The dynamics of cultural politics and language policy in public education: The case of Native Hawaiians

As a longitudinal policy analysis---the locus of which is to analyze the process by which policies are enacted and their subsequent effects---this exploration examined two linguistic educational mandates that have affected Native Hawaiians. The interest here was in developing an understanding of the installation and impact of both the 1896 English-only law that prohibited the use of the Hawaiian language in public schools and the 1986 law that established the Kaiapuni, or Hawaiian Language Immersion Program, in 1987. The first case study is bound within a time frame of thirty years while the second is bound within a twenty-year frame. This study seeks first to explain the various economic, socio-cultural, political, and educational forces at work, both here in the islands and beyond, that influenced school policymakers to take action. The second purpose of this study is to ascertain the fallout of these laws; that is, how each has affected the lives of Native Hawaiians. Finally, this study purposes to determine the ever-changing relationship of this indigenous community to a governmental system that for many years has ignored them.;From a cross-case analysis, three primary findings emerged. In comparing the findings across both cases, support for three hypotheses emerged. They included the volatility of linguistic policy in terms of identity, the integral connection between language and school policy and larger institutional movements, and the role of the United States government in Native Hawaiian affairs. These three transcended time frames and historical events and represent a comparative account of the establishment and implementation of Act 57 and 47. The findings were discussed in terms of their implications for linguistic and educational policy on behalf of indigenous peoples.