*The Feb. 8 Kamaʻāina Sunday event has been canceled, ʻIolani Palace said on its website after this interview. Its next Kamaʻāina Sunday is March 8.
February happens to be Hawaiian Language Month and ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi was once spoken in the historic home of aliʻi, ʻIolani Palace.
On Kamaʻāina Sunday, which offers free admission for Hawaiʻi residents, the Friends of ʻIolani Palace will offer something new to showcase the language.
The palace already offers recorded tours in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, but now Hawaiian language speakers will be staged throughout to interact with visitors.
Paula Akana, head of the Friends of ʻIolani Palace, stopped by The Conversation earlier this week to talk about what's on tap.
“We offer free tours for all kamaʻāina audio tours, and we actually do an audio tour in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, and that's been going on for at least a decade, but there's nobody to ask questions," Akana said.
“We're letting Hawaiian speakers know that when they reach those rooms, they can interact with somebody who's going to tell you some other tidbits that aren't on the usual tour, about why that room is so special, and ask them questions."
She said some people who are not Native Hawaiian also speak ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi.
"People from all over are speaking it, and we just want them to be able to embrace it and make it more normalized," she said.
The palace is currently in the process of rewriting its Hawaiian language audio tour for school group tours.
Akana said the long-term goal is to have docents fluent in Hawaiian.
This story aired on The Conversation on Feb. 5, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Hannah Kaʻiulani Coburn adapted this story for the web.
