IV 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 187 
Supporting the designation of February 2023 as ‘‘Hawaiian Language 
Month’’ or ‘‘ ‘O¯lelo Hawai’i Month’’. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 28, 2023 
Ms. TOKUDA (for herself and Mr. CASE) submitted the following resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 
RESOLUTION 
Supporting the designation of February 2023 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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•HRES 187 IH 
Whereas the Republic of Hawai‘i enacted a law in 1896 effec-
tively 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, launch-
ing a number of historic initiatives, including— 
(1) ‘Aha Pu¯nana Leo’s Hawaiian language immer-
sion preschools; 
(2) the Hawaiian language immersion program of 
the Hawai‘i State Department of Education; and 
(3) the Hawaiian language programs of the Univer-
sity of Hawai‘i system; and 
Whereas the Hawaiian language revitalization movement in-
spired systemic Native language policy reform, includ-
ing— 
(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 Lan-
guages Act (25 U.S.C. 2901 et seq.) in 1990, which es-
tablished the policy of the United States to preserve, pro-
tect, 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 en-
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•HRES 187 IH 
courage the use of the Hawaiian language: Now, there-
fore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) supports the designation of ‘‘Hawaiian Lan-
guage Month’’ or ‘‘ ‘O¯lelo Hawai‘i Month’’; 
(2) commits to preserving, protecting, and pro-
moting the use, practice, and development of ‘O¯lelo 
Hawai‘i in alignment with the Native American Lan-
guages Act (25 U.S.C. 2901 et seq.); and 
(3) urges the people of the United States and 
interested groups to celebrate ‘O¯lelo Hawai‘i with 
appropriate activities and programs to demonstrate 
support for ‘O¯lelo Hawai‘i. 
Æ 
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