Sign language: American vs. ʻŌlelo

Today, there is a small but growing effort to establish hand signs rooted in Hawaiian words and cultural values.

This is how “Deaf Kānaka have a meaningful place within the greater lāhui (collective identity),” said Maile Keamoai-Kane.

Called ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi Kuhi Lima, or Hawaiian Language Hand Signs, is a community-led initiative guided by Deaf nā kūpuna.

They’re not just creating signs — they’re creating access, connection, and new possibilities for future deaf generations and the broader lāhui as the leader of the group, Kekai Kaaumoana-Cummings, told Civil Beat.

Similar to how ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi was banned in schools in 1896, Indigenous sign languages were also often discouraged or erased as Native communities were pressured to adopt English and other dominant forms of communication such as ASL or learning how to speak or read lips, said Keane Nakapueo-Garcia, a hearing PhD student at UH Hilo.

Nikki Kepoʻo, a Native Hawaiian mom of one Deaf and one hearing child, expressed the hope for a formal bilingual-bicultural experience within immersion schools — a system where both ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi and Native Hawaiian culture, and ASL and Deaf culture, can be integrated.

“Had there been an option, I would have loved that, because then both my kids would grow up in that same environment, same culture,” she said.

Learn more about this group and the people behind this initiative

📸: Craig Fujii

✏️: Tia Lewis