Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 40, Number 2, 1 February 2023 — NO KE AHA LĀ 'OE E PĀ'ANI AI? WHY DO YOU PALY? [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

NO KE AHA LĀ 'OE E PĀ'ANI AI? WHY DO YOU PALY?

' MO'OLELO NUI * COVER STORY

NA STERLING W0NG UNUHI 'IA E 'OAKA'ŌLALIMAKAALIHIMOANA W0NG

Inā nīnau 'ia kēia nīnau i kekahi o nā alapa ma ko ke Kula Ki'eki'e 'o Roosevelt kime pōpeku, 'ano ahuwale mai ana nō ka hapa nui o nā pane. No ka ho'okūkū ma lalo o nā kukui 'ālohilohi i mua o ke anaina e kani nui ai ka pihe. No ke alu pū me nā hoa kime. No ke kūpa'a i hope o ke kula. No ke aloha ho'i i ka hā'uki. No ka 11 o nā 'ālapa, 'oi aku nō paha ka nohihi o kā lākou pane. Ma muli ia o ko lākou hele 'ole i Roosevelt ma ke 'ano he haumāna. He mau haumāna ho'i lākou ma Ke Kula Kaiapuni 'o Ānuenue, he kula li'ili'i ma Pālolo a he honua kula ia e a'o piha 'ia ai nā haumāna ma ka 'ōlelo Hawai'i wale nō. 'O Ānuenue kekahi o nā kula he 28 e kia ana ma ka pahuhopu o ka ho'ōla hou 'ana i ka olelo Hawai'i, ka 'ōlelo mākuahine o ka lāhui Hawai'i i 'ane halapohe i ke 40 wale nō makahiki aku nei. He kaumaha ke kuleana e 'auamo 'ia e kēia mau 'ōpio a pēia nā alapa Kaiapuni 'ē a'e me nā 'ohana a puni ka pae aina ma ka noho kūpa'a 'ana ma ko lākou mau kula ho'ōla olelo Hawai'i. Lilo nā hola he nui ma ke kalaiwa i nā mile he lō'ihi mai ko lākou mau home a i nā kahua kula Kaiapuni. I la'ana, noho he 'ehiku o nā haumāna Ānuenue pā'ani pōpeku ma ka 'ao'ao komohana o O'ahu; ha'alele lākou i ka hale ma mua o ka pukana lā a holo i ka hikina no ka hō'ea i ke kula ma Pālolo, a huli ho'i i ka 'ao'ao komohana i ka 'auinalā no ka ho'oma'ama'a ma Roosevelt, a laila ho'i lohi loa aku i ka hale ma ka pō. Eia hou, nui nā alapa Kaiapuni e pā'ani ana no nā kula e a'e, 'oiai 'a'ole lawa ka nui o nā haumana ma kō lākou mau kula ponoī no ka ho'okumu 'ana i nā kime. 'A'ole i loa'a ko Ānuenue kime pōpeku ponoī ma hope o ka makahiki 2016. Mai loko mai o kēia mau ālaina e kupu mai ai nā nīnau no ke kumu e nui ai nā 'ā'ume'ume ma kēia ala ho'ona'auao olelo Hawai'i piha. No ke aha e lawa 'ole ai nā kumu waiwai o kēia mau kula? A, 'o ka nīnau ko'iko'i loa nō paha, he aha nā kuleana o nā aupuni pekelala a moku'āina ma ka ho'ōla i ka olelo Hawai'i e kū ana i ka pono a me nā kānāwai kekahi. 'Oiai he lō'ihi ko lākou kāohi a pepehi ana i ka olelo no ko lākou pono, he kuleana nō ko ke aupuni i kēia manawa no ka ho ola. No laila, no ke aha e 'a'ahu ai kēia mau 'ālapa pōpeku Kaiapuni i ka lole makalike o ha'i a hīmeni pū i ko lākou mau mele kula? Aia 'o īolani Enoka ma ka papa alaka'i 0 Ke Kula Kaiapuni 'o Ānuenue a he mea laina kūlele ma ko Roosevelt kīme pōpeku. 1 loko o kona mahalo nui i ka hiki ke pā'ani no Roosevelt, minamina ana 'o ia i ka hiki 'ole ke 'a'ahu i ka lole makalike ponoī o Ānuenue. Mōakāka le'a nō ho'i iā ia ke ko'iko'i o ke kūpa'a ma ka hāpai i ka olelo. "He ko'iko'i ka ho ola mau 'ana i kā nā kūpuna i a'o mai ai," a ua ho'omau 'o ia ma ka olelo, "he ko'iko'i ko kākou olelo Hawai'i 'ana me ka ho'oili aku i kēia 'ike i nā hanauna e hiki mai ana. "Inā pau ka olelo, pau ka lāhui." AIA KA MAULI 0LA HAWAI'I I K0NA 'ŌLĒL0 HAWAI'I NŌ He māhele ko'iko'i ka olelo Hawai'i o ka mauli ola lāhui Hawai'i. Pa'a ka mō'aukala a 'ike ku'una o kākou ma ia olelo mai o kikilo mai. 'O ia ke ka'ā a pili pa'a ai kākou he lāhui kānaka a pēia pū ka pili i ko kākou 'āina 'ōiwi a me kona mau mea ola a pau loa. Me ia mana'o, mai ka manawa i pae ai nā malihini mua i Hawai'i, he 'ano kūpale ka olelo Hawai'i i ka na'i a lawe lilo 'ia o ka paeaina me kona mau kumuwaiwai e ia mau malihini. Ma ka īkoi o nā ki'ina ho'okolonaio, 'o ia ka pani 'ia o ka olelo Hawai'i me ka olelo Pelekānia. A 'o ka pō'aiapili kikoī o ia 'imi pani 'ana, 'o ia nā lumi papa o Hawai'i nei. Ma ke kekeke mua o ka 'Oihana Kula Aupuni ma lalo o ke Aupuni Mōī, 'o ka olelo Hawai'i ka olelo mua o ka ho'onau'auao 'ana. Ma ka hō'ea na'e i ka wā o nā 1850, ua ho'okumu ke Ke'ena Ho'ona'auao i nā kulekele, he "Ho'omakakoho 'Ōlelo Pelekānia" ke 'ano, i kipaku 'ia ai ka olelo Hawai'i mai nā lumi papa aku. 'O kekahi kumu i puka lanakila ai kēia na'i olelo Hawai'i 'ana, 'o ia ka ho'olako nui 'ia o ke kālā i nā kula olelo Pelekānia. He mea ia i 'ume nui 'ia ai nā Hawai'i i kēia mau kula olelo Pelekānia i lako a mākaukau loa. Ua ahuwale i nā ali'i o ia wā i ke 'ano e luaahi ana ka olelo i kēia mau loli. Wahi a Kekūanāo'a, ka makuakāne o Kamehameha IV a me Kamehameha V, i olelo ai ma 1864: īhe theory of substituting the English language for the Hawaiian, in order to educate our people, is as dangerous to Hawaiian nationality, as it is useless in promoting the general education of the

people ... [I]f we wish to preserve the Kingdom of Hawaii for Hawaiians, and to educate our people, we must insist that the Hawaiian language shall be the language of all our National Schools, and the English shall be taught whenever practicable, but only, as an important branch of Hawaiian education. Inā ua loa'a he mana'olana no ka ho'iho'i hou 'ia o ke kūlana mana o ka olelo Hawai'i ma ka onaehana ho'ona'auao, ua piholo loa iho nō ma ka ho'okahuli hewa 'ia o ke Aupuni Mōī i ka makahiki 1893. Eia na'e, no ia hui ho'okāhuli aupuni e kāko'o nui 'ia ana e nā alaka'i pā'oihana o 'Amelika, 'a'ole ho'i i kō koke ko lākou 'imi 'ana e ho'ohuli i ka mana'o o ko 'Amelika 'Aha'ōlelo e ho'ohui aina aku iā Hawai'i. A no laila ho'i ko lākou ho'okumu 'ana i ke Aupuni Lepupalika me ka ho'omākaukau i ko Hawai'i no ka 'imi i ia ho'ohui aina 'ana me 'Amelika i kekahi wā. Wahi a Troy Andrade, he polopeka ma ke Kulanui o Hawai'i, aia ma ka īkoi o kēia "hō'amelika

'ana" i ko Hawai'i he kānāwai i hāpai 'ia ma 1896 e koi ana 'o ka olelo Pelekania, 'o ia ka olelo e ho'ona'auao 'ia ai nā haumāna ma nā kula ma Hawai'i. Although the law did not, on its face, forbid the use of the Hawaiian language in puhlie schools, the intent of the new legal regime was clear: Hawai'i needed to appear more American and the easiest way to do so was to annihilate the Hawaiian language. Those now in power believed that English could be used as a weapon to drive Hawaiians away from their culture, spirituality, and practices, and as a tool to assimilate Hawaiians into "a new era of social development[.]" He pō'ino maoli nō ka hopena o ia kānāwai. Ma 1880, ua loa'a he 150 mau kula, i kapa 'ia he mau "Kula Ma'amau," e a'o 'ia ai ko Hawai'i mau keiki ma o ka olelo Hawai'i. Ma ka 'eono wale nō makahiki ma hope o ka puka o ia kānāwai "olelo Pelekānia wale nō," 'a'ole i koe mai kekahi o ia mau kula olelo Hawai'i. Ho'opa'i 'ia nā kamali'i Hawai'i no ka olelo Hawai'i ma ka lumi papa a pēia pū ma ke kahua pā'ani. I ka makahiki 1980, ma lalo o ke 50 ka nui o nā opio i wali ka olelo iā lākou. Kāka'ikahi loa nā keiki olelo Hawai'i o ia hanauna. Ua pono nō he huliau ko'iko'i i mau ke ola o ka olelo Hawai'i. 0LA KA 'ŌLIL0 HAWAI'I 'O ke aukahi ho'ōla olelo Hawai'i kekahi o nā au nui a ikaika i loko o ia Huliau Hawai'i o nā 1970, 'o ka "Hawaiian Renaissance" nō ho'i. 'O ia ho'i ka wā i nui a'e ai ke kahukahu 'ana i ia ahi pio 'ole o a mauli ola Hawai'i. 'O kekahi ke'ehina nui loa o kēia aukahi, 'o ia ka olelo pāku'i kumukānāwai e koi ana i ke aupuni moku'āina e ho'oSEE N0 KE AHALĀ '0E PĀ'ANI Al? ON PAGE 20

Ask that question to any player on the Roosevelt High School football team. Most of their answers will probably be fairly straight forward. To compete under the bright lights in front of a roaring crowd. For their teammates. For their school. For love of the game. But for 11 of the players, the answer may be more complicated. That's because these students don't attend Roosevelt. They're actually from Ke Kula Kaiapuni 'o Ānuenue, a small school in Pālolo where only Hawaiian language is spoken on campus. Ānuenue is one of 28 Kaiapuni or Hawaiian immersion schools whose goal is to save olelo Hawai'i, the native language of the Hawaiian people, whieh just 40 years ago was on the brink of extinction. These young men, like many other Kaiapuni athletes and their families throughout the state, make tremendous sacrifices to remain at their schools to perpetuate their native language.

Many spend mueh of their day eommuting from their homes to the few Kaiapuni campuses on their island. For example, seven of the Ānuenue football players are ffom the Leeward side; they leave before sunrise to head east for school in Pālolo, backtrack west to Roosevelt for afternoon practice, and then return home late in the evening. In addition, Kaiapuni athletes often play for other schools' teams because their own student bodies are too small to support their own squads. Anuenue hasn't been able to field its own football team since 2016. The challenges of these Kaiapuni students raise the question of why it is so difhcult to receive a Hawaiian language education. Why aren't these schools better resourced? And, maybe most importantly, what are the federal and state governments' moral and legal obligations to revive olelo Hawai'i when they long supported the language's eradication for their own benefit. So, why do these Kaiapuni football players wear another school's jersey, sing another school's alma mater? Senior offensive lineman īolani Enoka said that while he's appreciative of the opportunity to play for Roosevelt, not suiting up for Anuenue is certainly difhcult. But he understands what's at stake. "It's important to perpetuate what was taught by our ancestors," he said. "It's important that we olelo, to pass on this knowledge to the generations to eome. "Without the olelo, there is no lāhui." THĒ S0UL 0F HAWAI'I IS ITS LANOUAOĒ 'Ōlelo Hawai'i represents the lifeblood of the Hawaiian people. It has recorded our history and traditions since time immemorial. It binds us together as part of a single lāhui (nation), and also to nearly

every geological and biological feature of our ancestral lands. As such, olelo Hawai'i has stood as a substantial barrier to the West's aim to control the islands and its resources since the first foreigners set foot in Hawai'i. Central to the efforts to colonize Hawai'i was the need to supplant Hawaiian with English in all aspects of society. Ground zero for this effort quickly heeame the classroom. Hawaiian language was the primary medium of instruction for the first decade of the kingdom's puhlie school system. By the 1850s, however, the kingdom's Department of Education began to implement "English mainly" policies that forced Hawaiian language out of the classroom. This was accomplished, in part, by directing significantly more funding to English schools. As a result, the better-resourced English schools attracted more and more Native Hawaiians. īhe seismic consequences of the shift away from olelo Hawai'i education was not lost on 'Ōiwi leaders. Kekūanāo'a, father of Kamehameha IV and Kamehameha V, said in 1864: īhe theory of substituting the English language for the Hawaiian, in order to educate our people, is as dangerous to Hawaiian nationality, as it is useless in promoting the general education of the people...[I]f we wish to preserve the Kingdom of Hawaii for Hawaiians, and to educate our people, we must insist that the Hawaiian language shall be the language of all our National Schools, and the English shall be taught whenever practicable, but only, as an important branch of Hawaiian education. Any hope for Hawaiian language to regain footing in Hawai'i's education system was dashed with the illegal overthrow of the kingdom in 1893. īhe Ameri-can-backed business interests that led the eoup, however, were unahle to persuade the U.S. Congress to immediately annex Hawai'i. So they established the Republic of Hawai'i and prepared Hawaiian society to join America. University of Hawai'i law professor Troy Andrade wrote that key to this initiative was an 1896 law that mandated English instruction in schools. Although the law did not, on its face, forbid the use of the Hawaiian language in puhlie schools, the intent of the new legal regime was clear: Hawai'i needed to appear more American and the easiest way to do so was to annihilate the Hawaiian language. Those now in power believed that English could be used as a weapon to drive Hawaiians away from their culture, spirituality, and practices, and as a tool to assimilate Hawaiians into "a new era of social development[.]" The impact of the law was devastating. In 1880, 150 Hawaiian language schools, called eommon schools, were in operation. Six years after the adoption of the English-only mandate, not a single Hawaiian language school remained. Hawaiians faced corporal punishment for speaking the language at school and on playgrounds. By 1980, fewer than 50 minors spoke the language fluently. The next generation of speakers was holding on by a thread. Intervention was required to save olelo Hawai'i. 0LA KA 'ŌLĒL0 HAWAI'I The movement to revive the Hawaiian language heeame a pillar of the 197 0s Hawaiian Renaissance, when Native Hawaiians began to reconnect with their cultural heritage. This momenīum culminated in 1978, with the adoption of constitutional amendments requiring the state to provide a Hawaiian education program in puhlie schools and the designation of olelo Hawai'i as a co-official state language. When Hawaiian language advocates started the first immersion preschool in 1984, the strategy was clear. If the language nearly died because it was extricated from classrooms, the language would need to be revived by reclaiming that space. The first Kaiapuni class graduated in 1999. Today more than 3,300 students are enrolled in Kaiapuni schools on six islands. But the nearly 40-year-old Kaiapuni movement still faces significant challenges. SEE WHY D0 Y0U PLAY? ON PAGE 20

Ānuenue senior 'lolani Enoko hos been in the Koiapuni (Howoiion longuoge immersion) progrom since kindergarten. Despite wonting to remain in the immersion progrom, many students leove to pursue extrocurricular opportunities thot are not currently availoble in Koiapuni schools. 0f the 64 noumōna thot Enoka storted with ot Ānuenue, only 18 will groduote with him this yeor. - Photo: Kawena iei Apao

Becouse Ānuenue has too few students to field a footboll team, Ānuenue senior 'loloni Enoko has ployed footboll for Roosevelt High School for four yeors. 1be 6ī", 270 pound center/guord (center) is pictured here with Roosevelt's 2022 seoson offensive linemen. - C ourtesy Photo

' MO'OLELO NUI S 1 COVER STORY '

NOKEAHA LĀ'OE APĀ'ANI? Continued from page 19 kumu a mālama i papahana ho'ona'auao 'ike Hawai'i ma nā kula aupuni a me ka ho'okohu 'ia o ka olelo Hawai'i, 'o ia kekahi o ko Hawai'i mau 'ōlelo kūhelu 'elua. I kā wā i ho'okumu 'ia ai ka Pūnana Leo mua loa, he kula kamali'i ho'olu'u olelo Hawai'i, i ka makahiki 1984, ua mōakāka le'a i ia mau alaka'i ke ka'akālai i pono ai. Inā ua 'ane'ane halapohe ka olelo ma ke kā'ili 'ino loa 'ia mai nā lumi papa aku, ua pono e ho'iho'i hou 'ia aku nō i kēlā wahi ho'okahi i mea e ho ola hou ai. Puka nā haumāna o ka papa Kaiapuni mua loa mai ke kula ki'eki'e aku i ka makahiki 1999. I kēia mau lā, aia he 3,300 a 'oi mau haumāna ma nā kula Kaiapuni ma nā mokupuni he 'eono. Mau nō na'e ke kū 'ana mai 0 nā 'ano ālaina ko'iko'i like 'ole no kēia 'imi ho ola olelo ma nā kula Kaiapuni. KA "HIHIA KAIAPUNI" 'A'ole 'o ka pau 'ana o ke kau pōpeku 2022 he hopena no ko Enoka wā pā'ani ma ke kula ki'eki'e wale nō, akā, 'o ka pau pū nō ia o kekahi wā ikaika lua 'ole no ka laina kūlele o ia kime. Ua pā'ani kēia huki pōpō a kūkahi, he 61" kona lō'ihi a 270 kona mau paona, ma nā pā'ani a pau no nā Rough Riders mai kona makahiki mua ma ke kula ki'eki'e. Ma kekahi mau 'ano, 'o ko 'Iolani hele kula 'ana, he ala ia i ho'ohui 'ia 'elua ho'oilina waiwai loa o kona 'ohana. Ma nā 'ao'ao 'elua o ka 'ohana ('o 'Āina ka inoa 'ohana ma ka 'ao'ao o ka makuahine; a 'o Enkoa ma ka 'ao'ao makuakāne), he mau 'ohana kūpa'a ma ke kaiāulu pōpeku o Hawai'i. A laila, he mau 'ohana pili pū i ke kaiāulu Hawai'i i 'ike kino i ka hopena o ka ho'okolonaio 'ia o Hawai'i. A 'o ke kā'ili 'ia o ka olelo Hawai'i mai ko lākou mo'okū'auhau aku i kekahi mau hanauna aku nei kekahi o ia hopena. Ua kānalua maoli nō nā Enoka i ka ho'ouna i kā lākou muli i kekahi kula i kāka'ikahi loa ka ho'opuka a lohe 'ia o ka 'ōlelo Pelekānia. "Ua nui nā mea a'u e hopohopo ana," 1 olelo maila kō 'Iolani makuakāne, 'o Clem Enoka. "He ma'amau ka hopohopo a maka'u o nā mākua Kaiapuni i ka hiki 'ole i kā lākou mau keiki ke olelo Pelekānia ma ka maika'i. E pilikia ana lākou ma ke kulanui? He hana 'ino anei kēia?" I ka ho'omaka 'ana 'o 'Iolani ma ka papahana Kaiapuni ma ke kula ha'aha'a o Pū'ōhala, ua wehewehe mōakāka nā kumu

iā Clem no ke a'o 'ia o kāna keiki ma ke 'ano e wali ai ka 'ōlelo Pelekānia a me ka olelo Hawai'i i kāna keiki. "Ua hua 'oia'i'o maoli mai nō," wahi āna. "He la'ana ia o nā olelo paipai a me ka hana ku'upau o ko ka papahana e mana'o ai mākou nā 'ohana, "ae, ua hiki nō! '" Akā mau nō ia "Hihia Kaiapuni." Ke pi'i a'e nā makahiki o nā keiki, pi'i pū ka 'ume 'ia o nā haumāna i nā keupono o nā kula ma waho o ke Kaiapuni. I ka hō'ea o nā haumāna i ke kula waena, ho'omaka nā mākua e 'imi i nā ala ho'ona'auao e kāko'o a ho'oikaika ana i nā hana ma waho o ke kula, e la'a me nā ha'uki. Eia hou aku, kuhi hewa nā 'ohana he nui, e 'oi aku ana ka papaha o ko nā haumāna puka ma ka 'ao'ao kālai'ike a pēia pū ma ka hele kulanui 'ana inā hele i nā kula ku oko'a. Loa'a pū ka 'ao'ao ma'alahi o ka hele wale i nā kula o ko lākou moku a kaiāulu 'oiai 'oi aku ke kokoke i ka hale a 'oi aku nā lako a pono 0 ia mau kula. Wahi a ka Luna o ko ke Aupuni Ke'ena Ho'ona'auao Hawai'i, 'o Kau'i Sang, pā hewa ana nā kula Kaiapuni a pau a puni ka pae aina i ka ha'alele 'ana o nā haumāna. Hāpai 'o ia i kekahi mau 'ikehelu kikot i pili 1 kēia. Loa'a he 309 haumāna papa mālaa'o kula Kaiapuni, akā he 102 wale nō haumāna papa 12. Ma ko 'Iolani Enoka ho'omaka ma ka papa mālaa'o ma Ānuenue, he 64 mau haumāna ma kāna papa; e puka ana nō na'e he 18 wale nō haumāna me ia i kēia makahiki. Wehewehe 'o Babā Yim, ke Po'o Kumu o Ānuenue, no ka pono o kekahi mau 'ohana e koho i ka holomua nui a puka o ke keiki ma ka ha'uki, he ala ho'i e komo ai i ke kulanui a mali'a ka pā'ani ma hope, a i 'ole e kūpa'a ma ka ho ola 'ana i ka olelo Hawai'i. "He nīnūnē nohihi maoli nō ia no nā 'ohana," wahi āna. Ua mana'o nā Enoka e ho'ouna iā 'Iolani i kekahi kula e a'e, akā ua hopohopo lākou i ka nāwaliwali 'ana mai o kāna olelo Hawai'i. A ua maika'i pū ka pō'aiapili o kahi kula li'ili'i e like me Ānuenue no 'Iolani. "'Oko'a loa kēia kula mai nā kula ma waho o ke Kaiapuni," wahi a 'Iolani. "He 'ohana mākou. Ke kupu mai nā pilikia a hihia paha ma waena o mākou, 'imi koke mākou i ka ho'oponopono. Ia'u, he keupono ka li'ili'i o ke kula, 'oiai 'oi aku ka pilina. Hiki ke wala'au maoli me nā kumu. 'Oiai ua ho'omaka au ma ke Kaiapuni, makemake au e ho'omau a puka mai ke Kaiapuni aku." SEE N0 KE AHA LĀ '0E PĀ'ANI Al? ON PAGE 21

WHYD0 Y0UPLAY? Continued from page 19 THE "KAIAPUNI OILEMMA" The 2022 season not only brought 'Iolani Enoka's high school football eareer to a close but it also marked the end of an era for Roosevelt's offensive line. The 6'1", 270 pound center/guard has played every down for the Rough Riders since his freshman year. In many ways, 'Iolani's education is a collision of two legacies for his 'ohana. Both of his parents' families (the Āinas on his mother's side; the Enokas on his father's) are deeply rooted in Hawai'i's loeal football scene. In addition, the two families have strong connections to the Hawaiian community and share the trauma of colonialism, with their native tongue having been ripped ffom both of their mo'oku auhau at least a full generation ago. The prospect of sending their youngest child to an educational environment where English is all but absent weighed heavy on the Enokas. "I had serious issues with it," said Clem Enoka, 'Iolani's father. 'Āll parents have anxieties and fears that if they send their child to Kaiapuni they won't speak English well. When my child goes to college, am I doing them a disservice? Are they going to be at a disadvantage?" When 'Iolani started at Pūohala Elementary's Kaiapuni program, the teachers made time to explain to Clem that his son would be proficient in both English and Hawaiian. "They lived it," he said of the kumu. "Those were the little influences along the way that kind of make you go, okay."' But the "Kaiapuni Dilemma" always lingers. As children get older, the allure of opportunities outside of Kaiapuni grows stronger. By middle school, many families pursue educational pathways that ean hone their children's extracurricular interests. In addition, loeal families widely accept the dubious presumption that academic potential and post-secondary success are best realized at private schools. There's also the convenience of attending district schools, whieh are closer to home and have better facilities. State Office of Hawaiian Education Director Kau'i Sang said that student

attrition affects Kaiapuni schools across the state. She pointed to a few statistics. There are 309 kindergarteners enrolled in Kaiapuni schools this year, compared to only 102 seniors. 'Iolani Enoka's Ānuenue class started with 64 students in kindergarten; only 18 will graduate with him this year. Ānuenue Po'o Kumu (Principal) Babā Yim said some Kaiapuni families have to decide between their child's future success in a sport, whieh ean lead to collegiate and professional opportunities, and saving their native language. "That's a really tough predicament for families," he said. The Enokas considered sending 'Iolani to another school, but they worried that he would lose his Hawaiian fluency. And Ānuenue's small school culture was a good fit for 'Iolani. "This school is different compared to non-Kaiapuni schools," 'Iolani said. "We are all 'ohana. When there's a eonflict between students, we ean hash that out. I think it's better that the school is small. It's more personal. We ean talk to the kumu. Since I started in Kaiapuni, I want to finish in Kaiapuni." FIX WHAT Y0U BR0KE The last few years have brought about a reckoning of sorts for the federal and state governments with respect to their kuleana to olelo Hawai'i. In May 2022, the Department of Interior (DOI) released a report aeknowledging that for more than 150 years the U.S. used education to forcefully assimilate native youth to "sever the cultural and eeonomie connection between Indian Tribes, Alaska Native Villages, the Native Hawaiian Community, and their territories." The report found that this was "intentional and part of that broader goal of Indian territorial dispossession for the expansion of the United States." The DOI specifically recognized that the U.S. claimed Hawaiian lands at the same time puhlie policies were suppressing olelo Hawai'i. The department has committed itself to a process of healing as well as advancing native language revitalization. In 2019, the Hawai'i Supreme Court issued a landmark decision, ruling that the State has a constitutional obligation to provide "reasonable access" to Hawaiian language immersion education. SEE WHY D0 Y0U PLAY? ON PAGE 21

V MO'OLELO NUI ^ COVER STORY

NOKEAHA LĀ'OE APĀ'ANI? Continued from page 20 E HO'OPONOPONO I KĀU I HO'OPIE HO'OPONOPONO I KĀU I HO'OPILIKIA Al I loko o kēia mau makahiki i hala iho nei, ua loa'a he mau ki'ina kālailai a loiloi i ke kuleana o nā aupuni pekelala a moku'āina pū ma ka hāpai i ka olelo Hawai'i. Ma Mei 2022, ua ho'opuka ko 'Amelika 'Oihana Kālaiaina i kekahi mo'olelo e hō'oia ana i ko 'Amelika ho'ohana 'ana i ka pō'aiapili ho'ona'auao, he ala ia e ho'okemua 'ia ai nā opio me ka "'oki i ka pilina mo'omeheu a pono ola ma waena o_nā Nāki 'Ilikini, nā Kaiāulu 'Ōiwi 'Ālaka, ke Kaiāulu 'Ōiwi Hawai'i, a me ko lākou mau 'āina." Hō'oia pū ana ia mo'olelo i ke 'ano o kēia 'imi 'ana, he "'imi me ka maopopo a he māhele ia o kekahi pahuhopu laulā 0 ke kaili aina 'Ilikini no ka ho'onui 'ana aku iā 'Amelika Hui Pū 'la." Hō'ike ahuwale pū mai ka 'Oihana Kālaiaina no ke kaili 'ana aku o ko 'Amelika i ko Hawai'i aina aloha i ka manawa ho'okahi e pa'a ana nā kulekele kāohi i ka olelo Hawai'i. Ua ho'ohiki ka 'Oihana i ka 'imi i nā ala e ho'oponopono 'ia ai kēia mau hewa me ka hāpai pū i nā ki'ina hoola olelo oiwi. I ka makahiki 2019, ua ho'opuka ka 'Aha Ho'okolokolo Ki'eki'e o Hawai'i 1 kekahi olelo ho'oholo ko'iko'i loa e hō'oia ana i ko ke Aupuni Moku'āina kuleana kumukānāwai ma ka ho'olako i "ala kūpono" no ka ho'ona'auao ho'olu'u olelo Hawai'i. Pono he "reasonable access" no ko Hawai'i mau 'ohana a pau a puni ka pae aina e 'i'ini ana i kēia ala ho'ona'auao no kā lākou mau keiki. Wahi a ka 'Aha Ho'okolokolo, 'o ka papahana Kaiapuni wale nō ke ki'ina 'oia'i'o e kū nei e ho ola 'ia ai ka olelo. A 'a'ole ia "ala kūpono" no ke kula Kaiapuni 'o ke ki'ina pākela loa wale nō i pono e 'imi 'ia no ka ho ola olelo akā, pono kēlā ma ka li'ili'i loa. Mau ka mōakāka le'a 'ole oka mana'o o "ala kūpono." Eia nō na'e, ma hope o ia ho'oholo 'ana o ka 'Aha Ho'okolokolo, ua wehe 'ia he 'ekolu hou kula Kaiapuni a ke ho'olālā 'ia nei ka wehe 'ia o ho'okahi hou i kēia

makahiki a'e. Mana'o nō na'e kekahi hapa nui o ke kaiāulu, pono e 'oi loa aku ko ke aupuni moku'āina a pekelala 'imi 'ana i ka hāpai hou i ka olelo. "Ma ke kuana'ike 'imi i ka pono, mana'o ka nui o nā lāhui like 'ole, inā hana'ino a hō'eha aku 'oe iā ha'i, he kuleana kū i ka pono kou e ho'oponopono aku e like me ka nui i hiki," wahi a Daylin-Rose Heather, he loio no ka Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation. "Ma kēia pō'aiapili, na ka hana a ke aupuni i pepehi aku i ka olelo a no laila, pono ke aupuni e 'auamo i ka kuleana o ka ho ola hou i ka olelo." Wahi a Heather, 'a'ole kūpono ke loiloi 'ia ko ke aupuni ho'okō i kona kuleana kāko'o olelo ma ke kō o ko pae ha'aha'a o nā koina, akā, pono e loiloi 'ia ma ka ho'ohālike me ka lako a pono i loa'a i nā haumāna e a'o 'ia ma o ka olelo Pelekānia. "'A'ole kūpono ke pono nā haumana e koho ma waena o ka hele i ke kula Kaiapuni a me ka 'imi i nā ala ha'uki," i olelo mai 'o ia. "Na wai e 'ole ka ha'aheo i nā 'ohana e ho'omakakoho ana i ke kula Kaiapuni i loko o ka nui o ka ake'ake'a, akā, he kaumaha maoli nō ka nui o ko nā 'ālapa Kaiapuni molia 'ana ma kekahi mau 'ano e 'ike 'ole 'ia e nā haumāna ma nā kula aupuni e a'e. No nā haumāna e 'imi ana i ka ho'ona'auao 'ia ma ke kula Kaiapuni, 'a'ole lākou e koho ana ma waena o nā kula Kaiapuni a lākou e makemake ana, akā, e 'imi ana i ka loa'a wale nō o ia ala e ho'ona'auao 'ia ma kekahi kula Kaiapuni, a me nā pono e holo pū ana, ma ka li'ili'i loa." No ka 'ohana Enoka, ua kūpono nō ko lākou hana nui i loko o nā 'ā'ume'ume like 'ole o nā makahiki he 12 o ko ke keiki ho'ona'auao Kaiapuni 'ia 'ana. "Maopopo iā mākou, 'o ke ala e pili loa ai ke keiki i kona mauli ola, ma o ia o ka olelo. No laila mākou i mana'o ai, inā ua loa'a kekahi mea waiwai loa a mākou e makana aku ai i nā keiki, 'o ia nō ia pilina me nā kūpuna a me ka aina," i olelo ai 'o Nāmele Enoka, ko 'Iolani makuahine. "Ua loa'a nō ka maka'u a hopohopo [ma ka ho'ouna iā ia i ke kula Kaiapuni.] Hau'oli loa nō na'e mākou i ka hopena. 'Oiai ma ka papa 12 'o ia i kēia manawa, ua ahuwale mai nō ka hua o kona hele 'ana i ke kula Kaiapuni." ■

WHYD0 Y0UPLAY? Continued from page 20 The court found that the Kaiapuni program is "currently 'the only realistic course of action to revive the language" and that "providing reasonable access to an immersion program is not 'the gold standard' for language revitalization, but rather 'the minimum standard."' What "reasonable access" means is still unclear. Since the court ruling, however, three new Kaiapuni sites have opened with one more slated to start next year. But for many in the community, the state and federal government must do mueh more. "From a moral perspective, most cultures teach that if you cause harm, you have a moral obligation to make things right as best as you ean," said Daylin-Rose Heather, staff attorney for the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation. "Here, government action led to the decline in the Hawaiian language, and the government now carries a moral duty to enable the language's revival." Heather said that the government's duty to the Hawaiian language shouldn't be measured by bare minimum requirements but against what is available to students seeking an English education. "Kaiapuni students should not be forced to choose between a Kaiapuni education and their athletic pursuits," she said. "While one can't help to feel immense pride for the families that continue to prioritize Kaiapuni education in the face of inequitable hardship, this is coupled with incredible sadness that Kaiapuni student athletes are asked to sacri-

fice in ways that students in other publicly funded schools are not. For students wanting a Hawaiian immersion education, it is often not a ehoiee between preferred Kaiapuni schools, but rather determining whether a student is able to access a Kaiapuni education, and related educational resources and opportunities, at all." For the Enoka 'Ohana, the struggle of supporting their son through 12 years of immersion was worth it. "We understand that the closest way to be connected to who you are is through the language. So that's why we thought if there is anything that we could do for our children it would be to give them that gift of being connected to their kupuna, to the aina." said Nāmele Enoka, Tolani's mother. "[Sending 'Iolani to Kaiapuni] was scary for us. But we're glad that we did, because now that 'Iolani's a senior, we get to see the fruits of him going to Kaiapuni." ■ Sterling Wong is the senior director of Advocacy and Communications at the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement. He eollahorated on this story with his two daughters who both attend Ke Kula Kaiapuni 'o Samuel K.M. Kamakau, a Kaiapuni charter school in Ha'ikū. Ewelei'ulaikalaniākea Wong, a senior, helped translate interviews conducted in 'ōlelo Hawai'i into English. 'Oaka'ōlalimakaalihimoana Wong, a sophmore, translated the English version ofthe article into Hawaiian. The Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement will beproducing social media video pieces related to this article.

Ānuenue student-athlete, senior 'loloni Enoko (center) hos ployed footboll for Roosevelt High School becouse there is no footboll progrom ol his own school. He is pictured on compus wilh fellow Ānuenue athletes Lehiwo KahawoiJovanero (left) who ploys basketboll for Ānuenue and lonoh-Lee Pono Brede (right) who also ploys footboll for Roosevelt. - Photo: Kawena Lei Apao