WAILUKU - It is a sad fact that the Kalaupapa Hansen's disease settlement is losing patients every year, down to less than 20 today, said state Sen. J. Kalani English, whose district includes the island of Molokai.
The youngest patient is 69 years old. So, to prepare for the day when the isolated Molokai peninsula becomes a historic site and popular pilgrimage destination for St. Damien devotees, English and Senate President Colleen Hanabusa have introduced a bill that would revert management of the area to its original title holder, the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.
However, at the same time, English said the bill would ensure that little changes at Kalaupapa, except to better preserve the federal park's history.
Currently, the state departments of Health and Land and Natural Resources work together to oversee the settlement's 19 living quarters, store, cafeteria, gas station, health care center and the grounds within the 10,000-acre U.S. National Historic Park.
The National Park Service is in the midst of creating a long-term master plan for the park; and this measure will not wipe out the federal officials' cooperative process or U.S. government lease that runs through 2041, English said. The park, which pays the state $200,000 annually, is also negotiating a 20-year lease extension, with the support of patients at Kalaupapa.
"This bill should not interfere with the planning process. In fact, it should clarify for the National Park Service who they should deal with and clarify our intent," English said.
The bill officially would prevent anyone from building Department of Hawaiian Home Lands' homes or any other development at the historic site.
Some Molokai residents have expressed interest in building homes at Kalaupapa, but patients and National Park Service officials have stated that such development would be inappropriate in a place where an estimated 8,000 people were taken from their families and forced to live - and left to die.
"It is not up for consideration," English said of the notion of turning Kalaupapa into a housing subdivision.
The measure, titled Senate Bill 2771, was introduced Monday and passed first reading at the Legislature on Wednesday.
If the bill is passed, it would not take effect until the last patient dies, English said. The 12-page bill reaffirms what most people anticipate would occur when that day comes, he said.
"Once there are no more patients receiving care at Kalaupapa, the character of the settlement will change," English said. "Especially in light of the cultural and historical concerns, DHHL is the right agency to administer the area."
English said a major reason to prepare now for Kalaupapa's future was the October canonization of Father Damien de Veuster, who had contracted Hansen's disease while working with the patients in the 19th century. Kalaupapa is increasingly popular with travelers who are on wait lists to visit the settlement. Only 100 visitors are allowed there each day to protect the privacy of the patients. The peninsula is inaccessible by road.
Kalaupapa is within its own county, Kalawao, and the Health Department director is its mayor. The English-Hanabusa bill would eliminate the county mayor and sheriff positions, and instead create a Kalawao County "administrator" elected by Hawaii Homes Commission members.
The bill also says Kalawao County would no longer be subject to Maui County zoning ordinances, including the new - and controversial - master plan, called the Maui General Plan 2030 update.
And if a Native Hawaiian sovereign government were created, Kalaupapa would fall under its control. Native Hawaiian people lived there for 800 years prior to the settlement's establishment in 1866 and helped the patients survive when they were literally dumped into the ocean offshore with little to no supplies.
The bill makes no mention of altering the Department of Transportation's role. The department manages Kalaupapa's small airfield and harbor.
English, who is a member of the Ka 'Ohana O Kalaupapa board of directors, the settlement's private nonprofit support organization, said both he and Hanabusa have consulted with patients and members of their families to gain support for their measure.
About a dozen patients live permanently in Kalaupapa in homes provided by the state. A cure for Hansen's disease was developed in the 1940s, but it did not become widespread until 20 years later. Once the state finally released patients to move about freely and reunite with their families, they were given apologies and promised they would be cared for for the duration of their lives.
English said he considers the Kalaupapa kupuna part of his family and is trying to do the very best by them.
Patients who spoke during the ongoing National Park Service's Kalaupapa master plan process repeatedly said they want to see the settlement preserved. If anything is to change, it would be to restore churches and other buildings to their original condition and build memorials that tell the stories of the ostracized patients and the compassionate people who left their homes to care for them, a tradition that continues to this day with state and federal employees.
* Chris Hamilton can be reached at chamilton@mauinews.com.
