New Team Members
Aloha Nūhou Monday!
Dear Reader, we are excited to announce that we have brought on two new members to our team! ʻIolani Ulii is from Papakōlea and Kapaiaʻalaopuna Earle from Mānoa. So far they are in the gradual process of learning how the Library & Archives are organized, the conventions we are using to record the condition of the newspapers, and how to carefully handle the old newspapers.
We are looking forward to great things from them. Read on below for a little more about ʻIolani and Kapaiaʻala from their short introductions describing themselves.
Image: ʻIolani Ulii
Aloha I’m ʻIolani Ulii. I was raised in Papakōlea by my loving family. From a young age, my peers & teachers at Ke Kula Kaiapuni ‘o Ānuenue became a second family to me. It was there that my appreciation and love for our ʻōlelo makuahine was naturally woven into the fiber of my being. The same could be said about hula. Hula has always been a significant part of my life and a source of healing. Currently, I serve as a community health worker for the Papakōlea homestead community. I am blessed with the opportunity to work with community families, keiki and kūpuna by doing what I love most—serving and helping others! Going outdoors to take in the beauty of nature is something my husband and I try to do often with our daughter. Hiking and tidepool exploration are among our favorite outdoor adventures. As a family we also like doing art projects, skateboarding, yoga, and spending time with ʻohana.
When I attended the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, I took a class that involved writing articles and news columns for the UHM Hawaiian Language periodical called Ka Ulu Hoi. We would also study and analyze various articles from the 19th century Hawaiian language newspapers. This experience sparked my interest in nūpepa Hawaiʻi that would manifest years later as a sudden desire to apply for a nūpepa collections technician position being offered at Bishop Museum. I knew I didn’t have any experience in working directly with actual nūpepa, but I am now able to do just that as a newly hired technician. For that I am grateful.
Working in this new capacity for the past couple of weeks has been a fascinating experience. I’ve only caught a glimpse of what archival work entails and it’s absolutely remarkable! As far as Hawaiian language newspapers, I’ve only ever seen them online or on a microfilm. And so, on the first day of the job when I laid my eyes on the delicate pages of an original nūpepa, my mind couldn’t fully comprehend the excitement and awe that I was feeling! When introduced to the process of indexing and recording, I realized the nature of this work is quite tedious yet very significant. Moreover, it is all for a good cause! Knowing that the fruits of our collective labor will be enjoyed for generations to come is at the heart of what I feel makes this work so special. I am honored to be apart of this great work and look only to put forth my best efforts as a new member of the team.
Image: Kapaiaʻalaopuna Earle
ʻO wau iho nō ʻo Kapaiaʻalaopuna Earle. No ka ua Tuahine o Mānoa mai au, a ma Honolulu au i hānai ʻia ai. Ma ke Kula Nui o Hawaiʻi ma Hilo au i puka aku ai me ke kekelē Laepua ma ka Haʻawina Hawaiʻi a me ke kekelē Laepua ma ka Mākaukaʻaʻike pū i kēlā kau Kupulau i hala iho nei ma 2021. Ua hoihoi au i ka hoʻōla ʻana aku i ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi a me ka ʻike Hawaiʻi ma ka pae ʻāina no ka mea nui nā mea i koe e aʻo ʻia. Ma waho aʻe o ka hana, ua puni au i nā hana hāʻehuola, ʻo ka hāpai hao ʻoe, ʻo ka heʻenalu ʻoe, a ʻo nā hāʻuki ʻoe. Ua koho au e noi no kēia hana, he mea ʻenehana papahana nūpepa ma ka Hale Hōʻikeʻike ʻo Pīhopa, no ka mea makemake au e kōkua i ka hoʻōla ʻana aku i ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi ma ka mea i hiki ma o ka hoʻolaha ʻana aku i nā nūpepa i laha ʻole ai i ka nui kānaka a ma ka pūnaewele. He kūlana hana kūikawā nō ia no ka mea ua hiki ke ʻike a hana me nā nūpepa maoli o ka wā kahiko, a ʻaʻole ia he mea a ke kanaka maʻamau e ʻike ai.
I am Kapaiaʻalaopuna Earle. I come from the Tuahine rains of Mānoa, and was rasied in Honolulu. I graduated from the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo with a Bachelor’s degree in Hawaiian Studies and a Bachelor’s degree in Communication in the past Spring semester in 2021. I am interested in helping to strengthen the Hawaiian language and knowledge in the Hawaiian Islands because there is so much left to learn. Outside of work, I like to live a healthy lifestyle by taking part in things like weightlifting, surfing, and sports. I chose to apply for this nūpepa collections technician position because I want to help in any way I can to strengthen the Hawaiian language such as through digitizing newspapers that are not available to the public and online. This position is very one of a kind because I am able to see and work with real newspapers from old times, and it’s not something that a normal person gets to see.
Image: Kapalaiʻula de Silva from Kamehameha Schools Hoʻokahua Cultural Vibrancy Group instructing ʻIolani and Kapaiaʻala on how to record the condition of the newspapers. In the foreground is a highly unusual blank page! (Ka Hoku o Hawaii, June 13, 1912, p. 4)
Image: Kapaiaʻala stands in front of Ka Hoku o Hawaii newspaper, turning the pages carefully as he calls out what he observes for each page as ʻIolani just as carefully records those observations. Kapalaiʻula watches on, while commenting and answering questions remotely.
