Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 28, Number 8, 1 August 2011 — Breaking the language barrier Q&A: Kauanoe Kamanā [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Breaking the language barrier Q&A: Kauanoe Kamanā

lnterviewed by Lisa Asato Dr. Kauanoe Kamanā is the Principal of Ke Kula 'O Nāwahlokalani'ōpu'u, a Hawaiian-medium school in Hilo whose mission statement is "No 'Ane'i Ko Kākou Ola - Our greatest contributions are made in our own homeīanā ." The first Native Hawaiian to earn a Ph.D. in Hawaiian and Indigenous Language and Culture Revitalization at the University of Hawai'i-Hilo, Kamanā's contributions to Hawaiian-language revitalization have been numerous. She is a founder of 'Aha Pūnana Leo, a program for infants and preschoolers that sparked Hawai'i's language revitalization in 1983. The "nest of voices" movement was a boon to the continuing steady return of 'ōlelo Hawai'i to the mainstream of education in Hawai'i. She is also a faculty member of UH-Hilo's Ka Haka 'Ula o Ke'elikōlani Hawaiian Language College, where her husband, Pila Wilson, serves as a Professor and Division Chair. Their two children are Pūnana Leo and Nāwahl graduates, with son, Hulilauākea, being a part of its first graduating class in 1999. "The parents of those children in those first three graduating classes were the core of the movement," Kamanā said. "Those children are now almost 30." Although Kamanā ean point to various strides and achievements that her school has made over the years - including a 100 percent graduation rate despite having more than 70 percent of students qualifying for free and reduced luneh - she still finds herself defending Hawaiian-medium education to those who may acknowledge its worth but still hesitate to send their children to such a program. Hawaiian-medium schools use Hawaiian as the sole language of instruction, with English being introduced as a foreign language in grade 5 and continuing to grade 12.

In a wide-ranging conversation, Kamanā discussed achievements, struggles and philosophies. Here is an excerpt. KWO: How has OHA played a role in your school's history? KK: We've had OHA help our Nāwahīokalani'ōpu'u right from the beginning in finding our site in Kea'au and that eame through the Board approval of helping fund our program there on that property. We have a lot to be thankful to OHA for. . . . OHA has played a key role in the establishment of Hawaiian-immersion education during those first years and continue today to support Hawai-ian-immersion education, Kula Kaiapuni and in our case, Hawaiian-medium education. KWO: Has the language-movement created a new generation of speakers? KK: When 'Aha Pūnana Leo first started in 1983 there were only three or four children outside Ni'ihau - and two were my own - who were raised using Hawaiian at home. Last year we had a count and there are 87 children, or 33 percent, of our student body at Nāwahī alone who have been speaking Hawaiian since birth. And most of these children are at the lower age groups, babies and preschool children, and many are children of our own graduates. And I know that this is something that would make Nāwahī (Joseph Nāwahī, the school's namesake) proud if he were to see this happening. The base of our success continues to be our own Hawaiian language, not just because of its beauty and poetry - all of our mele and songs in literature that we're so fortunate to have - but because of that Hawaiian perspective that the language brings, that perspective that is innate to the language. KWO: What do you say to critics who say llial the Hawaiian-medium model puts

students at a disadvantage when they enter college and the work force. KK: Although people may support the revitalization of Hawaiian language, there's still a sense of, "Oh, maybe the children are not academically smart enough. They're not really going to be ready (for college)." Of course those people are simply reflecting the old stereotypes against Hawaiians, that we, our language, our art, our way of doing things are somehow lesser than others. Unfortunately, these falsehoods have been absorbed by some of our own Hawaiian people . . . At Nāwahī, we have 100 percent high school graduation rate. This has been going back 13 years since 1999. That's when we had our first graduating class and it continues today. We also have on average 80 percent of our graduates going directly on to college. A lot of that is attributed to our curriculum and that we have our students enrolled in the university here at Hilo or Hawai'i Community College while still in high school. Every senior class has part of their credits done on campus and they go and take courses at the university. This has been built into the curriculum since 1999. This year, nine of 1 1 of our graduating seniors will be continuing on to college. Our graduation and college attendance rates are mueh higher than the state or even national average. Internationally, programs for other endangered languages like Māori, Welsh and Basque are also producing above-average academic results. KWO: What about students' success in college? KK: We have many graduates from the University of Hawai'i system. There are Nāwahī students who have graduated from Seattle University, Loyola Marymount University, Northern Arizona University, Oxford and other universities. One recent shining example is 'Akalā Neves. She graduated this spring from the University of Portland and finished all of her studies in three years. We're real proud of her. She's a Pūnana Leo student. She graduated from Nāwahī, and she graduated from UOP with honors in political science. She also received two minors, in French and Spanish. KWO: How do you overcome challenges, such as have a majority of your students being economically disadvantaged? KK: The low socioeconomic background ean give us some challenges, but in our experience at Nāwahī we concentrate on building quality relationships and focusing on the strengths that people bring as well has having a real good sense of ho'oponopono, or correcting things effectively. ... We also have language sessions onee a week for one and a half hours for all our parents from preschool to grade 12 to attend. All our parents SEE KAMANĀ ON PAGE 25

EDUCATI0N

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KAMANĀ

Continued from page 13 attend this. It creates a sense of community, helping eaeh other and working and growing together. This is one big strength we have at Nāwahl. KWO: UH-Hilo's Hawaiian Language College and its P-20 programs, whieh Nāwahī is a part of, was the first P-20 program to earn accreditation by the World Indigenous Nations Higher Education Consortium, in 2010. What impael does that have on what you're able to do? KK: That's another indication of a positive evaluation of our program and our work. It's really important that we step out and get that kind of affirmation from an organization as big as WINHEC. And considering the potential that comes with that kind of international recognition, we're hoping will open some doors and will help us grow the program even further. KWO: You are the first Native Hawaiian to earn your doctorate in language milali/alion. What do you Ihink that says to other Hawaiians? KK: I think it's encouraging for Hawaiians to see other Hawaiians

do well at anything. It's something that of course we ean do. Taking pride in achievement is an old way of thinking about contributing to the 'ohana. Our individual success must help us collectively. KWO: Growing up, was the importance of educalion stressed in your family? KK: Yes. My mother, father, grandpa, cousins everybody, we had that way of thinking of things from a very young age. I do the same thing with my own children, through our schools, and with my nieces and nephews, who don't all necessarily speak Hawaiian. When they see me they know what I'm going to talkabout. I'mpredictable. I'm going to talk about how they're doing in school. KWO: Pūnana Leo will celebrate 30 years in 2013. How far has the program eome? KK: I'm very encouraged at what I see. A living language is a language that is used from generation to generation that evolves over time and that is grounded in the true traditional principles that make Hawaiians Hawaiian. I think we have a lot to be proud of as a people. We have a lot to be proud of as a program. We have eome a long way and we have a lot more to do. ■