56-41 vote, with 60 votes needed to bring the bill up.

In a statement read to yesterday's crowd, Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawai'i, chief sponsor of the bill, said it is "unlikely" that the bill will be considered again before the end of the congressional session in January.

"I am currently working on a strategy for the remainder of 2006," said Akaka, who is Native Hawaiian. "However, I will be ready (for more action this year) should the opportunity present itself."

Akaka said supporters are developing potential strategies for next year after the new Congress begins.

"One of our biggest challenges, however, is addressing the misinformation campaign against the bill," he said. "We need to ensure that the people of Hawai'i understand what this bill is really about, what the federal policy of self-governance and self-determination means, and how this bill is important to all of us in Hawai'i."

Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawai'i, a sponsor of the House version of the bill, said what is needed to carry the battle for recognition forward is unity among the Hawaiian community and its legislative delegations.

"Politics is what we're talking about here today," Abercrombie said. "People vote for you for their reasons, not yours."

Delegate Faleomavaega, D-American Samoa, added his call for unity among the Hawaiians in presenting their case to the rest of the country. "This is not a Republican or a Democratic issue," he said. "This is an issue of fairness and justice for our Native Hawaiian people."

Kamaka Cooper, who is originally from Kohala on the Big Island and lives in Vienna, Va., said she believed the bill was defeated by misinformation "and not by malice or anything of that nature."

"We just need to do a better job of educating people," she said.

Kawai Palmer, president of the Kauwahi 'Anaina Hawai'i Hawaiian Civic Club in Provo, Utah, said Native Hawaiian recognition would let others know that while Hawai'i is a part of the United States, it has an indigenous people just as do other parts of the country.

"This bill helps them, like the American Indians, have certain opportunities," said Palmer, originally from Kahana Bay. "We may have lost this battle but we haven't lost the war."

Reach Dennis Camire at dcamire@gns.gannett.com.