About Author

“Ua mau ke ea o ka ‘aina I ka pono,” the life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness. Not only is this Hawaii’s state motto but it is an ancient Hawaiian proverb meaning righteousness is the only solution to success for the Hawaiian language, culture, and people. My name is Billie Kahealani Hiraishi, I am from Hilo, Hawai’i and have attended Hawaiian immersion schools where all academics are taught though the Hawaiian language ever since I was in kindergarten throughout my senior year of high school when I graduated from Ke Kula ‘o Nawahiokalani’opu’u. Those past fourteen years being immersed in the Hawaiian language and culture has played an important role in my life because it made me who I am today. I am fluent in both the Hawaiian and English language, Hawaiian being my first language and my preferred language to speak as it connects me to my cultural roots. The importance of the Hawaiian language being revitalized is one thing that motivates me to wake up every morning.

8 responses to “About Author”

Jane Terry | April 3, 2011 at 5:38 am | Reply

Thank you for sharing your experiences.
Your blog is very unique. Do you know of other blogs
by Native Hawaiians?
Aloha and mahalo, Jane
- bhiraishi | October 13, 2011 at 9:31 pm | Reply
  
  Sorry Jane, I don’t know of any other blogs by Native Hawaiians but there are many resources online at Hawaiianlanguagetv.org where you could find stories about local Native Hawaiians in Hawaii and their experiences. Thanks for the support.
Malulani Odegaard | July 26, 2011 at 9:26 pm | Reply

Aloha kāua e Kahealani ē! Mahalo nui ʻia kāu kākau ʻana ma ʻaneʻi! E neʻe au ma Hilo i ka lā 10 o ʻAukake a, hoihoi au i nā manawa e walaʻau ma ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi ma laila. Ua hoʻopili mua ʻoe iā Hawaiʻi ʻŌlelo Pālua? http://causes.com/h2o
- bhiraishi | October 13, 2011 at 9:27 pm | Reply
  
  Aloha Malulani,
  
  ‘A’ole wau i kakau no ka manawa lo’ihi aka mahalo no ke kako’o. Aia wau ma Kaleponi no ke kula nui, aka e hui pu kaua paha ke ho’i wau i Hawai’i. Mahalo hou no ke kako’o.
Melinda Toynton | November 2, 2011 at 6:02 pm | Reply

Hello,
I am a student at Portland State University in Oregon and I’m working on a linguistics project focusing on gender and language. Can you recommend some good resources for me to learn more about differences through gender amongst Hawaiian speakers?

Thank you for your time,
~Melinda
- bhiraishi | November 9, 2011 at 10:58 pm | Reply
  
  Aloha Melinda,
  
  I’m sorry I don’t know of any good resources at the top of my head of your topic in particular, but you can try ulukau.org, its an online literature resource of Hawaiian books.
Jen | June 25, 2012 at 12:34 am | Reply

Hi, i have a question that maybe you could help me with. I’m a mother of two young children who are Hawaiian and I am really interested in them speaking their language and possibly using it as their language at home. I’ve just finished with my first year of Hawaiian language at the University of Hawaii but am still very limited in what I can expose my kids to. Are there any language programs for young children (mine are 1 and 4) besides the total immersion schools?
Thanks,
Jen
- bhiraishi | June 25, 2012 at 7:02 pm | Reply
  
  Aloha Jen,
  
  The only program I know of for children that young is called Hi’i Pepe, its usually the day care Hawaiian immersion before the children head into Punana Leo (Hawaiian immersion preschool). I’m not sure who you can contact specifically, but you can try calling Ke Kula ‘O Nawahiokalani’opu’u at 808-982-4260 for more information regarding that program. Hope that helps.