Hawaiian & Pacific Collections

Hamilton Library's Science and Technology (SciTech) department recently recieved an important donation of Pacific art: a three- by five-foot piece of siapo mamanu (a.k.a. kapa , tapa or bark-cloth) made by Mary Pritchard. Pritchard is renowned in kapa-making circles as the person who almost single-handedly revived the art of siapo in American Samoa. The piece was donated by Joan Griffis, who purchased it from Mary Pritchard in the late 1960s. It now hangs in the SciTech department, on the right-side wall as you enter via the library's first floor Bridge Gallery. At the time of her siapo gift, Ms. Griffis also donated a small collection of 35mm slides to the library's Pacific Collection, which document the process of siapo making in American Samoa, circa 1967. To view these slides online and learn more about Ms. Griffis' time in American Samoa, click here . To learn more about Mary Pritchard, click here . For more information on siapo making, se...

The below is quoted directly from a notice sent out by the Center for Pacific Islands Studies: Announcing a film showing and panel discussion: The Insular Empire: America in the Mariana Islands (59 min, 2009) Date:    Sunday, 21 February 2010 Time:    4:00 pm Place: UHM Architecture Auditorium, Room 205 Located six thousand miles west of California, the Mariana Islands include the US Territory of Guam and the US Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). "The Insular Empire" is a PBS documentary about the Mariana Islands' relationship with the United States, and what it means to be a colonial subject of "the greatest democracy on Earth." Producer and director Vanessa Warheit began work on the film in 2001. The Hawai`i premiere is sponsored by the Hawai`i Council for the Humanities, the UHM Center for Pacific Islands Studies, the Hawai`i People's Fund, the UHM Department of Anthropology, AFSC Hawai`i, the UHM Marianas Club, and Pacific Isl...

I Kareran I Palabran Mami: The Journey of Our Words Poetry by Kisha Borja-Kicho'cho' and Angela "Anghet" Cruz Date: Friday, 12 February 2010 Time: 5:15 pm - 8:00 pm (seating at 4:45 pm) Place: UH Manoa Campus Center Executive Dining Room Sponsored by the UHM Center for Pacific Islands Studies, UHM Marianas Club, and Collective for Equality, Justice, and Empowerment. Click on image to view flyer.

On February 1, 2010, Dr. Karen Peacock officially retired as Curator of Hamilton Library’s Pacific Collection and Head of the Hawaiian & Pacific Collections department. Dr. Peacock's career with the UH Library spanned more than thirty years. She began in the Pacific Collection, where she briefly worked on federal grant funding before accepting a tenure-track position with the Social Sciences & Humanities reference department. She returned to the Pacific Collection in 1980 as a Pacific specialist and, in 1987, assumed curatorship of the collection upon the retirement of R. Renée Heyum. Raised in the islands of Micronesia , Karen did all of her graduate work at UH, where she earned a Masters of Library Science, an MA in Pacific Studies, and a PhD in History. As a member of the Center for Pacific Islands Studies (CPIS) faculty, she was one of the few librarians at UH with full membership in an academic program. She also served as adjunct faculty for the University’s Libr...

The below announcement was recently circulated by Prof. Terry Hunt. Please contact Prof. Hunt directly for more information. Dear Colleagues, Friends, and Students: This summer we will again offer a University of Hawaii ARCHAEOLOGICAL FIELD SCHOOL ON EASTER ISLAND ( Rapa Nui ) , 31 May to 24 June, 2010.  For details, please visit our web pages . The 6-credit field school is open to undergraduate (ANTH 381) and graduate (ANTH 668) students. No prior experience is necessary. Students will participate in survey, mapping, geophysical survey, photogrametry, museum/laboratory analyses, and training Native Rapanui high school students and community members on the island. Applications should be made through the U.H. Study Abroad program.  The application DEADLINE is 17 February 2010. For applications please visit: www.studyabroad.org Please forward this message as appropriate. Thank you very much for your assistance. Best Regards, Terry L. Hunt   Professor Director, Rapa Nu...