2018: Year of the Hawaiian

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The Office of Hawaiian Affairs will be bringing the community together for a number of cultural and educational events in 2018, which was proclaimed Ke Au Hawai‘i, the Year of the Hawaiian, in February.

Ke Au Hawai‘i recognizes the resilience and accomplishments of Hawaiians. 2018 marks the anniversary of many important events affecting the Hawaiian community, such as:

  • 100 years since the establishment of the first Hawaiian Civic Club by Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana‘ole
  • 40 years since the Constitutional Convention that made ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i an official state language, put protections into place for traditional and cultural practices, and established the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to address historical injustices and the resulting challenges
  • 30 years of Hawaiian Immersion Education which has grown to include 23 Hawaiian language immersion and charter schools that form Ka Papahana Kaiapuni and has taken the Hawaiian speaking population under the age of 18 from just 50 to over 20,000.
  • 25 years since the formal apology from Congress and the President of the United States to the Hawaiian people, for America’s role in the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom 125 years ago.
The Year of the Hawaiian Proclamation Ceremony at Washington Place brought together government leaders, Hawaiian immersion school students and teachers, musicians and Hālau o ka Wekiū to pay special tribute to Hawaiian resilience, brilliance and accomplishments.

“It is important to me to continue to remind Hawai‘i and kānaka of our collective movements, successes and goals we have yet to achieve. Our stories may have impacts across the globe, but hold the most meaning nowhere else in the world but here in Hawai‘i,” said Senator Brickwood Galuteria.

“The ingenuity, know-how and brilliance of the Kānaka Hawai‘i has a legacy of creating great change, not just in Hawai‘i, but around the world. Designating 2018 as the Year of the Hawaiian is a good opportunity for the state to continue to recognize this and remind ourselves of our commitments to the Hawaiian community,” said Senator Kaiali‘i Kahelei.