"Kaʻiulani is family."
Translation:He ʻohana ʻo Kaʻiulani.
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That translates to something like "A Ka'iulani, family is... (something missing)".
Think of "he" like "a" or undefined.
When you use 'o, you're saying two things are equivalent. "'O Ka'iulani ko'u makuahine" means Ka'iulani is my mother, or my mother and Ka'iulani are equivalent.
On the other hand, "He makuahine 'o Ka'iulani" means "Ka'iulani is a mother."
It just aounds funny using he for 'ohana in English bevause we wouldn't say "Ka'iulani is a family," we'd say "Ka'iulani is family" or "Ka'iulani is a family member."
The piko preposition ( ʻo ) is used when you talk about someone or someplace. The hea prepositon ( e ) is used with a personʻs name when you are talking to the person.
He is a or an. Used to state that this person is family.
'o in this sentence is normal for showing a pronoun.
e is used when to someone, before the pronoun.
E at the beginning of a sentence can be the same or showing that it's a commanding sentence.
'E hele'. Go. Is telling someone to go.
'E hele, e Ka'iulani'.
(you, singular) He ʻohana ʻoe. You are family.
(we, inclusive) He ʻohano kāua. You and I are family.
It strikes me that this is basically the same construction as “He Hawaiʻi au” - I am a Hawaiian. Note that ʻohana is described by P&E as being “nvs” or noun/stative verb. Typically we see the noun usage (e.g. “no Hilo koʻu ʻohana”). But here we get to see the stative verb - like an adjective - form peeking out.