Revitalizing Indigenous Languages III: Hawai'i

Learning Traditional Plant Names: Language Class: Traditional Sailing Instructor

Greg Smith is a Consilium consultant who has worked on various language revitalization projects around the world. This is the third in a series of articles on international approaches to bringing indigenous language back into day-to-day life.

Of the total population of 1.2 million people, the largest group (22.1 per cent) consists of Hawaiians or part-Hawaiians. In the last century, the Kingdom of Hawaii was internationally recognized as an independent country with its own stamps, money, press, schools, courts and monarchy. In 1893 the monarchy was overthrown by U.S. marines and in 1898 the islands were annexed by the United States, becoming a state in 1959.

Hawaiian is a Polynesian language closely related to that of other Pacific islands, such as New Zealand (Maori), Tahiti, and Easter Island. Although there are some dialectical differences between the eight islands, there is one single Hawaiian language. For nearly a century the Kingdom of Hawaii conducted its affairs in the Hawaiian language – including courts, schools and the legislature. Many books, newspapers, textbooks and other documents were published in Hawaiian, and 90 per cent of Hawaiians were literate at the end of the 19th century.

Following annexation by the United States, English became the official language of government and business, and the Hawaiian language was banned in schools.


In the 1970’s a movement began to rekindle the Hawaiian language. In 1978 Hawaiian became an official State language, along with English. The grassroots organization Aha Punana Leo was founded in 1983 by Hawaiian language teachers in order to re-establish the language and introduce it into the school system as a language of instruction. This is a grassroots non-profit organization with a vision that ‘the Hawaiian language shall live’ and which ‘initiates, provides for and nurtures various Hawaiian language environments…families are the living essence of those environments.’

College of Hawaiian Language

The College of Hawaiian Language is based at the University of Hawaii in Hilo. It offers degree programs in Hawaiian studies from the undergraduate through post graduate levels (up to a Ph D). The Hawaiian Language Centre is also part of the College, and provides professional and material resources to support the use of the Hawaiian language in the classroom and various aspects of daily life.

Hawaiian Language Education

The main focus of efforts to revitalize the Hawaiian language has been through education. As a result, Hawaiian children today have the option of attending school in the Hawaiian language from pre-school through Kindergarten to Grade 12, and of pursuing an undergraduate degree and a post-graduate degree in Hawaiian studies, including the Hawaiian language. The number of fluent Hawaiian speakers under 18 years of age has grown from only 35 in 1982 to over 2,000 and continues to increase. There are about 2,000 students taking Hawaiian in university, and about 15 per year graduate as Hawaiian majors.

There are 12 Punana Leo pre-schools for children aged 3-5. They are based on the Maori Language Nests (Kohanga Reo) which brought together preschool-aged children with fluent speakers of the language in settings where only the language was used. The pre-schools target the families as well as the children and require parents to become heavily involved.

There are three model Laboratory Schools supported by Aha Punana Leo and administered through a consortium of APL, the State Department of Education and the College of the Hawaiian Language. These are K-12 schools in which the philosophy, language of instruction and of administration and operations are Hawaiian. One of these model laboratory schools is Nawahi (Ke Kula ‘O Nawahiokalani ‘opu’u), located near Hilo. This is a Hawaiian medium K-12 school – that is all instruction, operations and administration are in the Hawaiian language. There are currently 150 students in the K-12 programs plus 18 in pre-school. Students are taught seafaring skills, swimming, canoeing and water safety, astronomy, gardening and food harvesting and preparation by elders with extensive knowledge of traditional ways. They also take part in daily physical fitness activities, and extracurricular athletics and other activities with Hilo High School, and begin to learn English as a subject in the 5th grade. The school has linkages with the University of Hawaii that provide resources for both institutions.

There are also about a dozen Hawaiian language state schools which mostly follow the model of streams of Hawaiian classes within an English medium school, with staff and administrators who do not speak Hawaiian.

The Indigenous Teacher Education Program is a three semester post baccalaureate program, meaning that applicants must have a B.A. or B.S. degree from an accredited college or university. Teaching is based on Hawaiian concepts of direct experience, and on-site learning and practicums are highly valued. A holistic indigenous approach integrating academics, classrooms and the outside environment is used to balance theory and applied learning.

Broadcasting

Broadcasting is limited by lack of funding and does not play as significant a role as in some other places, such as Canada and New Zealand. Aha Punana Leo does sponsor three hours per week of Hawaiian language radio on two islands, produces some video and audio recordings, has produced a film in the past and has on-line language courses.

Results

Aha Punana Leo has been successful at creating a more favourable legislative, policy, funding and educational environment for the Hawaiian language, and at increasing the number of Hawaiian language speakers. It has created a significant infrastructure of pre-schools and K-12 schools on most islands, and encouraged the State to offer more opportunities for the language in its schools. A number of graduates of the system have gone on to university in Hawaii, on the mainland or even at Oxford. Many Hawaiian immersion students have achieved marks equivalent to other students, and have done better than Hawaiians going through English only schools. Many families now use Hawaiian at home and it is beginning to be used more in the workplace.

Next: Making It Work.