He pūkoʻa kani ʻāina: Creating Pathways for Indigenous Language Vitality
Dr. Candace Galla, Associate Professor
This is a story that reflects upon the small ripples that were generated at the birth of the Hawaiian language revitalization movement. The tide and current have generated waves that are now thousands of Hawaiian language speakers, and has inspired many other Indigenous language communities around the world. This is a story of hope, possibility, passion, and commitment! Candace Kaleimamoowahinekapu Galla was born and raised on the island of Hawaiʻi. At home, she was immersed in hula (Hawaiian traditional dance) and was taught by her Native Hawaiian and Filipino kumu hula (hula master) mother. From her Filipino father, she developed a deep connection to the ocean and was taught to appreciate, respect, and embrace the ocean. She learned ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi formally at a time when there was an ideology that “learning and/or speaking Hawaiian would not be relevant in the ‘real-world’”. At the University of Arizona, she received her B.A. in Linguistics, M.A. in Native American Linguistics, and Ph.D. in Language, Reading, & Culture; she now resides in Vancouver, as an Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia. Her scholarly and professional activities, teaching, and service are reflective of her commitment to mobilize Hawaiian language medium education, and Indigenous language education and revitalization, locally, nationally, and globally.
Watch the full video on Youtube here.