Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 15, Number 10, 1 October 1998 — The real crown jewels of Hawaiʻi [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

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The real crown jewels of Hawaiʻi

WE HAVE mueh to be proud of in the planning, design and construction of the four crown jewels whieh the Office of Hawaiian Affairs had a small role in creating. Eachjewel, like the voyaging eanoe Hokule'a twenty years ago, holds the keys to our future . . . mueh like the stars hold the secrets of eaeh journey for the canoe's navigator. Like Hōkūle'a, eaeh journey that eaeh jewel undertakes is limited only by eaeh navigator's imagination and vision. Who are these navigators? They are our children, our parents, our grandparents

and ourselves. Whatare these jewels? The first jewel is Nāwahīokalani 'ōpu 'u, the first lotally Hawaiian immersion school in the state of Hawai'i. The schooI, complete with boarding facilities and gymnasium, is the paee- ' setter for all other immersion learning facilities nationwide. A home for our language, it is also a home for curneulum development for ■ statewide implementation at all levels from preschool to universitv.

Nāwahīokalani 'ōpu'u serves as the model for Hawaiian language immersion and is a beacon of achievement for OHA, whieh was privileged to have the opportunity to purchase the school site from the previous owners for 2.1 million dollars. There will never be 2.1 million dollars better spent, ever. Eaeh student at Nāwahīokalani'ōpu'u is a navigator. Eaeh child learns through the Hawaiian language. Eaeh student has

unprecedented opportunity to learn English, math, science, computer science, foreign language, biology, through his 'ōlelo 'ōiwi. Standardized testing results have already shown that this child scores better than his or her peers at the Department of Education. Eaeh navigator has unprecedented opportunity to chart and sail his or her own journey through a thousands points of light. The second jewel is the Master's of Arts Degree in Hawaiian Language and Literature. With a financial commitment ffom OHA, the University of Hawai'i Board of Regents approved the

| Masters degree program at 1 UH Hilo in 1 996. Already |t up and running this gradu- ■ ate program is the first in ; the country for any native American people. This graduate degree holds the promi.se of the future for our navigators who someday may likely heeome the kumu, the professional educators, for our children. The third jewel is the | College of Hawaiian Language at UH Hilo. Like the Master's degree, this \ college is a natural pror gression to "house" the students from Hawaiian

immersion elementary and high schools, university under-graduates and university graduate students. Naturally, the lone remaining graduate degree is a doctoral program in Hawaiian language and literature, whieh someday may also find its home in this college. The fourth jewel is Kula Ni'ihau o Kekaha. Unlike the previous three jewels this one is different; for it is the home for the See HEE on page 12

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From page 11 remaining native speakers - our 'ohanafromNi'ihau. Kula Ni'ihau is the voyaging eanoe whose navigators - the true Hawaiian speakers will have opportunities by learning in their own school, absent of the noimal distractions of other standardized public schools. This voyaging eanoe is distinctly Hawaiian. And like eaeh eanoe, it is only as sound as its builders. Itsjourneyis only as successful as its teachers; and they are the voyagers whose voices have been silenced, but whose mana is still present . . . our kupuna. You ean see them in the leaders of Hawaiian language today. They are the language professors from UH Hilo, UH Mānoa, and teachers, parents and supportersofHawaiian language. They are your leaders of ' Aha Pūnana Leo, their parents and supporters. Like eaeh navigator, they are the ones without whom these jewels would never have been produced. OHA owes eaeh of you a profound debt of gratitude. ■