First Punana Leo immersive pre-school opens illegally in Kekaha Kaua'i

Translated to mean language nest or voice nest, Punana Leo was the first Indigenous Language immersion pre-school in the so-called United States. Founded by Larry Kimura, Kauanoe Kamanā, and William H. "Pila" Wilson, the establishment was a political battle and the first school was illegal due racist policies. The schools were inspired by the pre-annexation Hawaiian language schools that existed and by Maori language revitalization kindergartens in Aotearoa. The first-ever class of Pūnana Leo students graduated from high school in 1999, and in 2002 the Hilo campus of the University of Hawaii awarded the first master's degree completed entirely in the Hawaiian language. As of 2023, there were a total of thirteen Pūnana Leo preschools, with locations on five of the Hawaiian islands: Hawaiʻi, Maui, Molokaʻi, Oʻahu and Kauaʻi.