Indigenous groups in Hawaii and Taiwan have formally tied themselves together around language and culture, a boost for native education programs in both places.

• Kamehameha Schools, the Polynesian Voyaging Society and Taiwan's Council of Indigenous Peoples signed the Declaration of Austronesian Kinship and Pacific Unity.
• The deal commits both sides to protecting their languages and cultures and improving the well-being of their people.
• Organizers say students gain from seeing that the fight to keep a native language alive is happening worldwide, not just at home.
• More than 100 people attended the signing, including a dozen mayors and four scholars from Taiwan.
• The text was signed in Hawaiian, Paiwan, English and Mandarin.

Outlook: Expect more student and cultural exchanges between Hawaii and Taiwan built on the new agreement.