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Kauaʻi · Education · Culture

We were told the language was gone

Lehua Kaʻaihue on entering an immersion classroom as a child and later teaching in the same room.

Storyteller

Lehua Kaʻaihue

Hanalei · 1960s

ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi teacher and one of the first graduates of a Hawaiian immersion program.

Transcript

When I was small, people said the language was already gone. But it was not gone, it was quiet. There is a difference. Quiet things can be called back.

Themes

  • Language
  • Education
  • Identity

Shared publicly with the storyteller's written permission. Read our kuleana.