He Aupuni Palapala
Cover Image: Detail of front page of the January 1, 1862 issue of Ka Nupepa Kuokoa. Photo by David Franzen, ©2009 Bishop Museum Archives. QM 204791.
He Aupuni Palapala: Preserving and Digitizing the Hawaiian Language Newspapers is an ambitious, multi-year collaboration between Bishop Museum and Awaiaulu, supported by the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority and with contributions from Kamehameha Schools. Its goals are to catalog the existing nūpepa (Hawaiian language newspapers) in public repositories in Hawaiʻi, recording the condition of each page. It will also redigitize and partner with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Papakilo Database to make word searchable the clearest pages available and to upload them online for free public access.
The Hawaiian language newspapers total more than 100,000 pages of text, encompassing practically all aspects of Hawaiian life, culture, literature, environment, and history—told in the words of Hawaiians of the day.
Aole o’u makemake e paio aku, he makemake ko’u e pololei ka moolelo o ko’u one hanau, aole na ka malihini e ao mai ia’u i ka mooolelo o ko’u lahui, na’u e ao aku i ka moolelo i ka malihini.
[I have no desire to argue, I want the history of my homeland to be accurate; it is not for the foreigner to teach me the history of my people, it is for me to teach it to the foreigner.]
—S. M. Kamakau, “Hooheihei ka Nukahalale…” Ke Au Okoa, 10/16/1865, p. 1
Aole o’u makemake e paio aku, he makemake ko’u e pololei ka moolelo o ko’u one hanau, aole na ka malihini e ao mai ia’u i ka mooolelo o ko’u lahui, na’u e ao aku i ka moolelo i ka malihini.
[I have no desire to argue, I want the history of my homeland to be accurate; it is not for the foreigner to teach me the history of my people, it is for me to teach it to the foreigner.]
—S. M. Kamakau, “Hooheihei ka Nukahalale…” Ke Au Okoa, 10/16/1865, p. 1
Detail of front page of the January 1, 1862 issue of Ka Nupepa Kuokoa. Photo by David Franzen, ©2009 Bishop Museum Archives. QM 204791.
New Team Members
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.
A Place to Instruct and to Record History
The Hawaiian language newspapers were a place used for instruction and for the recording of history. There are famous contributors whose accounts have been translated and published in books, like Samuel Mānaiakalani Kamakau.
Welo Hou, New Exhibit at Bishop Museum
There is a new exhibit in Bishop Museum’s Picture Gallery. It features the Helen Roberts Collection of mele which were collected across the archipelago in the early 1920s from people who still retained them.
Ka Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea
This past Saturday, July 31 was the 179th Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea, or Restoration Day. How did you commemorate the day?
Timeless Advice
The Hawaiian language newspapers would often give advice to the lāhui. The newspapers would discuss topics that were important at the time.
Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole, Hawaiian Homes, and the mele “Kalamaʻula”
This is the 100th anniversary of the passing of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, championed by Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole.
Missing Pages, Missing History
While there are pages and pages of Hawaiian language newspaper available online with a line here or a column there that are illegible, there are papers with entire issues or even years missing.
Names and Connections and Sometimes Photos
These days there is a lot of genealogical information online—some can only be accessed for a fee, while a few sources are available at no cost. The Hawaiian language newspapers can be freely searched online.
New Team Members
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.
A Place to Instruct and to Record History
The Hawaiian language newspapers were a place used for instruction and for the recording of history. There are famous contributors whose accounts have been translated and published in books, like Samuel Mānaiakalani Kamakau.
Welo Hou, New Exhibit at Bishop Museum
There is a new exhibit in Bishop Museum’s Picture Gallery. It features the Helen Roberts Collection of mele which were collected across the archipelago in the early 1920s from people who still retained them.
Ka Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea
This past Saturday, July 31 was the 179th Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea, or Restoration Day. How did you commemorate the day?
Timeless Advice
The Hawaiian language newspapers would often give advice to the lāhui. The newspapers would discuss topics that were important at the time.
Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole, Hawaiian Homes, and the mele “Kalamaʻula”
This is the 100th anniversary of the passing of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, championed by Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole.
Missing Pages, Missing History
While there are pages and pages of Hawaiian language newspaper available online with a line here or a column there that are illegible, there are papers with entire issues or even years missing.
Names and Connections and Sometimes Photos
These days there is a lot of genealogical information online—some can only be accessed for a fee, while a few sources are available at no cost. The Hawaiian language newspapers can be freely searched online.
