Since ‘Aha Pūnana Leo started 40 years ago in 1983, its founders and board of directors have demonstrated a vision of “E Ola Ka ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i” (the Hawaiian language shall live on) to lay a foundation for school systems and communities to carry out their everyday life in ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i.
The Lt. Governor started her visit by greeting students in Korean and sharing with them her own language experiences and stressing the value of speaking the language of one’s culture.
Schatz leads Indian Affairs oversight hearing to examine federal COVID-19 response in Native education systems
American Rescue Plan played critical role in mitigating federal shortcomings that left Native students and schools exposed to severe COVID-19 impacts
Author: News Release
U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
Yesterday, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, led an oversight hearing, “
Examining the COVID-19 Response in Native Communities: Native Education Systems One Year Later.” The committee heard from the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO’s) Education-Workforce-Income Security Director Melissa Emrey-Arras, Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) Director Tony Dearman, Schurz Elementary School Principal and Pyramid Lake Junior/Senior High School Board of Education Vice President Lance West, Ke Kula ʻO Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu Principal Kauanoe Kamanā, and Belcourt School District Superintendent Miche
Educator, award-winning musician, Hawaiian language advocate.
Kainani Kahaunaele does it all. A proud alumna-turned-employee of the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, she credits much of her success to former mentors and peers who have fostered her knowledge of both Hawaiian language and culture.
Born and raised on Kauaʻi, Kahaunaele graduated from Kapaʻa High School, and enrolled at Kauaʻi Community College, at which her steadfast interest in her Kānaka Maoli heritage manifested into a membership in the school’s Hawaiian club.
I have to be the example that Hawaiian is a living language that you can apply in all facets of your life.