UH-Hilo College of Hawaiian Language grad student awarded inaugural Makuakāne fellowship

Bruce Torres Fischer, a master’s degree candidate at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo’s Ka Haka ʻUla o Keʻelikōlani College of Hawaiian Language, is the recipient of the college’s first Daniel and Lydia Makuakāne Endowed Fellowship.

Fischer’s research will focus on phonological variations in the speech of mānaleo, native speakers of the Hawaiian language, through analyzing archival audio recordings.

“I am deeply honored to be selected as the first Daniel and Lydia Makuakāne Endowed Fellowship recipient,” said Torres Fischer. “Mahalo nui to the Makuakāne family for establishing this important resource to support graduate students pursuing scholarship in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi.”

The endowment honors Daniel and Lydia Makuakāne for their contributions to the preservation and perpetuation of Hawaiian language and cultural practices.

The fellowship is aimed at supporting graduate students with completing the research and writing phase of their masters thesis and doctoral dissertation.

“We are so grateful to the entire Makuakāne ʻohana for providing this incredible opportunity to support the next generation of Hawaiian language scholars,” said College of Hawaiian Language Director Kaʻiu Kimura. “Their vision in establishing this fellowship will have an enormous impact by helping our students finish their degrees and go on to be leaders in language revitalization and education in Hawaiʻi.”

Ka Haka ʻUla o Keʻelikōlani, founded in 1998, is the only college in the United States that focuses on Hawaiian and other indigenous languages.

The UH-Hilo Hawaiian language college was recently awarded the lead role in establishing the inaugural National Native American Language Resource Center under the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Indian Education, with specific focus on supporting Native American Language communities and their efforts in language revitalization.

For more information about the Daniel and Lydia Makuakāne Endowed Fellowship, contact Kimura at lesliek@hawaii.edu or call 808-932-7414.