[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 546 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 546

 Designating February 2024 as ``Hawaiian Language Month'' or ```Olelo 
                            Hawai`i Month''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

             February 8 (legislative day, February 7), 2024

    Mr. Schatz (for himself and Ms. Hirono) submitted the following 
    resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Designating February 2024 as ``Hawaiian Language Month'' or ```Olelo 
                            Hawai`i Month''.

Whereas the Hawaiian language, or `Olelo Hawai`i--

    (1) is the Native language of Native Hawaiians, the aboriginal, 
Indigenous people who--

    G    (A) settled the Hawaiian archipelago as early as 300 A.D., over 
which they exercised sovereignty; and

    G    (B) over time, founded the Kingdom of Hawai`i; and

    (2) was once widely spoken by Native Hawaiians and non-Native Hawaiians 
throughout the Kingdom of Hawai`i, which held one of the highest literacy 
rates in the world prior to the illegal overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawai`i 
in 1893 and the establishment of the Republic of Hawai`i;

Whereas the Republic of Hawai`i enacted a law in 1896 effectively banning school 
        instruction in `Olelo Hawai`i, which led to the near extinction of the 
        language by the 1980s when fewer than 50 fluent speakers under 18 years 
        old remained;
Whereas, since the 1960s, Native Hawaiians have led a grassroots revitalization 
        of their Native language, launching a number of historic initiatives, 
        including--

    (1) `Aha Punana Leo's Hawaiian language immersion preschools;

    (2) the Hawaiian language immersion program of the Hawai`i State 
Department of Education; and

    (3) the Hawaiian language programs of the University of Hawai`i system;

Whereas the Hawaiian language revitalization movement inspired systemic Native 
        language policy reform, including--

    (1) the State of Hawai`i recognizing `Olelo Hawai`i as an official 
language in the Constitution of the State of Hawai`i in 1978;

    (2) the State of Hawai`i removing the 90-year ban on teaching `Olelo 
Hawai`i in public and private schools in 1986;

    (3) the enactment of the Native American Languages Act (25 U.S.C. 2901 
et seq.) in 1990, which established the policy of the United States to 
preserve, protect, and promote the rights and freedom of Native Americans 
to use, practice, and develop Native American languages; and

    (4) the State of Hawai`i designating the month of February as ```Olelo 
Hawai`i Month'' to celebrate and encourage the use of the Hawaiian 
language; and

Whereas the enactment of the Native American Language Resource Center Act of 
        2022 (20 U.S.C. 6301 note; Public Law 117-335) in 2023--

    (1) reconfirmed a Federal commitment to revitalizing Indigenous 
languages, including the Hawaiian language; and

    (2) resulted in the Department of Education awarding the University of 
Hawai`i at Hilo a 5-year grant to establish the first National Native 
American Language Resource Center: Now, therefore, be it

    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) designates February 2024 as ``Hawaiian Language Month'' 
        or ```Olelo Hawai`i Month'';
            (2) commits to preserving, protecting, and promoting the 
        use, practice, and development of `Olelo Hawai`i in alignment 
        with the Native American Languages Act (25 U.S.C. 2901 et 
        seq.); and
            (3) urges the people of the United States and interested 
        groups to celebrate `Olelo Hawai`i Month with appropriate 
        activities and programs to demonstrate support for `Olelo 
        Hawai`i.
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