SCR 202

THE SENATE
S.C.R. NO.
202
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026
S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII
SENATE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
requesting the University of Hawaii to consider offering
Olelo Hawaii micro-credentials focusing on the Niihau dialect.
���� WHEREAS,
Olelo Hawaii is a unique marker of Hawaiian identity and the proud heritage of
the Hawaiian people; and
���� WHEREAS,
native speakers of the Niihau dialect come from a genealogy of continued use of
Hawaiian as their primary language of cognition; and
���� WHEREAS,
except for Niihau, Hawaiian pronunciation among native speakers on all islands
underwent a period of conformance to the English alphabet; and
���� WHEREAS, even
when the medium of education on Niihau eventually shifted to English, families
on the island continued to use Olelo Niihau as their primary language; and
���� WHEREAS, the
isolation of the Niihau community has allowed Olelo Niihau to flourish as its
own dialect, significantly distinct from the Olelo Hawaii commonly found in
immersion schools and mainstream educational settings; and
���� WHEREAS,
various state agencies have continually acknowledged and supported Olelo Niihau
as a dialect distinct from Olelo Hawaii, primarily by providing live
interpreters to facilitate communication between Olelo Niihau speakers and
health care providers, schools, and other community institutions; and
���� WHEREAS, the
level of competence that native speakers of Olelo Niihau possess even today is
a testament to the formidable instinct of the Niihau community to preserve
their connection to the Hawaiian language of their ancestors; and
���� WHEREAS,
there is emerging external pressure to integrate newly invented vocabulary and
concepts produced by new speakers of the Hawaiian language on to the Niihau
community; and
���� WHEREAS,
pressure to instill new linguistic characteristics on Niihau youth, whose
language has been learned from their kupuna, risks attrition of Olelo Niihau by
interpolation; and
���� WHEREAS,
simultaneously, Hawaiian language revitalization initiatives have largely moved
away from consulting Niihau community members as language resources; and
���� WHEREAS,
Hawaiian language initiatives from outside of the Niihau community have enjoyed
the support of legislation and policy by this body, while the specific
linguistic needs of the Niihau community have been ignored or dismissed; now,
therefore,
���� BE IT
RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii,
Regular Session of 2026, the House of Representatives concurring, that the
University of Hawaii is requested to consider offering Olelo Hawaii micro‑credentials
focusing on the Niihau dialect; and
���� BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to
the President of the University of Hawaii System.
Report Title:�
UH;
Olelo Hawaii Language Pathway; Niihau Dialect