“I’m assuming that it was Hawaiian and that is a dead language.” This was said by
Honolulu City Council testifier, Kai Lorinc. Obviously ‘Olelo Hawaii’ isn’t a dead language. It
has been a language for years and has been through many obstacles to be a language today. With
schools in Hawaii trying to help teach young generations, many native and locals sharing the
history of our culture and language, and the resurgence and growth the language is having. The
revitalization of ‘Olelo Hawaii is essential for preserving Hawaii’s cultural identity and heritage
for fostering a strong sense of community in Hawaii.

With the help of schools in Hawaii like The Kamehameha Schools, we can continue
growing our language and culture. Kamehameha Schools have the longest, largest enrollment in
Hawaiian Language courses. With social media also being a big help for the Hawaiian language
community, it can help grow and share lessons, stories and information about the culture. With
the effort of schools and communities promoting the language, it is helping Hawaiian culture
become more strong and vibrant.

Learning about the history of the Hawaiian language, the present and what the future
holds for the language, help acknowledge what we can do with the information. In 1893, the
Monarchy overthrew the Kingdom of Hawaii, illegally. Our Queen was put in house arrest in her
kingdom. The seven caucasian men started to take control and have banned our culture and

language to never be spoken again. The Hawaiian language was banned for 91 years. If you were
caught doing ANYTHING of the Hawaiian culture, you were sent to jail immediately. Luckily,
for some brave souls, secretly spoke, practiced, and kept the culture into their lives. It has helped
the language and culture even more. Even to this day, there are still problems that Hawaii is
facing.

It is important to know how the Hawaiians saved our language. There are many problems
that Hawaii was facing in 1893 and throughout. Especially with our language about to be
forgotten, the Hawaiian people put in the effort to persevere the culture and language. An
example of this is “Kumulipo” which was published by King David Kalakaua, Queen
Lili’uokalani’s brother. This was one of many chants that was preserved. It was hard to preserve
and restore the culture and language. The Hawaiians had to pick and choose on what they could
preserve. Knowing that Hawaiian is not completely preserved, shows that we still have a lot of
work to do.

The Hawaiian culture and language went through massive changes throughout the years.
With our culture being alive and well, it being almost forgotten, and now experiencing growth
and resurgence is a huge accomplishment. There are still many problems that need to be fixed,
but with help, we can get through them. There are big goals and wishes for the future of our
culture and language. Not one of those wishes and goals is for our language and culture to be
gone forever.