ABSTRACT
Kuleana translates from Hawaiian as “right and responsibility.” Since the early 1900s native Hawaiians, immigrants, and local speakers of Hawai'i Creole English (HCE) have been denied the right to maintain their heritage languages1 and receive the academic preparation needed for educational and socioeconomic success. This chapter reports on a critical participatory project in which teachers, students, parents, community members, and university researchers collectively assume responsibility for positively transforming educational practices and linguistic attitudes within a predominately Filipino (Ilokano-speaking), Samoan, and Hawaiian high school. Participants are committed to educational programming that acknowledges and builds on the linguistic and cultural resources of communities that have suffered years of economic, social, and political oppression.
