Category Archives: Uncategorized

Many of the last themes that we have posted to our website have focused on life in early 20th century Hawaiʻi and practices and traditions that survived from those times. 

ʻUluʻulu is honored to be the repository for so much visual history, and our collection continues to grow in depth and breadth. Our themes aim to showcase the richness of our fascinating resources that are open to anyone to use on their journeys of life-long learning. For more information on how to navigate our themes, check out our blog entry on that here: https://hkgarchives.org/2020/03/25/exploring-theme-pages/

Below we’ll detail a little about each of the themes that have recently been posted. You never know when you might find something really special hidden within the short clips; it pays to browse!

And there’s always so much more to learn and see in the footage beyond the clips – don’t forget to reach out to us to see more!

Transportation: Planes, Trains and Waʻa

People have utilized many different forms of transportation to get from place to place on land, across the ocean or through the air. In Hawaiʻi, of course, it’s no different – we’ve used cars, planes, trains and boats of various sorts. But, as usual, we have always done it with a unique sense of flair. 

We had fun pulling together old footage of railroads that ran on many of our islands, the grand, old cars that used to grace the often dirt roads, and scenes of Paniolo working hard on their horses. Tucked away in the frames are the gems that really make these fragments of history so valuable: from the way everyone dressed and behaved during a day out, to seeing the last day of service on the Historic ‘Oahu Railway to catching a glimpse of some of our local heroes in action. 

http://uluulu.hawaii.edu/themes/transportation

Plantation Life

This theme gives you the opportunity to peek into plantation life as according to footage taken at active plantations over the years and the stories of the people that worked them. While the sugar industry managed to survive in Hawaiʻi until very recently, life in camps has all but disappeared. This theme is an introduction to the years of footage and interviews in our collection with individuals who experienced life in the camps as cane field workers, picture brides, and even labor organizers in major movements that helped form Hawaiʻi’s labor unions. In some cases we were lucky enough to receive footage of life on the plantations, including during strikes, at that time.

Life in the plantations was incredibly difficult. This is a generation that we know we owe a great debt to, and we’re proud to be the caretakers of so many of their stories. 

http://uluulu.hawaii.edu/themes/plantation-life

Traditional Arts and Skills

This theme focuses on manual skills that are often associated with working on plantations, as well as, traditional skills that have often been passed down through generations. Some of these skills or arts have been made “obsolete” by modern technology, but nothing can ever really replace the quality and value of the work of a true master.

Armed with foresight, several of the filmmakers who have donated to our archive over the years set out to document the knowledge and stories of Hawaiʻi’s many masters.

http://uluulu.hawaii.edu/themes/traditional-arts-and-skills

We’re trying some new things on our social media pages. Please keep your eyes open for our new Staff Picks posts. Through these posts, the staff will be sharing some of their favorite clips that are available for everyone to view.

We intend to highlight the great variety of material that is available through our collection from Hawaiian Arts to the numerous cultures that are now part of the make-up of the islands.

Take a look at some of the picks we’ve already shared! Click on the images to see the corresponding clips!

If you want to see the full-length video of any of the Staff Picks, don’t hesitate to contact us and ask to stream the whole thing!

In this Spring of 2019, we here at ‘Ulu‘ulu are graced with the presence of not only one, but two interns from the Academy for Creative Media Program.  With a few months under each of their belts, they have gotten into the swing of things and have become familiar faces in the archive. During their time at ‘Ulu‘ulu, some of their duties include digital migration of tapes from various collections, setting up the archive exhibits, and verifying collection inventory and item counts. While we can go on and on about the work our interns are doing, we wanted to hear directly from Zach and Lauren about themselves and their experiences.

Could you introduce yourself and tell us what it’s like being a student in the Academy for Creative Media Program?

Zach in front of the digital video rack

Zach: Hi everyone, my name is Zachary Carlos, and I’m a senior at West Oahu’s Academy for Creative Media Program.

Being a student in the CM program is a great experience to be part of. With the classes offered in the program, I am able to further develop more towards my creative side with commercial designing and video gaming designing.

Lauren at the entrance to the archive area

Lauren: Hi, my name is Lauren Kato, I am in my final semester of the Academy for Creative Media Program at UH Manoa. The Creative Media Program is a fun and enjoyable program for people interested in creative media.

Zach scanning news log sheets from the KITV Collection

What brought you to your internship at ‘Ulu‘ulu?

Zach: I wanted to obtain some experience in an archival workplace and to understand the process of how things/materials are recorded and stored for safe keeping and future use. I would use some of the knowledge learned during my internship to be put on my resume, which would help companies I would like to apply for know that I have some knowledge in archiving important documents and such.

Lauren: As this is my last semester from the  Academy for Creative Media Program, I was thinking it would be a good idea to do an internship and my family agreed with me. My family and I were looking at different options, but my father was the one to suggest ‘Ulu‘ulu as a possible internship. With his help, we inquired with ‘Ulu‘ulu and in the end, it worked out and I was able to get an internship at ‘Ulu‘ulu.

Before you began interning at ‘Ulu‘ulu, what kind of image did the word ‘archive’ convey to you?

Zach: The image I envisioned for the word “archive” was like a vast building/collection of old materials: film, pictures, audio records, etc.  

Lauren sitting at the digitizing station

Lauren: Like most people would think, the word archive makes me think of old books, old paper documents, and even old maps.

Has that image changed by starting this internship?

Zach: The image somewhat changed, but not entirely.

Lauren: Yes, it has, the word archive does have many interpretations depending on what it is being preserved for future generations.

Please tell us about a project that you’re currently working on.

Zach digitizing footage from tapes

Zach: The project I’m currently working on is the KGMB Transcodes process. The process is basically re-coding ripped video files to a different source file by using a re-coding program. For the re-coding process, I have a batch of 10 videos to be re-coded, which takes about 20 minutes. After the 10 videos are done, I go to a spreadsheet to check how “damaged” the videos are by conducting quality control checks and damage ratings on the files.

Lauren: At ‘Ulu‘ulu, one of the projects I am helping out with is scanning old catalog index cards from the KITV News station. As for a Creative Media Project, I’m currently doing an interview assignment where I interviewed Janel Quirante about the ‘Ulu‘ulu archive.

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Thank you to Lauren and Zach for sharing those thoughts with us. We sincerely appreciate your contribution to the archive and how much it helps the work that we do.  Be proud that you were a part of preserving Hawai‘i’s moving image history!

Aloha!

‘Ulu‘ulu is a Hawaiian word for “gathering or collection,” a fitting name for Hawai‘i’s film and video archive where our collective moving image memories are preserved for future generations.

Entering our 9th year, we now boast a collection of nearly 45,000 media items that have come to us from across the State and even parts of the Continent. This year we have been fortunate to welcome 10 new collection donors whose works will enhance our media literacy efforts. But what does that mean? How can these films and videos become part of media literacy? How will they provide a learning experience?

Moving images are a valuable visual documentation of community – of places, people, events – and ‘Ulu‘ulu strives everyday to preserve, catalogue, protect and share our rich film and video heritage of Hawai‘i while making it accessible to the public.  Thanks to a recent partnership with the Hawaiian Legacy Foundation (HLF), we anticipate teachers diving into ‘Ulu‘ulu and using these resources as part of media literacy integration across all subject areas. This is exciting as our 20th century history resides on the shelves at Hawai‘i’s official moving image archive.  We cannot thank our donors enough for their moving images which have become important examples of our historiography.

We’d like to take a moment to share some of our accomplishments from 2017 with you. Click here to view the ʻUluʻulu 2017 Highlights report on our new collections, digital preservation projects, television and film premieres and more!

Mahalo nui loa for your support!

Despite the humor the activists found in the CBS documentary, they understood that as the first mainstream introduction of Hawai`i to American audiences, this documentary failed to represent the Hawaiian people, the land, and the culture that connected them both. To remedy this, activists and filmmakers came together and eventually produced the 1984 KITV program Mo`olelo o ka `Āina, which was one of the first commercial broadcasts to address Native Hawaiian issues from a Hawaiian perspective. Using Mo’olelo o ka `Āina as the foundation, Documenting Activism builds onto it by incorporating footage following the Protect Kaho`olawe `Ohana in their efforts to stop the military bombing of the island and re-establishing it as a sacred place. Together, activists and filmmakers alike preserved those first steps for the rights of Native Hawaiians.

 
Blog by Hoku Kaahaaina

October is Filipino American History Month. In honor of the event, we compiled footage from various collections in the ‘Ulu’ulu Moving Image Archive to illustrate the Filipino experience in the Hawai’i islands.

Hanapbuhay Filipina : Looking for Work in Hawaii. Victoria Keith Collection.

Description: A look at Filipino immigrant women and their problems with finding suitable employment in Hawaiʻi.

Interview with Marie C. Blanco. Daniel K. Inouye Oral History Project. Daniel K. Inouye Congressional Collection.

Description: Interview with Marie C. Blanco, Senator Inouye’s former chief of staff. This interview was recorded in Falls Church, Virginia on July 7, 2015 for the Daniel K. Inouye Oral History Project. Topics include how Blanco’s desire to work on the continental United States led to becoming a staff member, state issues and communication between Hawaiʻi and D.C. offices, becoming more familiar with Senator Inouye’s different sides over the years, aid for the Philippines and naturalization for Filipino veterans, and being on the commission for the FDR Memorial. Includes photos of Senator Inouye’s trips to the Philippines in 2006 and 2011.

Interview with worker. Ka’u Sugar: A Town Remembers production materials. Cliff Watson

Description: Retired mill operator talks about emigrating to Hawaiʻi and his thoughts on the future of Kāʻū now that the plantation is closing.

Kahului Filipino Community Association INC. Fifth Annual Miss Sampaguita Contest 1979. Michael Dooley Collection.

Description: Kahului Filipino Community Association INC. Fifth Annual Miss Sampaguita Contest. Includes dancing from the Kahului Maui Junior Catholic Club dance, speeches, and swearing in of new members.

DIALOG: Lt. Governor’s Race (1986). PBS Hawai’i. KHET.

Description: Episode of DIALOG featuring a roundtable discussion with the 1986 candidates for Lieutenant Governor. Candidates are Democrat Ben Cayetano and Republican John Henry Felix.

Interview with Norman Asuncion 5/6/98. The Great Hawai’i Dock Strike production materials. Rice & Roses production materials. CLEAR.

Description: Interview with Norman Asuncion conducted by Chris Conybeare on May 6th, 1998 about the 1949 Dock Strike. Topics include his parents immigrating to Kauaʻi to work on a plantation, being stranded on Oʻahu after the war and becoming a stevedore, the ethnic makeup of workers on the dock, benefits of the union, working and living conditions, strike assignment, the Broom Brigade, and what became of the Filipino stevedores.

Please view the Filipino American History Theme here.

Be sure to contact us to view the full footage!

This year’s theme for Hawai’i History Day is “Conflict and Compromise”. The resources selected from the ‘Ulu’ulu Archive show how community development leads to many issues that must be resolved and compromise has to be instituted to allow for a wide range of voices to be heard. Showcased are debates, news footage, rallies, and documentaries that explore how conflict arises and the avenues that allow for compromise.

Community Planning Program. Victoria Keith Prodcutions.

Description: Thomas Square. City planning. Oʻahu County. Development. Government decision making without public input. Interviews with people at a protest. Interviews with developers. City Councilmembers. Board of Water Supply. Waiʻanae. Kalihi.

Rapid Transit Roundtable. Hawai’i Public Broadcast.

Description: Program starts with people from Hawaiʻi living in the San Francisco Bay Area discussing Bay Area Rapid Transit system (BART). Continues with highlights from three roundtable discussions with comments by Governor John Waiheʻe, Honolulu Mayor Frank Fasi, Mililani State Rep. Samuel Lee, Councilmember Gary Gill Downtown/Nuʻuanu, Bob Fishman Honolulu Taxpayers for Transit Solutions, Vicki Von Stroheim-Seay V.P. Snelling-Temps, Dr. James Mak Economics Chair UH-Mānoa, Gary Rodrigues State Federation of Labor, Craig Kawahara Pearl City High School Junior, Paul Brewbaker Economist Bank of Hawaii, Darrlyn T. Bunda Leeward Oʻahu Transportation Mgt. Assn., Guy Nakamoto Stop H3, and James E. Cowen President Oʻahu Transit Services Inc.

DIALOG : The Sandy Beach Initiative: Yes or No (1988). PBS Hawai’i.

Description: Roundtable discussion about the controversy over Sandy Beach and Kaiser Development Company’s plan to build a housing subdivision. Voters in the upcoming election will be asked to vote on a plan to rezone land across from the beach from residential to preservation. Guests include two members from People Who Vote Know on Sandy Beach and two members from the Save Sandy Beach Coalition. Includes a short background video by reporter Penny Nakamura.

ENG File #4. KGMB.

Description: This ENG File contains 42 clips of news footage on a variety of topics from July 10, 1978 through September 19, 1978.

Protect Kahoʻolawe visits office of Lieutenant Governor Doi’s office with Lt. Gov. Doi circa 1977. Protect Kaho’olawe Ohana.

Description: Protect Kahoʻolawe visits office of Lieutenant Governor Doi’s office with Lt. Gov. Doi circa 1977. The group also talks to daughter of MacPhee Kahoʻolawe leasee. Crowd includes Aunty Clara Ku, Uncle Harry Mitchell, Aunty Lani Lopez Kapuni, Walter Ritte, and Loretta Ritte.

Please be sure to checkout the rest of the resources selected for the theme “Conflict and Compromise” and contact us to view the full footage!!

From August 7th to September 8th, we were very lucky to have Kathryn Antonelli as our 2017 Roselani Summer Intern! She is originally from Rhode Island and has since been adopted by Philadelphia. Kat earned a BA in Media Studies and Production from Temple University, and she is currently completing an MLIS (Masterʻs in Library and Information Science) from the University of South Carolina.

What brought you here to ‘Ulu‘ulu? What are some of the things you were hoping to learn during your internship with us?

Two main things brought me to ʻUluʻulu: its specialization in moving images, and its mission to preserve Native Hawaiian cultural history. Before I discovered my interest in the LIS field, my undergraduate program and my jobs during and after college all involved working with audiovisual materials, so I knew I wanted to continue using those skills as I “migrated” to a new field. It’s very unique to find an archive that focuses on these materials. Also, I love learning about other languages and cultures, so when I saw the post advertising the internship I had to see what ‘Ulu’ulu was all about. As I’ve gotten more experience working in archives, I’ve become aware of their potential to help marginalized groups tell their stories, and I was really drawn to the way ‘Ulu’ulu attempts to do that as inclusively and respectfully as possible.

Could you please share a little about the work you did at Princeton?

This summer has been interesting for me because I took a trip back in time as I worked. Before I came to Hawaiʻi, I was interning with Princeton Universityʻs Manuscripts Division team. There, my focus was on post-1980 born digital audiovisual materials like optical media and files on computer hard drives. That was a great experience and I unlocked some inner computer geekiness I never knew I had–believe it or not, using the command line can be pretty fascinating. Now that Iʻm here, though, Iʻm working with formats like videotape and film that mostly date between the 1950s and 1980s (although ʻUluʻulu does have film thatʻs even older, and plenty of digitized files you can check out on the website).

What projects are you working on at ‘Ulu‘ulu ?

Iʻve gotten the opportunity to do a few different things here! I finished accessioning all of the Pau Hana Years programs in our PBS Hawai’i collection, and am now working to clean up the metadata for our Juniroa collection. Iʻve also helped organize the Don Ho collection and get it on the shelves, inspected film from an incoming home movie collection, done transcoding and quality control for the KGMB collection, and worked at outreach events to let the universityʻs students know about ʻUluʻulu. Itʻs been a lot of fun getting to try my hand at different responsibilities, and learning the ins and outs of how the archive operates.

Was there anything about the videos you worked with that was surprising or unexpected?

Having taken classes in audiovisual materials, I was aware that an incredible number of formats have been produced over the years. However, getting to actually handle them and discover the differences has been entertaining and enlightening.

So you’ve been here for about a month now, what are you enjoying most about Hawai‘i?

Aside from the beauty of the land and sea, which absolutely cannot be overstated, I love how ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi is integrated into local signage and phrases. From the bus announcement requesting riders move to the rear with “please kōkua” to the signs on the beach asking visitors to “mālama ‘āina”, itʻs a constant reminder of the rich culture of this area. Although there is still progress to be made, it makes me happy to see Hawaiian ways of knowing being promoted. In fact, I created a theme for the ‘Ulu’ulu website that brings together some of our resources on the language.

Now that you have worked as a Moving Image Archivist and with Hawaiian cultural materials, what is your favorite aspect of the job and why?

I think my favorite part is the storytelling ability of the materials themselves, and knowing that my work helps to keep them available. I’ve always believed in the power of a good book, but reading about an event is completely different than seeing it happen. I find moving images and sound recordings to be incredibly powerful ways of reliving and understanding our history, and equally interesting is how they can be edited to tell the same story in different ways. I’m excited to keep working in this field and grateful that I had my first real taste of it with the staff at ‘Ulu’ulu.

‘Ulu’ulu Archive was very happy to hear that on Kamehameha Day Abraham “Puhipau” Ahmad was recognized as a Na Mamo Makamae o ka Po’e Hawai’i – Living Treasures of the Hawaiian People by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs for his pioneering work as a filmmaker. The documentaries produced by Na Maka o ka ‘Aina illustrate the strength and struggles of the Hawaiian people. Puhipau was dedicated to enlightening the world about Hawaiian history, sovereignty and aloha ‘aina.

“These kūpuna are not just keepers of the flame, they are the connection and bridge to our past,” said OHA Ka Pouhana (Chief Executive Officer) Kamana’opono Crabbe. “The more we learn from our kūpuna and apply what we learn from them, the more we maintain that bond with our ancestors, our homeland, and our identity as Kanaka ‘Ōiwi.”

Scene from “The Sand Island Story”

Puhipau was part of the events that transpired at Sand Island from September 1979 to January 1980 in which a predominantly Native Hawaiian fishing community who had moved onto the public land, creating homes, resisted eviction from the Honolulu shoreline by the State of Hawai’i. He sought to give the community a voice in hopes they would be heard and able to remain on the land. In the end, the families and structures were removed. But the struggle is remembered. The documentary “The Sand Island Story”, produced by filmmaker Victoria Keith and her partner Jerry Rochford, captured the moments that unfolded during the difficult months.

Scene from “The Sand Island Story”

After his experience at Sand Island he decided to become a storyteller through film as well, joining forces with video producer Joan Lander, whom he met during the editing of The Sand Island Story, to form Nā Maka o ka ‘Aina.

He made significant contributions to film by allowing issues that remain part of the Hawaiian experience to be explored from their perspective and give a greater understanding of what it means to be part of the Hawai’i islands.

On behalf of Puhipau and his ‘ohana, we mahalo all of the honorees today. As Puhipau used to say, we the filmmakers are not the stars: the stars are the people like you and many others in our programs who keep alive the culture and history, who string together lei of flowers and lei of islands and continents, who strive to protect sacred ancestral places, and who struggle against the powers  that be to bring about aloha ‘aina.

~Joan Lander, acceptance speech at Na Mamo Makamae o ka Po’e Hawai’i – Living Treasures of the Hawaiian People

Read full acceptance speech here.