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History

Stories about Molokai’s rich cultural history.

A Plan for Malama Park

Wednesday, August 17th, 2022

A Plan for Malama Park

By Catherine Cluett Pactol | Editor

For years, homesteaders and other community members, planners and others have been discussing the best approach to bring life to an important and currently neglected area of Kaunakakai – Malama Cultural Park. In 2011, the Dept. of Hawaiian Homelands acquired a portion of the lands comprising the park from the State of Hawaii, and just released a Special Area Plan for its management.

“The Malama Cultural Park is a treasured wahi pana (ancestral land), not only for the people of Kaunakakai, but also for residents throughout the island of Molokai,” states the plan. “The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) seeks to preserve this wahi pana and to support the continuing practice of ocean recreational use in a manner that protects and respects the historical legacy of this place.…

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Kahea for Descendants of Mapulehu

Wednesday, March 23rd, 2022

Community Contributed

By Keomailani Hanapi-Hirata, East Molokai Representative 

In 1991, within the Ahupua’a of Mapulehu, on the parcel of land formally known as the “Mapulehu Glass House,” discovery of human skeletal remains was being uncovered during a development phase of land clearing, with a bulldozer and excavator. An article written in The Honolulu Advertiser on Dec. 21, 1991, titles, “Molokai farm yields ancient remains.” The article describes reports from police, state officials and Molokai burial council, “bones were scattered over about four acres and at least 30 human jawbones were found, and 11 human skulls were recovered along with numerous fragments of human remains.”…

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Ka’ahele a Lono

Thursday, February 3rd, 2022

Ka’ahele a Lono

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

Lonoikamakahiki! Lonoikamakahiki! The chant rang out through every ahupua’a on Molokai last week as a Ka’ahele crew walked more than 50 miles from Halawa to Hale O Lono carrying Lonomakua in the 40th annual Ka Molokai Makahiki. Bearing the lei-draped white banner fluttering in the wind, the group of marchers stopped at every school and community on the island, accepting more than 100 ho’okupu over the course of the week-long journey. 

“The Ka’ahele was traditionally a time for the island to assess the status of the ‘aina and kai,” said Miki’ala Pescaia, cultural practitioner and one of the event’s organizers.…

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Remember Kalaupapa This Month

Thursday, January 13th, 2022

Remember Kalaupapa This Month

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

On Jan. 6, 156 years ago, 12 people were sent to Kalaupapa as the first of an estimated 8,000 exiled there because of the government’s policies for those diagnosed with Hansen’s disease. The nine men and three women, along with those who followed, were forcibly taken from their family members, many of whom they would never again be able to see. 

Last June, Gov. Ige signed into law a bill that designates January as Kalaupapa Month in Hawaii, serving as “an annual reminder of the importance of Kalaupapa and the significant sacrifices and contributions of its residents throughout the history of Hawaii,” the bill reads.…

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Molokai Baha’í Community Observes 100th Anniversary

Wednesday, November 17th, 2021

Molokai Baha’í Community Observes 100th Anniversary

Baha’i Community of Molokai News Release

The Molokai Baha’í community will join members of the Baha’í Faith throughout Hawaii and around the world on Nov. 28 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the passing of ‘Abdu’l-Baha on that date in 1921.  

Throughout the East and the West, ‘Abdu’l-Baha acquired the reputation of an ambassador of peace and a champion of justice. He became the head of the Baha’i Faith following the passing of its Prophet-Founder, his father, Baha’u’llah, in 1892. 

From 1910-1913, despite ill health, ‘Abdu’l-Baha travelled to Egypt, North America and Europe, where he proclaimed the essential principles of the Baha’í Faith, such as the equality of women and men, universal peace, removal of all forms of prejudice, the harmony of science and religion, and a spiritual solution to economic problems.…

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‘Aina Aloha Project

Thursday, November 11th, 2021

Community Contributed

By MHS O Hina I Ka Malama Students

Editor’s note: Students of Molokai High’s O Hina I Ka Malama Hawaiian language immersion program are working on a project called ‘Aina Aloha with their Kumu Mahina Hou Ross in which they will be researching about the history and stories of different parts of Molokai. Below are short introductions to two of the students’ projects. Ross would like to invite any community members who are interested in sharing their resources and stories with the class for their project to contact Ross at gandharva.ross@k12.hi.us or call 808-567-6950 ext. 66. 

 

By Kauiaonalani Hamakua Felix, Tiani Keohuloa and Pilialoha Kaahanui

Aloha, we are Kauiaonalani Hamakua Felix, Tiani Keohuloa and Pilialoha Kaahanui and we are members of the senior class of O Hina I ka Malama.…

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Nonprofit Works to Restore ‘Aina

Wednesday, November 3rd, 2021

‘Aina Momona News Release

Aloha Molokai, we are ʻAina Momona, a Native Hawaiian nonprofit organization founded for the purpose of achieving environmental health and sustainability through restoring social justice and Hawaiian sovereignty. Our team of kiaʻi are committed to restoring Molokai ʻAina Momona. 

We are advised by a board of exceptional Native Hawaiians who work in concert with our staff on the ground. Our board members include Dr. Jon Osorio, Dr. Trisha Kehaulani Watson, and Molokai’s own, Dr. Keoni Kauwe, among others. Dr. Kauwe is a graduate of Molokai High and Intermediate (ʻ96) and recently became the eleventh president of Brigham Young University — Hawaii and the first of Native Hawaiian descent.…

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‘Aina Aloha Project

Wednesday, November 3rd, 2021

Community Contributed

By MHS O Hina I Ka Malama Students

Editor’s note: Students of Molokai High’s O Hina I Ka Malama Hawaiian language immersion program are working on a project called ‘Aina Aloha with their Kumu Mahina Hou Ross in which they will be researching about the history and stories of different parts of Molokai. Below are three short introductions to students’ projects, with more to be printed in upcoming issues. Ross would like to invite any community members who are interested in sharing their resources and stories with the class for their project to contact Ross at gandharva.ross@k12.hi.us or call 808-567-6950 ext.…

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Honoring Queen Lili’uokalani

Thursday, September 30th, 2021

Community Contributed 

By Alaonalani Puailihau

Editor’s note: This is the English translation of a Hawaiian language article that was printed in the Sept. 15 issue, written by a Hawaiian immersion student at Molokai High School. 

On Sept. 2, 1838 Lydia Liliʻu Loloku Walania Wewehi Kamakaʻeha was born in Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii. The daughter of Analea “Annie” Keohokalole and Caesar Kaluaiku Kamakaʻehukai Kahana Keola Kapaʻakea, and the hānai daughter of Abner Kuhoʻoheiheipahu Paki and Laura Kanaholo Konia. In the year of 1842, when she was 4 years old, she started attending the Royal Elementary School. While attending the Royal Elementary School she learned how to speak fluent English and received musical training. …

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Molokai Drugs Celebrates 85 Years

Wednesday, September 30th, 2020

Molokai Drugs Celebrates 85 Years

By Judy Mikami

It began in 1935…. While working at Benson-Smith, a large Honolulu drug store, a young pharmacist is asked if he would move to Molokai to become the island’s first pharmacist and also work with two plantation doctors,” Mikami writes. “It was a huge decision. Richard Sakata was supporting his widowed mother, but she encouraged him to move and to start a new life. Arriving when it was pitch-black on a cattle barge at the Kaunakakai harbor, one light shone away from the wharf. Richard thought, ‘What have I done? Did I make the right decision? Where will I live?’…

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