Mission Houses literacy exhibit on KGMB 9 News

Earlier, Kary posted about her visit to the Mission Houses Museum's exhibit "Alphabet Soup: Literacy, Language, and Learning" that runs until June 13.

This week the exhibit was profiled by the 'Āha‘i ‘Ōlelo Ola Hawaiian language early morning program on KGMB 9 News.

Click here to view the video.

Pidgin: The Voice of Hawai'i

April 2, 5:30pm - 7:30pm
Manoa Campus, Art Auditorium

From the promotional material

"You can't really understand Hawaiʻi until you understand Pidgin, the language of Hawaiʻi's heart and soul. Born on sugar plantations, spoken by more than half of Hawaiʻi's population, part English, part Hawaiian, with other languages mixed in, Pidgin captures the essence of multi-ethnic Hawaiʻi and of President Obama.

"Pidgin: The Voice of Hawaiʻi," a one-hour documentary film produced by Marlene Booth and the late Kanalu Young, profiles this language of Hawaiʻi’s working people in its rise from plantation jargon to a source of island identity and pride. Along the way, English Standard Schools fueled anti-Pidgin sentiment and left behind a legacy of shame in speaking Pidgin.

But Pidgin did not die".

The premiere of "Pidgin: The Voice of Hawaiʻi" is presented by UH Mānoa’s Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge to honor Kanalu Young. A professor and director of graduate studies at Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies, Young was a PhD in history, and wrote on the Hawaiian sovereignty movement, and colonization and decolonization in the Pacific. He also composed songs and chants, and was an adviser to the UH-Mānoa football team and helped develop its pre-game ha`a.

Ticket Information
Free

Event Sponsor
Hawai`inuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, Manoa Campus

Responses to SNL skit

By Tuesday many people in Hawai‘i, including Lt. Gov. Aiona had responses to the depiction of Hawai‘i--and especially tourism--in the Saturday Night Live sketch.

According to the Honolulu Advertiser,

Aiona denounced the skit and is sending letters of protest to "Saturday Night Live" executive producer Lorne Michaels and Johnson's agent.

"While I always appreciate a good laugh, 'Saturday Night Live' went too far in its negative depiction of Hawai'i's native people and tourism industry," Aiona said. "During these critical economic times, when tourism dollars are scarce, we cannot let such distortions go unchecked. The people of Hawai'i are among the most generous, diverse and culturally sensitive people in the world."

and

State Tourism Liaison Marsha Wienert said while she enjoys a good laugh, the 'SNL' skit crossed the line by making fun of the unique culture of the Islands.

"It's upsetting. Anything that pokes fun, or puts us in a bad light, our culture, the (Native) Hawaiian culture, that affects all of us," Wienert said. "It's distasteful, in my opinion. I find it very offensive. That's just not pono."

What do you think?

Hawai‘i on SNL

On March 7th, Saturday Night Live aired a sketch with guest host Dwayne Johnson called "Hawaiian Hotel." In it, two 'local' characters singing for tourists in a hotel bar on Kaua‘i interact with some tourist ideas about Hawai‘i. How is this portrayal of local people's interaction with mainlanders similar or different to what we saw in North Shore? How is Hawaiian language dealt with in the space of the sketch? How do you think a sketch like this would play to a mainland audience as opposed to a local one?

Hawaiian Language Revitalization Benefit

Support the revitalization of the Hawaiian Language and Culture at the KULIA ROOTS FEST this SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28 at ANDREWS AMPHITHEATER from 5:30-11:00PM.

The concert will feature various bands including INNA VISION from Maui, AIPOHAKU from Hawai'i, OOKLAH THE MOC from O'ahu and ROOTZ UNDERGROUND from Kingston, Jamaica in their very first appearance to Hawai'i!


$10 tickets may be purchased with a validated UH MANOA ID and $15 tickets are available for the GENERAL PUBLIC at the following locations:


UH Manoa Campus Center
Buti Groove
Ecosystems
Aikane Kai
Hungry Ear
Barefoot League

Tickets will also be available at the door.


Proceeds are to benefit KAWAIHUELANI CENTER FOR HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE.

*additional concert info may be found at http://www.myspace.com/kuliarootsfest.

Ea

A follow up to our discussion about mele paleoleo and the concept of ea in both the Hawaiian and English-dominant language context.

H2‘Ō

A link to the movement to make Hawai‘i actually bilingual in its two official languages, English and Hawaiian.

Pan Pacific Nation at Marks Garage [March 3-28]

PAN PACIFIC NATION is a new exhibition of contemporary Pacific art running from March 3rd to March 28th at the Arts at Marks Garage, 1159 Nu’uanu Avenue, Honolulu, Hawaii.

Artists include: Maile Andrade, Leanne Lupelele Clayton, Noelle Kahanu, Leilani Kake, Lily Laita, Janet Lilo, Carl Pao, Siliga David Setoga, Ema Tavola, Angela Tiatia and Filipe Tohi

Inspired by King David Kalakaua’s vision of a Federation of Pacific Island nations, the participating artists respond to the complexities, contradictions and power dynamics at stake in the notion of a “pan pacific.” Their pieces ask what it means to think about the affinities and unities of Oceania. What did it mean in 1885 when Kalakaua initiated his call for a Pacific Island Federation? What did it mean in 1976, when Albert Wendt called for a “New Oceania” in the journal Mana, or when ‘Epeli Hau’ofa wrote “Our Sea of Islands” in 1994?

What does it mean, given our current political, economic, environmental and cultural seascape, at the present moment? The pieces included in the show offer multilayered responses; they celebrate a continued and hopeful identification of Pacific Island peoples that share a strong genealogical history and geographic kinship, while also offering ambivalent considerations that uncover the subtle and specific localized histories involved in any strategic collective social identification.

Special Events:

Panel Discussion: Urban Pacific Art in Aotearoa New Zealand
Mark’s Garage, March 4th, 6pm
The panel includes Ema Tavola, Leilani Kake and Giles Peterson

Ema Tavola, Leilani Kake and Giles Peterson are visiting from South Auckland, New Zealand. Ema Tavola is a visual artist and curator at Fresh Gallery Otara working as the Pacific Arts Coordinator for Manukau City Council. Leilani Kake is an independent artist and Giles Peterson lectures at Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design.

Mission Houses Museum exhibit on Hawaiian orthography

The Mission Houses Museum has recently opened an exhibit about missionary work on the development of the Hawaiian orthography. The exhibit runs until June 15.

Language as a Political Tool: Authenticity, Kuleana, and Hawaiian Language Revitalization

By looking at Hawaiian rap, we'll continue our discussion of language as a political tool in Hawai‘i. We'll bring together our experience with ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i and Pidgin to examine how issues of authenticity, kuleana, and the art of resistance interact. As we've discussed, issues of colonial oppression and solidarity with other colonized peoples, especially in North America, are common themes in this genre.

How are issues of language and identity dealt with in this art form?

Thursday preview: Pidgin in the Movies

Pidgin, or Hawai‘i Creole English, features prominently in Hollywood films about Hawai‘i but what function does it serve? The 1987 film North Shore about an Arizonan who wins a wave pool surf contest and comes to O‘ahu to tame the famous breaks of the North Shore and to win the heart of a kind wahine is an interesting, and problematic, example.