The next Office of Hawaiian Affairs Administrator / CEO shall speak Hawaiian.
93
signers. Add your name now!
93
signers. Almost there! Add your voice!
93%
Maxine K. signed
just now
Adam B. signed
just now
To the Honorable Collette Machado, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs:
The historic 20th Century governmental suppression of the Hawaiian language diminished the opportunity to speak Hawaiian outside one’s home, and the Hawaiian language neared extinction. However, according to the State of Hawaii’s Constitution, Article XV, Section 4: English and Hawaiian shall be the official languages of Hawaiʻi, except that Hawaiian shall be required for public acts and transactions only as provided by law. [Add Const Con 1978 and election Nov 7, 1978]; it is recognized that the use and preservation of the Hawaiian language in Hawaiian institutions of governance is important because the language is essential to the preservation and perpetuation of the Hawaiian culture. However, records of the public acts and transactions of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) are presently only available in the English language, and the implementation of Hawaiian language services at OHA will require institutional support at the highest level.
Therefore, the undersigned request the Board of Trustees that the next person to serve as Administrator / Chief Executive Officer shall be conversant in the Hawaiian language at a level appropriate to the functional requirements of the position, and before December 31, 2012 the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs shall approve a schedule to transition the provision of its services in the Hawaiian language as they are also provided in English.
Sponsor
Hawaiʻi Bilingual / Hawaiʻi ʻŌlelo Pālua
Links
http://www.facebook.com/OleloOHA
http://www.causes.com/h2o
Share on Facebook
Comment
See More 0