Students are preserving the history of the North Shore communities of Waialua and Haleʻiwa by interviewing kūpuna (grandparents, elders) from those areas. The course offered by the College’s departments of anthropology and ethnic studies is an oral history program that preserves the memories and experiences of the kūpuna for future generations.
The kūpuna, called “narrators,” shared experiences in Waialua ranging from music to genealogy to plantation work.
Students complete the course and project by producing and presenting each kūpuna with their own digital story map, which combines maps with narrative text, images, video and other multimedia content.
“If I’ve touched one person, than I think I’ve done what I set out to do,” said Judy Miner Miram, one of the kūpuna narrators and a life-long Waialua-Haleʻiwa resident. “I felt honored to share what Haleʻiwa was like in the ‘40s, ‘50s, ‘60s.”
The interviews are archived at the College’s Center for Oral History in ethnic studies.
