UH Hilo To Lead $6.6M National Native Language Resource Center

UH Hilo’s Hawaiian Language Consortium continues to be a national leader in language renormalization 

The U.S. Department of Education recently awarded a $6.6 million grant to establish a National Native American Language Resource Center (N-NALRC) over the next five years that is to operate as a consortium of three entities led by the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. This award is the first of its kind to implement, lead, and advocate for training and resource development for US Indigenous language education pathways.

“This is not only an acknowledgment of the value of our Native languages but is also a testament to the hard work our community has put into renormalizing our ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi over the past 40 years, while also working to uplift other ʻōlelo ʻōiwi nationally and internationally,” said Kaʻiu Kimura, Director of Hawaiʻi ʻImiloa and UH Hilo’s Ka Haka ‘Ula O Keʻelikōlani College of Hawaiian Language. “Our national team is honored to receive this grant, and we are grateful for the support of Senator Brian Schatz, who authored and shepherded the passage of the NALRC Act.”

“Culturally-based instruction is critical to promoting and revitalizing Native languages,” said Schatz, who is also the chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. “This funding will directly support educational institutions like the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo in developing resources and fostering collaboration to promote the use of Native American languages across the country.”

UH Hilo’s Hawaiʻi ʻImiloa Institute will work in collaboration with the University of Alaska Southeast and Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University in Wisconsin, programs that have long-standing ties with the Institute and have been working relentlessly to reclaim their languages as well.

University of Alaska Southeast Professor Lance X’unei Twitchell, who earned his Ph.D. at Ka Haka ‘Ula O Keʻelikōlani, noted that, “With the opportunities presented in our shared visions and unity, we grow stronger together and keep one another from feeling alone in our efforts to achieve language stability.”

Dr. Migizi Michael Sullivan, Native American Studies Director at Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University, went on to say, “The center will be a place where Indigenous communities and groups can draw inspiration, information on best practices, and share strategies to renormalize the use of our languages, to benefit present and future generations of indigenous people.”