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ASSOCIATION OF HAWAIIAN CIVIC CLUBS

A RESOLUTION

No. 2019 -37

urging the state of hawai‘i and its department of education to: 1) develop a hawaiian language and hawaiian cultural sensitivity and familiarity program for all employees of the department of education THROUGH ITS OFFICE OF HAWAIIAN EDUCATION To include the members of the board of education by 2023; 2) establish a HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE graduation exit requirement for all students in hawai‘i’s public schools by 2030; and 3) strengthen the hawaiian history requirement to INCLUDE PRE-1959 HISTORY TO BE TAUGHT FROM AN INDIGENOUS HAWAIIAN PERSPECTIVE by 2030

WHEREAS, since 1978 the Hawaiian Language is one of two official languages of the State of Hawai‘i; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Education is one of the official departments of the State of Hawai‘i; and

WHEREAS, even though the Department of Education is comprised of Native Hawaiian Charter Schools and Hawaiian Language Immersion Schools, some of the components of the said Department have presented themselves as if Hawaiian language and Hawaiian Culture belong only to the aforesaid schools and the Office of Hawaiian Education (OHE); and

WHEREAS, Department of Education in the State of Hawai‘i finds its origins in the reign of Kauikeaouli, King Kamehameha III, at whose direction, the first Department of Education was established in Hawai‘i in 1840 – this being one of the first Departments of Education in the world; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaiian Language was the medium language of education in Hawai‘i from 1831 at the establishment of Lahainaluna to 1896, when conspirators and traitors against the Kingdom of Hawai‘i, calling themselves the Republic of Hawai‘i, made it illegal to use Hawaiian language as the medium language of education; and

WHEREAS, even though, during the Territory of Hawai‘i in 1919, efforts were made to require the teaching of Hawaiian language in all Public Schools, the efforts proved ceremonial and insincere; and

WHEREAS, via oral and written documentations, native speakers of Hawaiian language reported that they were subjected to corporal punishment, ridiculed and embarrassed for speaking Hawaiian in the public schools; some elders reported that classmates were paid to spy on students who spoke Hawaiian on the playgrounds, during recesses; and

WHEREAS, during the Territory of Hawai‘i, public schools sent home letters instructing parents not to speak Hawaiian in their homes; and

WHEREAS, much of the destruction and near extinction of the Hawaiian language is due to the behaviors and policies, either led or tolerated by the Department of Education in the Republic of Hawai‘i, the Territory of Hawai‘i and the State of Hawai‘i; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Education acted as an agent of the Republic, Territory and State of Hawai‘i who share in the responsibility of the destruction and near extinction of the Hawaiian language; and

WHEREAS, even though in 1980, the Department of Education established the Kupuna Program, today very few schools have kūpuna or mākua to culturally enhance its educational programs; and

WHEREAS, Hawai‘i celebrates the Hawaiian language through its immersion schools and Hawaiian Public Charter Schools, these programs represent the clear and significant minority of student enrolled in Hawai‘i’s public schools; and

WHEREAS, according to the 2014 statistics, Native Hawaiians account for 27 percent of all students in Department of Education public schools; and

WHEREAS, in June 2015, Nā Hopena A‘o (HĀ) framework, was adopted by the Board of Education as a department-wide policy to honor the qualities and values of the indigenous language and culture of Hawai‘i; and

WHEREAS, Hawaiian History is taught in the public schools as Modern Hawaiian History, a semester course that usually teaches Hawaiian History from 1959 (Statehood) to present; but ignores the vibrant Kingdom History and other important history preceding 1959; and

WHEREAS, the significant majority of students enrolled in the DOE Public schools graduate annually, never being exposed to even the basics of Hawaiian Language; and

WHEREAS, for over 120 years the Hawaiian Language has struggled to survive as a result of, and due to the aforementioned policies, rules and laws of the Republic, Territory and State of Hawai‘i and its Department of Education; resulting in the near annihilation of an entire Hawaiian cultural livelihood; and

WHEREAS, the Maui Council of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, representing the home of Lahainaluna, the celebrated first school west of the Rockies and first school of the Department of Education, is calling on the State of Hawai‘i and its Department of Education to honor its responsibility to rehabilitate the Hawaiian Language and Cultural lens in all communities which the two serve; and

WHEREAS, The Maui Council of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs adopted this resolution at its annual Council convention held on Maui in July; forwarding the same to the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs to be considered as a resolution submitted by the Maui Council of Hawaiian Civic Clubs.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs at its 60th Annual Convention in Lahaina, Maui, in the malama of Welehu and the rising of Lāʻau Pau, this 16th day of November 2019, urging the State of Hawai’i and its Department of Education through its Office of Hawaiian Education to: 1) develop a Hawaiian language and Hawaiian cultural sensitivity and familiarity program for all employees of the Department of Education, to include the members of the Board of Education by 2023; 2) establish a Hawaiian language graduation exit requirement for all students in Hawai‘i’s public schools by 2030; and 3) strengthen the Hawaiian history requirement to include pre-1959 history to be taught from an indigenous Hawaiian perspective by 2030; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a certified copy of this resolution be transmitted to the Hawai‘i State Board of Education Chairperson, the Hawai‘i State Department of Education Superintendent, the CEO of the Council of Native Hawaiian Advancement, and Chair of the Native Hawaiian Education Council, as well as the Governor of the State of Hawai‘i; the President of the Hawai‘i State Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives of the State of Hawai‘i, Chair of the State Senate subject matter committee on Hawaiian Affairs, Chair of the State House subject matter committee on 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 Lāʻau Pau on the 16th day of November 2019, at the 60th Annual Convention of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs in Lahaina, Maui.

Hailama V. K. K. Farden, President