ʻAʻaliʻi and wáhta oterontonnì:'a: Symbols of Indigenous innovation for linguistic and cultural resilience

Abstract

Like the humble ʻaʻaliʻi shrub growing abundantly throughout the Hawaiian island chain or the gentle wáhta oterontonnì:'a (sugar maple sapling) native to the Haudenosaunee territory in the north-eastern woodlands of North America, both adapting and thriving in different and extreme environments, Indigenous people, amidst foreign pressures to change, are innovating in order to adapt and ensure the survival of their unique languages and cultures. This article examines how Indigenous people, with focus on Hawaiian and Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk people), are maintaining linguistic and cultural resilience through innovation, something that Indigenous people have arguably been doing since long before the arrival of colonists to their territories. All authors (three Hawaiian and one Kanien’kehá:ka) of this article are doctoral candidates in the Hawaiian and Indigenous Language and Culture Revitalization program at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, Ka Haka ̒ Ula o Keʻelikōlani College of Hawaiian Language. Through autoethnography and personal interviews, this article highlights Indigenous innovation within four areas of practice: Hawaiian translation and interpretation, Hawaiian song and music, Indigenous food sovereignty, and Kanien’kéha (Mohawk language) documentation. For the purposes of this article, Indigenous innovation is summarized as innovation through retrospection, making informed decisions for the future based on the past. This article also brings to light obstacles and possible fears surrounding innovation due to the debate between purism (maintaining traditional knowledge and practice) and innovation (creation for adaptation to modern times). Just as the ʻaʻaliʻi or the wáhta oterontonnì:'a remain firmly rooted yet supple in their branches, allowing them to twist and 1 Correspondence: Ryan DeCaire, Ka Haka ʻUla o Keʻelikōlani, University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo; University of Toronto, ryan.decaire@utoronto.ca DeCaire, Joaquin, Lum & Maioho WINHEC: International Journal of Indigenous Education Scholarship 377 bend with the ever-changing winds, Indigenous people must follow suit in order to ensure linguistic and cultural resilience.