The University of Hawai‘i at Hilo will create a National Native American Language Research Center with a five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
The $6.6 million award is the first of its kind and will support Indigenous language education nationwide.
“This is not only an acknowledgment of the value of our native languages but is also a testament to the hard work our community has put into renormalizing our ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi over the past 40 years while also working to uplift other ʻōlelo ʻōiwi nationally and internationally,” Kaʻiu Kimura, director of the UH Hilo Hawaiʻi ʻImiloa Institute, said in a news release.
UH Hilo is considered a worldwide leader in advancing Indigenous languages and culture revitalization.
The ‘Imiloa Institute will collaborate with the University of Alaska Southeast and Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University in Wisconsin.
Migizi Michael Sullivan, a Native American Studies director at Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University, said the center will be a hub for drawing inspiration for Indigenous communities.
