This study explored the functions of literacy in the Hawaiian language that may be realized in an indigenous language immersion program when the indigenous language is a second language with severely restricted use in the wider community. It also examined the connections between Hawaiian language use, the local culture in Hawaii, and development of a broader base of Hawaiian literacy in the future. Data were drawn from a longitudinal study, begun in 1987, of succeeding cohorts of sixth-grade students and their teachers and parents. The latest evaluation involved 143 Hawaiian Language Immersion program (HLI) students and 50 English-medium fifth- and sixth-graders. The report details the students' perspectives on the functions of Hawaiian literacy in an immersion setting, including perceptions of (1) Hawaiian as a medium of instruction and language of survival in school, (2) ceremonial, aesthetic, and cultural dimensions of the language, (3) students as creators of Hawaiian stories and text, (4) students as readers of Hawaiian text, (5) students as translators, (6) bilingual empowerment through Hawaiian and English literacy, and (7) advantages to being bilingual. Contains 17 references. (MSE)