UH Manoa Center for Oral History marks 50-year anniversary

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Center for Oral History is celebrating 50 years of preserving Hawaii’s stories.

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Since its founding, the center has archived more than 1,200 first-person accounts from Native Hawaiian and local communities, documenting historic events, cultural traditions and everyday life.

The center said those recordings help preserve knowledge that can otherwise disappear as generations pass.

“It is truly an honor,” said Center for Oral History Director Mary Kunmi Yu Danico. “And I think we have this responsibility, this kuleana, to ensure that the stories are not only captured and preserved but are still shared.”

To mark the anniversary, the center is hosting workshops, community consultations and outreach events across the state through November.

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Events include a livestream tied to a Museum of Korean Emigration exhibit on Sept. 22, a 50th anniversary celebration on Oct. 16 and the launch of a Kahoolawe Aloha Aina Oral History Project later this fall. Additional events are planned on Kauai and online in November.

Danico said preserving oral histories is especially important because personal memories and experiences can be lost when people are gone.

“Preserving these oral histories is not just the right thing to do, but it’s a critical need for ourselves and our identity and our moving forward,” she added.

For more information about the upcoming anniversary events, visit the COH website.

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