Designating February 2025 as “Hawaiian Language Month” or “‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i Month”.

Designating February 2025 as “Hawaiian Language Month” or “‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i Month”.

Whereas the Hawaiian language, or ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i—

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

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

(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 ‘Ōlelo 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 Pūnana 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 ‘Ōlelo 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 ‘Ōlelo 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 “‘Ōlelo 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. 7457) 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 2025 as “Hawaiian Language Month” or “‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i Month”;

(2) commits to preserving, protecting, and promoting the use, practice, and development of ‘Ōlelo 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 ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i Month with appropriate activities and programs to demonstrate support for ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i.