Kalaupapa: A Collective Memory

KalaupapaBetween 1866 and 1969, an estimated 8,000 individuals—at least 90 percent of whom were Native Hawaiians—were sent to Molokai’s remote Kalaupapa peninsula because they were believed to have leprosy. Unwilling to accept the loss of their families, homes, and citizenship, these individuals ensured they would be accorded their rightful place in history. They left a powerful testimony of their lives in the form of letters, petitions, music, memoirs, and oral history interviews. Kalaupapa: A Collective Memory, by Anwei Skinsnes Law, combines more than 200 hours of interviews with archival documents, including over 300 letters and petitions written by the earliest residents translated from Hawaiian.

September 2012
ISBN 978-0-8248-3636-8 (CLOTH)
ISBN 978-0-8248-3465-4 (PAPER)

Anwei Law will speak about her book and answer questions at Native Books/Na Mea Hawai‘i on Sunday, September 30, 2012, 3-5 pm. A book-signing, informal discussion, and refreshments will follow. In Honolulu Ms. Law will also be at:

  • Hawai‘i Judiciary Center on Wednesday, September 26, noon-1 pm; she will be joined by retired public-interest lawyer and writer Esther Arinaga, who will discuss the late-1800s case of “Republic of Hawaii v. Kapea et al,” which reveals the impact of leprosy and laws pertaining to the disease.
  • Center for Biographical Research, Henke Hall 325, UH-Manoa, on Thursday, September 27, noon-1:15, for the Brown Bag Biography talk “The People of Kalaupapa as Active Participants in Their Own History.”

    Books are not expected to be available at the Hawai‘i Judiciary Center and Center for Biographical Research events.