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ASSOCIATION OF HAWAIIAN CIVIC CLUBS

A RESOLUTION

No. 2018 – 13

THANKING AND RECOGNIZING THE STATE OF HAWAIʻI DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OFFICE OF HAWAIIAN EDUCATION, KANAEOKANA, KAMEHAMEHA SCHOOLS, AND E.K. FERNANDEZ SHOWS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF A KĀNIWALA, A HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE CARNIVAL.

WHEREAS, on Friday, June 29, 2018, the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Education Office of Hawaiian Education (OHE) hosted a highly successful immersive ‘ōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language) event, Ke Kāniwala Aupuni Hawaiʻi (Kāniwala), at the E.K. Fernandez Hawaiʻi 50th State Fair in Hālawa, ʻEwa, Oʻahu; and

WHEREAS, OHE has in numerous, significant ways supported the formation and growth of ‘ōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language) immersion education throughout Hawaiʻi; and

WHEREAS, OHE has designed and implemented the State of Hawaiʻi Board of Education Policy E-3, commonly referred to as Nā Hopena Aʻo or HĀ; and

WHEREAS, HĀ emphasizes in part the importance of engaging students in experiential learning that is joyful and relevant to their lives, enabling and encouraging ʻohana and communities to play an integral role in student learning, and building a sense of belonging and cohesion among participants in that learning community; and

WHEREAS, OHE sought to design such a learning opportunity for the larger ‘ōlelo Hawaiʻi speaking community to collectively engage in an immersive ‘ōlelo Hawaiʻi setting and considered such an opportunity to be an evening at the E.K. Fernandez 50th State Fair; and

WHEREAS, E.K. Fernandez Shows agreed to hold such ‘ōlelo Hawaiʻi evening, provided OHE and supporters arrange for matters necessary to implement such an event; and

WHEREAS, the event came to be entitled, Ke Kāniwala Aupuni Hawaiʻi (Kāniwala); and

WHEREAS, OHE requested Kanaeokana to assist with Kāniwala, and the Kanaeokana Kōmike Hoʻokuluma ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi (ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi Renormalization Committee) enthusiastically approved of offering such assistance; and

WHEREAS, Kanaeokana is a network, including OHE and the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, is comprised of over 50 Hawaiian-focused schools and supporting organizations who seek to strengthen the lāhui (the Hawaiian nation, broadly speaking) by nurturing and sustaining the next generations of aloha ʻāina leaders through a Hawaiian education system built on a foundation of ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi and ʻike Hawaiʻi; and

WHEREAS, multiple meetings to develop plans and coordinate work were conducted by OHE staff and Kanaeokana support staff provided by the Kamehameha Schools Kealaiwikuamoʻo Department, which is a part of the Kūamahi Community Education Division, and the Community Engagement and Resources Group; and

WHEREAS, OHE thoroughly reviewed the E.K. Fernandez carnival grounds to identify signage that needed to be translated into ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi and completed all such translations; and

WHEREAS, OHE purchased from E.K. Fernandez 4,000 Kāniwala entry tickets at a cost of $16,000 and provided the tickets freely to those requesting a ticket using ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi; and

WHEREAS, OHE sought and received the assistance of 200 ‘ōlelo Hawaiʻi speaking volunteers who helped with manning food booths, games, rides, and information stations using ‘ōlelo Hawaiʻi; and

WHEREAS, OHE sought and received the support of largely volunteer emcees and musicians who could converse with participants in the Kāniwala main tent in ‘ōlelo Hawaiʻi; and

WHEREAS, Kanaeokana created and promoted a video to raise awareness of Kāniwala and to call for volunteers using Kanaeokana’s social media channels; and

WHEREAS, Kanaeokana design the logo and other collateral marketing materials for Kāniwala; and

WHEREAS, OHE and Kanaeokana paid for all the printing needed for the Kāniwala signage and collateral materials; and

WHEREAS, OHE provided over 200 caps for volunteers and Kanaeokana designed and had printed 360 Kāniwala t-shirts for volunteers and others who assisted with planning and implementing Kāniwala; and

WHEREAS, Kanaeokana designed a web app to disseminate the information that volunteers would need to prepare for their roles at Kāniwala and to provide volunteers and participants access to lists, provided by OHE and Kanaeokana, involving vocabulary and phrases relevant to the games, rides, food, and entertainment at Kāniwala; and

WHEREAS, the Kāniwa.la app also provided at the event a means for app users to ask any ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi support questions and, in real time, receive answers provided by Kanaeokana support staff who were manning that app function at computer stations at Kāniwala during the event; and  

WHEREAS, OHE organized the shifts and responsibilities for Kāniwala volunteers; and

WHEREAS, E.K. Fernandez staff gladly supported the spirit of the Kāniwala; and

WHEREAS, nearly 6,000 Kāniwala participants, many of whom were ‘ōlelo Hawaiʻi speaking, enjoyed an evening at Kāniwala engaging in ‘ōlelo Hawaiʻi; and

WHEREAS, Kanaeokana produced a second video to share the Kāniwala experience with those who missed the event and to underscore to all audiences the takeaways from Kāniwala; and

WHEREAS, Kāniwala participants felt a high level of empowerment in coming together in large numbers and freely using ‘ōlelo Hawaiʻi as the primary communication mode; and

WHEREAS, Kāniwala participants experienced an ‘ōlelo Hawaiʻi-rich soundscape at Ke Kāniwala Aupuni Hawaiʻi that could be heard everywhere as one walked throughout the Kāniwala grounds, just as one might have experienced in any context during earlier times in our Aupuni Hawaiʻi (the Hawaiian nation); and

WHEREAS, Kāniwala demonstrated to our Hawaiian community, and Hawaiʻi as a whole, the impact of the cumulative, decades long efforts by many skilled and passionate ‘ōlelo Hawaiʻi speakers to nurture the learning and use of ‘ōlelo Hawaiʻi in homes, communities, and the full spectrum of preschool through graduate-level education in Hawaiʻi; and

WHEREAS, Kāniwala demonstrated that a growing body of ‘ōlelo Hawaiʻi speakers are able and eager to use ‘ōlelo Hawaiʻi with one another in everyday contexts; and

WHEREAS, Kāniwala demonstrated to our youth that ‘ōlelo Hawaiʻi is a viable language for everyday contemporary contexts outside of their classrooms; and

WHEREAS, Kāniwala has helped to build the rising momentum of ‘ōlelo Hawaiʻi use and support across all sectors of society in Hawaiʻi.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs at its 59th Annual Convention in Kalapaki, Kauaʻi, in the malama of Welehu and the rising of ʻOlepau, this 17th day of November 2018, thanking and recognizing the DOE Office of Hawaiian Education, Kanaeokana, Kamehameha Schools, and over 200 volunteers

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that E.K. Fernandez Shows be acknowledged for their willingness to accommodate an evening of ‘ōlelo Hawaiʻi use at its 50th State Fair; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that upon the adoption of this resolution by the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, a certified copy of this resolution be transmitted to the Department of Education Superintendent, the Director of the DOE Office of Hawaiian Education, the Kanaeokana Kōmike Hoʻokele, the Kanaeokana Kōmike Hoʻokuluma ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, the CEO of the Kamehameha Schools; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution, when adopted, be also transmitted to the Governor of the State of Hawai‘i, President of the State Senate, Speaker of the State House of Representatives, Chair of the State Senate Committee on Hawaiian Affairs, Chair of the State House Committee on Ocean, Marine Resources, & Hawaiian Affairs, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and all County Mayors.

The undersigned hereby certifies that the foregoing Resolution was duly adopted in the malama of Welehu and the rising of ‘Olepau on the 17th day of November 2018, at the 59th Annual Convention of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs in Kalapaki, Kaua‘i.

Annelle C. Amaral, President