{"id":179634,"date":"2023-06-29T12:43:48","date_gmt":"2023-06-29T22:43:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=179634"},"modified":"2023-06-29T16:05:51","modified_gmt":"2023-06-30T02:05:51","slug":"kamalani-johnson-uh-hilo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2023\/06\/29\/kamalani-johnson-uh-hilo\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> Hilo alumnus, teacher innovates to revitalize Hawaiian language, culture"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"Kamalani
Kamalani Johnson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kamalani Johnson has been a lecturer, curriculum developer and researcher at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Hilo\u2019s Ka Haka ʻUla<\/span> O Keʻelikōlani<\/span> College of Hawaiian Language<\/a> for almost 10 years, and is contributing much to his alma mater and the field of Hawaiian language and culture revitalization.<\/p>\n

“In order for the Hawaiian language to live today, it must be incentivized,” Johnson said. “I hope the variety of my work demonstrates its utility today to my students, colleagues and those that are supporters and advocates.”<\/p>\n

Johnson earned two bachelor\u2019s degrees in Hawaiian studies<\/a> and linguistics<\/a> (2015), and master\u2019s in Indigenous language and culture education<\/a> with emphasis in Hawaiian language and literature (2022).<\/p>\n

Passion for stories<\/h2>\n

In spring 2023, Johnson piloted Moʻolelo<\/span> ʻĀina, an innovative undergraduate course developed around land and place name histories. Focusing on the literary works of Kona-born historian and political advocate J.W.H.I. Kihe (d. 1870), Johnson\u2019s students researched, compiled and produced story maps and mele (song) as a community resource.<\/p>\n

\"Students
Moʻolelo<\/span> ʻĀina<\/span> students on a huakaʻi<\/span> (hiking trip) in Kona, Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Island.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“Kamalani\u2019s passion and talent in ʻōlelo Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> (Hawaiian language), and specifically moʻolelo<\/span> (stories), are clearly evident in his course offerings and co-curricular activities,” said Hoʻoleina<\/span> Ioane, Kīpuka Native Hawaiian Student Center\u2019s<\/a> student development coordinator. “By bringing moʻolelo<\/span> to the forefront of his classroom and research, he reasserts them as valuable academic records that students explore to expand their understanding of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>, strengthen connection to these places, and deepen their commitment to aloha ʻāina (love of the land).”<\/p>\n

In addition to teaching and developing curriculum, Johnson also created Nanaikamalama Research Program<\/a>, which focuses on Hawaiian language research about place name and place name histories of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Island.<\/p>\n

Working with renowned mentor<\/h2>\n

In a notable project, following graduation and with his two baccalaureate degrees in hand, Johnson was an intern with renowned UH<\/abbr> Hilo Professor of Hawaiian Language and Hawaiian Studies Larry Kimura on a collaborative project with Ka Haka ʻUla<\/span> o Keʻelikōlani<\/span> and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.<\/p>\n

“Kamalani was my Hoʻokawawo<\/span> project intern in 2016, when we worked together on a very technical task of translating Office of Hawaiian Affairs website pages,” said Kimura. “Since then, he has taken a keen interest in 19th century Hawaiian literary works by native speakers and focuses his work in that area to bring the ʻike<\/span> (knowledge) from those primary resources into the collective consciousness of Hawaiian language speakers today.”<\/p>\n

Sparking students<\/h2>\n
\"The
Students in Kamalani Johnson\u2019s class Moʻolelo<\/span> ʻĀina<\/span>. From left, Kaliko Pascua, Kamalani Johnson, Kele Rehmert, Kiha Stevens, Kauʻionālani<\/span> Navas-Colburn (front), Kaʻimipono<\/span> Atkinson, Kahiau Snyder, Mālie Hayashida, ʻAkoni<\/span> Pfluke, and Kukui Akana.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“Kumu Kamalani\u2019s deep dedication to preserving and perpetuating the Hawaiian language and culture is clear, and it is obvious that he wants to spark a similar dedication and passion within his students,” said Kahiau Snyder, a Hawaiian studies major and one of Johnson\u2019s undergraduate research assistants.<\/p>\n

A former student, Kalamakū Freitas, now a Hawaiian immersion high school teacher at Ke Kula Kaiapuni ʻo<\/span> Lahainaluna, said Johnson was a rigorous teacher who helped the language abilities of Freitas and his classmates to blossom.<\/p>\n

“Kumu Kamalani is very skilled in Hawaiian-centric linguistics and literature,” said Freitas. “It is because of his ability to explain and clarify the different aspects and functions of the Hawaiian language that has helped to strengthen my language abilities. From the very beginning of my time as a student of his, I have admired his skillfulness in ʻōlelo<\/span> Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> and begun to mimic his style of speaking and writing because of the cleverness in using different sentence structures, patterns and elements, as well as the Hawaiian perspective embedded within his language.”<\/p>\n

Creating change<\/h2>\n

Concurrent with teaching, Johnson is pursuing his second master\u2019s degree in tandem with a doctoral degree, both in political science at UH<\/abbr> Mānoa<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He hopes to one day secure a tenure-track professorship in Hawaiian language and studies and\/or political science at UH<\/abbr> Hilo where he can develop undergraduate and graduate courses surrounding Hawaiian political theory.<\/p>\n

“There are many unsung heroes whose stories are yet to be told,” Johnson said. “Through the work I do, I strive to do the ‘in-the-trench’ tasks to highlight their experiences—the beauty, difficulty and tenacity—in hopes that it inspires how we create kīpuka (change) for today and for the future.”<\/p>\n

Read more about Johnson at UH<\/abbr> Hilo Stories<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

—By Susan Enright<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kamalani Johnson is creating new ways to teach Hawaiian language and culture at UH<\/abbr> Hilo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[90,679,598,33,1057,316,14,907],"class_list":["post-179634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-alumni","tag-alumni-recognition","tag-faculty-recognition","tag-hawaiian","tag-hawaiian-language","tag-ka-haka-ula-o-keelikolani","tag-uh-hilo","tag-uh-hilo-stories","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179634"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179634\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":179698,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179634\/revisions\/179698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}