Ma'i Lepera attempts to recover Hawaiian voices at a significant moment in Hawai'i's history. It takes an unprecedented look at the Hansen's disease outbreak (1865-1900) almost exclusively from the perspective of "patients," ninety percent of whom were Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian). Using traditional and nontraditional sources, published and unpublished, it tells the story of a disease, a society's reaction to it, and the consequences of the experience for Hawai'i and its people.

Over a span of thirty-four years more than five thousand people were sent to a leprosy settlement on the...

Ma'i Lepera attempts to recover Hawaiian voices at a significant moment in Hawai'i's history. It takes an unprecedented look at the Hansen's disease outbreak (1865-1900) almost exclusively from the perspective of "patients," ninety percent of whom were Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian). Using traditional and nontraditional sources, published and unpublished, it tells the story of a disease, a society's reaction to it, and the consequences of the experience for Hawai'i and its people.

Over a span of thirty-four years more than five thousand people were sent to a leprosy settlement on the...