Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 26, Number 9, 1 Kepakemapa 2009 — Tune [?] in to the the lans [?] aeo [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

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In many ways, Amy Kalili has heeome the face of 'ōlelo Hawai'i on TV. The host of 'Āha'i. 'Ōlelo Ola. a Hawaiian-language news segment on KGMB9's Sunri.se morning news program and a half-hour newsmagazine on Sunday afternoons, is certainly the most regularly seen Hawaiian speaker on Hawai'i TV. But Kalili is no longer alone. There was a time when the only Hawaiian-language eontent that was regularly seen on Hawai'i network TV occurred during performances - the Merrie Monarch Festival and the Kamehameha Schools Song Contest, for example. Next eame programs teaching the Hawaiian language - there were four Hawaiian-language classes taught on puhlie television in the 1990s, and some ean still be found on the air today. But now that there's a regularly scheduled news program in Hawaiian, the door is open for even more language and culture to be on television. Hawai'i Island educator Lehua Veincent taught one of those language-learning shows, E ŌMai, from 1994 to 1999. "Times have really changed with regards to Hawaiian language on TV since the 1990s," Veincent said. "The good thing now is that we're hearing talk about events

ana iaeas īn nawanan - reat contextuat nawauan. NĀ KŪPA'A In 2004, PBS Hawai'i's Bi.ography Hawai'i. profiled Ruth Ke'elikōlani, a descendant of Kamehameha who, despite the increasing western influences in her time, stayed true to her Hawaiian people, culture, 'āina and 'ōlelo. Although she was well-versed in the English language, ■. Ke'elikōlani reauired that anvone who did not

>peak Hawaiian eome to her with a translator. It was appropriate, then, that the show was produced in both English and Hawaiian. |L Another Bi.ography Hawai'i. show in I both Hawaiian and English premiered I this lune, profiling Ioseph Nāwahī. Nāwahī worked as a teacher, sur- ■ veyor, lawyer, cabinet minister, news- [ paper editor and artist in the latter half I of Hawai'i's tumultuous 1 800s. He V was also a leader in Hawaiian nationalist pohtics, a founder of the Hui Aloha 'Āina party \ Moanike'alū ■■ Noborro. - Photo: ī. Ilihia Gionson

and the newspaper Ke Aloha Ai.ua. Kalena Silva worked on both productions, and appeared as Nāwahī in the latter. "Like the (19th and early 20th century Hawaiian-lan-guage) newspapers did, modern media provide an important means to disseminate infonnation about interesting topics in Hawaiian not just to Hawaiian speakers, but also to those learning or interested in supporting Hawaiian," said Silva, a professor at the Lfniversity of Hawai'i at Hilo's Ka Haka 'Ula 0 Ke'elikōlani Hawaiian Language College. "The lives of Princess Ke'elikōlani and Ioseph Nāwahī were certainly prime topics to be treated in Hawaiian because of the pivotal political, social and cultural roles both played in Hawaiian history. But as the Hawaiian newspapers showed in the last two centuries, our language works just as well for a wide variety of other topics," Silva said. AND THE VINNER IS ... 'ŪLELŪ HAWAI'I This year's Nā Hōkū Hanohano awards, an event televised statewide on K5, featured a segment of the awards conducted in Hawaiian with subtitles for the home-viewing audience. The idea for holding a segment of the awards in Hawaiian

eame trom nawai ī Acaaemy oi Kecoraing Arts noara member Keola Donaghy, a longtime advocate for 'ōlelo Hawai'i everywhere. His colleagues on the board of governors agreed, and Donaghy set the project into motion. "It is through Hawaiian music that non-speakers most often hear Hawaiian language. Since Nā Hōkū Hanohano is such an important program, broadcast around the state, I thought it would be another great opportunity to get the 'ōlelo in front of the public," Donaghy said. "We've got to continually seek more ways to get the 'ōlelo in the pubhc eye." The board decided that the three Hōkū categories that require Hawaiian language - Haku Mele, Hawaiian Language Performanee, and Hawaiian Album - would comprise the Hawaiian-

language segment. Donaghy invited the presenters, got their speeches ahead of time so that he could write

the English subtitles for TV, and sat in the K5 TV truck during the broad-

cast to time the subtitles It turned out to be a magical

evening, more successful than anticipated. "We didn't specifically request that the winners speak in Hawaiian during their acceptance speeches, but most of them did anyway," Donaghy said. "We received many emails from Hawaiian speakers and nonspeakers congratulating us for pulling it off. It was great." MĀHEALANI, VITH SŪME MŪA'E Moanike'ala Nabarro does the weather on weekends for Island Television KITV, and she incorporates Hawaiian

words and Hawaiian moon phases into her work. When she was hired, Nabarro was told to incorporate her personality into her weather forecasts. And for Nabarro, a longtime hula dancer who studied the Hawaiian language in high school and college, that meant incorporating her Hawaiian heritage. "With eaeh weather report, I aim to both inform and educate," Nabarro said. "Incorporating both the moon phases and some 'ōlelo Hawai'i just makes sense to me." Since her weather reports appear on the evening news, Nabarro is still working on balancing her use of 'ōlelo Hawai'i and English in order to appeal to the maximum number of viewers. "When incorporating both our 'ōlelo and pō mahina Hawai'i, it must be done in a subtle way, so that the average viewer is able to digest what I am saying," she said. "I yearn for the day in whieh some terms like moa'e (tradewinds) or ua li'ili'i (light rain/drizzle) will become eommonplaee," Nabarro said. You ean see Nabarro's weather reports with the moon phases on the 5 o'eloek news Saturday and Sunday on Island Television KITV. AN EYE TŪVARD THE FUTURE In these cases, the enthusiasm for Hawaiian-lan-

guage progranuning nas eome trom outsiae tne stations, from language enthusiasts - but that's not to say that the stations haven't been supportive. "I think that stations are trying to capture audiences by being hyper-local, and that means that they need to embrace language

and culture," said Nā'ālehu Anthony, executive prc ducer of Aha'i. 'Ōlelo Ola. "Being the first is great and will allow for further move-

ment torward, but 1 think that all the stations will be

looking to gain

entry into this market." There hasn't yet been a solid business case for Hawaiian-language pro-

gramming on mainstream television, but KGMB9 General Manager Rick Blangiardi took on Aha'i 'Ōlelo Ola with

an eye towara tne tuture. K(jiviBy gives tne snow some arrtime for now, but the station doesn't cover the production costs. The Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Kamehameha Schools and 'Aha Pūnana Leo are title sponsors of the show. "Usually we look off the block if something ean pay for itself," Blangiardi said, "but sometimes you have to take the lead and put it out there. We're trying to pay attention and be respectful. Even if there's no business opportunity, we're serving the community." So what's next? "I'm pretty sure that we're going to see more and more Hawaiian language being used and probably a push to

see it used more correctly," Anthony said. "All of this will allow for more kids to use Hawaiian in different settings more normally. We amplify Hawaiian to the masses, and that ampliūeation means a huge step in normalization." The 2000 U.S. Census counted 27,160 people who spoke some Hawaiian, ahnost double the 14,315 in 1990. Had that trend continued, there would be about 52,000 Hawaiian speakers today - but having 'ōlelo Hawai'i on TV isn't all about the numbers. "Using Hawaiian through 2 1 st century media demonstrates the enduring value of our language in a very public way, not just in our own conununity but in communities throughout Hawai'i and beyond," said Silva, the professor at UH Hilo's K; Haka 'Ula O Ke'ehkōlani Hawaiian Language College. "It pro

vides tangible proof that Hawaiian is living, vital and dynamic." Veincent, the educator who taught Hawaiian language through public TV in the 1990s, added: "If having Hawaiian language on TV is something that will honor the Hawaiian spirit, genealogy, history and haditional knowledge, that's the value of having it on TV for everybody. Even though not everyone speaks the lani guage, Hawaiian knowledge, customs, relationships and the land are things that bring everyone in Hawai'i together." ■

Counterclockwise from right: 'Āha'i 'Ōlelo Olo onchor Amy Kūlili. - Photo courtesy 'Āha'i 'Ōlelo D/o;Mānoleo (notive speaker) Ilei Beniamina announces one of the awards in Hawaiian at the 2009 Na Hōkū Hanohano Awards. - Photo: Nicholas Masagatani; Holunape accepts one of their awards at the 2009 Na Hōkū Hanohano Awards. Kekoa Kaluhiwa, left, and Kanai'a Nakamura, right, accompany Kama Hopkins, center, who gave the acceptance speech in Hawaiian. - Photo: Nichoias Masagatani

'ĀHA'l I 'ŌLELO OLA * Mt LfvJa j v 'Āha'i 'Olelo Ola 5:50 a.m. weekdays on Sunrise on KGMB9 4:30 p.m. Sundays on KGMB9 On demand at hawaiian language.tv oron 'Ūiwi TV, ūeeanie Digital Channel 326 Weather with A Moanike'ala M Nabarro 5 p.m. news I Saturdayand KITV Sunday on lsland Television KITV

Ēl www.oha.org/kwo MO'OLELO NUI ■ C0VER FEATURE KA WAI OLA | ĪHE LIVING WATER 0F OHA