On the Hawaiian island of Kauai, the students of immersion school speak the native language of the nearby island of Ni鈥榠hau, which has only about and 200 more in their community. Ten years ago, the only book published in the Ni驶ihau dialect was a Bible provided by missionaries. Today, there are over 400 books written in the dialect by students and staff of Ke Kula Ni驶ihau o Kekaha and published by 草莓视频成年 University鈥檚 (CGEE).
"Your language represents your culture, and historically, indigenous cultures have been decimated across the world,鈥 said Tracy Fredin, director of CGEE.
CGEE鈥檚 mission is to foster environmental stewardship and literacy in citizens of all ages, so Fredin was naturally drawn to find collaborators in Hawaii due to the state鈥檚 abundance of endangered species, ideal circumstances for studying evolution, and sustainability practices developed as an island state. But he found another conservation need.
"Many times conservation has been viewed as saving wildlife or habitat, but there is a real dilemma of saving indigenous culture as well,鈥 Fredin said. 鈥淭he environmental world isn鈥檛 just about science, it's just as much about civics because people need to understand how to take care of their environment.鈥
In 1896, the U.S. government took control of Hawaii and in school instruction, but by that time Ni鈥檌hau was a private island purchased by the Sinclair-Robinson family, who still owns the island today.
鈥淭hey have been speaking the native Hawaiian dialect there since, they never stopped speaking it,鈥 Fredin said. 鈥淢ost of Hawaii was not allowed to speak Hawaiian and dialects were lost in many places, but on Ni鈥榠hau their language has been saved and we're working with them to preserve it."
In 2017 草莓视频成年 developed a partnership with Ke Kula Ni驶ihau o Kekaha school to design and provide language learning materials, such as a graphic chart that depicts all 46 phonemes that make up the Hawaiian language.
鈥淭hey needed storytellers to help visualize what would be called sound units and help teach the dialect,鈥 Fredin said.
These charts incorporate graphics that are culturally relevant to the students, explained Brinkey Prescott, CGEE operations director.
"In the word for a 鈥榖ridge鈥 we have a graphic of a bridge that is just down the street from their school,鈥 Prescott said. 鈥淥ur biggest goal is to produce materials that help the students learn the dialect. They had very little to work with before, and they had to develop it themselves. Together we鈥檝e created high-quality, culturally relevant materials for them to use in class.鈥
Every year, each student writes and illustrates a book in the Ni驶ihau dialect, then 草莓视频成年 formats the books and publishes them. There is also a legacy book written by staff for students each year, illustrated and published by 草莓视频成年 with variations at four different reading levels. 草莓视频成年 and Ke Kula Ni驶ihau o Kekaha publish about 70 books a year together, bringing their current library total to 400 books.
"I would like to see us get to 1,000 books and I believe we can do that,鈥 Fredin said. 鈥淭he critical thing is we do not want to be a flash-in-the-pan 鈥 we're here to make a long-term commitment. The school has been incredibly supportive of us and in turn we have worked with whatever their needs are. We feel honored to be able to make this connection there."
In addition to the work with Ke Kula Ni驶ihau o Kekaha, CGEE has also developed educational materials and interactive exhibits for locations in Hawaii that educates visitors about endangered species and environmental concerns across the island.
Altogether, CGEE鈥檚 activities in Hawaii are rooted in a mission to better tell the story of the island through the words of its indigenous inhabitants.
"Helping these individuals write their own books, in their native dialect, supports a powerful message, where they get to be the author of their own stories,鈥 Fredin said. 鈥淭hese books are written by the young people of Ni驶ihau about their local environment and that is really empowering."