Native-rights

OHA statement on judge’s denial of ‘ōlelo Hawaiʻi use in Maui court hearing

Statement of OHA Chief Executive Officer Kamanaʻopono Crabbe The Office of Hawaiian Affairs is deeply disturbed and offended that Hawaiian studies assistant professor Kaleikoa Kaʻeo was prohibited from defending himself in ‘Ōlelo Hawaiʻi during his court hearing today and that a bench warrant was issued for his arrest. Punishing Native Hawaiians for speaking our native language invokes a disturbing era in Hawaiʻi’s history when ‘Ōlelo Hawaiʻi was prohibited in schools, a form of cultural suppression that substantially contributed to the near extinction of the Hawaiian language. It is disappointing that the state government continues to place barriers on ‘Ōlelo Hawaiʻi,…