Legal Authority for Hawaiian Education:

1978 Hawaiʻi State Constitutional Mandate: Article X, Section 4

The Hawaiian Studies Program (HSP) was established in 1980 to fulfill the 1978 State Constitutional Amendment mandating the promotion of Hawaiian culture, history, and language. This initiative, which simultaneously aligned with the ongoing Hawaiian Renaissance movement, aimed to integrate indigenous Hawaiian culture, history and language into the state's education system. Building on the 1979 Kūpuna Program pilot, the DOE adopted a kūpuna-based approach in 1981. This program, utilizing native-speaking elders, was gradually implemented statewide for grades K-6 to revive Hawaiian culture through language immersion. Today, the Hawaiian Studies Program provides the support and resources needed to implement the goals of Hawaiian education in the State of Hawaiʻi's public school system. To achieve this mission, the program goals are based on Board of Education Policy 105-7​. 

Hawaiʻi Board of Education Policy 105.7

The policy states: 

"Hawaii’s public education system should embody Hawaiian values, language, culture, and history as a foundation to prepare students in grades K-12 for success in college, career and communities, locally and globally. Hawaiian language, culture, and history should be an integral part of Hawaii’s education standards for all students in grades K-12.

The goals of Hawaiian education shall be to:  Provide guidance in developing, securing, and utilizing materials that support the incorporation of Hawaiian knowledge, practices and perspectives in all content areas.  Provide educators, staff and administrators with a fundamental knowledge of and appreciation for the indigenous culture, history, places and language of Hawaii.  Develop and implement an evaluation system that measures student outcomes, teacher effectiveness and administration support of Hawaiian Education. To ensure accountability an annual assessment report to the Board of Education will be required.  Use community expertise as an essential means in the furtherance of Hawaiian education.  Ensure that all students in Hawaii’s public schools will graduate with proficiency in and appreciations for the indigenous culture, history, and language of Hawaii."

To that end, the Office of Hawaiian Education and the Hawaiian Studies Program is grounding education to Hawaiian ways of knowing will so that all in Hawaiʻi will thrive.

Hawaiian Studies is a K-12 program that provides curriculum support and resources in the instruction and learning of Hawaiian culture, history and language through the ʻĀina Aloha competencies. This may include integration of Hawaiian concepts and content into classroom lessons delivered by teachers and/or school-level Cultural Personnel Resources (CPR or kupuna/makua).

Hawaiian Studies Program Philosophy

The knowledge of our kūpuna directs our purpose in support of Hawaiian Education. Hawaiian education perpetuates the skills, knowledge, values and practices of the native people of Hawaiʻi and their innovations and resilient response to adapt to an ever-changing world. Hawaiian education leads to the development of a kuanaʻike (cultural lens) that preserves core Hawaiian perspectives and empowers us to all contribute to a sustainable future of Hawaiʻi by:

• Ke aloha -- showing compassion, empathy and kindness

• ʻO Hawaiʻi ke Kahua --  Hawaiʻi is our foundation system

• Ola Nā Iwi -- "The bones live." This speaks to the deep, intimate connection Hawaiians have to their land and their ancestors.  We must actively engage in practices that perpetuate our traditions, language, and spiritual connection to the land to ensure that the bones of our ancestors continue to live through us and shape a thriving future for our lāhui and Hawaiʻi.

Hawaiian education goes beyond content learning as it also includes internalizing and putting into practice the teachings of our kūpuna in appropriate context leading to a strengthened sense of Belonging, Responsibility, Excellence, Aloha, Total Well-Being, and Hawaiʻi or BREATH / HĀ for all.  

Knowledge, skills and practices that are an integral part of Hawaiian education include, but are not limited to:

• Ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language)  ʻO ke alelo ka hoe uli.  The language is the steering paddle.

“The spoken word, as shared through language, is the highest form of expression within the Hawaiian culture. Language provides a cultural lens that is rooted in the values of a culture. Through language, a child will organize and make sense of his world. Language passes knowledge, ideas and understanding from one generation to the next. This is how new understandings, ideas and knowledge are created. Language expresses the cultural connection to worldview and provides the foundation for understanding the deeply rooted meaning to all things; seen and unseen --- from the past, present and future.”  Nā Honua Mauli Ola, Page 2

• Kuanaʻike Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian Worldview) ʻO ke kahua ma mua, ma hope ke kūkulu. The foundation comes first, and then we build.  

  “The Hawaiian worldview is deeply rooted in relationships with akua, ‘āina and kanaka. From this interconnected perspective, we navigate the modern world. We examine and learn other perspectives so that we may adapt innovations, knowledge and skills to enrich our spiritual, cultural and ancestral connections.  None of us exist in isolation. What happened in the past impacts us today, and the things we do today will impact future generations. What we do here on these islands moves beyond our shores and affects the lives of people around the world, as their actions also affect us. Here, in the 21st century, our culture flourishes by building social and cultural relationships reflective of our mauli Hawai‘i and Hawaiian epistemology. Our culture is the core foundation which embraces, honors, and respects diversity to promote good for all mankind.”  Nā Honua Mauli Ola, Page 86

• • • Ke Ahupuaʻa (Systems & Cycles) -- knowledge and usage of systems and cycles to inform pono stewardship of Hawaiʻi

    • Ka Moʻolelo (Stories, Histories) -- knowledge and usage of traditional names, histories and stories of places to inform pono stewardship of Hawaiʻi

    • Ka Mahalo & Hōʻihi (Gratitude & Reverence) -- knowledge and usage of appropriate behaviors, practices, and protocols in appropriate context 

  • Ka Honua (Place) -- He aliʻi ka ʻāina; he kauwā ke kanaka.  The land is the chief; man its servant.

The saying, he ali‘i ka ‘āina, he kauwā ke kanaka conveys the land is the ali‘i whom we serve and have a high regard.  A strong sense of place roots our cultural identity. From the simplest forms of life to the most complex, the Kumulipo tells us that our relationship with the earth and all its living things puts us firmly in the life-sustaining waters of our ancestral origins. We come into this world knowing we are an important part of the universe and have a specific place and purpose in the natural order of origins. To understand ‘sense of place’ is to know our role in serving honua, and what that kuleana entails. We are merely the land’s stewards. It is our kuleana, therefore, to sustain the land and to preserve and protect it for future generations. In traditional times, the delicate balance of life was maintained by kanaka who first dwelled on the land. The land was likened to ali‘i and required care and reverence to maintain lōkahi. As ali‘i care for kanaka, so too must kanaka care for ali‘i. It is a reciprocal relationship. To say “I am Hawaiian” and “I belong to the land” is to say the same thing.  Nā Honua Mauli Ola, Page 78

• Ka Pono -- knowledge and practice of balance betwen ʻāina, akua, and kanaka 

• Ke Kuleana --  knowledge and active stewardship ensuring the balance and wellbeing of the land, ocean, and sky

Core Hawaiian perspectives in teaching and learning include, but are not limited to:

• Ka pilina -- recognizing and honoring relationships and inter-connections

• Ka mahalo -- displaying gratitude and appreciation

• Ke aloha -- showing compassion, empathy and kindness

ʻĀina Aloha

ʻO Hawaiʻi ke kahua o ka hoʻonaʻauao, or Hawaiʻi is the foundation of our education. This concept honors Hawaiʻi, our sacred island home as a source of knowledge. Embedded in this, Hawaiian culture is honored as the host culture and emphasis is given to the importance of place and its culture, history, and language. Such a grounding and perspective gives all residents of Hawaiʻi a strengthened sense of belonging, responsibility, excellence, aloha, total well-being, and Hawaiʻi.  

The term “ʻāina aloha” sits within the larger context of “aloha ʻāina.” ʻĀina Aloha can be literally translated to mean “beloved place” and emphasizes the importance of one’s relationship with their place. The ʻĀina Aloha competencies support educators in strengthening their pilina to ʻāina and designing for Hawaiʻi content through the use of ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, Kuanaʻike, and Honua.

The acronym for ʻĀina Aloha is AʻA, or roots, a metaphor for the intention of this document to provide educators with a tool that “roots” their content to Hawaiʻi. Just as roots anchor plants and feed nutrients to other parts of the plant, implementation of AʻA connects our haumāna to their ʻāina aloha, supports them to find their identity and HĀ (BREATH) rooted in their place, ʻohana, and larger communities and thus empowering them to contribute back in meaningful ways. 

The design of this framework is intended to be broad versus standards that are detailed and specific because the intention is to be able to apply these “standards” to all content areas, at all grade levels. Educators are encouraged to gradually incorporate the framework's strands into their lessons as they and their students are ready.

To learn more about ʻĀina Aloha, please see the orientation video and bibliography below.

• ʻĀina Aloha Orientation Video

• Bibliography

ʻĀina Aloha Implementation

ʻĀina Aloha is the instructional content of Hawaiian Studies Program.  Elementary schools and middles schools with grade 6 may implement ʻĀina Aloha via Kupuna Component or ʻĀina Aloha Pathway.  Schools are invited to implement ʻĀina Aloha each spring for the upcoming school year.  Interested schools must complete a ʻĀina Aloha intake before the June deadline. The Hawaiʻi Department Of Education memo contains more details.

• Kupuna Component - Schools may hire a Part Time Teacher (PTT) who provides direct instruction of ʻĀina Aloha to students and/or staff.  Student enrollment determines the funding allocation for Kupuna Component schools.

• ʻĀina Aloha Pathway - School may integrate ʻĀina Aloha into new or existing projects, programs, policies or practices (P4).  ʻĀina Aloha Pathway schools may request up to $10,000 in funding.

Secondary schools (7-12 grades), complex areas and state offices may apply for up to $5,000 to support ʻĀina Aloha P4.  Educators interested in implementing ʻĀina Aloha and funding for the upcoming year are invited to apply during the preceding spring.  Interested schools, complex area and state offices must complete a ʻĀina Aloha intake before the fall deadline.  The Hawaiʻi Department of Education memo contains more information.