July 20, 2012
E ola ana ka ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi ma o ka Hula, Mele, a Oli (Living the Hawaiian Language Through Dance, Song, and Chant)
Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia
Students from LLED 565D “Living Our Indigenous Languages through Performative Arts”, which was a part of the Summer 2012 Indigeneity Educational Institute at UBC shared hula, mele and oli learned in class. They unveiled culture, language, and stories of Hawaiʻi's history, royalty, landmarks, landscapes, with their hand motions, foot movements, instruments and voices. Hula, mele and oli are a tribute to what has been carried forward from generations past that withstood the factions of colonization and is a reminder of the many facets of language and culture that are deeply embedded in the hula, mele and oli that are often overlooked and under utilized as a form of education.
The Summer 2012 Indigeneity Educational Institute included four courses offered by the Departments of Educational Studies and Language and Literacy Education in the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia.