Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 34, Number 3, 1 March 2017 — OHA posts Board agendas in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OHA posts Board agendas in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi

By Office of Hawaiian Affairs Staff The Office of Hawaiian Affairs posted its first board agenda in 'ōlelo Hawai'i and English in February, marking the beginning of a new pilot project to publish board agendas in both co-official languages of the state. "This represents our commitment to normalizing 'ōlelo Hawai'i in our daily lives," said OHA Chair Colette Y. Machado. "'Ōlelo Hawai'i was onee spoken by nearly everyone in Hawai'i - not just in homes, but also in school, in government, and in business. As the language was removed from these venues it almost vanished. The only way to fully revive 'ōlelo Hawai'i is to reintroduce it to these spaces." The agenda for the Feb. 22 Beneficiary Advocacy and Empowerment Committee,

whieh is one of two standing committees of the OHA board, was posted in both Hawaiian and English. OHA's new pilot project aims to incorporate both languages into agendas for the Beneficiary Advocacy and Empowerment Committee, and eventually for the full board and its other standing committee, the Resource Management Committee. "This is an important step forward to give real meaning to the 1978 amendments to the state eonstitution recognizing the Hawaiian language as one of the two official languages of the state," said Ka Pouhana Kamana'opono Crabbe. "And this effort is timely considering that state law also recognizes Pepeluali

(February) as Mahina 'Ōlelo Hawai'i (Hawaiian Language Month)." While onee spoken throughout Hawai'i by Native Hawaiians and foreigners alike, 'ōlelo Hawai'i was considered to be nearly extinct by the 1980s, when fewer than 50 fluent speakers under the age of eighteen

remained. A maj or reason for the deterioration of the Hawaiian language was an 1896 law that required English instruction in Hawai'i schools. In practice, this law functioned to "ban" students from speaking 'ōlelo Hawai'i at their schools. Efforts to preserve the language over the years have included 'Aha

Pūnana Leo's Hawaiian language immersion preschools, the Department of Education's Hawaiian language immersion program and the Hawaiian language programs of the University of Hawai'i system. In 2013, Hawaiian language advocates and OHA asked the Legislature to pass a law permanently naming February as 'Ōlelo Hawai'i Mahina. The law - Act 28 - heeame the first to be published in 'ōlelo Hawai'i since a 1943 law repealed a statute that required laws to be published in Hawaiian. OHA board agendas are available online at www.oha. org/trustees. ■