Recovering Kalaupapa's Voices
from the Distant Past

 

The Kalaupapa School, circa 1904. A combination of archival materials and information from his family has led to the positive identification of John T. Unea, Sr., as the school teacher. (Anwei Skinsnes Law collection)

 

The Hawaiian Historical Society invites its members and the public to its membership meeting and program on Thursday, October 30, 2008, at the University of Hawai‘i Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies Auditorium, located at 2645 Dole Street, Honolulu. Refreshments will be available at 6:30 p.m. An award presentation and the main program will begin at 7:00 p.m.

The program, “Recovering Kalaupapa's Voices from the Distant Past,” will be presented by Anwei Skinsnes Law. Ms. Law will discuss her research, using archival documents, letters written in Hawaiian, and previously unpublished photos, as a means of bringing people back into their own history and restoring family ties that were severed by public health policies.

Anwei Skinsnes Law has been researching the history of Kalaupapa for more than thirty years, utilizing archives in Hawai‘i and on the mainland. Since 1978, she has conducted more than two hundred hours of oral history interviews with the residents of Kalaupapa, including people who were sent to Kalaupapa as early as 1914.

Ms. Law's book, Ka Hokuwelowelo: A Collective Memory of Kalaupapa, is forthcoming from the University of Hawai‘i Press. In addition, she is working on a book that looks at the relationship between the Hawaiian people and Father Damien by focusing on the recollections of the residents of Kalaupapa who were Father Damien's closest friends.

In a presentation at the beginning of the meeting, the Society will present its Pa‘a Mo‘olelo Award to Dr. Richard Kekuni Blaisdell and Dr. Benjamin B. C. Young.

Parking for this event, which is free and open to the public, is available in the parking structure adjacent to the Center for Hawaiian Studies for $3.00. For further information, contact the Hawaiian Historical Society office, 560 Kawaiaha‘o Street, Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96813. Telephone 808-537-6271. E-mail bedunn@lava.net.