Maile Naehu grew up with a love and deep appreciation for the Hawaiian language and culture. Whether it was dancing hula, speaking Hawaiian or singing Hawaiian music, Naehu said, her mom encouraged her to be immersed in her heritage and spent many nights at the dinner table asking her what she had learned.

But Naehu points out that her mom, who grew up in Kalihi Valley, was not Native Hawaiian. She was Puerto Rican and married Naehu’s dad, who is Native Hawaiian. That inspired Naehu to co-found Ka Hale Hoaka, which offers Hawaiian language and cultural classes, in March 2020 so that she could help make ‘olelo Hawai‘i accessible to all.

“I think it’s because not only was she born and raised in Hawaii, she was also really strong in her Puerto Rican culture. So she knew the importance of carrying on traditions, language, music and dance,” Naehu said about her mom. “Until the day that she passed, she loved for me to share stories of the culture and sing Hawaiian music with her.”

February is Hawaiian Language Month, or Mahina ‘Olelo Hawai‘i. Several community leaders — including Naehu, who is part of a more recent movement of people and organizations continuing to grow ‘olelo Hawai‘i — say that while it’s important to bring more awareness during February, Hawaiian should be celebrated and spoken beyond that.

Hawaiian is one of the state’s official languages. But in 1896, after the overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom, teaching and learning Hawaiian was banned. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, there was a renaissance of the Hawaiian culture and language, which led to a grassroots movement and resurgence of Hawaiian music, hula and the language.

In 1986 the Hawaiian language immersion program, or Ka Papahana Kaiapuni, was established in the state Department of Education. Now there are 21 DOE schools and six charter schools that offer Hawaiian immersion, which provides education in Hawaiian until fifth grade, when English is introduced. More than 3,000 students are enrolled in Kaiapuni, according to the DOE.

Additionally, 210 student majors were enrolled in the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Hawai‘inuiakea School of Hawaiian Knowledge in fall 2021 and 161 in UH Hilo’s Ka Haka ‘Ula o Ke‘elikolani College of Hawaiian Language. According to census data, more than 18,000 people in Hawaii speak Hawaiian at home.

Kaula Tauotaha, co-founder of Kulaniakea, a nonprofit that offers preschool and toddler programs focused on Indigenous ways of learning, said she had similar experiences growing up. Her mom enrolled her in Hawaiian immersion and ‘Aha Punana Leo, but Tauotaha said she was one of the only Hawaiian speakers in her family and would only hear ‘olelo Hawai‘i spoken at school.

She said she wanted to change that for her keiki by starting Kulaniakea about five years ago. The program teaches keiki not only about Hawaiian language and traditions, but also about other Indigenous cultures, such as Samoan and Tahitian. Her daughter, who is 20 months old, is enrolled in Kulania­kea’s toddler program, and Tauotaha said it’s been “a really awesome experience” seeing her learn and grow. She said they hope to add more grade levels to Kulaniakea’s programs.

“For our keiki nowadays to be able to hear other people speaking (Hawaiian), it empowers them,” she said. “It allows them to feel comfortable in using their language, hearing it amongst people … and it shows our keiki that there is a greater community that will support them in their journey.”

That is one of the reasons Kahoku Lindsey-Asing said he formed Ka ‘Iwa Ho‘ola‘i in late 2021. The group is made up of parents, keiki and educators interested in the Hawaiian language and culture.

Lindsey-Asing, who works as a site coordinator at ‘Aha Punana Leo o Manoa, said he wanted to share ‘olelo Hawai‘i with the world and create spaces where Hawaiian isn’t typically heard as much. To do this, he said, they came up with the idea to travel to Disneyland and to spend their time in the park speaking ‘olelo Hawai‘i.

About 80 parents, kids and educators traveled to Disneyland this month, and the group was also able to perform ‘oli and protocol in the morning at the park. He said they are planning another trip to Disneyland in 2023 and hope to also visit Europe, where Hawaiian monarchs traveled.

“The big picture is the fact that we’re creating this space for all of our keiki to speak Hawaiian and for them to know that they don’t have to be scared or shy and that they can feel safe speaking their language no matter where they are,” Lindsey-Asing said. “When it comes to Hawaiian language, the more people who speak the better. Language learning is pretty tricky, but the important thing to remember is to just try.”

Kahanuola Solatorio, a Hawaiian language teacher at Kamehameha Schools Kapalama, said his mom initially discouraged him from taking Hawaiian language classes in high school because she was concerned that he wouldn’t be able to find a job. But he said that only pushed him to study Hawaiian more.

In 2019, Solatorio started E Ho‘opili Mai, a series of lessons and social media posts about ‘olelo Hawai‘i and the Hawaiian culture. Now his mom has become his “No. 1 student” and is often featured in his videos.

He started a Zoom class as part of E Ho‘opili Mai and has students from all over the world, including in the islands, Mexico, Japan and France.

“I think people who want to learn colloquially don’t have access to taking a class at the university or whatnot, but everyone has access to social media,” he said. “They really enjoy (the videos and lessons), and they really like the relationship that I have with my mom. She doesn’t know what’s going on. She has all of these questions and asks the questions that followers are wanting to ask. I’m really enjoying the journey.”

For Naehu, growing up in the 1970s during the Hawaiian renaissance was inspiring. But she said her parents had to send her to hula and Hawaiian classes so that she could learn those skills from others. Now that she has learned that knowledge herself, she said she’s integrated those Hawaiian ways of thinking and identity into raising her three keiki. Ka Hale Hoaka has now grown to more than 12,000 students, she said.

“(My keiki) didn’t have to relearn. My son is 22 and it’s just who he is. He doesn’t even have to try,” said Naehu, a Kamehameha Schools Kapalama graduate and former Hawaiian immersion teacher. “One generation’s knowledge is the next generation’s wisdom, which in turn becomes the next generation’s being. If you’re from Hawaii, you have a connection to Hawaii or you’re Hawaiian, I can only see positives coming out of celebrating and embracing the Hawaiian language. It’s a beautiful language that is grounded in aloha.”

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Jayna Omaye covers ethnic and cultural affairs and is a corps member of Report for America, a national serv­ice organization that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under­covered issues and communities.