III 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 546 

Designating February 2024 as ‘‘Hawaiian Language Month’’ or ‘‘ ‘O ̄lelo 

Hawai‘i Month’’. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 8 (legislative day, FEBRUARY 7), 2024 

Mr. SCHATZ (for himself and Ms. HIRONO) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Designating February 2024 as ‘‘Hawaiian Language Month’’ 

or ‘‘ ‘O ̄lelo Hawai‘i Month’’. 

Whereas the Hawaiian language, or ‘O ̄lelo Hawai‘i— 

(1) is the Native language of Native Hawaiians, the 

aboriginal, Indigenous people who— 

(A) settled the Hawaiian archipelago as early as 

300 A.D., over which they exercised sovereignty; and 

(B) over time, founded the Kingdom of Hawai‘i; 

and 

(2) was once widely spoken by Native Hawaiians 

and non-Native Hawaiians throughout the Kingdom of 

Hawai‘i, which held one of the highest literacy rates in 

the world prior to the illegal overthrow of the Kingdom 

of Hawai‘i in 1893 and the establishment of the Republic 

of Hawai‘i; 


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•SRES 546 IS 

Whereas the Republic of Hawai‘i enacted a law in 1896 effectively banning school instruction in ‘O ̄lelo Hawai‘i, which 

led to the near extinction of the language by the 1980s 

when fewer than 50 fluent speakers under 18 years old 

remained; 

Whereas, since the 1960s, Native Hawaiians have led a 

grassroots revitalization of their Native language, launching a number of historic initiatives, including— 

(1) ‘Aha Pu ̄nana Leo’s Hawaiian language immersion preschools; 

(2) the Hawaiian language immersion program of 

the Hawai‘i State Department of Education; and 

(3) the Hawaiian language programs of the University of Hawai‘i system; 

Whereas the Hawaiian language revitalization movement inspired systemic Native language policy reform, including— 

(1) the State of Hawai‘i recognizing ‘O ̄lelo Hawai‘i 

as an official language in the Constitution of the State 

of Hawai‘i in 1978; 

(2) the State of Hawai‘i removing the 90-year ban 

on teaching ‘O ̄lelo Hawai‘i in public and private schools 

in 1986; 

(3) the enactment of the Native American Languages Act (25 U.S.C. 2901 et seq.) in 1990, which established the policy of the United States to preserve, protect, and promote the rights and freedom of Native 

Americans to use, practice, and develop Native American 

languages; and 

(4) the State of Hawai‘i designating the month of 

February as ‘‘ ‘O ̄lelo Hawai‘i Month’’ to celebrate and encourage the use of the Hawaiian language; and 


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•SRES 546 IS 

Whereas the enactment of the Native American Language 

Resource Center Act of 2022 (20 U.S.C. 6301 note; Public Law 117–335) in 2023— 

(1) reconfirmed a Federal commitment to revitalizing Indigenous languages, including the Hawaiian language; and 

(2) resulted in the Department of Education awarding the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo a 5-year grant to 

establish the first National Native American Language 

Resource Center: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) designates February 2024 as ‘‘Hawaiian 

3 Language Month’’ or ‘‘ ‘O ̄lelo Hawai‘i Month’’; 

4 (2) commits to preserving, protecting, and pro5 moting the use, practice, and development of ‘O ̄lelo 

6 Hawai‘i in alignment with the Native American Lan7 guages Act (25 U.S.C. 2901 et seq.); and 

8 (3) urges the people of the United States and 

9 interested groups to celebrate ‘O ̄lelo Hawai‘i Month 

10 with appropriate activities and programs to dem11 onstrate support for ‘O ̄lelo Hawai‘i. 

Æ 


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