Haleakalā National Park ⓘ

This webpage presents the results of a Hawaii-Pacific Islands Cooperative Research Studies Unit project carried out in 2021 and 2022 by researchers from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Center for Oral History and NPS staff. As part of its commitment to conservation of natural and cultural resources, the park actively engages with the Native Hawaiian and local communities and respects their input whenever and wherever possible. Through three phases of work, the oral history team interviewed 18 present and past park staff and community members with close ties to Haleakalā National Park. The kumu (purpose) of the project was to explore the history of early park natural resource management, as well as the history of park lands in Kaupō and Kīpahulu through the voices of people who have worked in and experienced the park over many years.

Phase I interviews focused around the park’s decision in the late 1970s to build a series of fences around the perimeter of the park to exclude feral ungulates (goats, pigs, deer and cattle), preserve native habitat, and care for native wildlife. The park decision to build and maintain what is now 54 miles of fence lines is meant to perpetuate Hawaiian places, place names and mo‘olelo (stories) by preserving the native plants, animals, and habitats protected by the fences. The oral history team focused on this fence-building effort throughout the interviews to understand the challenges and outcomes of the effort.

Phase II and III interviews interviewed many of the narrators from Phase I to delve deeper into their stories. In addition, 5 new narrators were interviewed. These interviews centered around the narrators’ stewardship of the lands of Kaupō and Kīpahulu, as well as the Native Hawaiian cultural stories, insights, and concepts shared by these narrators and gathered through their close relationships with the lands that now comprise Haleakalā National Park.

The interviews for this project were conducted by Alana Kanahele, graduate research assistant at the Center for Oral History at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Interviews were conducted online via Zoom from February to April, 2021, November 2021, and April 2022. In-person interviews were conducted on Maui in May, June, and November 2021, and September and October 2022. Rachel Hodara Nelson helped conduct the interviews with Legario "Hanky" Eharis and Carl "Soot" Bredhoff. Interview sessions lasted between one to three hours. The interviews followed a life history approach, and question guides were designed specific to each narrator following an unrecorded pre-interview. Narrators were asked about their personal background, connection to Haleakalā, relationship to the national park, role in stewarding the land, Native Hawaiian cultural practices, and hopes for the future of Haleakalā. During the interviews, narrators were also asked to identify the locations they worked within the park or areas that they had a personal connection to on maps. Kanahele transcribed the interviews almost verbatim. NPS Kupu Intern Emily Creek transcribed the interviews of Legario "Hanky" Eharis and Walter Pu. The transcripts were then sent to narrators for their review, edits and approval. NPS staff also reviewed the transcripts and redacted any sensitive information related to park operations. The transcripts are edited slightly for clarity and historical accuracy by the narrators. Micah Mizukami filmed the interviews and Katie Matthew edited all of the videos to ensure they were accessible (508-compliant). The transcripts and archival documents associated with the project may be accessed via the UH Mānoa ScholarSpace: ScholarSpace at University of Hawaii at Manoa: Akāka Wale o Haleakalā: Haleakalā Stands in Full View & Kuahiwi Nui Haleakalā, He Inoa no ke Akua

Even if it doesn’t appear so, Haleakalā is a fragile landscape. It is home to a variety of plant and animal species found nowhere else in the world. Haleakalā is also home to a large number of significant cultural sites. From mauka to makai (mountain to sea), these areas have been important and central to the vibrant culture of daily Hawaiian life and ceremony for centuries. These sites remain significant to Native Hawaiians today. Haleakalā National Park manages archeological sites in situ (in place) throughout all areas of the park. The park also cares for a number of artifacts in the Haleakalā Museum.

Preserving cultural resources and archeological sites: Archeological sites can easily be disrupted by theft, vandalism, and unauthorized public visitation. Archeological sites and Native Hawaiian burials are protected by several laws in the United States and in Hawaiʻi. Without meaning to do harm, many visitors feel the need to stack rocks, leave memorials (e.g., crosses, lei, photographs), carve their names on things, go off-trail exploring, or otherwise disturb places they visit here at Haleakalā National Park.

Many of the areas that visitors accidentally disturb contain archeological resources. Collecting artifacts or disturbing archeological materials in general, limits our ability to learn more about the past. If you find an artifact or other archeological materials, leave it in place and report the discovery to park staff or contact the Park Archeologist at ph# (808) 572-4424.

Federal law prohibits the excavation, removal, damage, alteration or defacement of an archeological resource in Haleakalā National Park, without a valid permit. The Archeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) of 1979 was enacted to secure for the present and future benefits of the American people, the protection of archeological resources on public and Indian lands. Prohibited activities can result in large fines and jail time for violators.

The summit of Haleakalā is a wahi pana - a legendary place. And as wao akua (realm of the gods), the summit area has been a place of pilgrimage, ceremony, and intentional resource extraction since the first peoples arrived on Maui from the ancient homeland. Kahuna (priests) conducted protocols, Hoʻokele (navigators) studied the movements of the stars, and kākoʻi (adze makers) created well-crafted tools. These specialists left behind structures and remnants of their tasks—giving us today a deeper understanding to the importance of this sacred mountain. The first archeological research to take place within the park was conducted by anthropologist Kenneth P. Emory in the 1920s. You can read more about their specific findings and the assistance and knowledge of their guide kānaka maoli (Native Hawaiian) scholar Thomas Kananiokeaupunimalamalama Maunupau in our exhibits page: Early Archeology of Haleakalā Archeological resources in the Summit district and wilderness areas include:

Preserving archeological artifacts The Summit District houses artifacts that cannot be kept in situ safely. At the Haleakalā Museum the Museum staff ensure that these resources are well cared for and available for viewing and study.

Archeological Sites in Kīpahulu: Coastal surveys indicate at least 300 archeological features in Kīpahulu. Radiocarbon dating indicates that Kīpahulu was settled sometime between A.D. 1161-1384. The first archeological surveys in the district conducted for the National Park Service was done by Lloyd J. Soehren of the Bishop Museum in 1963. The goal was to re-locate sites identified in the 1930s by W.M. Wakter who surverys on behalf of the Bishop Museum. Soehren stated that,

“Most house sites, agricultural terraces and ditches [etc] were demolished by the operations of a sugar plantation. The majority of those which survive today [… ] are probably contemporaneous with the plantation, which closed about 1923” (Soehren 1963:22). Soehren further stated that,“ Th e dense, frequently impenetrable brush which covers most of the abandoned land of Kipahulu and the gulches of eastern Kaupo undoubtedly conceal other structures .”

The Kīpahulu coastal settlements consisted of unirrigated rain-fed gardens that supported traditional Hawaiian staple vegetables of kalo (taro) and ʻuala (sweet potato), among numerous other crops. The area has an abundance of marine resources, and fishers used various hooks and lines to capture primarily benthic and pelagic fishes. The marine technology associated with this method of fishing included a variety of rotating and jabbing fishhooks, along with trolling lures and points.

"Sites of Maui" by Elspeth P. Sterling, published in Honolulu in 1998 by Bishop Museum Press.

Coming from a tradition of voyaging expertise and canoe making, Polynesians from the area now known as the Marquesas Islands were the first humans to visit and settle the Hawaiian Islands between 1000- 1200 AD. Keen observers of natural phenomenon such as the stars, migratory birds, ocean currents, rainbows, and whales, Polynesians crossed over 2,000 miles of ocean in double-hulled canoes called “Waʻa.” These voyagers were not alone. They also brought along many animals and plants to help sustain them at their new homes: puaʻa (pigs), ʻilio (dogs), and moa (chickens); the roots of kalo (taro) and ʻuala (sweet potato); the seeds and saplings of niu (coconut), maiʻa (banana), ko (sugar cane), and other edible and medicinal plants. After a time of traveling between the Hawaiian Islands and other islands in the Polynesian Triangle, contact with other islands ended. During the following nearly 500 years, a unique Hawaiian culture was developed.

During this time, the social heirarchy was delineated into a strict caste system. At the top of this social pyramid were rulers known as Aliʻ i (chiefs.) On the next rung below the Aliʻ i were the kahuna (professionals,) who were experts on the spiritual realm, medicines, canoe-building, and rituals. Below them were the maka ʻainana (commoners) who farmed, fished, built homes, and paid taxes to the Aliʻi. The lowest rung were the kauwa (outcasts and slaves.) Kauwa were villagers who ran afoul of an Aliʻi or kahuna, or were war prisoners. Hawaiians lived by a strict set of laws known as kanawai. Certain people, places, and things were kapu (forbidden.) Kapu established rules for behavior. For example, women and men ate separately. Also, women were forbidden from eating certain foods such as pork, coconuts, and bananas. Kapu also ensured the conservation of resources with restrictions on the amount and types of fish caught, the amount and types of seeds planted, and the harvesting of crops. Any breaking of Kapu rules could result in punishment by death or becoming a kauwa. Daily life for a villager was varied and consisted of tasks to ensure the survival of the community. Villagers engaged in fishing, collecting seaweed, salt, and shellfish at the shoreline while raising dogs, chickens, and pigs in their farm plots. Men and women each had separate daily tasks as well. Men pounded kalo into poi, while women beat the bark of the wauke (paper mulberry) into kapa (bark cloth.) The villagers also worshipped akua (gods) and told moʻolelo (stories) of their history through mele (song,) oli (chant,) and hula (dance.) Through the generations, these traditions were passed down. The rhythms of daily life were interrupted when the period of contact with the outside world began after the arrival of Captain James Cook in 1778. Even though Hawaiians past and present fight to preserve elements of their culture, the islands will never quite be the same. Explore more on Hawaiian culture through our ethnographic collection .

Prior to European contact Native Hawaiian rulers divided the Hawaiian Islands into distinct political regions. On each of the four larger islands: Kaua'i, O'ahu, Maui, and Hawai'i, lands were divided into wedge-shaped districts called moku .

The moku were further divided into land sections called ahupua'a . Ahupua'a were often bounded by ridgelines and typically encompassed an entire valley from mountain summit to outer reef. This type of land division allowed for each ahupua'a to contain nearly all of the resources that its inhabitants required for survival.

The island of Maui is divided into twelve moku , eight of which intersect within Haleakalā National Park. On the northeast edge of Haleakalā Crater the upper ends of the moku converge into one point, called Pōhaku Pālaha - understood in the literal sense as meaning a smooth or flattened rock. It may also be described as the center from which eight districts of East Maui originate and "spread out" from.

For some Native Hawaiian's the Pōhaku Pālaha is also a representation of the concept of the piko . The piko , or belly-button, is considered a very sacred part of a person's body by Native Hawaiian's, and the Pōhaku Pālaha is considered by some to be the piko for the island of Maui.

Between 1934 and 1941 the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) operated work camps at Haleakalā. The CCC was a federally funded work relief program designed to generate income for young unemployed men during the Great Depression. The CCC focused on utilizing the young labor force for natural resource conservation and creating and improving public works. Much of their work was carried out in the nations Parks and forests, and it has been estimated that 3 billion trees were planted by CCC enrollees throughout the United States.

Here at Haleakalā National Park the CCC was engaged in a variety of projects. CCC enrollees removed invasive plants and feral animals such as pigs and goats, constructed the Pā Ka‘oao (White Hill), Keoneheʻeheʻe (Sliding Sands), and Halemau'u trails, and built some of the frontcountry structures still used by park employees today.

Whatever the CCC did not haul in on their backs was hauled in by mules. The CCC used mules to pack in heavy material and supplies, including lumber and gravel for the crater cabins and trails, and food to feed the CCC boys living in the crater camps at Hōlua, Kapalaoa, and Palikū. Rex Ornellas, CCC enrollee at Haleakalā for two seasons from 1934 to 1937, recalls the use of mules and horses to haul redwood staves to the bottom of the crater for construction of the water tanks: "We assembled [those] water tanks. You know what water tanks look like? They all staves. Hundreds of um and 5,000-gallon tank…And the cable around them. All of that had to be hauled down to the crater –three different locations. So this is what we did –the first camp. Like I said, after a few months, I went to work with the animals –horses and mules. The rest of the boys, they worked on the trails. They hauled supplies on their backs. The mules hauled a lot, but the men also hauled a lot that they could handle on their backs (from Civilian Conservation Corps in Hawai'i: Oral Histories of the Haleakalā Camp, Maui , 2011: Appendix B, p13).

Seabury Hall Middle School produced a short film on the continuing use of pack mules at Haleakalā National Park, which aired on PBS Hawaii's HIKI NŌ television program in April of 2016. Click here to watch the 3 min film.

The Māui myths are known to many cultures throughout the pacific. His most famous deeds include fishing up islands, obtaining fire, and snaring the sun. The version told here in Hawaiʻi of Māui capturing and slowing ka lā (the sun) involves Hale-a-ka-lā , the house-of-the-sun. The natural phenomena of the sun’s movement across the sky is explained in the Hawaiian mo‘olelo of Māui snaring the sun. Long ago the sun ran quickly across the sky. There was hardly any time to prepare and cook food, and even a prayer to the gods could not be finished before darkness fell. Māui’s mother Hina had trouble drying her kapa , the bark-cloth that was the only source of clothing and bedding in Hawaiʻi. Kapa is created from the bark of the wauke plant, beaten and processed. Before it can be worn it must be dried in the sun, and the sun passed over so quickly that by the time Hina had laid it all out, it was dark and she had to gather them back up again. Māui decided to make the sun go slower, so he climbed to the top of the ridges of Iao valley to track the path of the sun. He saw that the sun came up the eastern side of Haleakalā, and crossing the plain and climbing the mountain he watched the sun come up from Koʻolau, and passed over the top of the mountain. After figuring out the path of the sun Māui returned to his mother Hina and told her of his plan to slow down the sun. She gave him fifteen strong cords and told him to find the place where a large wiliwili tree grows on Haleakalā, that is where his grandmother lives, and the sun stops there to eat bananas cooked by his grandmother. He must wait until the rooster crows three times, and when his grandmother comes out to prepare the bananas, he must steal them. When she looks for them she will find him, and when he identifies himself as the son of Hina she will help him.Māui climbed back up Haleakalā to Kaupō and found the wiliwili tree. After the rooster crowed he saw his grandmother come out with a bunch of bananas. She laid them down as she went about her preparations, and Māui stole the bananas easily, as his grandmother was blind. When she reached for them and found them gone she cried out, and though blind she sniffed around and scented a man, asking who was there. Māui replied that he was the son of Hina, and he’d come to kill the sun for going too fast that the kapa Hina made did not have time to dry out. His grandmother gave him another cord, and a stone for an adze, and gave him instructions for how to capture the sun. Māui hid by the wiliwili tree to wait for the sun to arrive. As the sun’s legs came into view Maui snared them one by one. When the sun realized what was happening it tried to go back down the mountain into the sea, but Māui tied the cords to the wiliwili tree and hauled the sun back up. Māui struck the sun with the adze until the sun begged for it’s life, promising to go slower.

The rocks that you see here at Haleakalā are not just clusters of minerals created over millions of years by lava. To the Hawaiians, these rocks are the physical form of one of the most respected goddesses in the Hawaiian culture, the volcano goddess Pele. Pele is both praised and feared by the people of Hawai‘i . She may destroy everything in her path, but Pele is also a creator of lands. Pele has many kino lau (forms) and one of them is the lava that bleeds from the earth. You can see Pele in action today at Halema‘uma‘u crater on Kīlauea. Pele is the creator and destroyer of lands and is respected and feared by many. Pele voyaged from the distant land of Kahiki southeast to the Hawaiian Islands in search of a permanent home. Throughout her travel she faced many trials including conflict between her sister Namakaokahaʻi. Eventually Pele settled at the Halemaʻumaʻu crater on Kīlauea. Pele has many kino lau (forms) one being a woman and another being the lava that bleeds from the earth. Every year many visitors take pieces of Pele from Hawai‘i, which to the Hawaiians is disrespectful. In honor of the Hawaiian culture, please do not take rocks or cinder from Haleakalā National Park. It is also against the law to remove anything from a National Park.

One day a child Laka-a-wahieloa was born in Kīpahulu to a chief named Wahieloa and his wife Hinahawea. They adored their son, and some years later Wahieloa went to Hawaiʻi to acquire a toy for his son and was killed in a cave called Keana-a-Kaualehu. Laka began asking for his father, and his mother sent him to his grandmother, who told him that his father went to Hawaiʻi, and was thought to be dead. Laka then asked how he could go and search for his father .His grandmother replied, "Go to the mountains and look for the tree that has leaves shaped like the moon on the night of Hilo, or Hoaka; such is the tree for a canoe." Laka followed this advice, and went to the mountains to find the tree for his canoe. Finding a good one, he cut in the morning, and by sundown he had felled it to the ground. This accomplished, he went home. The next day he could not find his fallen tree as it had been placed upright. So he cut down another, with the same result. Laka was thus tricked for several days. He went to the mountains again and found the desired tree, but before cutting it he dug a big hole on the side and upon cutting the tree it fell right into the hole or trench, as designed; then he jumped into it and lay in waiting for the person tricking him. He sang a song to Akua and when it ended there was a hum and noise and the forest filled with a band of people, who tried to lift the tree; but it would not move. Laka then jumped out from his place of hiding and caught hold of two of the men and threatened to kill them. One of the men, Mokuhalii, told Laka that if they were killed, nobody would be able to make a canoe or hew it to the beach for him, but if they were spared they would willingly do so. In return Laka would build a big and long shed (halau) to hold the canoe, and prepare food for the men. Laka agreed, released them, and returned to his home and built the halau. When he went to the woods he saw the canoe complete. The Menehune told Laka that it would he brought to the halau that night. Late at night the hum of the voices of the Menehunes was heard; this was the commencement of the lifting of the canoe. It was not dragged, but held up by hand. At the third hum the canoe was carefully laid down in the halau. Food and fish were there spread out for the workers. At dawn the Menehune returned to their home. It is said that Laka’s hole remains. Story adapted from “Laka’s Adventure” in Hawaiian Folk Tales , by Thomas G. Thrum.

Lush vegetation inhabits the Hawaiian Islands. The endemic Hawaiian tree ‘ōhi‘a lehua ( Metrosideros polymorpha ) is special to the Hawaiian culture, and its wood and blossoms are used for hula, building hale (houses) and wa ‘ a (canoes), and making lei. There is even a story of how the ‘ōhi ‘ a lehua came to be. The mo ‘ olelo tells of a handsome warrior named ‘Ōhi‘a, who was in love with a woman named Lehua. Pele, the volcano goddess, was also in love with ‘Ōhi‘a, but he did not feel the same. Because of that Pele turned ‘Ōhi‘a into a twisted tree and Lehua into a flower on the tree, hence the name ‘ōhi ‘ a lehua . If you pluck the lehua blossom from the tree, you are separating the lovers, and their tears will cause it to rain on the same day. Today the ‘ōhi‘a lehua is threatened due to the spread of the Rapid ‘ Ō hi‘a Death (ROD). ROD has been killing ‘ōhi ‘ a lehua on the Island of Hawai‘i and was recently detected on Kaua‘i Island. Explore more about ROD and ways that you can help protect the beloved ‘ōhi ‘ a lehua !

All winds in Hawaiʻi have a name. The Ka 'Āina o ka Makani kā'ili Aloha or the Love Snatching Wind of Kīpahulu refers to the wind which originates in the mountains and blows down towards the sea. The author of this specific story told below writes, “this story was told to me by Mr. Joseph V. Marciel and Josua Ahulii and Mr. Alapai Kapaeko of Nuʻu Maui.” The full original story is found in Nupepa, Ke Alahou , Volume I, Number 6, 1 May 1980. There lived in Kīpahulu two men and a woman. One of these men married the woman while she kept up a relationship with the other man. They all were agreeable to this relationship and enjoyed living like this for many years. After a time the wife went off with the other man to Oʻahu, leaving her husband and Kīpahulu behind. The other man and the wife went off to Oʻahu, and they forgot all about Kīpahulu. While the husband waited for his wife to return, his longing for her grew. The husband’s grandfather, Haipu, who was well versed ln the ancient ways, appeared, and told his grandson that his wife would soon return if he did as he was told. Eagerly he agreed. They began the old rituals using the wife's favorite calabash (gourd). Haipu gently whistled into the calabash a poignant love chant. When the chanting was over, he held his breath concentrating on a prayer for all the ancestral spirits of the sky, earth, and sea. When the prayer was ended, he exhaled his breath into the small calabash and let it upon the water. Then, Haipu invoked a prayer to the spirits of the wind to carefully take the calabash to Honolulu. As the prayer was called, a strong wind carried the calabash out to sea it disappeared in the surging waves. The calabash was released on the first day of the week and it took a full week for it to reach Honolulu. It came ashore at Waikīkī and just then the wife began to crave for the lipoa, a limu (seaweed) found there. While she was picking up the lipoa she saw a small calabash. She went to pick it up and grasping it said to herself, "This calabash looks like the one we had at home". She opened the lid and the fragrance of her husband was released from inside the calabash. Her heart swelled with love for her long-forgotten husband. She quickly left Waikīkī towards Hanauma Bay and found passage on a canoe to Molokaʻi. From there she took another canoe to Lahaina. She walked past Olowalu, Makena, Kahikinui, Kāupo until finally reaching home—Kīpahulu. When she arrived her husband made her wait to kiss him—to fufill Haipu’s instructions that if she waits, she will stay with him and so the couple lived in Kīpahulu for the rest of their lives.

This webpage presents the results of a Hawaii-Pacific Islands Cooperative Research Studies Unit project carried out in the Spring of 2021 by researchers from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Center for Oral History and NPS staff. As part of its commitment to conservation of natural and cultural resources, the park actively engages with the Native Hawaiian and local communities and respects their input whenever and wherever possible. The oral history team interviewed 13 present and past park staff and community members with close ties to Haleakalā National Park. The kumu (purpose) of the project was to explore the history of early park natural resource management through the voices of people who have worked in and experienced the park over many years. In the late 1970s, Haleakalā National Park began building a series of fences around the perimeter of the park to exclude feral ungulates (goats, pigs, deer and cattle), and preserve native habitat, and care for native wildlife. The park decision to build and maintain what is now 54 miles of fence lines is meant to perpetuate Hawaiian places, place names and mo‘olelo (stories) by preserving the native plants, animals, and habitats protected by the fences. The oral history team focused on this fence-building effort throughout the interviews to understand the challenges and outcomes of the effort.

The interviews for this project were conducted by Alana Kanahele, graduate research assistant at the Center for Oral History at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Interviews were conducted both online via Zoom from February to April, 2021, and in-person on Maui in May and June. Interview sessions lasted between one to three hours. The interviews followed a life history approach, and question guides were designed specific to each narrator following an unrecorded pre-interview. Narrators were asked about their personal background, connection to Haleakalā, relationship to the national park, role in stewarding the land, Native Hawaiian cultural practices, and hopes for the future of Haleakalā. During the interviews, narrators were also asked to identify the locations they worked within the park or areas that they had a personal connection to on maps. Kanahele transcribed the interviews almost verbatim. NPS Kupu Intern Emily Creek transcribed the interviews of Legario "Hanky" Eharis and Walter Pu. The transcripts were then sent to narrators for their review, edits and approval. NPS staff also reviewed the transcripts to redact any sensitive information related to park operations. The transcripts are edited slightly for clarity and historical accuracy by the narrators.

Kīpahulu is said to be the home of Laka—a god worshipped by canoe makers. And from Kīpahulu comes a story of a canoe maker whose skill was insurmountable. In the story of Chief Keawe-nui-a-ʻUmi, chief of Hawaiʻi Island, we hear of a man named Lulana who came from Kīpahulu in the District of Hāna. He went with Keawe-nui-a -ʻUmi’s canoe makers into the forest and saw two large trees, hollowed out and used as dwellings for the canoe makers, bird catchers, and other experts. He told them, “These will make good canoes for the chief, as the centers are hollowed already.” The canoe makers argued with him for they did not see how this could be. But Lulana insisted and, “The hewing began at the spot pointed out by Lulana until both fell.” They began carving and once completed, “It was seen that no canoes equaled the canoes of Lulana in the days of ʻUmi or of the ancient chiefs before him.” When the chief heard and saw the beautiful canoes that were free of defect he named Lulana "chief over all canoe experts or poʻe kahuna kalaʻi on Hawaiʻi island." Story paraphrased from "Ruling Chiefs of Hawaii" by S.M. Kamakau. To find out what this mighty fleet was used for you can continue reading the story of Chief Keawe - nui - a - ʻUmi .

During an unsettling time on Maui the chiefs were over-taxing their people. It was at this time that some chiefs from Hawai‘i came to Kīpahulu and Hāna. One of these was Ka-lani-malokuloku-I-Ke-po‘o-o-ka-lani, brother to Chief Kamehemeha. He protected the rights of the common folk and “they loved him and called him the good chief (Ke-Ali‘i-maika‘i) in praise of his kind deeds.” That is why his life was spared when he was about to be made prisoner of war. The Maui chiefs were sent to take back Kīpahulu and Hāna—during a fierce battle—Ke-Aliʻi-maikaʻi was hidden by the kahu in ka‘e‘e vines and ti. The people of Kīpahulu had knowledge of where he was but did not tell Chief Ka-mohomoho and the Maui warriors. At dark the Ke-Aliʻi-maikaʻi sailed to his brother on Hawai’i. Chief Kamehameha stated, “Had you been killed, I would have made a great slaughter of Kīpahulu and struck off the heads of men, women, and children”. Ke-Ali‘i-maika‘i replied, “It is because of their great kindness that I was saved.” The war against the chiefs of Maui continued. The chiefs of Hawaiʻi continued to be friends of the people of Kīpahulu. And the rest, as we say, is history. Chief Kamehameha succeeded in conquering all of the islands—thus we call the archipelago Hawaiʻi. Paraphrased and quoted from, “Kamehameha Wins All of Hawaii” from Ruling Chiefs recorded and written by S.M. Kamakau.

Haleakalā National Park acquired the Nuʻu parcel from the James Campbell Company with the support of The Conservation Fund and appropriations from the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Next door is the Hawaiʻi Land Trust (HILT) parcel at Nuʻu Bay . The two areas are only separated by modern land boundaries. HILT acquired its 80 coastal acres from Kaupo Ranch in 2011.

After initial archeological survey, one of the recommendations is to consider collaborating with adjacent landowners (private/HILT/NPS) to nominate Nu‘u Village to the National Register of Historic Places as a Historic District.

National Register eligibility and listing aligns with the National Park Service mission to “preserve unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.”

Radiocarbon dating suggests that initial use of the area took place no later than the 1400s-1600s.

Kaupō Moku was famous for its sweet potatoes thanks to the rich volcanic soil of its ahupuaʻa. The district was a center of activity on Maui during Native Hawaiian Pre-Contact times:

“... The lava and mudflows of Kaupō were quickly recognised as highly conducive to sweet potato and dryland taro cropping, and the region’s production was amplified through landesque capital investments (permanent modifications of the landscape) in an intensive dryland field system (Baer 2016, Brookfield 1972). Bounding this zone, the formalised set of monumental structures offer a clear demonstration that Kaupō’s agricultural capacity was highly valued, and that despite being well away from early centres of Maui power, large-scale labour was being organised to maximise production ” (Baer 2016, 301-302).

Nuʻu Ahupuaʻa was a relatively massive ahupuaʻa within the moku of Kaupō. Historians believe it may in fact have been an ʻokana (district or subdistrict) made up of many smaller ahupuaʻa (Walmisley 2021). Nuʻu is in the far western, dryer portion of Kaupō moku, yet archeological evidence and written records demonstrate it was a productive and well-populated place.

The rainfed dryland field systems that are found in Nuʻu are extensive likely because the Native Hawaiians used a generalized 4-10 system of farming. Native Hawaiians would cultivate ʻuala (sweet potatoes) in a field for 4 years and allow for a 10-year period of fallow. Oftentimes, kō (sugarcane), which is rich in nutrients and adds nitrogen back into the soil, was planted as a hedge on the borders of these productive fields (Handy and Handy 1941, 186).

The area is also known for its heiau (temples). Anthropologist Patrick Kirch and archaeoastronomer Clive Ruggles conducted an analysis of 78 heiau throughout Kahikinui and Kaupō, finding a large variety of temple form and function, and relating the temple orientation to the Hawaiian gods and Hawaiian seasons and rituals. For example, in the moku of Kaupō, the heiau called Loʻaloʻa:

“ The most impressive of these is the huge platform at KAU-994 (Loʻaloʻa), which was accurately aligned upon the rising position of the Pleiades at the time of its construction or elaboration around AD 1650-1700...the opening of the Makahiki season was determined by the first appearance of the Pleiades immediately after sunset" (Kirch and Ruggles 2019, 136-137).

The rich agricultural opportunities and increasingly powerful aliʻi (chiefs) of the 1600s contributed to the population growth and construction of structures in Kaupō Moku. In the 1700s, King Kekaulike, the mōʻī (king) of Maui, had built his royal center at the eastern end of Kaupō, at Mokulau, and as many as 17,500 people lived in the district (Kamakau 1996; Kirch, Holson, and Baer 2010; cited in Walmisley 2021). It was also told that Kekaulike had a residence at Nuʻu, where he was said to farm and fish with his people. His son was later born at Nuʻu (Walmisley 2021). Although western Kaupō was drier, fields of ʻuala continued to flourish in Nuʻu, alongside fields of pili grass for thatching grass houses, and dry kalo, which needed less water than the irrigated kalo farmed in wet valleys throughout Hawaiʻi.

Written records from nā nūpepa (Hawaiian language newspapers) and many other sources confirm that Nuʻu was a thriving center of Native Hawaiian population well into the 19th century. Many notable Native Hawaiians lived at Nuʻu during the 19th century, including Elia Helekūnihi, a descendant of “lesser aliʻi (chiefs),” a Lahaināluna graduate, teacher, pastor and leader who was born and lived on what is now the coastal portion of the Nuʻu parcel. Helekūnihi attended and later taught at the school located mauka (towards the mountain) from the HILT property and just beyond the National Park boundary. Historical documents, many written by Helekūnihi himself, demonstrate the dramatic population decline in Nuʻu primarily caused by the introduction of Western diseases as well as the movement of population centers to Lāhaina and Honolulu. When Helekūnihi attended the school between 1845-1847, 110 students were in attendance. When he returned to Nuʻu in 1859 after his education at Lahaināluna to teach at the school, the student population had dropped to 49 children. This suggests that the population in Nuʻu had nearly halved in less than 15 years (Walmisley 2021). By 1880 the school in Nuʻu had closed. A Board of Health official requested to use the building as a “holding facility” for those "convicted" of having Hansen's disease before being sent to Kalaupapa on the island of Molokaʻi (Walmisley 2021).

From the late 1800s through the mid-20th century, the village of Nuʻu , which extended from the current HILT lands mauka (upland) of the road into the NPS parcel, was home was home to: houses, the ancient loko (fishpond), the landing at Nuʻu Bay, an ancient heiau, the Protestant school and church, and a Catholic church, the ruins of which are located within the National Park. The Nuʻu community relied largely on farming sweet potatoes, fishing, and salt gathering, and later cattle ranching into the mid-20th Century (McGregor 2007).

One of the many remaining post-Contact structures at Nuʻu is that of the old stone church complex. It is very likely that the “hale pule kahiko” (a name for the church given on an 1878 map) may be one of several Catholic chapels that were built along the Maui coast from Kahikinui to Keʻanae. The church was served by Father Modeste Favens, who baptized hundreds of Native Hawaiians on his arrival in Kaupō in 1846 (Walmisley 2021). These converts had come to Catholicism well before the arrival of a foreign priest, through the efforts of other Native Hawaiians.

Remember to please respect the kapu (closure) of the area to help ensure that documentation and preservation can be completed. Whenever you find yourself near archeological sites, always remember to leave things be, and Leave No Trace!

We hope to be able to share more about this amazing area with our visitors both virtually and on island in the future!

Baer, Alexander. “Ceremonial architecture and the spatial proscription of community: location versus form and function in Kaupō, Maui, Hawaiian Islands.” Journal of the Polynesian Society 125, no. 3 (September 2016): 289-305. http//dx.doi.org/10.15286/jps.125.3.289-305.

Handy, E. S. Craighill and Elizabeth G. Handy. Native Planters in Old Hawaii: Their Life, Lore and Environment . Honolulu: Bishop Museum Press, Revised Edition 1991. Kamakau, Samuel M., and Puakea Nogelmeier. Ke Kumu Aupuni: Ka Moʻolelo Hawaiʻi No Kamehameha Ka Naʻi Aupuni a Me Kāna Aupuni i Hoʻokumu Ai. Honolulu, HI: ʻAhahui ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, 1996.

Kirch, Patrick V. and Clive Ruggles. Heiau ‘Āina Lani: The Hawaiian Temple System in Ancient Kahikinui and Kaupō, Maui . Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2019. Kirch, Patrick V., John Holson, and Alexander Baer. Intensive Dryland Agriculture in Kaupō, Maui, Hawaiian Islands . Asian Perspectives 48, no. 2 (2009): 265–90. https://doi.org/10.1353/asi.2009.0006.

McGregor, Davianna P. Nā Kua‘āina: Living Hawaiian Culture . Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press, 2007.

Walmisley, Andrew J. The Betrayal of Elia Helekūnihi, The Politics of Tradition and Colonisation by Stealth in Nineteenth Century Hawaiʻi. PhD diss. University of Birmingham, 2021.

Haleakalā National Park is home to a wide variety of insects and arthropods! While these tiny critters may not receive the same attention as the park’s larger wildlife, they play vital roles in maintaining the natural balance. Many species here are unique to Haleakalā, found nowhere else on Earth!

The Haleakalā National Park Museum collection includes over 3,100 specimens of native and non-native insects that were collected within the park's boundaries as part of authorized research. For more information about research conducted in the park, visit Science, Research in the Park - Haleakalā National Park (U.S. National Park Service).

Studying the entomology specimens found in the park helps us understand the fascinating lives of these insects and their essential roles in the ecosystem. These roles include pollination, decomposition, and serving as food sources for other wildlife. For more details about the insects found at Haleakalā, please check out Insects, Arachnids & Arthropods - Haleakalā National Park (U.S. National Park Service).

The museum storage building and research room is located in the summit area of the park. Access to the collection is by appointment from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday (except on Federal holidays) and will be dependent upon an individual's needs and availability of staff. If requesting access to the collection, please contact Park Museum Curator (katie_matthew@nps.gov) a minimum of one (1) week before you wish to visit.

All images of the Haleakalā National Park entomology collection were photographed as part of a project in collaboration with the University of Hawai‘i. This initiative was conducted through the Hawai‘i-Pacific Islands Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit under Agreement Number P23AC02110. The photographs were taken by Spencer Pote, with oversight from Dr. Daniel Rubinoff, entomologists with the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa's Insect Museum. The photographs have been placed online for visitors to view.

Frederick Leopold Stolz was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and lived on Maui during the 1880’s and 1890’s, in Makawao District. Stolz was an active participant in the Maui community. He was a member of the charitable Hawaiian Mission Children’s Society and active participant in early Makawao Community Development. Notably, Stolz was a supporter of the Kalahaku rest house building effort in 1894 . The rest house, then known as “Craigielea” provided shelter, warmth, and – as documented in the rest house guestbooks - many happy hours for visitors that had made the journey to the Haleakalā crater rim by horseback. The original Kalahaku rest house was re-built in 1914 by the Maui Chamber of Commerce and later demolished by the park service in 1957.

Stolz resided in the Olinda area and was the bookkeeper for Wilder’s Store and the Secretary for the Kahului Railroad in the 1880's. Throughout the 1890’s and early 1900’s, Stolz served as the Treasurer for the Kahului Railroad. His brother-in-law, William Mills Coffee, served as the Chief Engineer at the Hamakuapoko Sugar Mill (the area now known as Spreckelsville). In addition to Stolz’s photos of Haleakalā, the larger collection contains images Stolz took throughout Maui, Kaua‘i, and O‘ahu during his time in the islands. In the early 1900’s Stolz left Hawai ʻ i and moved his family to California; he died in 1929 in San Francisco. These digital copies of the original photos were donated to Haleakalā National Park by Stolz’s great-great nephew Phillip Michael Coffee. The original photo album resides at the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum on O ʻ ahu.

Isolated in the mid Pacific, the Hawaiian Islands are the most remote major island group on Earth. They were formed as the Pacific Plate moved across a volcanic "hot spot" within the earth's mantle. Lying 2,400 miles (3,862 km) from the nearest continent, they have never had connection to any other land mass. Natural crossings across this great expanse of ocean by animals and plants were extremely rare and very surprising occasions. After such accidental arrivals, and isolated from mainland populations, these pioneer organisms took strange courses of evolution and allowed a unique biota to develop.

Unaccustomed to mainland competition, however, these remote native island ecosystems are defenseless against mainland alien species, and have been decimated by new grazers, predators and diseases. Haleakalā National Park, and its East Maui Watershed Partner neighbors, still harbor an astonishing relict of these native island ecosystems. The major effort of Haleakalā's resource stewardship is to preserve intact this superb example of the Hawaiian Islands' native ecosystems.

Over 850 species of plants are found within the bounds of Haleakalā National Park. Of these, over 400 species are native, or arrived without human intervention; and more than 300 plant species are endemic to Hawaiʻi- found nowhere else in the world.

This astonishing diversity reflects the variety of climates and elevations that allowed plants to fill niches from dry alpine deserts to humid, salt-sprayed coastlines. Plant communities formed in some of the most unlikely dry deserts and lush rainforests. Ethereal silverswords, bird-pollinated geraniums, Seussian na'ena'e and mintless mints are a few of the amazing plants that evolved in the unique and diverse environment on Haleakalā.

Endemic: a species found in only one area and nowhere else in the world. Native : a species having arrived without human intervention, but is also found in multiple locations. Non-native: a species having arrived with human intervention and is not historically known to live in that location. Endangered: a species seriously at risk of extinction. Invasive: a species that proliferates broadly and causes a negative impact on the surrounding environment.

How could plant life establish and survive on these remote, barren, new islands? Likely a few plants arrived with the help of wind, wings (birds), and waves in the ocean carrying seeds long distances. Against these overwhelming odds a seed might arrive only to land at a site unsuited to its growth. Seemingly successful plant colonists tended to be aggressive, weedy, and capable of surviving in a pioneer habitat such as a lava fields, beaches, or bogs. It is believed that roughly one plant species was successfully established every 2,500 years.

Most species that arrived found little to no competition on the islands and thus lost attributes such as thorns, thick bark, poisons, and unpalatable tastes or strongly scented oils. This loss of competitiveness has recently exposed their vulnerability to non-native species such as pigs, rats, cattle, goats, sheep, and invasive plant species such as pine trees.

Fences : Without control, feral animals such as pigs, goats, and sheep wandering freely in the Hawaiian Islands, were eating, unrooting, and decimating native plants. A fenceline surrounds the park boundary in an attempt to keep these species out.

Haleakalā, rising from the sea to a 10,023 foot summit, and exposed to both the windward moist tradewinds and leeward drying air, has a variety of natural ecosystems. Wind, rain, temperature and altitude all play a role in shaping each zone, as well as bringing plants and animals here . Visit the Plant Communities page for more information on the diverse plants in each ecosystem you might see.

The alpine aeolian zone seems barren. The porous, rocky, dry surface has wide temperature range between day and night. Only a few species survive this tough environment. Silverswords stand out in this open landscape.

Subalpine shrublands cover broad areas below the alpine zone. Native shrubs like pukiawe, mamane, ohelo and pilo are dominant. Nēnē, the native Hawaiian goose, are locally conspicuous in the shrublands.

Lower, on the windward slopes with rainfall of 120 to 400 inches annually, rainforest prevails. Above 3,000 feet elevation the rainforest is largely native species with ʻōhiʻa and koa forming a closed canopy. Here, native Hawaiian honeycreepers sip nectar from native trees and flowers.

Below the shrub zone dry forest occupies the drier leeward slopes, with less than 60 inches of rain. Fire and alien ungulates have devastated most of Maui's dry forest. Only small patches are found within the park.

The ʻOheʻo stream ecosystem crosses several life zones. ʻOheʻo stream, with its entire length within the national park is one of very few completely natural riparian habitats in Hawaiʻi. Native fish and shrimp are stream residents.

The Natural Resources Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) Program provides an opportunity to improve the quantity, quality and availability of natural resources data for park managers and the public. For more information about the program, please click here .