Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 14, Number 5, 1 May 1997 — Pūnana Leo programs beyond the next millennium [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Pūnana Leo programs beyond the next millennium

by Hale Kākoo Pūnana Leo First Kaiapuni Hawaii graduation in 1999 A momentous occasion will take plaee in 1999, when the first class educated from preschool to 12th grade using Hawaiian language graduates from Nāwahiokalani'ōpu'u school. Nāwahīokalanfōpuvu is developing curriculum whieh will include a more structured school-to-work program. The students of this class are now 10th graders with diverse interests in fields such as business management, oceanography and anthropology. Kalimahana Yoimg wants to enter commercial aviation as a way of seeing the world. Kekua Burgess is considering agriculture as a way of feeding the world. Students participate in such activities as science turtle-tagging projects at Punalu'u and Ka'ū through the University of Hawai'i at Hilo, and flight school operations at the Hilo airport. Pūnana Leo Higher Education Program Training bilingual Hawaiians to assume leadership positions in the revitahzation of our native language, is a priority of Pūnana Leo. The native Hawaiian higher education program, a federally-funded scholarship program initiated in 1995, requires award recipients to enroll in Hawaiian language classes, or already be speakers of Hawaiian, and work in, or serve, the native Hawaiian eommunity. Recipients do not have to hold degrees in Hawaiian language or Hawaiian studies. They ean pursue degrees and careers in any field, as long as they take Hawaiian language classes and are eommitted to Hawaiian language survival.

Kamana opono Crabbe, member of the selection committee and a doctoral candidate in elinieal psychology at UH-Mānoa, sees the higher education program as "a catalyst for supporting the vision for growth of Hawaiian language, and as a challenge to students to commit themselves to the community — not just get the money and run." Pūnana Leo Materials Development Center Pūnana Leo involvement in Hawaiian language revitalization extends well beyond the preschool or college classroom to include provision of learning materials for the entire community. The materials development center, located on the Nāwahīokalani'ōpu'u School campus south of Hilo, researches, creates, develops, produces and distributes thousands of instructional materials eaeh year for the community wishing to learn Hawaiian language. While the center does develop or produce curriculum for the classroom, it also distributes other items like flashcards of phrases for the home, banking and shopping. The center also produces videos, books, posters, puzzles, narrations, and many other Hawaiian Ianguage learning media. The Pūnana Leo also created a "Writing Checks in Hawaiian" chart for the Bank of Hawai i to assist bank tellers when accepting checks written in Hawaiian. These are available free from the Pūnana Leo. The materials center also freely distributes "telephone conversation" cards for homes and offices that answer their phones in Hawaiian. The card includes phrases like "May I take a message?" and "How may I direct your eall?"

Hawaiian Lexicon Committee Through the consortium with the Hale Kuamo'o Hawaiian Lan-

guage Center at UH-Hiio, the Pūnana Leo coordinates the activities and products of the Lexicon Committee, a six member body responsible for creating modern Hawaiian vocabulary. Many words are drawn from the curricula of the Kaiapuni Hawai'i, such as "photosynthesis," "parallelogram," and "plate tectonics." The committee also creates words encountered in computer operations ("peripherals"), sports ("no-look pass"), and business ("principal"). The Pūnana Leo and the Hale Kuamo'o recently co-pubHshed Māmaka Kaiao, a book containing all new or modernized Hawaiian vocabulary coined by the Lexicon Committee since the committee was formed in 1987. Our Plaee in the Modern World Any language is capable of expressing any eoncept when that language is afforded the opportunity for use. Pūnana Leo embraces the importance of using the Hawaiian language in modern society. Pūnana Leo endeavors to re-establish Hawaiian language usage in all settings, whether it be at a preschool or university classroom, a teller window at a bank, or e-mail correspondence. Speaking Hawaiian in our everyday Iives will perpetuate the survival of the language. To see how you ean contribute to or benefit from the Pūnana Leo vision, contact the Hale Kāko o Pūnana Leo Support Center at 1744 Kino'ole Street, Hilo, HI 96720, or phone (808)959-4979. E ola ka 'ōlelo Hawai'i.

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