Hawaiian language forbidden in Hawaii prisons
Friday, April 09, 2004
The Maui
News
Letter to the
Editor
The use of the Hawaiian
language is a traditional and customary right affirmed and protected by the
state of Hawaii Constitution in Article XII, Section 7. Hawaiian and
non-Hawaiian inmates in our state prison system are taught the Hawaiian language
but are not allowed to speak it outside the classroom. If the Department of
Public Safety feels this is a security problem by ruling that "no inmate shall
converse in a foreign language," then I submit that Hawaiian is not a foreign
language in the state of Hawaii and that if the security concerns are valid, the
staff should learn to speak it.
Michael Spiker
Wahiawa Correctional
Facility
Honolulu
Posted: Fri - April 9, 2004 at 02:00 PM