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History

Stories about Molokai’s rich cultural history.

Kawela Archeology Site Among Earliest in Hawaii

Wednesday, June 14th, 2023

Kawela Archeology Site Among Earliest in Hawaii

By Catherine Cluett Pactol | Editor

An archeological site in Kawela has recently been found to be one of the earliest known habitations in the Hawaiian Islands. Originally excavated in 1981, the Kawela Mound site has benefitted from advances in technology, radiocarbon dating and sample methods that have led archologist Marshall Weisler — who has been studying Molokai historic sites for nearly 50 years – to some groundbreaking conclusions. 

“At the time [1981], I thought the site was about 500 years old based on two radiocarbon dates processed soon after the excavations,” said Weisler. “However, dating techniques have greatly improved over the years and I redated the site using another 19 samples.…

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March for Kawakiu Access

Thursday, May 11th, 2023

March for Kawakiu Access

By Catherine Cluett Pactol and Jack Kiyonaga

At 7 a.m. last Saturday, more than 100 Molokai residents stood at the gated entrance to Kawakiu, an area of west Molokai owned by Molokai Properties Limited, also known as Molokai Ranch. For those gathered, Kawakiu represents not only a cultural and historic site, but also generational subsistence grounds.

“We’re walking for our young people so they can go hunting and fishing here… it’s a constant battle to keep your rights alive,” said activist Walter Ritte to the gathered crowd waiting to march the dirt road that is currently blocked to the beach. “Kawakiu is a historic site, there are burials over there, house sites over there, heiau over there.”…

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Kawakiu Archaeological Findings

Wednesday, May 10th, 2023

Community Contributed

By Leihiwahiwa Ritte

Kawakiu is a subsistence fishing area that many depend on to feed their ʻohana. Gathering paʻakai, fishing, throwing net, diving, or harvesting ʻopihi along its pristine shoreline are common practices of subsistence in the area. However, beyond its beauty and the abundance it provides, Kawakiu is also a historical site with significant archaeological findings.

Several structures can still be seen today. Archaeologist Marshall Weisler published a study identifying house sites, fishing shrines, stone mounds, stone walls, and grinding slabs. Near the center of the point, south of Kawakiu Bay, there is a rock-walled structure. Weisler refers to it as “the most substantial structure in the Kawakiu Nui area.”…

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Molokai Celebrates Inaugural George Helm Jr. Day

Wednesday, March 29th, 2023

Molokai Celebrates Inaugural George Helm Jr. Day

By Jack Kiyonaga, Reporter

“George Helm, Jr. is known as one of Hawaii’s greatest Aloha ‘Aina heroes, setting in motion a movement of consciousness for generations,” reads a recent Maui County proclamation that declared March 23, 2023 to be George Helm, Jr. Day throughout Maui County. 

Helm is best known for his activism, leadership and music. Part of the “Kaho’olawe Nine” along with prominent figures like Walter Ritte and Dr. Emmett Aluli, Helm helped spearhead the movement protesting the U.S. Navy’s bombing of Kaho’olawe. On March 7, 1977, amid a rescue effort on Kaho’olawe, Helm and Maui’s Kimu Mitchell disappeared at sea.…

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Living History

Wednesday, March 1st, 2023

Living History

By Jack Kiyonaga, Reporter

Student artwork and writing filled “The Barn” at Molokai High School on Feb. 25. The event was

the seventh annual ‘Aha Opio O Molokai, dedicated to celebrating Hawaiian culture and education. 

Student projects ranged from artwork based on Hawaiian myths, to wood working, to live action poi pounding. 

The student projects were intended to “celebrate innovation” and align with “one or more of the HA [Hawaii Dept. of Education framework] outcomes: Belonging, Responsibility, Excellence, Aloha, Total Well Being, and Hawaii,” according to the event’s website. 

The day was an opportunity for students to fully engage with Hawaiian culture and be reminded of the hard-won history by which this education came about.  …

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Makahiki, a Celebration of the Harvest

Wednesday, December 14th, 2022

Community Contributed

By Glenn I. Teves, UH CTAHR Molokai Extension Agent

In ancient Hawaii, the rising of the constellation Makali’i, also known as Pleiades or the Seven Sisters, signaled the start of the Makahiki season and the season of the harvest. Southerly storms signaled the arrival of Lono i ka Makahiki, a special season to give thanks for the bounty of food, and another year without famine. The celebration of abundance was probably the most important aspect of Makahiki, while also giving thanks to the God Lono, the god of fertility, agriculture, rain, music, and peace for blessing our fertile, fat lands or ‘aina momona. …

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Welcome Back Festivals of Aloha

Thursday, October 13th, 2022

Welcome Back Festivals of Aloha

By Jack Kiyonaga, Community Reporter 

Last Saturday, Festivals of Aloha returned to Molokai for the first time since 2019. Beneath a rising moon, the Molokai community shared in the momentous event.  

True to Festivals of Aloha’s mission to “honor Native Hawaiian culture and traditions from generation to generation, as well as share them with visitors and people from the community,” all residents came out in force to enjoy the night at the Mitchell Pau`ole Center. From keiki to kupuna, attendees gathered to eat shave ice, musubi, poke, teriyaki chicken and other local favorites, as well as watch entertainment, hula and royal traditions of the past and present. …

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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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