Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 30, Number 8, 1 August 2013 — A LOOK AT LIFE INSIDE OHA Perpetuating the mother tongue [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

A LOOK AT LIFE INSIDE OHA Perpetuating the mother tongue

By Francine Kananionapua Murray

II I I nele, ean you \ I help me with I I my HawaiI I ian?" Everett Hideo Punahele Ohta asked Isaiah "Ike" Ka'aihue, a community outreach specialist at OHA. Traveling interisland as OHA's eomplianee specialist, Ohta often comes across

kūpuna or elders and was interested in learning Hawaiian so he could greet them with a warm phrase of aloha. Ka'aihue agreed, committing to teach him on their luneh hour, onee a week, wherever they could find a space, including outside the office building on the lawn. A few months into the lessons, Miki Lene, an OHA administrative assistant,

joined the class as an instructor and they heeame a team of teachers, nā kumu. By July 17, the group's one-year anniversary, the lunch-hour class had grown from one student to 16 and expanded its scope from a language class to one that covered many Hawaiian interests and concerns. They celebrated with a hō'ike (exhibit) of their various projects, fromholiday cards to legislative testimony written in Hawaiian and submitted to the state Legislature, and a friendly Hawaiian language competition (Ka Lā Kūkahekahe) - game show style - with two teams racing to ping the bell when they had the right answers translated from trivia questions. Everyone was a winner as they eaeh gained knowledge, had a great time and received donated books in Hawaiian. " 'A'ohe pau ka 'ike i ka hālau ho'okāhi - All knowledge is not taught in the same school" is the philosophy adopted by nā haumāna (students) in the class, Papa 'Ōlelo Makuahine. "It's a principle - understanding that there are differences in what we say, do and know in terms of Hawaiian language. Their usage comes from their area and what one has used while growing up," explained Ohta. "We certainly have the more standardized curriculum that is implemented, but there are differences and we acknowledge and recognize it." Nā kumu have taught their class to respect those differences and not to correct others

but to use it as a learning opportunity. Some of the students could not speak any Hawaiian when they started. Now, the class is writing a book in Hawaiian. Eaeh student is eontributing philosophies or thoughts, whieh they are translating and compiling as a class to create their book, Hō 'ike No 'eau, Sharing Thoughts. "It's been a pleasure for us for me especially to know that we have been able to reach someone and to share our mother language," says Ka'aihue, a pure Hawaiian from Waiohinu, Kā'ū, translated as "glistening water," on Hawai'i Island. Blake "Brutus" Ke'aka La Benz, OHA land management specialist, is joining the instructional team, Ka'aihue was happy to announee, "He is more than willing to kōkua (help), kāko'o (support) a me hō'ike (and share)." ■

lsaiūh "Ike" Ko'ūihue

Everett Ohia, left, and Wayne īanaka race to answer trivia questions at the one-year anniversary hō'ike of the class. - Photo: Helson Gaspar