Honoring the Past: January is Kalaupapa Month
The community is invited to observe Kalaupapa Month through events and resources, honoring and remembering a significant episode in Hawaiʻi’s history.


Kerri Inglis, a professor of history at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, has announced this year’s events and resources for Kalaupapa Month, observed annually in January.
In an email sent to the UH Hilo ʻohana yesterday, Inglis explains that in January of 1866 the first 12 people were sent to Kalawao (on the Kalaupapa peninsula, north shore of Molokai) because of government policies related to leprosy, now known as Hansen’s disease. Between 1866 and 1969 approximately 8,000 persons were separated from their families and most were exiled to the peninsula. Ninety percent of those sent to Kalaupapa over this 103 year history were Kānaka ʻŌiwi (Native Hawaiian).
“While the suffering and challenges were many, they persevered, demonstrating their resilience, tenacity, and aloha for their lāhui [nation],” says Inglis. “Their stories can teach us much.”
Hui Mālama Makanalua — a group founded by UH Hilo students, staff, and faculty in 2014 with a commitment to honor Kalaupapa kūpuna (elders and ancestors), preserve their history, and serve the peninsula’s community — invites the university community to observe Kalaupapa Month, honoring and remembering this significant episode in Hawaiʻi’s history, through the following events:
- A Kalaupapa history exhibit is installed inside the entrance to Mookini Library (in the glass cases)
- Many books on Kalaupapa history can be found in the Edith Kanakaʻole Hawaiian Collection at Mookini Library, as well as in local bookstores and public libraries
- There are also many documentaries that share aspects of Kalaupapa’s history, including The Soul of Kalaupapa (streaming for free through byutv)
- Kalaupapa National Historical Park’s website includes many amazing images from the peninsula along with some former patients’ interviews
- Ka ʻOhana O Kalaupapa’s website offers information on reconnecting families, honoring and remembering all who were forcibly relocated to Kalaupapa since 1866
Professor Inglis, who coordinates Kalaupapa Month and other related events on campus throughout the year, has devoted her career to studying the history of leprosy in Hawaiʻi and done extensive research on patients’ experience at Kalaupapa peninsula on Molokai pre-1900. She has written a book on the topic, Maʻi Lepera: Disease and Displacement in 19th Century Hawaiʻi (2013, UH Press), which earned honorable mention for Excellence in Hawaiian Language, Culture, and History at the 2014 Ka Palapala Poʻokela Awards.
Learn more about Professor Inglis’s teaching and research.
Related stories
Honoring the Past: Ti leaf lei-making event honors leprosy patients of Kalaupapa
UH Hilo history students conduct grave marker preservation at historic Kalaupapa peninsula, Molokai
UH Hilo history students travel to Kalaupapa for service-learning project
By Susan Enright, a public information specialist for the Office of the Chancellor and editor of UH Hilo Stories. She received her bachelor of arts in English and certificate in women’s studies from UH Hilo.