,,iii  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #hc  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of
 ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,february #ai1
 #bjbe,mr4 ,schatz 7for himself and ,ms4
 ,hirono7 submitted the following       
resolution2 which was referred to the   
,committee on the ,judiciary            
,,resolution  ,designating ,february    
#bjbe as ,hawaiian ,language ,month or  
#8lelo ,hawai#8i ,month4  ,whereas the  
,hawaiian language1 or #8lelo           
,hawai#8i-- 7#a7 is the ,native language
 of ,native ,hawaiians1 the aboriginal1 
,indigenous people who-- 7,a7 settled   
the ,hawaiian archipelago as early as   
#cjj ,a4,d41 over which they exercised  
sovereignty2 and  7,b7 over time1       
founded the ,kingdom of ,hawai#8i2 and  
7#b7 was once widely spoken by ,native  
,hawaiians and non-,native ,hawaiians   
throughout the ,kingdom of ,hawai#8i1   
which held one of the highest literacy  
rates in the world prior to the illegal 
overthrow of the ,kingdom of ,hawai#8i  
in #ahic and the establishment of the   

,republic of ,hawai#8i2 ,whereas the    
,republic of ,hawai#8i enacted a law in 
#ahif effectively banning school        
instruction in #8lelo ,hawai#8i1 which  
led to the near extinction of the       
language by the #aihjs when fewer than  
#ej fluent speakers under #ah years old 
remained2 ,whereas1 since the #aifjs1   
,native ,hawaiians have led a grassroots
 revitalization of their ,native        
language1 launching a number of historic
 initiatives1 including-- 7#a7 #8,aha   
,pnana ,leo's ,hawaiian language        
immersion preschools2  7#b7 the         
,hawaiian language immersion program of 
the ,hawai#8i ,state ,department of     
,education2 and  7#c7 the ,hawaiian     
language programs of the ,university of 
,hawai#8i system2 ,whereas the ,hawaiian
 language revitalization movement       
inspired systemic ,native language      
policy reform1 including-- 7#a7 the     
,state of ,hawai#8i recognizing #8lelo  
,hawai#8i as an official language in the
 ,constitution of the ,state of         

,hawai#8i in #aigh2  7#b7 the ,state of 
,hawai#8i removing the #ij-year ban on  
teaching #8lelo ,hawai#8i in public and 
private schools in #aihf2  7#c7 the     
enactment of the ,native ,american      
,languages ,act 7#be ,u4,s4,c4 #bija et 
seq47 in #aiij1 which established the   
policy of the ,united ,states to        
preserve1 protect1 and promote the      
rights and freedom of ,native ,americans
 to use1 practice1 and develop ,native  
,american languages2 and  7#d7 the      
,state of ,hawai#8i designating the     
month of ,february as #8lelo ,hawai#8i  
,month to celebrate and encourage the   
use of the ,hawaiian language2 and      
,whereas the enactment of the ,native   
,american ,language ,resource ,center   
,act of #bjbb 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #gdeg7 in  
#bjbc-- 7#a7 reconfirmed a ,federal     
commitment to revitalizing ,indigenous  
languages1 including the ,hawaiian      
language2 and  7#b7 resulted in the     
,department of ,education awarding the  
,university of ,hawai#8i at ,hilo a     

#e-year grant to establish the first    
,national ,native ,american ,language   
,resource ,center3 ,now1 therefore1 be  
it  ,that the ,senate-- 7#a7 designates 
,february #bjbe as ,hawaiian ,language  
,month or #8lelo ,hawai#8i ,month2  7#b7
 commits to preserving1 protecting1 and 
promoting the use1 practice1 and        
development of #8lelo ,hawai#8i in      
alignment with the ,native ,american    
,languages ,act 7#be ,u4,s4,c4 #bija et 
seq472 and  7#c7 urges the people of the
 ,united ,states and interested groups  
to celebrate #8lelo ,hawai#8i ,month    
with appropriate activities and programs
 to demonstrate support for #8lelo      
,hawai#8i4