HEA Project Team

Dr. Noelani Arista Ph.D.

Lead Researcher

Dr. Noelani Arista is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Hawaiʻi, specializing in the history of Hawaiʻi and the U.S. Her first book, The Kingdom and the Republic: Sovereign Hawaiʻi and the Early United States drew upon Hawaiian and English language documents in order to reconfigure a familiar colonial history of trade, proselytization and negotiations over law and governance in Hawaiʻi. Her work is significant for providing methods for how to research in Hawaiian language textual sources, disrupting the historiography of early Hawaiian encounter between missionaries, sailors, traders, aliʻi and Hawaiian people. Her book was awarded the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association (NAISA) Best First Book Award in 2020. Hawaiian Mission Houses members will recognize Dr. Arista as a featured scholar in our 2019 New England tour commemorating the 200th anniversary of the Pioneer Company of missionaries’ departure.

"The current IMLS project provides another opportunity for me to work with archivists and students to familiarize ourselves with the HEA papers, to transcribe, organize and contribute biographical and subject heading content to improve access to the rich Hawaiian language archival collections held by the Hawaiian Mission Houses Archives for the community."

Marilyn Reppun

Archives and Library Consultant

Marilyn Reppun is a consultant working on the project and former Head Librarian at the Hawaiian Mission Houses. Marilyn is truly an invaluable resource on this project. Her wealth of expertise and experience in Library and Information Science help tremendously in organizing 1000+ files and creating detailed metadata, and preparing materials for our transcribers. Her knowledge of the Hawaiian Language and 19th and 20th-century Hawaiian History are paramount to this project. We want to thank her for all of the work she continues to do to make this collection organized and accessible to all for years to come.

Carol Silva

Archives and Records Management Consultant

Carol brings her vast experience in the field of Archives, Library and Information Science. She worked as a managing Archivist at the Hawaii State Archives for many years and has researched and written numerous reports on aspects of history and culture. As a Hawaiian Language speaker and with her experience as a writer Carole has translated and interpreted 19th and 20th century documents. She also teaches ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi classes in the community. Carol is not only helping HMH organize the 1000+ files, she is also helping evaluate the digital files to ensure accurate representation of the collection. Carol’s knowledge and passion for this work are essential to the continuation of this project and we want to thank her for all of the work she continues to do on this project. Her contribution is priceless.

Kelsey Karsin

Curator of Archives/Librarian

Kelsey was born in Honolulu and spent her childhood in Kula, Maui. She went to high school on Oʻahu and completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. In 2013 Kelsey completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts, specializing in printmaking at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. In 2012 she got a job as Office Registrar at the Honolulu Museum of Art School and worked there for six years. In 2018 Kelsey went back to school to get her Masters in Library and Information Science from the San Jose State University and graduated this past May 2020. She has been Curator of Archives/ Librarian at the Hawaiian Mission Houses since May 2020. She also did a remote internship at the Chicago Button Museum during her time in grad school, where she helped digitize and manage a vast online collection of objects. Kelsey’s background in art and museum, library, and archival studies, make her so excited to work on this project. Kelsey is passionate about archival practices, preservation, and information accessibility. She has already learned so much about Hawaiian history and the Hawaiian Mission Houses while working alongside Dr. Arista, Marilyn Reppun, and Carol Silva. The archival process of organizing these files has shown her what a special collection it is, and she is excited to help make this impressive collection more accessible.

Ami Mālie (Ishihara) Mulligan

HEA Project Coordinator

Ami Mālie (Ishihara) Mulligan was born in Honolulu, raised in Kapolei, and currently resides in Mililani town. She received her B.Sci. in biology from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (Honolulu, Hawaiʻi), and received her M.A. in history with a focus on public history through American Public University. She is currently a Ph.D. student in the Department of History at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Her focus is on 19th and early 20th century histories of Hawaiʻi and the connections between Hawaiʻi and the world, and in particular how social processes shaped and were shaped by various conceptions of health, race, gender, and empire. Mulliganʻs dissertation research will shed light on these particular intersections through a history of marriage in Hawaiʻi. In her capacity as project coordinator for the HEA Project, she hopes to contribute what she has learned in previous endeavors, including her various experiences as a professional genealogist, compilation of a finding aid for portions of the Hawaiʻi Sugar Planters Association archive, and most recently putting together a history and compiling a report for the Battle of Nuʻuanu for the American Battlefields Protection Program. She is excited to work on this project because of its intersection between history and public history and how it directly impacts the way that it impacts how Hawaiian history can be understood.

Mauliola Watson

Transcriber

Mauliola Watson was born in Līhuʻe on the island of Kauaʻi and currently resides in Honolulu. He received his B.A. in Business Administration in Management at the Shidler College of Business at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (Honolulu, Hawaiʻi). Watson has previously worked with Dr. Arista on a database management project involving the transcription of kanikau. Watson is interested in this project to develop a deeper understanding of the discourse in Hawaiʻi’s history.

Sarah Tamashiro Kuaiwa

Transcriber

Sarah (Tamashiro) Kuaiwa was born and raised in ‘Aiea in the Kona district of O’ahu. Kuaiwa completed her B.A. cum laude in Art History and Visual Arts from Occidental College (Los Angeles, Calif.) She received her M.A. in History from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (Honolulu, Hawaiʻi) with a focus in Hawaiian History. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Hawaiian Art History at the University of East Anglia (Norwich, UK) where she is the Robert Sainsbury Scholar at the Sainsbury Research Unit. Her research focuses on Hawaiian fashion economics and social history. She is also a professional genealogist. Kuaiwa’s Master’s research focused on Hawaiian Christianities and the establishment of the Anglican Church in Hawai’i. She looks forward to learning about the Congregationalist faith in the islands as it relates to her Ph.D. research, in particular fashion, women’s work and education. Kuaiwa is excited by the project because a number of individuals who have correspondence folders in the HEA files are kamaʻāina [familiar] to her.

Lewyllen Kulani Fragas, Jr.

Transcriber

Ua hānau ʻia ʻo Lewyllen Kulani Fragas, Jr. ma Hilo, Hawaiʻi, a noho ʻo ia ma laila i kēia manawa. Ua kō ʻo ia i kāna kekele B. A. i ka Haʻawina Hawaiʻi a me ke Kālai ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi. ʻO kona noiʻi hoihoi ʻo ka huli ʻana i lauana, nane, a me ka hoʻohālikelike ʻana i nā mea ma nā ʻano kākau kahiko. Aia kona ʻike i ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, a hiki iā ia ke heluhelu i ka lima hiō, no ka mea, ma kona wā i hele ai i ke kula nui, nui nā haʻawina kālailai nūpepa. Hoihoi ʻo ia i kēia hana ma muli o ka leʻaleʻa nō ka heluhelu a kālailai i nā ʻano kākau o ka wā kahiko. No ka mea, ma ia manawa, ʻaʻole i kūmau ka ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi a ʻokoʻa ke kākau ʻana o kēlā me kēia kanaka. I loko nō o kēia hana, huli ʻo ia i nā lauana o ke kākau a hoʻohālikelike in ā lāliʻi like ʻole i hiki iaʻu ke hoʻomaopopo i nā mea kākau. He makuakāne ʻo ia o ʻekolu mau keiki, a hele lākou a pau i Ke Kula ʻo Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu ma Keaʻau. (Kanaka Maoli).