Paper short abstract:

I will discuss end-of-life _in_ Kalaupapa (Hawai'i) through one of its long-time inhabitants affected by leprosy, Ambrose Hutchison, as well as _of_ Kalaupapa, from a place of incarceration that became a home for many to a place of memory, contemplation, and celebration of resourcefulness.

Paper long abstract:

Kalaupapa’s destiny as a place of exile of people affected by leprosy has been always been linked to end-of-life, and its many cemetaries are reminders. Kalaupapa also developed into a place where life became very central, and a sense of home and community prevailed. Nowadays, the end of life of this community is however prevailing.In this paper I will discuss end-of-life in Kalaupapa through the case of one of its most prominent inhabitants, Ambrose Hutchison, who left a rich manuscript detailing important events of his life in the Kalaupapa community, a grave in memory of his wife (but no grave of himself), and a memory of some of the finest oranges to be found. His afterlife can be placed next to many more who left traces in the landscape, in the cemetery, and in their biographical writings. His afterlife is also opening up the social lines of demarcation between the living and the dead, the colonized and the colonizers, the administrators and the administered, as well as the potential for memory, ritual, and reconciliation.I will also discuss the end-of-life of Kalaupapa itself, namely three phenomena that accompany the end-of-life, as a process of museology, concentrating on the lands, infrastructures, and rules/policies. In particular, I will focus on (1) the building of a memorial at Kalaupapa; (2) the building of a Damien & Marianne of Moloka’i Education Center; and (3) the policies of transition towards a future without any (former) patients.