Lahainaluna Native Hawaiian Boarding Students Oral History Project

Between 2022-2024, the Center for Oral History (COH) conducted a mo‘o‘ōlelo (oral history) project focused on the memories of Native Hawaiian Lahainaluna boarding students from approximately 1950-1999. Led by Dr. Ty Kāwika Tengan and Graduate Research Assistant Wailana Medeiros with support from COH Associate Director Micah Mizukami and former Director and Professor Emerita Davianna Pōmaikaʻi McGregor, more than twenty interviews were conducted across the Paeʻāina (Hawaiian Islands) and nineteen were made available to publish. This project was generously funded by the HK West Maui Fund and would not have been possible without the support of the Lahainaluna Boarders Association and the Lahainaluna Library and Archives.

Lahainaluna High School was first established as Lahainaluna Seminary at the foot of Puʻu Paʻupaʻu in 1831 by American missionaries to create an educational system for the larger population and is recognized as the oldest high school west of the Mississippi River. Esteemed Native Hawaiian scholar David Malo was one of the first graduates from Lahainaluna. He later became a leading historian and pivotal scholar in the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, and is the namesake of the David Malo Dormitory and David Malo Day celebrated annually at Lahainaluna. In 1849 Lahainaluna Seminary transitioned from a private mission seminary to a public institution of higher education and was later put under the Hawaiian Monarchy's direct control during King Kamehameha III's reign. Today, Lahainaluna is one of only two public boarding schools in Hawaiʻi, and continues to honor its nearly two-century-old legacy. There have been many challenges that the boarding department has faced in recent years, which has led the Lahainaluna Boarders Association to advocate for their history to be told. As more and more of the interviews for this project were conducted, the rich history and value of this program shone through, emphasizing the need for their stories to be documented and shared.

COH students Shayla Spotkaeff and Urban Halpern assisted with transcription support, along with Danielle ‘Ānela Smith who assisted with camera and recorder work. We would also like to aloha Jerome Kahele, Umi Perkins, Kahu Anela Rosa and Napili Surf Beach Resort, Jen Mather, Kawehi Kina, Jacquelyn Cabarrubio, and ES 221 Spring '24 students for their kāko‘o in this project. Most importantly we want to thank our oral history narrators and the Lahainaluna and greater Lahaina community. We cannot mahalo you enough for your support, warmth, love, and vulnerability. E ola mau e Lahaina, e ola mau e Lahainaluna!

A StoryMap was created to share the experiences of the narrators interviewed for this project. Here's a link to the StoryMap:

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/3ceadaad7f5c491cb408106fc781e3b2