North Shore NewsFaculty and staff at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa (UHM) are preparing to repeat the highly successful oral history project designed to sensitively document the treasured people and stories of Waialua. The UHM North Shore Ethnographic Field School will commence in Spring 2019 thus preserving the legacy of ‘aina – land and people. The Kamehameha Schools ‘Aina Ulu Program continues to be a great supporter of the field school in perpetuating ‘aina-based education.
In 2018, ten community members patiently shared their life stories and connections to places on the North Shore as the students conducted background research, learned interviewing skills, practiced audio/ video techniques, produced written transcripts, and created online Story Maps, all of which were given back to the families and shared with the community. North Shore Field School staff invite community members to join last year’s participants and students at a talk-story at the Waialua Courthouse on Saturday, October 13, from 9-11 a.m. In addition to sharing the experiences and stories gathered to date, the Field School hopes to connect with any kupuna (elders) and other North Shore residents who are interested in sharing their stories with students in the Spring 2019 semester. This year’s Field School also coincides with the relaunching of the UHM Center for Oral History, whose first work was the nine-volume 1977 collection Waialua & Hale‘iwa: The People Tell Their Story (available online). For more information about the Field School, and to view the Story Maps, please visit: http://nsfieldschool.wixsite.com/nsfieldschool . Contact Ku‘ulei Freed at afreed@hawaii.edu for more information.