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From http://www.civilbeat.org/2018/02/hawaiian-is-an-official-language-so-why-isnt-it-used-more/

Hawaiian Is An Official Language So Why Isn't It Used More?
The dispute about whether a protester could testify in Hawaiian in court highlights the gap between the state's two official languages.
By Anita Hofschneider 
February 5, 2018

Two weeks ago, Maui District Court Judge Blaine Kobayashi issued a bench warrant for Samuel Kaleikoa Kaʻeo after the Hawaiian studies assistant professor spoke only Hawaiian - even though he can speak English - in court.

...Kaʻeo's initial arrest stemmed from his protest against telescope construction on Haleakala, a mountain on Maui - already a highly emotional case about native rights and development.

The longtime activist believes the judge's refusal to recognize his use of Hawaiian is part of a broader problem of indigenous voices being ignored on issues like land use and water rights.

...William Wilson, a Hawaiian language professor says that at one point, the schools weren't even allowed to teach reading and writing in Hawaiian because a state administrator said it was only a spoken tongue. Even today, funding and lack of resources are ongoing struggles.

Last year, the University of Hawaii discouraged the passage of a bill that would allow college courses like math and science to be taught in Hawaiian. Wilson says he plans to be back at the Legislature this year to fight for it again.

"The idea of having these official languages is not just whether you can understand but (that) it's part of our society where we support living your life in either one of these two languages," Wilson says. "It's about the right to exist as a full language in your own place."

Read the full article at http://www.civilbeat.org/2018/02/hawaiian-is-an-official-language-so-why-isnt-it-used-more/