The Trump administration’s attacks on DEI policies and programs didn’t stop the state Legislature from designating September as Hawaiian History Month and naming the first Friday in May as Laulau Day.
Lawmakers in January began considering declaring the two observances then sent the proposals to Gov. Josh Green for consideration a week before it was revealed last week that the U.S. Department of Education had decided that Native Hawaiian history would not be categorized as “diversity, equity and inclusion” or “critical race theory” under the federal government’s new directive for the nation’s schools.
The Legislature’s decision to send the separate bills to Green followed in the footsteps of generations of Hawaiian defiance of the U.S. government, according to Jonathan Kay Kamakawiwo‘ole Osorio, dean of the University of Hawaii’s Hawai‘inuiakea School of Hawaiian Knowledge.
He is hoping Green signs the latest versions of Senate Bill 1051 and House Bill 957 into law.
“This is exactly the time where, in Hawaii, we basically have to say, ‘Well, we don’t really care what the federal government does,’” Osorio said. “This is about us. This is about our people.
“This is not a time for people to be cautious or ashamed of what we embrace. This is a time to be defiant.”
SB 1051 was introduced at the start of the recently concluded legislative session to designate the month of September as Hawaiian History Month to promote public awareness of state history, honor Queen Lili‘uokalani and recognize the contributions of the Native Hawaiian community.
Separately, the latest version of HB 957 officially recognizes the first Friday in May as Laulau Day, celebrating a traditional Hawaiian dish made of fatty protein wrapped in luau leaves and ti leaves, then steamed for hours.
The state already marks other celebratory days to highlight the diversity of culture in Hawaii, including Buddha Day on April 8, Kimchi Day on Nov. 18 and Sakada Day on Dec. 20, but the two bills awaiting Green’s approval would specifically support Native Hawaiian culture.
SB 1051 follows efforts to highlight Hawaiian voices and stories by the Hawai‘i Pono‘i Coalition, formed in 2007 to educate residents and visitors to the islands on local history and culture.
Celebrating Queen Lili‘uokalani by honoring Hawaii history goes back even further, according to Malia Nobrega-Olivera, director of strategic partnerships and community engagement at the Hawai‘inuiakea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, who works with the Hawai‘i Pono‘i Coalition to hold celebrations every September in honor of the beloved monarch’s birthday Sept. 2.
“At least 25 years or more we have been organizing in honor of Lili‘u on her birthday,” she said.
Officially designating every September as Hawaiian History Month would affect everyone who lives in or visits the islands, Nobrega-Olivera said.
“I see it as a really big opportunity for anyone that is a part of Hawaii, that touches Hawaii, that travels to Hawaii, that lives here, eats here, breathes here, to really learn about the true history of Hawaii,” she said.
“When you think about everything that’s happening with Trump, now, even more so, everyone that lives here in Hawaii should look at ‘what is the history of this place.’”
The coalition holds public events throughout September, including film screenings, living history plays, concerts, walks and church events, to get the community involved.
“September shouldn’t only be the month where we talk about and discuss Hawaiian history,” Nobrega-Olivera said. “It’s really a way for us to kick it off and get us excited again.”
Growing up in Hanapepe and descended from a family of Kauai salt makers, Nobrega-Olivera was surrounded by Hawaiian culture in a place where “we’re the last community to make salt in this way.”
But it was only later, through her education at UH-Manoa, that she learned to speak Hawaiian and got a deeper appreciation of Hawaii’s history and Hawaiian culture.
She said that when she took her first Hawaiian language class, “I usually like to say my life got changed. It made me look at who we are as a people, and it helped me look deeper into who am I.”
So she knows how important cultural education can be for younger generations if Hawaiian History Month becomes enshrined in state law.
“Because of learning my language, my history and my culture just became so much more alive,” Nobrega-Olivera said.
Similarly, HB 957 would make Laulau Day an opportunity to further celebrate and connect with Hawaiians and the broader local culture through food, said Rep. Darius Kila (D, Nanakuli-Maili), who introduced the measure.
Just before the full House approved Laulau Day, in the final days of the legislative session that ended May 2, Kila stood before his House colleagues to make an emotional plea that emphasized the appeal of laulau to anyone from Hawaii seeking a connection to home.
Laulau Day, Kila said, would be “for every ohana that knows when you open the pot and see the steam, you are home and you are in Hawaii.”
