Effort to honor Kalaupapa patients with permanent memorial moves forward

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A long-awaited memorial to honor Kalaupapa’s Hansen’s Disease (leprosy) patients took another step forward.

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The Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) heard testimony Friday on issuing a right-of-entry permit to Ka ‘Ohana O Kalaupapa, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving the settlement’s history.

According to the state Department of Health, during the mid-1860s, the Kalaupapa Settlement was designated by the Hawaiian Kingdom as an isolation colony for people with leprosy. Leaders at the time believed that removing those who may have been sick would prevent the spread of the disease.

The state said more than 8,000 people were forcibly exiled to Kalaupapa until the isolation order was lifted in 1969.

In 1980, after deliberation, civic input and at the request of patient residents, Congress established the Kalaupapa National Historical Park, the state said.

In 2009, then-President Barack Obama signed the Kalaupapa Memorial Act, which authorized the organization to establish a memorial listing the names of those who were sent to the peninsula because of government policies regarding leprosy.

Ka ‘Ohana O Kalaupapa’s proposed memorial site consists of about 6 acres mauka of Saint Philomena’s Church.

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“Less than 1,000 of the 8,000 deceased patients have identifiable graves. For 41 years, Kalaupapa residents have repeatedly expressed their desire for a memorial in tribute to the deceased and a place for the descendants to heal,” said Honolulu resident Kehau Puana Hatsell.

Supporter Reece Kilbey said it’s also time for the future generation to help get involved.

“Our young people are here, we want to be involved. We want to get this done because not everyone is going to be around forever, and there’s two thousand people buried there in unmarked graves,” Kilbey said.

“It’s important that we who are living now and future generations be inspired by the 8,000 patients who lived, worked and loved there despite their many physical and emotional burdens,” said Bishop Emeritus Larry Silva.

Ka ‘Ohana O Kalaupapa is trying to secure funding through a grant from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the DOH for the memorial.

“It would be really nice one day to be able to return and have a place to sit, at a structure with a name, that honors the lives of my and our ancestors,” said Diane Ako, who is the great-granddaughter of a Kalaupapa patient.

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The nonprofit hopes to complete it before the remaining four patients pass away.