Pepeluali (February) is Mahina ‘Ölelo Hawai‘i (Hawaiian Language Month) in Hawai‘i, dedicated to our native language. While ‘Ölelo Hawai‘i has come a long way over the past 200 years thanks to generations who came before us, we still have a long way to go.
As a Native Hawaiian educator, I play a small, but integral, part in perpetuating our ‘Ölelo Makuahine (mother tongue). I, along with other Hawaiian community leaders, want to continue the momentum by sharing our native tongue beyond our shores. We need to share our beautiful language with the world.
This month, about 100 keiki, mäkua (parents) and küpuna (grandparents) will embark on Kïkaha 2022, a huaka‘i (journey) to the Happiest Place on Earth — Disneyland. Kïkaha means “to soar” or reach new heights, and our goal is to take ‘Ölelo Hawai‘i to new heights and new places one step at a time.
If you’ve ever been to Disneyland, or any theme park for that matter, you’ll likely hear the languages of the world: Spanish, French, Japanese — you name it. But one language you rarely hear is ‘Ölelo Hawai‘i.
This huaka‘i gives us an opportunity to share our culture and stories in our native tongue with people who may not have heard a single Hawaiian word beyond “aloha,” if even that. Just like all the other languages that are heard around the world, I believe it’s totally possible to make Hawaiian a more commonly heard and used language — and this field trip to Disneyland is just one way we can accomplish this idea.
Our voyage will be filled with traditional protocol and conversations solely in Hawaiian. We’ll sport spirit jerseys, as well as buttons that say “Ola Ka ‘Ölelo ‘Öiwi,” which roughly translates to “long live indigenous languages.” Our buttons will also play homage to International Mother Language Day on Feb. 21.
We will share our journey on Facebook Live and Instagram through our social media handle: Kïkaha 2022. We hope that these posts will allow more people at home to follow along and see how our keiki are thriving using our language, despite being surrounded by English language speakers. We’re going to post hua‘ölelo Hawai‘i (Hawaiian words) every day this month in order to get more people to recognize and educate others about the language.
We’ve even tried investing in Instagram ads to make the language more visible online. We targeted our posts to reach Instagram users on the U.S. continent so that Hawaiian will pop up on their feeds and they can learn the language, too.
February is meant to celebrate the Hawaiian language; but this recognition should not be limited to one month. Every day should be an opportunity to share our culture and perpetuate the language. I hope that our short, but meaningful trip will bring hope, joy, love and magic to all we encounter and be the start of our journey towards normalizing ‘Ölelo Hawai‘i around the world. E kïkaha pü käkou, i ola ka ‘Ölelo Hawai‘i!
Mahalo to all our supporters who helped us raise funds for this trip and the PA‘I Foundation, who helped us with our financial goals. This dream would not have become a reality without the support of our friends, ‘ohana and community!
Kahōkū Lindsey-Asing is a Native Hawaiian teaching and cultivating a new generation of ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi speakers; he is the kahu (site coordinator) of Pūnana Leo o Mānoa, celebrating its 10-year anniversary in 2022.
