Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 35, Number 7, 1 Iulai 2018 — Kalaupapa exhibit travels to Los Angeles ho'olaule'a [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Kalaupapa exhibit travels to Los Angeles ho'olaule'a

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Submitted by Ka 'Ohana 0 Kalaupapa Ka 'Ohana O Kalaupapa will display its award-winning historical exhibit at the 40th anniversary ho'olaule'a of the Hawaiian Inter-Club Council of Southern California, July 21-22. The event, whieh is expected to draw thousands of Native Hawai-

ians from around California and neighboring states, will be held at Alondra Park in Lawndale. The ho'olaule'a will feature food booths, craft and boutique vendors, hula performances and more. "We couldn't be more excited to be invited to this important cultural gathering," said Valerie Monson, executive director of Ka 'Ohana O Kalaupapa. "This gives us the ehanee to share this exhibit

with a new audience, reach more descendants of Kalaupapa and talk about our plans for The Kalaupapa Memorial." The exhibit, "A Source of Light, Constant and Never-Fading," focuses on the strong relationship between the royal family and the people of Kalaupapa along with other often forgotten chapters of this history. The exhibit, told in the words of the people of Kalaupapa and those who knew them, includes historical and modern day photos. In 2014, the exhibit was presented with a Preservation Award by Historic Hawai'i Foundation.

Ka 'Ohana O Kalaupapa is a nonprofit organization made up of Kalaupapa residents, their family members and descendants and friends of the community. The 'Ohana has been recognized for its efforts to help descendants of Kalaupapa reconnect to their ancestors. Over the past 10 years, the 'Ohana has helped more than 800 descendants of Kalaupapa learn

more about their kūpuna who were sent to Kalaupapa because of government policies regarding leprosy. The 'Ohana digital library of data from various records has information on more than 7,000 people who were sent to Kalaupapa. The biggest project of the 'Ohana is to establish The Kalaupapa Memorial that ' will list the names of those who were forc-

ibly isolated there under the old laws. The Kalaupapa Memorial Act was approved by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama. The 'Ohana has since been completing required environmental eomplianee and developing a Conceptual Design of the Memorial. It is hoped The Memorial will be dedicated in the fall of 2020. The historical exhibit that will be on display in California is a traveling version of the exhibit. A more permanent form of this exhibit is on display at 'Iolani Palaee through September 28. See the Palaee website for details. ■

Two of the panels from the exhibit, "A Source of Light, Constant and Never-Fading," by Ka 'Ohana 0 Kalaupapa thot will be on display ot the Hawaiian lnter-Club Council of Southern California's ho'olaulea loter this month. Another version of the exhibit is on display ot 'loloni Palaee through September 28. - Photo: Kawena Komeiji