President Obama Signs Land Bill That Includes Congresswoman Hirono’s Kalaupapa Memorial Act
Law Now Establishes Memorial for 8,000 Hansen’s Disease Patients in Kalaupapa National Park
WASHINGTON, D.C.—President Barack Obama today signed the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, H.R. 146, which includes Congresswoman Mazie K. Hirono’s (D-Hawai‘i) Kalaupapa Memorial Act. The President invited Congresswoman Hirono and Hawai‘i Senator Daniel Akaka to attend the afternoon signing ceremony at the White House.
Congresswoman Hirono introduced the legislation that authorizes a memorial within the Kalaupapa National Historical Park on the island of Moloka‘i. Of the approximately 8,000 former patients buried in Kalaupapa, only some 1,300 have marked graves.
“The passage of this law should be a proud moment for all Americans. We will now be able to recognize the Hansen’s disease patients of Kalaupapa for the way they led dignified, inspirational lives under extremely challenging circumstances,” said Hirono. “This memorial will provide family members a place to visit and reflect since the majority of patients at Kalaupapa have been buried without grave markers.”
Congresswoman Hirono introduced the legislation that authorizes a memorial within the Kalaupapa National Historical Park on the island of Moloka‘i. Of the approximately 8,000 former patients buried in Kalaupapa, only some 1,300 have marked graves.
In a practice that began in 1866, people throughout the Hawaiian islands who suffered from, or were even suspected of having, Hansen’s disease (also known as leprosy) were forcibly relocated to Kalaupapa. This policy of exiling people to Kalaupapa continued until 1969, despite the fact the disease was treatable by the late 1940s.
Ka ‘Ohana O Kalaupapa, a nonprofit organization consisting of patient residents at Kalaupapa National Historical Park and their family members and friends, will be responsible for funding the costs that surround the construction of the memorial. The monument's location, size, design, and inscriptions must be approved by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior.
“I would like to thank the members of Ka ‘Ohana O Kalaupapa for their ongoing efforts in establishing this memorial. I will continue to work with them until the Kalaupapa Memorial becomes a reality,” said Hirono.
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