The board also selects HSTA’s official Hawaiian proverb and chant
Posted: March 2, 2026
On the final day of Mahina ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian Language Month), the Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association’s Board of Directors voted to approve the official Hawaiian translation of the union’s formal name: Ka ʻAhahui Kumu Kula o Hawaiʻi Pae ʻĀina.
HSTA Hawaiian Education Committee Chair Kalae Akioka, a Hawaiian immersion special education teacher at Ke Kula Kaiapuni ʻo Pūʻōhala (Pūʻōhala Elementary), said, “An official Hawaiian name for the HSTA may seem like a small change to some, but it represents a vital step forward towards normalizing BOTH official languages of our state.”
HSTA’s board also approved the union’s official ʻōlelo noʻeau (traditional Hawaiian proverb) as a slight modification of entry 725 in Mary Kawena Pukui’s book “ʻŌlelo Noʻeau: Hawaiian Proverbs and Poetical Sayings” as follows: “He lawaiʻa no ke kai pāpaʻu, he pōkole ke aho; he lawaiʻa no ke kai hohonu, he loa ke aho.”
In English, the proverb translates to: “One who fishes in the shallow sea uses only a short line; one who fishes in the deep sea has a long line.” It means a person whose knowledge is shallow has little, but one whose knowledge is great has much.
In a third action, the board selected HSTA’s official oli (Hawaiian chant) to be Waikāhi Ka Pono, composed by Roxane Kapuaimohalaikalani Keliʻikipikāneokolohaka in April of 2013, with its lyrics and translation available here. In 2024, HSTA’s delegates to the National Education Association’s Representative Assembly in Philadelphia performed HSTA’s oli on the famous “Rocky Steps” of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
The Hawaiian translation of HSTA’s formal name and the selection of the ʻōlelo noʻeau have been vetted by the unionʻs Hawaiian Education Committee, while the HSTA oli has already been used at its events for several years.
HSTA President Osa Tui, Jr. said, “We must be intentional about infusing more ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi where we can into our association, including the very fabric that guides us: our governing documents.”
“Creating the Hawaiian Education Committee and working towards changing the names of HSTA’s chapters and replacing their Western place names are first steps towards honoring the language, culture, and traditions of the Hawaiian people,” Tui added.
HSTA has taken a number of actions in recent years to support Hawaiian educators and the keiki they teach, and uplift Hawaiian culture.
In September of 2022, the HSTA Board of Directors created the Hawaiian Special Education Committee, which became a standing committee called the Hawaiian Education Committee last September.
Members of the committee have led several breakout sessions in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian) for Hawaiian immersion and Hawaiian language teachers at HSTA’s Institute Day events over the last several years.
In the summer of 2024, the union unveiled its Hanohano Hawaiʻi framework, a new effort to open all union-related events with place-based tributes. Read HSTA’s Hanohano Hawaiʻi guidelines.
In May of 2025, HSTA leaders gathered at Kualoa Regional Park on Oʻahu to celebrate the renaming of the Koʻolau Chapter, formerly known as the Windward Chapter. The union’s Hawaiian Education Committee has held discussions to explore options to rename HSTA’s Central and Leeward Oʻahu chapters.
Committee members have also lobbied state lawmakers for more resources and support for kaiapuni teachers. During the 2025 legislative session, lawmakers approved $4 million to fund 13 new positions in HIDOE Hawaiian language immersion programs.
Last month, to celebrate Mahina ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, the committee offered a weekly series of slide show “books” with quick videos about sports balls and other round-shaped items featuring Hawaiian phrases and captions.
HSTA has recently hired a kaulike (equity) specialist to advance HSTA’s initiatives in Hawaiian education as well as human rights, racial and social justice, gender equity, and civil liberties. The new specialist starts work in mid-April for the position funded by a three-year grant.