Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 39, Number 2, 1 February 2022 — The Importance of 'Ōlelo Hawai'i [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The Importance of 'Ōlelo Hawai'i

By lsaac Keola Swain Best regards to those of you reading this. My name is

Keola and I hail from Wai'anae. Currently, I am a student at

the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa

pursuing a Hawaiian studies degree. Recently, someone asked me this loeEinn* ie

Haestion: What is the importance of Hawaiian language to you?" In this eolumn, I want to share with you my thoughts. Our language is a form of identity. Similar to other places, every native people have a language. If you were to travel to Aotearoa, you would hear Māori speaking Te Reo Māori. This ean be seen all over the world. Language is critical to the identity of native peoples. Here in Hawai'i, our langauge has faced many challenges. We've lost many native speakers, our mother tongue was banned, and our home was eolonized by foreigners. Due to this, many of our people did not learn our language. However, today, there is a resurgence of Hawaiian language speakers. We've established immersion schools that have inspired people to learn our language. The voices of Hawai'i have risen onee again! That is why I believe the Hawaiian language is so crucial. Ihe obstacles have been conquered both in the past and up to today. ■ Isaac Keola Swain is a freshmen at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. He isfrom Wai'anae and is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools Kapālama.