History

The Conversation recently talked with Charles Djou, who has headed up the American Battle Monuments Commission for the last two years.

A former state Director of Health on what health care reform may look like for Hawaiʻi; Longtime leader of state Legislature's Public Access Room to step down

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs is attempting to intervene in the state's selection process for curator of the Mauna ʻAla Royal Mausoleum in Nuʻuanu. OHA is urging the Department of Land and Natural Resources to pause the appointment until the agencies can review the selection process in consultation with Hawaiian beneficiaries. HPR's Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi has more.

The resting place of Hawaiian royalty has had 15 curators since the mid-1800s. A majority have been descendants of families who served aliʻi for generations. DLNR announced this week that it was breaking tradition and selecting a curator who was not a lineal descendant of these families and had not trained under previous kahu. HPR's Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi reports.

Community members in Mākena on the southeast coast of Maui are invited to take part in the construction of a traditional Hawaiian hale, or house, beginning this Friday in Waipao.

Local cemetery historian Nanette Napoleon has received a top award from the Association for Gravestone Studies in Massachusetts. She spoke to The Conversation about where her interest in cemeteries, mausoleums and graveyards began.

Nestled in a vegetated area in Mākaha, Dalani Tanahy's workspace is adorned with photographs and Hawaiian barkcloth. She grows wauke, or paper mulberry trees, not far from her property to make kapa. She's one of at least 40 kapa makers who will showcase their artistry at the Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture. HPR's Cassie Ordonio reports.

The families of five Hawaiʻi men who served in a unit of Japanese-language linguists during World War II have received posthumous Purple Heart medals on behalf of their loved ones nearly eight decades after the soldiers died in a plane crash in the final days of the conflict.

The project “We Tell Our Story: Filipino Voices in Hawaii” will be held across the state. It's an effort from the Filipino Association of University Women to document original first-person histories.

Men's aloha shirts and women's dresses are pillars of local fashion — and the focus of a new exhibit at the Honolulu Museum of Art. "Fashioning Aloha" captures the history and evolution of aloha attire and textile motifs over the last 90 years. As HPR's Cassie Ordonio reports, the curators hope visitors find the exhibit fun and nostalgic.