The first program in the speaker series of the Bishop Museum’s exhibition on “The Healer Stones of Kapaemahu” delves into the historical findings and artistic choices of the curators, including details about the first written version of the moʻolelo, its loss, its rediscovery deep in a library archive, and its restoration — all in the context of the rise of tourism, militarization, and the erosion of Hawaiian cultural identity throughout the 20th century.

This program also begins to address the question that many people are asking: “Now that this hidden history is becoming known, will the plaque at the site of the monument intended to honor the healers be updated to include that fact that being mahu was and is intrinsic to their healing abilities?”

Speakers include:

— Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, exhibition co-curator, Kanaka Maoli teacher, cultural practitioner, and community leader

— Dean Hamer, exhibition co-curator and Emmy and GLAAD media award-winning filmmaker

— Joe Wilson, exhibition co-curator, Emmy award-winning filmmaker, community advocate

— DeSoto Brown, exhibition lead curator and Bishop Museum Historian and Curator of the Archives