ʻO ka ʻōlelo nō ke kaʻā o ka mauli. He mea nui ka hoʻoikaika mau i ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi no ka hoʻopaʻa ʻana i nā ʻaoʻao ʻē aʻe o ka mauli ola Hawaiʻi. ʻO ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, he ʻōlelo ola nō ia. Naʻu a me kaʻu ʻohana i hoʻoholo e holo ma kēia ala no ka hoʻōla ʻana i ka ʻōlelo o neia pae ʻāina. E hoʻoikaika ʻia nō ka ʻōlelo ma kēia honua, ʻo ka honua kula a e ʻimi mau ʻia nā honua ʻē aʻe e ola loa ai kā kākou ʻōlelo.

He kama hoʻi wau no nā hono aʻo Piʻilani, ʻo Maui Nui A Kama nō hoʻi. No koʻu aloha i nā mele hula Hawaiʻi, ua ulu aʻe ke ake e ʻimi hoʻi i ka ʻike ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi ma kēia kulanui ma ka ua Kanilehua. ʻO ka ʻimi ʻana i ka naʻauao, he mea ia no ke ola holoʻokoʻa, a kolopupū, a haumakaʻiole, a pala lau hala, a kau i ka puaaneane!

Language is the fiber that binds us to our cultural identity. It is important that the Hawaiian language continually stregthened for the purpose of solidifying the foundation of the other aspects of one's mauli (pilinaʻuhane, lawena, ʻike kuʻuna). The Hawaiian language is indeed a living language; as for Kekoa and his family, they have made the commitment to tread this path of revitalizing the language of this land. Through Ka Haka ʻUla o Keʻelikōlani, the language is made strong and from here, the search for and creation of other spaces for the Hawaiian language to thrive continues.

Kekoa Harman is a native of Maui and is a life long student of hula and Hawaiian music. Because of this love and desire, Kekoa decided to seek out his college education here at Ka Haka ʻUla and is now an associate professor. For Kekoa, knowledge and the search for it is a life long endeavor.