{"database": "openregs", "table": "congressional_record", "rows": [["CREC-2026-02-26-pt1-PgS714", "2026-02-26", 119, 2, null, null, "HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE MONTH", "SENATE", "SENATE", "ALLOTHER", "S714", "S714", "[{\"name\": \"Mazie K. Hirono\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Jim Banks\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}]", null, "172 Cong. Rec. S714", "Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 38 (Thursday, February 26, 2026)\n\n[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 38 (Thursday, February 26, 2026)]\n[Senate]\n[Page S714]\nFrom the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]\n\n                        HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE MONTH\n\n  Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, this year marks the 250th anniversary of\nAmerica's founding, and this year should be a celebration of our Nation\nand all those who have made it what it is. The story of our Nation is a\nstory of diversity, of people of different races, religions, and\nnational origins coming together to build something bigger than any one\nof us.\n  That story should be told in its totality, but we have a regime that\nfears diversity and is trying to erase it from our history. From\ndirecting the National Park Service to remove aspects of American\nhistory from exhibits, such as slavery, to targeting immigrant\ncommunities across the country, to its all-out war on diversity and\ninclusion, Trump's regime is attempting to rewrite history and create a\nWhite America that never existed in the first place.\n  The Native peoples were here first. This country would not be what it\nis today without the social, economic, and cultural contributions and\nthe many sacrifices of historically marginalized but important\ncommunities.\n  As we celebrate 250 years of America, it is critical that we tell\ntheir stories--stories that are central to the country and truly define\nour communities. One such story is the revitalization of Native\nlanguages, including the Hawaiian language.\n  Since 2023, February has been recognized by the State of Hawaii as\nMahina Olelo Hawaii, or Hawaiian Language Month. Following the\ncolonization of the Hawaiian Islands by English-speaking westerners,\nthe Hawaiian language, also known as Olelo Hawaii, was nearly driven to\nextinction. After the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in\n1893, a law was enacted effectively barring the teaching of Olelo\nHawaii across the islands. As a result, the use of Olelo Hawaii sharply\ndeclined, and the language came close to extinction.\n  Thankfully, cultural practitioners, educators, and community members\nlike Mary Kawena Pukui, author of the Hawaiian language dictionary,\nkept the language alive until interest in learning Hawaiian increased\nduring the Hawaiian cultural renaissance in the 1970s.\n  In 1978, Olelo Hawaii was finally recognized as an official language\nof the State of Hawaii--quite the contrast to President Trump's\nExecutive order designating English as the language of our country.\n  Olelo Hawaii has been reintroduced to the public education system,\nand Hawaiian language immersion schools have been established\nthroughout the State to continue to revitalize and protect this\nimportant aspect of Hawaiian culture.\n  The designation of February as Mahina Olelo Hawaii serves as a\ntestament to the resilience of the Native Hawaiian community and the\nimportance of Hawaiian history and culture.\n  Indigenous languages are an important part of our country's history\nand fabric. A curriculum similar to what is used in our Hawaiian\nimmersion schools has also been used by other indigenous groups to\nfoster and revive their languages. In 2016, for example, a group of\nHawaii educators from our Aha Punana Leo immersion schools in Hawaii\ntraveled to the Midwest and mentored a language institute of the Ojibwe\nTribe. There, the group shared their methodology and curricula to\nsupport the institute's program and help preserve the Ojibwe language.\n  I am really proud that the resurgence of Native Hawaiian language is\nused as an example for other Native groups to learn how they can use\nsimilar programs to preserve their very special Native languages.\nCelebrating the survival and revitalization of these indigenous\nlanguages helps to preserve and strengthen the cultural diversity of\nour communities because, while much has changed since the founding of\nour Nation, the through line of America has always been our diversity.\n  So Trump and Republicans can continue to tell their cherry-picked\nversion of American history, but they cannot erase the truth of our\ndiversity.\n  As we celebrate our Nation's 250th anniversary, we reaffirm our\ncommitment to upholding and fostering that diversity, to protecting the\nculture of communities that were here before us, and to ensuring the\nstories of our country and the Americans who make it so great are told\nin full.\n  I yield the floor.\n  I suggest the absence of a quorum.\n  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.\n  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.\n  Mr. BANKS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for\nthe quorum call be rescinded.\n  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.\n\n                          ____________________"]], "columns": ["granule_id", "date", "congress", "session", "volume", "issue", "title", "chamber", "granule_class", "sub_granule_class", "page_start", "page_end", "speakers", "bills", "citation", "full_text"], "primary_keys": ["granule_id"], "primary_key_values": ["CREC-2026-02-26-pt1-PgS714"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 10.352588957175612, "source": "Federal Register API & Regulations.gov API", "source_url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/developers/api/v1", "license": "Public Domain (U.S. Government data)", "license_url": "https://www.regulations.gov/faq"}