Celebrating Filipino American History Month

Photo by Mike Dooley

“It brings back good memories,” said Alice Kaahanui, scanning the photos for familiar faces. Across tables at the Molokai Public Library, shots from Filipino civic groups, citizenship ceremonies and passport photos were displayed.

Molokai nonprofit Ka Ipu Makani Cultural Heritage Center had invited Molokai residents to this special event in honor of October being Filipino American History Month. Many Filipino workers, called Sakatas, came to Hawaii in the early to mid-20th century to work on the pineapple and sugarcane plantations. Now representing the second largest ethnicity statewide, Filipino American History Month has been celebrated since the early 1990s.

“It was a truly inspiring evening as stories were shared and the rich Filipino heritage of the island was celebrated,” shared Ka Ipu Makani on Facebook after the event.

As part of the celebration, Molokai residents were asked to help identify people in photos for Ka Ipu Makani’s Moa’e Molokai Digital Repository. The online archive holds tens of thousands of primary source documents from Molokai’s past including yearbooks, photos, newspaper articles and more.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” explained Dr. Pulama Lima, executive director of Ka Ipu Makani.

The photos on display were part of a large archive from the 1970s and 80s on Molokai shot by Mike Dooley.

“These are mostly citizenship and passport photos,” said Dooley. He explained that Ka Ipu Makani had helped clean up the negatives and printed out the collection.

“A couple people have patted me on the back which is nice,” he said.

While many of the pictures were taken for practical usage, the shots capture a certain emotional depth — especially photos of those who have passed away.

“So many of that generation have already passed,” said Kaahanui. “The generations after us don’t really know the history of the Filipinos so much.”

As she browsed the photos, Kaahanui explained that while she didn’t always remember the names, she could recognize the family resemblance passed down through the generations.

“I couldn’t tell who it was until I saw the eyes,” said Kaahanui.

For some, the photos presented the opportunity to see past members of their families.

One woman explained that amongst the collection she found a photo of her father.

“He looks just like I remember,” she said.