Recognition,
activities to honor community leaders
The Hawaiʻi
State Legislature's Native Hawaiian Caucus Co-Chairs, Senator Jarrett
Keohokalole and Representative Daniel Holt,
with 43 of their colleagues, are sponsoring
Hawaiian Caucus Week and Hawaiian Caucus Day to honor community leaders that
have contributed to the advancement of Native Hawaiians and to recognize the
contributions of our ‘ōpi‘o (youth), makua (parents), kūpuna
(elders), Hawaiian at Heart supporters, and ‘ahahui
(organizations).
Certificates of recognition will be
presented in both the House and the Senate to:
·
Monday,
February 4 - ‘Ōpi‘o - Nānākuli High and Intermediate School
students in the ʻAʻaliʻi program and their involvement with the political process
on the subject matter of water
management.
·
Tuesday,
February 5 – Makua – Joseph Kūhiō
Lewis, a single parent raising two children while receiving a
degree and being actively involved in Hawaiian matters of leadership,
politics, economic and community development,
housing, health and welfare, and culture.
·
Wednesday,
February 6 – Kūpuna – Aunty Danielle Ululani Beirne (Keawe), a kupuna with over 40 years of involvement in advocacy for
self-determination for Native Hawaiians.
·
Thursday,
February 7 – Hawaiian at Heart – Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaiʻi, for their significant contributions towards
enriching our Hawaiian culture and honoring our "Living Treasures of Hawaiʻi."
·
Friday,
February 8 - ‘Ahahui – Hawaiian Civic Club of Honolulu (Charles Manu Boyd,
President) and the Hawaiian Civic Club movement (Hailama Farden, President,
Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs). The
Hawaiian Civic Club was established
in 1918 by Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole, delegate to
the U.S. Congress, and celebrates 100 years as the oldest Hawaiian community-based grass roots
organization. The Hawaiian Civic Club
movement has grown into a confederation
of over 60 clubs located throughout the State of Hawaiʻi
and the United States.
Hawaiian Caucus Day will be held on
Friday, February 8 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the Capitol rotunda and on the 4th
floor walkway. Our community will come together and take part in educational
displays, speeches, and entertainment
to share our Native Hawaiian language and culture.
In 2013, Act 28 was created and designates
the month of February as ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi month to celebrate and encourage the use of Hawaiian
language. We also acknowledge Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani
(February 9, 1826 – May 24, 1883) for her strong advocacy of Hawaiian language
and culture; she was a member of the Kamehameha family, the Royal Governor of the Island of Hawaiʻi, and the landholder
of what would become the Kamehameha Schools estate.
ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi is both the Indigenous
language and an official language as recognized by the Constitution of the
State of Hawaiʻi. The United Nations
General Assembly has declared 2019 as the "Year
of the Indigenous Language." Its purpose is to draw attention to the
critical loss of Indigenous languages and the urgent need to preserve,
revitalize, and promote Indigenous languages.
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