Timeline in Hawaiian History...1977 - 2005

1976 – The Hōkūleʻa , a replica of an ancient voyaging double-hulled canoe sails from Hawai‘i on May 1 and reaches Tahiti on June 4. The voyage is symbolic to the Hawaiian cultural movement.
• The University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa establishes B.A. programs in Hawaiian language and Hawaiian Studies to meet the growing student demand for these programs.

1977 – ‘Ahahui ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i, a non-profit organization dedicated to the perpetuation of the Hawaiian language is incorporated. Headed by Dorothy Kahananui, it provides Hawaiian language classes for adults, publications, resource persons, and workshops. A similar organization, Hui Ho‘oulu ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i is founded in Hilo by Edith Kanaka‘ole, a leader in the revitalization of traditional Hawaiian hula. (www.ahapunanaleo.org)

1978 – Hawai‘i celebrates the bicentennial of the arrival of Captain James Cook.
• The Hōkūle‘a capsizes in rough seas 20 miles off Moloka‘i; 15 of the crew are rescued. Eddie Aikau (1946 – 1978), 31, went in search of help on a surfboard, is lost at sea.
• Hawai‘i's Judi Andersen is crowned Miss USA.
• Governor Ariyoshi wins re-election; Jean King is the state's first woman lieutenant governor.
• John Waihe‘e, president of the Constitutional Convention, submits two provisions for the State Constitution: that the Hawaiian language be accorded the status of official language along with English; and that the study of Hawaiian be accorded special promotion by the State. Both provisions are passed. (www.ahapunanaleo.org)

1979 – Hawai‘i attracts four million visitors that year.

1982 – Eileen R. Anderson becomes the state's first woman mayor, defeating Frank F. Fasi for the office of mayor of Honolulu.
• Hurricane ‘Iwa strikes Kaua‘i, causing an estimated $234 million in damage.
• University of Hawai‘i at Hilo initiates a Hawaiian Studies degree program taught through Hawaiian. The focus of the degree is traditional Hawaiian language and culture, especially performing arts, to complement the focus of the Mānoa campus B.A. on Hawaiian history and politics. This is the first time that Hawaiian has been used as a medium of government funded education since 1895. (www.ahapunanaleo.org)

1983 – Kilauea volcano erupts at Napau crater, with lava flow stretching four miles, rolling through two houses and countess acres of forest land above Kalapana.
• Hawaiian language teachers Ilei Beniamina, Hōkūlani Cleeland, Kauanoe Kamanā, Larry Kimura, No‘eau Warner, Koki Williams, and Pila Wilson meet on Kaua‘i to discuss dismal state of Hawaiian language. They form a grassroots organization, ‘Aha Pūnana Leo, Inc., “The Language Nest Corporation”. (www.ahapunanaleo.org)

1984 – Frank Fasi elected mayor of Honolulu once again, defeating Eileen Anderson.
• The 25th anniversary of statehood.
• The first Pūnana Leo preschool opens in Kekaha, Kaua‘i, funded by Alu Like. Books and teaching materials must be created or translated into Hawaiian from English. (www.ahapunanaleo.org)

1985 – The 100th anniversary of Japanese immigration to Hawai‘i.
• Pūnana Leo ‘O Honolulu opens in Kalihi and Pūnana Leo ‘O Hilo opens. The method of teaching is entirely in Hawaiian with no English, and becomes established in all Pūnana Leo schools. Inadequate funding results in strong parent participation via in-kind service. This develops into the hana makua or “parent participation” component. (www.ahapunanaleo.org)

1986 – Astronaut Ellison Onizuka (1946 – 1986), 39, is killed in the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger.
• John Waihe‘e is elected governor, the first elected state governor of Hawaiian ancestry.
• Pūnana Leo graduates enter kindergarten in public school and are assigned to the SLEP (Student with Limited English Proficiency) program for immigrants. Hilo parents refuse to send their children and instead, teach kindergarten in Hawaiian at Pūnana Leo ‘o Hilo, now referred to as Kula Kaiapuni Hawai‘i “Hawaiian environment school.” ‘Aha Pūnana Leo decides to reestablish public education through Hawaiian rather than creating more preschools. (www.ahapunanaleo.org)

1987 – The first elementary indigenous language immersion classes in the United States officially begin at Keaukaha Elementary in Hilo and Waiau Elementary in Pearl City. Pūnana Leo ‘O Maui opens. (www.ahapunanaleo.org)

1988 – Frank Fasi is re-elected mayor of Honolulu.
• With a F.I.P.S.E. grant from the federal government to ‘Aha Pūnana Leo president Larry Kimura, teacher training begins for the immersion program. (www.ahapunanaleo.org)
• The passing of Native Hawaiian Education Act (NHEA) draws attention to the high literacy rates of Hawaiians at the time of annexation and the sharp drop in literacy during the period of American control. NHEA serves to help restore the linguistic integrity and educational excellence that were lost to Native Hawaiians when federal government policy denied Native Hawaiians the right to a public education through the medium of Hawaiian language and culture. (www.ahapunanaleo.org)

1989 – The 100th anniversary of Father Damien’s death.

• 1990 – 2000 – The Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Department of Hawaiian Homelands, and the Kamehameha Schools are accused of violating racial discrimination laws in providing services only to those who can demonstrate Native Hawaiian ancestry. These suits endanger the resource base of the Native Hawaiian people, and block further public support for federal recognition of Hawaiians as a unique indigenous people of the United States. The claim of indigenous status highlights the importance of strengthening of the Hawaiian language and culture. (www.ahapunanaleo.org)

1990 – U.S. Senator Spark Matsunaga (1916 – 1990) 73, dies on April 15.
• John Waihe‘e is reelected governor.
• Kalapana Mauna Kea Congregational Church is destroyed by lava from Kilauea volcano.
• A statue of Duke Kahanamoku is erected at Kuhio Beach in Waikiki.

1991 – Miss Hawai‘i Carolyn Sapp becomes Miss America.

1992 – Hurricane Iniki causes massive devastation on Kaua‘i.
• Dole Foods Co. closes down Lanai Plantation.
• Voyaging canoe Hokule‘a returns from a 5,500-mile voyage, including a first-time voyage to Rarotonga.
• The 100th anniversary of the founding of the Hawaiian Historical Society.
• Frank Fasi elected to a fifth term as mayor of Honolulu.

1993 – The 100th anniversary of the overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom.
• The Rev. Paul Sherry, president of the United Church of Christ of the United States, formally apologizes to Native Hawaiians for the church’s role in the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy.
• The U.S. Senate apologizes to Hawaiians for the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom in 1893.
• President Bill Clinton signs a Congressional Resolution acknowledging the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom in 1893.
• The remains of Henry Opukaha‘ia, the first Hawaiian to convert to Christianity, are returned to Hawai‘i from Connecticut and reburied in Kahikolu Cemetery in Napo‘opo‘o.
• A statue of Robert William Kalanihiapo Wilcox is unveiled in Wilcox Park in Downtown Honolulu.

1994 – First regularly scheduled Hawaiian-language news broadcast presented on public radio.
• The island of Kaho‘olawe is officially transferred by the federal government to the state of Hawai‘i.
• Hamakua Sugar Company closes.
• Benjamin Cayetano is elected the fifth governor of Hawai‘i, and serves until 2002. He is the first Filipino American to serve as a state governor in the United States.

1995 – Voyaging canoes Hōkūle‘a and Hawai‘iloa complete a 21-day trip from Hawai‘i to Tahiti.
• After 98 years, the O‘ahu Sugar Company grinds its last cane at its Waipahu sugar mill.
• Songwriter R. Alex Anderson, 100, known writing "Lovely Hula Hands" and "Mele Kalikimaka," dies.

1997 – Brook Mahealani Lee of Pearl City is crowned Miss Universe.
• June 26 – Israel "IZ" Ka‘ano‘i Kamakawiwo‘ole (1959 – 1997), 38, dies.

1999 – After 57 years, the Navy closes Barbers Point Naval Air Station.

2004 – The University of Hawai‘i Board of Regents approves UH-Hilo's first doctoral program, Ka Haka ‘Ula O Ke‘elikōlani's PhD. in Indigenous Language and Cultural Revitalization.

2005 – The University of Hawai‘i Board of Regents approves the offering of an M.A. in Hawaiian and an M.A. in Hawaiian Studies at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.