Cultural History Report of Mākua
Anthropologist Marion Kelly in the field
The late Marion Kelly, a renowned Bishop Museum anthropologist, was contracted by the U.S. army in 1976 to compile a cultural history report on sacred Mākua Valley in accordance with a U.S. federal government directive for the army to take stock of all properties owned or leased. The army had long denied any sacredness of Mākua, saying there was nothing of cultural value in the valley. Marion, along with researcher Sidney M. Quintal and field representative Genevieve Nahulu, not only proved otherwise, but showed how culturally vital Mākua was and is. When Marion recommended the army clean up and vacate sacred Mākua, the army refused to publish the report. Later, Marion submitted the cultural history report on Mākua as testimony in court, making it public record.
According to dmzhawaii.org: "This report helped to awaken a new generation of activists to the harm done by the military and the need to liberate Mākua from military occupation. At every chance she got, Marion reminded the public that the Army had tried to suppress the history of dispossession and struggle in Mākua."
Because of Marion's forward thinking in making this report public, and because Marion's daughter, Colleen Kelly, graciously gave Mālama Mākua her blessing to do so, we are honored to be able to present Marion's ambitious cultural history report in its entirety in a set of PDF downloads.
CULTURAL HISTORY REPORT OF MAKUA MILITARY RESERVATION AND VICINITY, MAKUA VALLEY - part I
PART I of Marion Kelly's cultural history report of sacred Mākua includes her complete cultural history report, as well as Appendices B through J. It is 193 pages, a download of a little more than 49 MB and can be downloaded by way of Tresorit secure cloud storage by clicking on a link above.
cultural history - part II: appendix A
PART II of Marion Kelly's cultural history report of sacred Mākua is Appendix A, which was bound separately from the original history report. Appendix A is a compilation of all interviews conducted in 1976 with former residents of Mākua who were forcibly removed from their land more than two decades earlier, at the beginning of the U.S. involvement in World War II. They were told the land would be given back to them six months after the end of the war. Appendix A covers 261 pages, is PDF download of nearly 122 MB and can be downloaded by clicking a link above. The file may be too large to open in a web browser, but it can still be downloaded.
cultural history report - appendices b-j
In the interest of convenience, we present Appendices B-J of Marion Kelly's cultural history report of sacred Mākua as a stand-alone download. It is 16 pages in length, a PDF download of under 5 MB, and can be accessed through a link above.
mākua means parents: a brief cultural history of mākua Valley
Twenty years after Marion Kelly, along with Sidney Michael Quintal and Genevieve Nahulu, released the expansive cultural history report on Mākua, Marion and Nancy Aleck released a condensed, 16-page report, "Mākua Means Parents," which was published by the American Friends Service Committee in December 1997. The condensed report, which included the modern struggle with the army over sacred Mākua, can be accessed through a link above. Please note: Some of the photos are distorted in the electronic version of this report.
