Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 39, Number 2, 1 Pepeluali 2022 — The Enduring Legacy of Language and Culture [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The Enduring Legacy of Language and Culture

By Kekaianiani lrwin To friends breathing new life into language and culture across our beloved island ehain, aloha kākou! During Hawaiian language month last year I told the story of the Kūkulu Kumuhana Project, whieh began in 2017. A list of the subjects developed for the project ean be found in that Ka Wai Ola article.

Kūkulu Kumuhana recently reached completion and was indeed ffuitful: 60,000 Hawaiian language books eomprising 46 new titles; e-book and audio e-book formats for many of those titles featuring fluent Hawaiian narration, mele, and chant; 23,700 olelo no'eau posters (including 35 new Hawaiian proverb posters spotlighting family values and witty language); nine language enrichment classes for Hawaiian immersion families from Puna to Kekaha; three teacher inservice workshops attended by more than 60 kumu; and 17 kumu-developed curriculum units are some of those "hua pala" (ripe fruit) of the project. In what fertile soil did the root of all this development activity take hold? In the ground of aloha aina, aloha olelo, and aloha for ancestral knowledge! From earliest time to the present, language and culture form a path requiring constant attention ffom generation to generation, whieh must be a well-traveled path to endure. This arose as a central theme of a second set of 20 books spotlighting role models who integrate ancestral knowledge and Hawaiian language in modern career pathways. These books shine light on the themes of "kuleana" (grade K), the legacy of Hawaiian monarchs (grade one), the trait of "noelo" or deep delving (grade two), and cultural steadfastness (grade three). Liholiho's message - that no one has the right to deny the cultural heritage of another - is as relevant today as when he first proclaimed it. This enduring legacy is embodied by the many path-keepers and trailblazers featured in SEE THE ENDURING LEGACY 0F LANGUAGE AND CULTURE ON PAGE 15

This book by Makalapua Alencastre illuminates the lifestyle and kuleana of Hawaiian immersion families. - Photos: Courtesy

Lokelani Brandt is a araduate of Ke Kula 'o Nawahīoka- ■ lani'ōpu'u. A role I model for younger | students, Brandt inteI grates and advances Hawaiian language j and culture in her i chosen career of I archaeology.

THE ENDURING LEGACY 0F LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

Continued from page 14 the second set of Kūkulu Kumuhana books. A broad range of careers are now being transformed by new generations who, like 'ouōmuamua (advance scouts), are carrying ancestral knowledge, olelo, and Hawaiian worldviews into their work and clearing the way for others to follow. They seem to represent a main idea of the new book, He 'Onipa'a i ka Meheu. It is not only the kuleana of ancestors to tend and perpetuate cultural and language pathways. Every generation must take up this kuleana to keep the paths clear through the deep pursuit of knowledge, preserving and persisting until language and traditional ways flourish in the contexts of an everchanging world. In this tradition, the alahele (path) becomes an alahula (frequented and well-known), and the way is opened for those who will follow after and continue to tend to the enduring legacy of olelo and 'ike Hawai'i. Many of the ffuits of this project will be available following full distribution to immersion schools and immersion families in March 2022. Our website and e-commerce store is at www.halekuamoo.com. ■ Kekaianiani Irwin taught at the Hawaiian immersion schools of Paia, Puōhala, and Satnuel M. Katnakaufor 12 years. In 2005, hejoined the development team at the Hale Kuamo'o Hawaiian Language Center ofKa Haka 'Ula O Ke'elikōlani College ofHawaiian Language in Hilo.

He 'Ohana 'Olelo Ola Kakou no Makalapua Alencaslre a i-n