Kalaupapa exhibit tells great story of ‘human achievement’
LAHAINA — Often lost are the stories of loved ones forced to leave their homes and quarantine on a peninsula on Molokai as they were suspected of having or diagnosed with leprosy.
The government policy of isolation ran from 1866 to 1969 and affected thousands.
But, for decades, nonprofit Ka ‘Ohana O Kalaupapa has been researching, educating, reconnecting families to their heritage, and preserving the history of Kalaupapa and Kalawao, where nearly 8,000 men, women and children from “all walks of life” were taken from their homes and forcibly isolated because of the disease.
A historical exhibit “A Source of Light, Constant and Never-Fading,” which is on display at the Lahaina Heritage Museum in the Old Lahaina Courthouse, shares the harsh realities of this time period, but also tells a “great story of human achievement,” said Kalapana Kollars, cultural director of the Lahaina Restoration Foundation, which is hosting the exhibit in the museum.
It also revitalizes the strong relationship between the Royal Family and the people of Kalaupapa, inspiring the title of the exhibit from a mele written in 1897 to Queen Lili‘uokalani by a young Kalaupapa resident, David Kahoeka, said Valerie Monson of the nonprofit Ka ‘Ohana O Kalaupapa.
About 97 percent of the 5,200 people forcibly relocated to Kalaupapa prior to the annexation of Hawaii by the United States in 1808 were native Hawaiian.
“Almost anybody Hawaiian and almost anybody from Hawaii during this time period, you have had a family member that you can connect to (Kalaupapa),” said Kollars last week after taking a handful of guests on an exhibit tour.
Even Kollars himself had family members at Kalaupapa. His greatgrandfather Lui Kapi‘ioho’s signature is among 700 people who signed a petition against the annexation. Copies of three pages of the petition were on display last week.
For him, it’s “heavy at times” talking about their experiences, but also knows that perpetuating genealogy and Hawaiian culture is important. Traditional histories of Kalaupapa don’t accurately depict what the ali‘i did to improve life for people in Hawaii who were affected by leprosy.
And, there’s still a lot more to discover.
“With Hawaiian language revitalization, we are able to interpret
primary source documents, letters, Hawaiian language newspapers, which many of them remain untranslated, and so we’re able to get a better grasp of the story,” he said.
In 1866, the first nine men and three women, including one child, arrived at the Kalaupapa peninsula because of Board of Health policies regarding leprosy, a disease that affects the nerves, skin, eyes, and lining of the nose. Kalawao was the second settlement on the eastern side of the Kalaupapa.
“The idea was to separate those who were infected by the disease so that it didn’t spread throughout our community,” Kollars explained to the tour group.
Close to 500 families were separated in 1873 as a result of heightened concerns and government efforts to enforce the quarantine of people with leprosy. Some people had the disease, some did not, and some tried to voluntarily accompany — later coined the term “kokua” — their loved ones since they didn’t know if they would come back.
Considering the time period, housing became inadequate and food was scarce now that more than 800 people needed these necessities. After being relocated to the peninsula, Peter Young Kaeo had written letters to his cousin in the 1870s about the harsh conditions faced by the colony, according to a museum display.
About 290 more people were sent away in 1883, another 100 in 1884, about 74 more the following year in 1885, and then 28 people in 1886.
During the first six months of 1887, only 10 people were sent away, offering an inkling of hope that there could be policy changes, but on July 6, 1887, King David Kalakaua was held at gunpoint by settlers to sign a new law for the Kingdom of Hawaii, nicknamed the “Bayonet Constitution.”
The new constitution “fundamentally changed” the government, transferring power from the monarchy to a legislature, Kollars said. The document also granted the right to vote to foreigners (generally Americans and Europeans) and to those with property ownership and a certain income, which excluded a lot of voices.
Before the year was done, over 200 more people suspected of having the disease were sent to Kalawao. Then, in 1888, 558 kamaaina were sent to Kalaupapa — the highest number of individuals ever sent in one year, Kollars said.
All the while, the original tenants of Kalaupapa that had lived on the land for generations were being asked to move since it was being made a quarantine area. Some left, but some remained committed to their land and others stayed to support or offer supplies to the hundreds of sick, young and old people.
“The kamaaina were really the ones who first took care of the patients,” Kollars said.
Eventually, the peninsula became overcrowded. The last of the kamaaina were evicted in January of 1895, two years after the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom.
With the combined efforts of King Kalakaua, Queen Kapi‘olani and Queen Lili‘uokalani, and others that traveled in to help such as Father Damien, Mother Marianne Cope and seven nuns, a more “rational” approach to helping those with leprosy grew.
Some patients were sent to Kaka‘ako Branch Hospital for the latest treatments in the 1880s. Eventually a hospital was built at Kalawao to conduct research into Hansen’s disease and more conversations were finally being had about having a hospital on every island rather than isolating the sick.
During World War II, a cure was solidified, allowing Hawaii patients held in isolation to finally leave the settlements in 1969. Many still decided to stay to live out their lives.
Today, there’s about 12 patients left under the care of the state Department of Health, with about four people still living at Kalaupapa full time, Kollars said. There are about 1,000 unmarked graves.
According to the World Health Organization, about 208,000 people have leprosy (Hansen’s disease) around the globe, with about 100 people in the U.S.
Nonprofit Ka ‘Ohana O Kalaupapa became an official nonprofit in 2003 to continue its mission of promoting the value and dignity of everyone who was taken from their family and forcibly isolated on the peninsula, like Ephraim Kanoe, who was sent to Kalawao in 1878 or Kapoli Kamakau, a friend of Queen Liliu‘okalani, who was sent to Kalaupapa in 1888. Alice Kamaka lived at Kalaupapa from 1919 to 2000.
From workshops to exhibits to small concerts, Ka ‘Ohana helped more than 900 descendants learn more about their Kalaupapa ancestors.
Their library now includes information on more than 7,300 people who were sent to Kalaupapa or who were born there, according to the nonprofit’s website, by compiling marriage records, birth and death records, cemetery records, petitions, Hawaiian language newspaper articles, letters, more than 1,000 photographs, and other documents.
U.S. Congress in 2009 authorized the nonprofit to establish the Kalaupapa Memorial within the boundaries of Kalaupapa National Historical Park, which will display the names of everyone who was admitted to Kalaupapa — an over two-decade dream.
On June 29, 2022, former Gov. David Ige signed a bill passed by the Legislature that appropriates $5 million to plan and build the memorial.
“Ka ‘Ohana O Kalaupapa has been working towards this Memorial for almost 20 years,” Ige had said in a news release last year. “Their determination and dedication to honoring the people of Kalaupapa is an inspiration to all of us.”
Ka ‘Ohana also submitted a proposal to the Legislature to designate January as Kalaupapa Month annually across Hawaii, which passed unanimously and was signed into law in the summer of 2021. January 2022 was the first Kalaupapa Month.
The exhibit at the Lahaina Heritage Museum will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with tours taking place every Wednesday at 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and noon.
For more information on the exhibit, visit lahainarestoration.org. For more information on Ka ‘Ohana O Kalaupapa, visit www.kalaupapaohana.org.