Pestilence in paradise: Leprosy accounts in the annual reports of the governor of the territory of Hawaii

An examination of the history of leprosy, or Hansen’s disease, in the Territory of Hawaii is a clear window upon how the federal government addressed its fundamental responsibilities to an indigenous people of this nation. Over the years, and in particular prior to 1934, various federal agencies oversaw the array of this nation’s territories, but the Department of the Interior was always accountable for those of Alaska and Hawaii. Each agency acquired annual reports from the assigned administrators of such areas. These federal documents offer a remarkable perspective of these diverse geographic locations, and contain data on aspects of local life that are difficult to find elsewhere. This article speaks specifically to the leprosy reports contained in the Annual Reports for the Territory of Hawaii, between 1900 and 1959. On 2 August 2007, Representative Mazie K. Hirono (Dem.HI) introduced H.R. 3332, entitled To provide for the establishment of a memorial within Kalaupapa National Historical Park located on the island of Molokai, in the State of Hawaii, to honor and perpetuate the memory of those individuals who were forcibly relocated to the Kalaupapa Peninsula from 1866 to 1969, and for other purposes (Introduction of the Kalaupapa memorial act, 2007). In that action, an attempt was made to remember permanently the 8,000 leprosy victims in Hawaii who were displaced between those years. The first twelve were Native Hawaiians, as were over 80% of all residents.1 In her remarks before the House, Rep. Hirono described the long-term effect of An act to prevent the spread of leprosy (1865/1985) implemented in 1865 by King Kamehameha V: “The policy of exiling persons with the disease that was then known as leprosy began under the Kingdom of Hawaii and continued under the governments of the Republic of Hawaii, the Territory of Hawaii, and the State of Hawaii” (Introduction of the Kalaupapa memorial act, 2007, p. E1725). Six months later she stated that, “[t]he act essentially criminalized the disease” and that the 19th century law was only repealed a decade after Hawaii joined the Union in 1959 (Kalaupapa memorial act of 2008, p. H825). The alleged criminalization of the disease is pivotal here. Moblo (1999, p. 88) spoke of the development of political power in Hawaii during the late 19th century, noting that this competition between Native Hawaiians and the arriving foreigners “was made manifest in a changed policy towards leprosy,” and that “[w]hile leprosy was treated much like other diseases in most of the world, it carried special status in Hawaii, reflecting the disdainful attitude towards the indigenous population.” Even the opinion of the Supreme Court of Hawaii in Segregation of Lepers (1884) — stating that disease infection was not a crime after all — was tempered by a more fundamental concern for the economic well-being of the Islands. Isolation of lepers in Hawaii was therefore considered a smart solution to any impediment that might deter a bright future. State statutes sustained this position for another 85 years, past statehood in 1959, through a program that reached far beyond just a legislated “disdainful attitude” towards Native Hawaiians.