Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 31, Number 1, 1 January 2014 — Hawaiians represent at national native education forum [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Hawaiians represent at national native education forum

By Wendy Roylo Hee

Rapid City, South Dakota, was the site of the44thannual NaHonal Indian Education Association Convention and Trade Show from Oct. 29 to Nov.

2, 2013. A sizable delegation of approximately 40 Hawaiians braved the bracing 40-degree weather to meet other Native educators, to participate in workshops, hear from nahonal leaders in education, leam about the most recent Native education research and engage in NIEA's advocacy work. The biggest Hawaiian contingent was a group from the Native Hawaiian Education Association that sponsored a booth in the trade show promoting the World Indigenous Peoples' Conference on Education that will take plaee in Honolulu May 19-24, 2014. Although not as large a group, the Native Hawaiian Education Council (NHEC) sent four members to conduct a workshop on its Needs Assessment Report and to propose two resolutions that eame out of their previous work at the Native Hawaiian Education Summit in July 2013 and the Education Briefing and Caucus of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement's Native Hawaiian Convention in September 2013. Both resolutions, one supporting early learning measures that strengthen native cultures and the other one supporting Title VII within the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), passed handily. With NIEA's adoption of these resolutions, NHEC amplifies its voice in urging Congress to: • promote and protect Native languages (including Hawai'i's second official language) at the earliest stages of child development and education. • set aside funds for early learning grant programs for natives. • require states with significant native populations to consult with them in the development of their state plans for early learning. • support muhiple early learning delivery systems in the state plans, including strong family/parent engagement eomponents. • reauthorize ESEA, particularly the

Indian, Native Hawaiian and Alaska Native Education Acts so that Native Education is left as a distinct and separate title in order to strengthen native and tribal control over the education of their

children. More than a half-dozen workshops were presented by Hawaiians at the eonvention. Besides NHEC, Kamehameha Schools and several grantees of the Native Hawaiian Education Program conducted workshops to share information on their curricula, projects and findings that could possibly benefit other native educators. And by the same token, Hawaiians attended workshops presented by other natives in order to learn of their programs and successes. Time was also set aside during an awards luneheon to recognize educators and their service to the community. Hawaiians in attendance honored with an oli Dr. Keiki Kawai'ae'a, NHEC member, who accepted the William Demmert Cultural Freedom Award on behalf of Ka Haka 'Ula O Ke'elikōlani College of Hawaiian Language, where she serves as director. Also honored at the awards luneheon was Dr. Walter Kahumoku III, Kamehameha Schools' director of Kauhale Kīpaipai, as he finished his three-year term on the NIEA Board. Dr. Kahumoku served brilliantly as NIEA treasurer, working diligently to bring the finances of the organization around to more firm footing. As Dr. Kahumoku, the only Hawaiian on the NIEA Board, was stepping down another Hawaiian, Dr. Teresa Makuakane-Drechsel, was elected at this convention to serve on the NIEA Board for the next three years. Dr. MakuakaneDrechsel previously served on the NIEA Board 2008 to 201 1 and is a recipient of the 2012 NIEA Lifetime Achievement Award. The 45th annual NIEA Convention and Trade Show is scheduled to be held in Anchorage, Alaska, Oct. 15 to 19, 2014. ■ Wendy Roylo Hee is executive director of the Native Hawaiian Education Council.

j KŪKĀKŪKĀ v % COMMUNITY F0RUM /