Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 16, Number 5, 1 May 1999 — UH-HILO COLLEGE: [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

UH-HILO COLLEGE:

a n a t i o n a / f i r s t

Kalena S 1 I v a and William H . W i I s o n

Editor's note: In 1996, the OHA Board ofTrustees voted to support a program leading to an M.A. in Hawaiian lcmguage and literature, whieh is now flourishing at the University of Hm'ai'i at Hilo.

The College of Hawaiian Language at the University of Hawai'i at Hilo has been named Ka Haka 'Ula o Ke'elilikōlani, in honor of Ruth Ke'elilikōlani, Hawai'i's staunchly nativistic governor. Its academic division oversees the B.A. in Hawaiian Studies, established in 1982; the M.A. in Hawaiian language and literature, jointly funded by OHA and the university; and a teaching certificate pending final review by the Department of Education. Onee approved, the certificate program will offer the first teaching license obtain-

able in the United States totally through an indigenoas language. The M.A. is the first to be offered in a Native Ameriean language, and the first at UH - Hilo. Only one of the nine candidates currently enrolled is not of Hawaiian ancestry. In addition to attending evening graduate courses, all are working for 'Aha Pūnana Leo, the DOE, Kamehameha

Schools and UH. Hale Kuamo'o, the support and research division \ of Ka Haka 'Ula o Ke'elikōlani, i produces and ■ distributes cur- J riculum for See COLLEGE 9| on page 5 Jm

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COLLEGE

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Kula Kaiapuni Hawai'i through a consortium agreement with 'Aha Pūnana Leo. This consortium also supports the Leokī Hawaiian language computer service linking all Hawaiian language schools, colleges, and ofBces and the Lexicon Committee, whieh produces, then records and distributes new vocabulary through its dictionary, Māmaka Kaiao. Outreach includes work with the Hawaiian community both locally and abroad, as well as with other native peoples, especially those of North America and the Pacifie. Additionally, Hale Kuamo'o is the Secretariat for the Polynesian Languages Forum whieh unites 13 Polynesian govemments in developing indigenous languages. Research focuses on linguistics, ethnomusicology, ethnography, and education. ■