IV 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 136 
Expressing support for the designation of February 2025 as ‘‘Hawaiian 
Language Month’’ or ‘‘ ‘O¯lelo Hawai‘i’ Month’’. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 13, 2025 
Ms. TOKUDA (for herself, Mr. CASE, Mrs. RADEWAGEN, and Mr. GRIJALVA) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on Education and Workforce 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing support for the designation of February 2025 
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 136 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; 
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-
courage the use of the Hawaiian language; and 
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•HRES 136 IH 
Whereas the enactment of the Native American Language 
Resource Center Act of 2022 (20 U.S.C. 7457) in 
2023— 
(1) reconfirmed a Federal commitment to revital-
izing Indigenous languages, including the Hawaiian lan-
guage; and 
(2) resulted in the Department of Education award-
ing 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 
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 Month 
with appropriate activities and programs to dem-
onstrate support for ‘O¯lelo Hawai‘i. 
Æ 
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