Conceived by the great Kalaupapa leader Bernard K. Punikaiʻa, Ka ‘Ohana O Kalaupapa was established in August 2003 to promote the value and dignity of every Kalaupapa individual who was taken from their family and forcibly isolated on the Molokaʻi peninsula due to leprosy (aka Hansen’s disease). Ka ‘Ohana is made up of Kalaupapa residents, their family members and descendants, friends of the community, and anyone interested in the future of Kalaupapa.
In 2021, January was selected as the month to especially pay tribute to the people of Kalaupapa. A number of important events occurred in January throughout the settlement’s history, beginning January 6, 1866, when the first 12 people affected by leprosy were sent to the peninsula. They were the first of nearly 8,000. Ninety percent of those sent to Kalaupapa were Native Hawaiians. Their ages ranged from 4 to 105. Most of these individuals never saw their loved ones or homes again.
During January, Ka ‘Ohana O Kalaupapa offers special educational events and content. More info: Ka ‘Ohana O Kalaupapa | Kalaupapa Memorial | Kalaupapa Education
Bried History of Kalaupapa
In the mid-1860s, the Hawaiian Kingdom designated the remote Kalaupapa peninsula on the northern coast of Molokaʻi as an isolation colony for people afflicted with Hansen’s Disease (Leprosy) | CDC. The small peninsula is isolated from the rest of the island by steep cliffs.
The establishment of the isolation colony also resulted in the displacement of Native Hawaiian communities who had been living on the peninsula for generations. At that time, it was believed that removing people with the illness from the rest of the population would prevent the spread of the disease. Today, we know the disease is not contagious, hard to catch, and completely curable.
People at Kalaupapa experienced extreme hardships and isolation. In 1889, patients were moved from Kalawao on the east side of the peninsula to Kalaupapa on the western side due to better climate conditions. Over time, their resilience built a thriving, remarkable community.
One hundred years later, the isolation order was finally lifted in 1969, after antibiotics to cure Hansen’s Disease were developed and the patient residents at Kalaupapa were cured of the illness. Subsequently, the State of Hawaiʻi established the peninsula as Kalawao County and took steps to ensure that the people who were forcibly isolated would be provided for and allowed to live at Kalaupapa for the rest of their lives.
In 1980 at the request of the Kalaupapa Patients, the Kalaupapa National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service) was established. The Park encompasses the entire Kalaupapa peninsula in the county of Kalawao. (The rest of Molokaʻi is part of Maui County.)
While Kalawao County and Kalaupapa have been managed by Hawaiian and Hawaiʻi government public health entities for more than 150 years (initially by the Hawaiian Kingdom and later by U.S. Territorial and then Hawaii State health agencies) oversight of Kalaupapa is scheduled to change when the Department of Health (DOH) is no longer needed to provide care for Hansen’s Disease registry patients. Kalaupapa and Kalawao County will transfer operations to other governmental entities. More info: Kalaupapa Updates | Hawaii Department of Health
Kalaupapa Memorial
Because only about 1,000 graves of former residents can now be identified, the names of many of the people of Kalaupapa are no longer part of the landscape and are often left out of the history. Longtime leader of Kalaupapa Paul Harada, first proposed a Memorial in 1985. Over the years, many advocates (no longer with us) worked to gather support for the idea, including Ed Kato, Bernard K. Punikai‘a, Kuulei Bell, Oliva Breitha, and Boogie Kahilihiwa.
To establish the memorial, Ka ‘Ohana O Kalaupapa went to Washington DC to urge the passing of a bill authorizing the project. Introduced by Senator Hirono, the 111th U.S. Congress established H.R.410 to provide for the establishment of a memorial within Kalaupapa National Historical Park on the island of Molokai. The resolution became Public Law No: 111-11 on 3/30/2009. In 2022, the Hawai`i State Legislature approved $5 million to build the Memorial.
The Kalaupapa Memorial will return the names of forgotten people to the history of Kalaupapa that they helped to create, to their family histories, to the history of Hawai‘i, and to the history of the world. The Memorial will display the names of the 8,000 people who were sent to the original settlement of Kalawao and the current settlement of Kalaupapa. The complex project involves several Hawaiʻi state agencies, the National Park Service, Maui County, residents of the island of Molokaʻi, and many other groups and organizations.
An additional $5 million is being raised for an endowment to cover future maintenance of the memorial. Donations can be made here: Support | Ka ‘Ohana O Kalaupapa
Event calendar of free and affordable things to do
Listed below are all types of free and affordable things to do in the next 30 days across the Hawaiʻi Pae ʻĀina.
Featured Events are listed first each day, highlighted by a photo. These are unique, popular, or annual events that we or our advertisers don’t want you to overlook.
You might also like: Hawaiʻi on the Cheap – affordable living and things to do (hawaiionthecheap.com)
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