Kuleana

Kuleana: The Right, Responsibility, and Authority of Indigenous Peoples to Speak and Make Decisions for Themselves in Language and Cultural Revitalization


There are many programs and facilities trying to rebuild the Hawaiian culture. In the Kula Kaiapuni, or the Hawaiian Language Immersion Program, they are trying to do so. Started in 1987, this program branched off of a Hawaiian language preschool called Pūnana Leo. Warner says, “There is no such thing as a nonpolitical organization in the Hawaiian language movement” (88). He says this in a spiteful manner because he believes that it should not be political. He continues on to say, “perpetuating the Hawaiian language and culture should not be attempted for the purpose of preserving an endangered language, much as one might try to protect an endangered species so that it not vanish from the face of the earth” (88). The rightful way, Warren expresses, to go about rebuilding the Hawaiian culture, is through the Hawaiian people. He feels that they should not solely rely on government-funded or social programs, but the people themselves should be motivated enough to take big steps and discuss important issues. There are more than the obvious paths to helping restore the Hawaiian language and culture. Many programs help initiate movements and inspire non-Hawaiians and nonnatives. But to really make significant change, one has to understand the mindset of the Hawaiian people; the suppression and injustice they endured; to lose one’s way of life and one’s way of communicating. This is why Warren feels that Hawaiians have “the responsibility to take back authority to speak and make decisions for themselves over native Hawaiian issues” (88).


Work Cited

Warner, Sam L. No'eau. 1999. Kuleana: The right, responsibility, and authority of indigenous peoples to speak and make decisions for themselves in language and cultural revitalization. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 30:94-115.