Data Discovery Day 03/06/2008 Renee Louis University of Hawaii

1. Hawaiian Place Names
Pilot Project
HIGICC Data Discovery Day
Thursday, March 6, 2008
McCoy Pavillion
Lunch time

2. Outline
1. Background
a. USGS Role in Geographic Names - USBGN
b. GNIS
c. Hawaiÿi B d on G
H iÿi Board Geographic N
hi Names
d. Hawaiian Place Name GNIS Diacritical Corrections
2.
2 Introduce Hawaiian Place Names Pilot Project
a. Inspired by Coeur d`Alene’s Native Names Project
b. Scope
c. Deliverables
d. Possible BONUS Features
e. Phases

3. Video clip from Kona Hema by Na Maka O Ka ÿAina

4. U.S. Board on Geographic Names
(USBGN)
Administrative History Originally created in 1890 by
g y y
Executive Order of President
Reasons for creation Benjamin Harrison.
Purpose Established by Congress in
Public Law 80-242 on 25 Jul
1947 in the Department of
Interior as an interagency
board.

5. U.S. Board on Geographic Names
(USBGN)
Administrative History
Reasons for creation
Purpose
Address inconsistencies and contradictions of domestic
geographic feature names during the surge of exploration.
Many names spellings and applications became a serious
names, spellings,
problem to surveyors, map makers, and scientists who
required uniform, non-conflicting geographic nomenclature.

6. U.S. Board on Geographic Names
(USBGN)
Administrative History
Reasons for creation
Purpose Standardize and maintain geographic
name usage throughout the Federal
Government by making decisions on name
conflicts and on proposals for new names,
in cooperation with State, local, and
foreign
f i governments. t
Decisions of the Board were accepted as
binding by all departments and
agencies of the Federal Government.

7. U.S. Board on Geographic Names
(USBGN)
Committees
• Domestic Names Committee (DNC)
• Foreign Names Committee (FNC)
• Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (ACAN)
• Advisory Committee on Undersea Features (
y (ACUF)
)
International Networking
• United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical
Names (UNGEGN)
• G
Geographical N
hi l Names B d of Canada (GNBC)
Board f C d
• International Congress on Onomastic Sciences (ICOS)

8. Geographic Names Information
System (GNIS)
Origin Developed by USGS for the U.S.
p y
Board on Geographic Names as
What is it?
a. official repository of domestic
What does this geographic names data
mean for Hawaiÿi? b. official vehicle for using geographic
names in ALL departments of the
Federal Government
c. S
Source ( th it ) f applying
(authority) for l i
geographic names to Federal
electronic and printed products

9. Geographic Names Information
System (GNIS)
Origin
What is it?
What does this
mean for Hawaiÿi?
It is a database that contains information about physical and
cultural geographic features of all types in the United States,
lt l hi f t f ll t i th U it d St t
associated areas, and Antarctica, current and historical, but
not including roads and highways.
Originally composed of 5 separate databases
1) The National Geographic Names Database (aka GNIS)
2) The USGS Topographic Map Names Database
3) Generic Database – F t
G i D t b Feature types (63)
t
4) National Atlas Database – Gazateer
5) USBGN Database – GNIS associated information

10. Geographic Names Information
System (GNIS)
Origin
Phase 1
What is it?
• Initial Database compilation using
What does this USGS topographic maps except the
mean for Hawaiÿi? 1:24000.
• Completed in 1980.
Phase 2
Ph
• Data added from other Gov’t
sources – Honolulu C&C.
• Completed in 1990’s by U_Illinois.
Phase 3
*Staff Process Corrections
Staff

11. Hawaiÿi Board on
Geographic Names (HBGN)
Origin Created by Act 50 (
y (Chapter 4E, Hawaii Revised Statutes)
p ,
of the 1974 Hawaii State Legislature.
)
Purpose
Membership
Responsibilities
p

12. Hawaiÿi Board on
Geographic Names (HBGN)
Origin
Purpose To assure uniformity in the use and spelling of the names
of geographic features within the State.
Membership
Responsibilities
p

13. Hawaiÿi Board on
Geographic Names (HBGN)
Origin
Purpose
1. Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources
p
Membership Holly McEldowney, representative
2. Chairperson of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs
Responsibilities
p 3 Ch i
Haunani Apoliona
3. Chairperson of th H
f the Hawaiian Homes Commission
ii H C i i
William K. Mills, representative
4. Director of the Office of Planning
Craig Tasaka, representative
5. President of the University of Hawai‘i
Naomi Losch, representative
6. State Land Surveyor
Gerald G
G ld Goo, representative
t ti
7. Bernice P. Bishop Museum
Betty Kam, representative

14. Hawaiÿi Board on
Geographic Names (HBGN)
Origin
Purpose
Membership
Responsibilities
p
• New Names
Submission Process
• GNIS corrections

15. Hawaiian Place Name GNIS
Diacritical Corrections
Origin In 1999 the U.S. Geological
US
Why is it important? Survey provided the HBGN and
opportunity to add diacritical
marks to those place names
currently on the 1:24,000
topographic q
p g p quadrangle maps.
g p

16. Hawaiian Place Name GNIS
Diacritical Corrections
Origin
Why is it important?
• Diacritical marks are crucial to pronunciation and meaning of
Hawaiian place names.
• S lli the names correctly validates a Hawaiian cultural
Spelling h l lid ii l l
landscape repleat with cultural meaning
• Since GNIS is the place names “authority”, it ensures this cultural
p y ,
meaning will eventually be included on all maps published by the
Federal government will reflect the Hawaiian meaning the.

17. Hawaiian Place
N
Name GNIS
Diacritical
Corrections
C ti
Process
• Highlight
• Transcribe
• Order
• Checking Place
Names of Hawaiÿi
• HBGN Review
• GNIS Input

18. Hawaiian Place Name GNIS
Diacritical Corrections
Decision Lists To Date
• 1999 – 7 meetings,
28 quads reviewed
q
(Hawai‘i Island)
• 2000 – 7 meetings,
21 quads reviewed
(15 O‘ahu, 2 Lā ‘i
O‘ h Lāna‘i,
2 Ni‘ihau, 1 Kaho‘olawe,
1 Hawai‘i Island)
• 2001 – 6 meetings,
25 quads reviewed
(19 Hawai‘i Island,
6 Maui) HAWAII ISLAND TOTALS 51 638 29 2,799
• 2002 – 6 meetings, KAUAI TOTALS 5 73 12 558
KAHOOLAWE TOTALS 1 0 0 79
7 quads reviewed 2 28 6 223
LANAI TOTALS
(5 Kaua‘i, 2 Moloka‘i) MAUI TOTALS 6 77 16 675
• 2004 – 3 meetings
meetings, MOLOKAI TOTALS 2 68 10 687
NIIHAU TOTALS 2 10 10 91
6 quads reviewed 15 85 16 1,746
OAHU TOTALS
(Hawai‘i Island) OVERALL TOTALS (124) 72 979 99 6,858

19. Hawaiian Place Names Pilot Project
• Coeur d`Alene
Native Names
N ti N
Project
• Scope
op
• Deliverables
• Possible
BONUS
Features
• Phases

20. Hawaiian Place Names Pilot Project

21. Hawaiian Place Names Pilot Project

22. Hawaiian Place Names Pilot Project

23. Hawaiian Place Names Pilot Project

24. Hawaiian Place Names Pilot Project

25. Hawaiian Place Names Pilot Project

26. Hawaiian Place Names Pilot Project
Coeur d`Alene
Native Names
N ti N
Project
Scope
op
Deliverables
Possible
BONUS
Features
Phases
• Associated genealogies • Associated songs
• Associated gods/guardians/guides • Associated chants
• Video animation • Associated hula

27. Hawaiian Place Names Pilot Project
• Background 1. Assessment
• Scope 2. Methodological Development
• Deliverables and Field Work
• Possible 3. Incorporating St i d Pl
3 I ti Storied Place
BONUS Names
Features 4. Follow Throughg
• Phases
Pilot project site
– Volcano National Park
Voices of the HBGN website audio clip
for phonetic pronunciation
- Naomi Losch
- Nathan Napoka

28. Mahalo