Kalaupapa Tribute Exhibit

December 16, 2014

On display at KS Kāpalama’s Midkiff Learning Center is an exhibit entitled: “A Source of Light, Constant and Never Fading: The Relationship Between the People of Kalaupapa and Hawaiʻi’s Royal Family.”

In 1865, King Kamehameha V signed a law that would send people stricken with leprosy to Kalaupapa, a remote peninsula on Molokaʻi. The victims were mostly Hawaiian and the royal families were moved by their situation and maintained a relationship through visits and letters.

Ka ‘Ohana O Kalaupapa, a nonprofit organization on Molokaʻi, created this educational historical exhibit. A brief ceremony was held recently at Midkiff to bring this moving tribute to the Hawaiian families impacted by Hansen’s Disease to the Kamehameha ‘ohana.

The exhibit runs through January 31, 2015.

Kawika Makanani, recently retired KS Hawaiian/Pacific Collection Librarian, Archivist Stacy Naipo-Archivist, KS Rainbow Uliʻi , and Social Studies Department Chair Aina Akamu give the ʻOli Aloha to welcome everyone to the exhibit blessing.

The exhibit is on the main floor of the Midkiff Learning Center on the KS Kāpalama High School campus.

Students and staff gather for the brief ceremony to mark the official opening of the exhibit.

Robert Hoʻopiʻi, Valerie Munson, and DeGray Vanderbilt of Ka ʻOhana O Kalaupapa. The organization is working to establish the Kalaupapa Memorial which will the list the names of all of the Hansen’s Disease patients who were sent to Kalaupapa.

Social Studies Department Chair Aina Akamu standing next to a picture of his grandparents (John and Lucy Kaona).

Hawai’i’s royalty never forgot their “Beloved People” who were sent to Kalaupapa. Family members of one patient posed for a picture in front of ʻIolani Palace.

The victims of Hansen’s Disease are remembered through historical photographs.

Queen Liliʻuokalani visited her subjects at Kalaupapa.

Photo galleries

Kalaupapa Tribute Exhibit

Kawaiaha‘o Plaza

KS Hawai‘i

KS Kapālama

KS Maui