United And Strong

Kaku-Ixt Mana Ina Haws brings together Indigenous communities.

 

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Oregon State University’s cultural center for Indigenous communities has a new name that reflects Indigenous languages and includes input from a variety of stakeholders. Announced in September 2021, Kaku-Ixt Mana Ina Haws means “unified strength of the Beaver House” in a combination of Chinuk Wawa and Polynesian languages.

Established in 1973 as the Native American Longhouse in a surplus Quonset hut, the name Eena Haws — Chinuk Wawa for Beaver House — was added when the longhouse moved into its current building in 2013.

Starting in fall 2019, a series of student discussions focused on the name evolving to better reflect the center’s mission and the needs of the community. This led to a process to collect stakeholder input and consider the potential for a name incorporating more than one language. Stakeholders also researched and discussed the history of the center’s name.

According to Luhui Whitebear, the center director and an assistant professor in the School of Language, Culture and Society, there was a strong desire to keep Eena Haws as part of the name. Another consideration was to use language from Pacific Islanders to ensure those communities, which are included in the center’s mission and purpose, are represented as well.

Kaku-Ixt, which means “unified” in Chinuk Wawa, was chosen to highlight unity. Mana, a word that’s used across several Polynesian languages, was chosen to highlight strength. Eena was a phonetic spelling, so it was changed to Ina, the correct spelling for beaver in Chinuk Wawa.

Chinuck Wawa is one of the languages that were spoken by Indigenous people who lived on the land where Oregon State is located. Among their descendants, the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon maintains educational resources for Chinuck Wawa. Whitebear says the center consulted with the Grand Ronde language program to ensure spelling, syntax, meaning and the inclusion of a Polynesian word was appropriate.

Native Hawaiian elders and language instructors were similarly consulted.

“There was a lot of thought that went into the name and even the arrangement of the name,” Whitebear says. “There is internal strength within the community. We have strength when we are together.”

Whitebear emphasizes that while the name is new, Kaku-Ixt Mana Ina Haws remains a student-focused space that reflects their needs and celebrates their Indigenous identities.

“The spirit of the center is the same.”

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KAKU-IXT MANA INA HAWS

WHAT IT MEANS:

Kaku-Ixt Mana Ina Haws is a combination of Chinuk Wawa and Polynesian languages.

  • Kaku-Ixt means “unified” in Chinuk Wawa.
  • Mana means “internal power/strength” in several Polynesian languages.
  • Ina Haws means “beaver house” in Chinuk Wawa.

Together, Kaku-Ixt Mana Ina Haws celebrates the “unified strength of the Beaver House.”

HOW TO SAY IT:

  • Kaku-Ixt: Kah-goo EE-hxt (the x makes more of an h sound)
  • Mana: Mah-nuh
  • Ina: EE-nuh
  • Haws: house

Hear the pronunciation guide at the Kaku-Ixt Mana Ina Haws website.