At MIZA, we want to honor the incredible cultural legacy that the Native Hawaiian people have built. But we also want to support the people that carry that legacy forward today. So we take great pride in supporting the ʻAha Pūnana Leo organization with a portion of proceeds from the Hawai‘i Collection.
When the Hawaiian Kingdom was overthrown by American forces in 1893, the Hawaiian language was banned from all schools, and anyone speaking it in public was punished. For four generations, the language, customs, and history of Hawaiians was suppressed and nearly erased.
‘Aha Pūnana Leo
Since its inception in 1983, the ʻAha Pūnana Leo organization has played a crucial role in changing both state and federal legislation to remove restrictions on using Hawaiian in schools.
The founders of ʻAha Pūnana Leo believe that raising children in an environment where Hawaiian is the ordinary and primary language of interaction is central to the survival of the language. They continue to focus their efforts to nurture a new generation of speakers into the future.
All images courtesy of ‘Aha Pūnana Leo
A NEST OF VOICES
Pūnana Leo means “nest of voices” and describes their primary learning methodology, where students are “fed” their native language—much like the way young birds are cared for in their own nests. The first of these preschools was established in Kaua‘i in 1984. The following year, schools were established in Hilo, Hawai‘i and Honolulu, O‘ahu and continued to spread to other islands thereafter. It was the first immersive indigenous language program in the United States, and now serves as a national and international model for language revitalization.
MIZA has been honored to work with Keli‘ihoalani Wilson, one of the first graduates of the ʻAha Pūnana Leo program. Formerly the Director of Cultural Affairs at the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority, Keli‘i has been instrumental in developing the MIZA Hawai‘i Collection from selecting fragrance notes to editing content related to Hawaiʻi.
For more information, visit the ‘Aha Pūnana Leo website at: www.ahapunanaleo.org
