Olelo Niihau
Helping to save a disappearing Hawaiian dialect and culture
In a collaboration spanning more than a decade, CGEE has been honored to work with a native Hawaiian community on the west side of Kaua’i, assisting their efforts to save a disappearing Hawaiian dialect and cultural traditions. Our partnership with the Ke Kula Niihau O Kekaha Learning Center and the larger Kekaha community has produced numerous videos, language-learning materials, and interactive learning programs. More than 400 books have been published in the Niihau dialect, most written by K-12 students, honoring themes that are central to a vibrant culture.
Ulu Pono: Thriving Through Aloha Aina
Watch our video about a service-learning program of the Ke Kula Niihau O Kekaha Learning Center on Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi. The year-long program engages students in grades K-12 in helping Makaweli Valley taro farmers, Uncle Wesley and Auntie Karen Yadao. The project instills Hawaiian values and traditions while enriching the curriculum in science, math, and history.
In the News
Partnership with Hamline University and Hawaiian school is preserving a rare native dialect. Minnesota Public Radio. Feb. 6, 2025.
Hamline partners with Hawaiian immersion school to publish 400 books in rare Niʻihau dialect, Hamline Newsroom, Jan. 17, 2025.
Language immersion students on Kauaʻi create library of books in ʻōlelo Niʻihau, Hawai'i Public Radio, July 12, 2024
Ke Kula Niihau O Kekaha Charter School Celebrates the Publishing of 400+ Books in Olelo Niihau, Hawaiʻi State Public Charter School Commission, July 2, 204
Preserving the Ni‘ihau Dialect Through Student-Created Books, Office of the Governor of the State of Hawaii, July 1, 2024
Related Learning Resources
Waters to the Sea®: Kaua'i Adventure is a collection of online interactive, multimedia resources for grades 4-8.
Mo'olelo Traditions is our learning multimedia learning program for grades 5-12, developed for Ke Kula Niihau O Kekaha.
Hawai'i's Forest Birds, Maui-Kaua'i Edition is a learning resource that explores the forest birds of Maui and Kaua'i.
Related Webinars
Feb. 2025 Saving Endangered Species and Cultural Traditions in Hawaiʻi, with Taylor Fredin and John Shepard. Hamline University Leo Lecture.
Oct. 2021 Native Voices and the Language of Place with Tia Korte and Keeli Siyaka