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4/30/2020 - The Ho‘opai Archaeology Apprenticeship will be recognized with a Preservation Programmatic Award as an innovative program that allows for hands-on learning while embracing Hawaiian culture and tradition.  It is a beautiful example of what can be accomplished by balancing traditional thought with modern technology. The Ho‘opai Archaeology Apprenticeship, described by founder Tanya Lee-Greig, principal of ‘Āina Archaeology, is a “vocational opportunity to learn archaeology through a Hawaiian lens and be equipped with the skills to protect, preserve and document Hawai‘i’s historic sites.” In Hawai‘i where land use and culture are an integral part of our values and way of life, we need to protect all that encompasses this place we call home. The mission of Ho‘opai derives from the Hawaiian word pai, which means to urge, encourage, and excite.  The program, explains Greig, aims to “urge and encourage those who join the apprenticeship to see beyond normal academic perceptions, and we want to stir up excitement about preserving our ‘āina. Like the pai fern, we are dependent upon our kumu. With these thoughts, we see Ho‘opai as a catalyst to nurture an individual’s growth, but to also deepen their roots to Hawai‘i.” It is vital, especially here in Hawai‘i, to always circle back to the mo‘olelo of those who came before us. We need to show respect for our ‘āina and that is exactly what Ho‘opai is striving to do through education and experience. A striking component of this apprenticeship is that it “allows individuals to have the opportunity to reconnect to places that would otherwise be inaccessible or unknown.” Buried deep beneath the surface, there are stories to be discovered and told. In the right hands, the history found within these places [...]

Front cover of the Francis Haar: Disappearing Honolulu exhibit brochure4/30/20: A Preservation Award in Interpretive Media will recognize Francis Haar: Disappearing Honolulu, an exhibit last fall consisting of a film and photographs at the John Young Museum of Art - University of Hawai‘i at Manoa. In the words of exhibit curator Gaye Chan, “Haar’s photographs and film are valuable documents of a not-so-distant past that capture one of Honolulu’s diverse communities in the midst of urban displacement -- a theme that remains relevant today as Honolulu undergoes another period of transformation". In the early 1960s, Hawai‘i had completed urban renewal designation and procedures that would demolish 75 acres encompassing the A‘ala Triangle and areas mauka of North Beretania Street. The redevelopment was named the Kukui District Urban Renewal Project. With demolition scheduled to start in January 1965, a trio rushed to capture on film the community of A‘ala, which until December 1941 had been the center of Honolulu’s Japanese residential community, businesses, and venues for entertainment. The trio was Stephen Bartlett, planner and reporter, Kenneth Bushnell, artist and teacher with a studio on the second floor of the iconic A‘ala Pawn Shop building, and Francis Haar, a photographer and creator of documentaries. They began their filming and documentation in November 1964 and continued through mid-January of the following year. However, due to a shortage of funding, the film was not finished until 1968. As Francis’ son, Tom recounted, “They applied for a grant to then Hawai‘i Governor John Burns who turned them down with a cynical reply as to ‘who would be interested to document this flea-infested section of old Honolulu?’” “It is a fantastic film,” said Chan, “of a style that was [...]