Last week, Gov. David Ige signed a resolution proclaiming 2018 the Year of the Hawaiian.
This is not to find fault in that. Not at all.
But the proclamation called to mind the lyrics of the trenchant Hawaiian rap group Sudden Rush from their powerful 1997 album KU‘E, about a similar proclamation:
’96, the Year of Hawaiian Language sounds like heaven,
but tell me, what does that make 1997?
They keep lying
We keep trying
Every year should be the Year of the Hawaiian.
The senate resolution to declare 2018 the Year of the Hawaiian was supported by many Native Hawaiian organizations, including the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and Kamehameha Schools. The official signing of the proclamation included mele and hula and a performance by students from Punana Leo Hawaiian language preschool.
“There is much to celebrate,” Ige said. “It marks the 40th anniversary of the creation of the Hawaiian language immersion programs that have brought the language back from the brink of extinction and is now thriving, spoken by more than 20,000 people.”
2018 is also the 25th anniversary of the formal apology for America’s role in the 1893 overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom, the 40th anniversary of the creation of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and the 100th anniversary of the first Hawaiian Civic Club by Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana‘ole.
So it is indeed a good time to mark the success of the efforts of many minds and hands, and a time to gather strength for the work that is ahead.
1987 was also proclaimed the Year of the Hawaiian. Though established by Gov. Ariyoshi, it was proclaimed by John Waihee, the first person of Native Hawaiian heritage to be elected governor of Hawaii (the last, too, BTW.) Similarly, it was a time when there had been significant milestones within the Hawaiian community to be examined and exulted.
This was in the foreword to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin’s special coverage of the 1987 commemoration:
“The question has been raised: ‘Why should there be just one year of the Hawaiian?’ and there may not be an easy answer. If the values of Hawaii, as inspired by the people who led the way here and contributed to the community, are the envy of the world, why not make the Year of the Hawaiian last forever?”
There is sometimes a troubling tendency to define Hawaiians and Hawaiianess in terms that limit— This is how to be Hawaiian. This is the year to celebrate — as though an entire living, evolving culture and all its heritage can be collected into a koa box and taken down on special occasions.
But every Hawaiian life defines what it means to be Hawaiian. Hawaiian culture is what came before, but it is also being born and borne forward by Hawaiian hands and minds every day. A Hawaiian is Hawaiian all the time. 2018 is a good time to celebrate, but, as Sudden Rush said, every year should be the year of the Hawaiian.
Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.
