Celebrate Pride with us!
Lei Pua ʻAla Book Talk
Saturday,
October 24, 2026
10:30am to 12:30pm
In-person at Hawaiian Mission Houses
FREE and
Open to the Public
Hawaiian Historical Society (HHS) along with Hawaiian Mission Houses (HMH) and Lei Pua ʻAla will host a collaborative event on Saturday, October 24, 2026 from 10:30am to 12:30pm in person on the grounds of the historic Hawaiian Mission Houses. Register for this complementary event at https://bit.ly/LeiPuaAlaBookTalk2026, limited seating. Walk-ins welcome permitting space.
Join us to celebrate Honolulu LGBTQ+ Pride Month with light refreshments and historical conversations. Dean Hamer, Joe Wilson, and DeSoto Brown, will talk story about the Lei Pua ʻAla project and Dean and Joe’s article, Histories of Gender and Sexual Diversity in Hawaiʻi, published in the newest volume (59) of The Hawaiian Journal of History.
This article surveys the histories of gender and sexual minorities in Hawaiʻi from early times to the present, revealing a complex narrative of inclusion, foreign-influenced rejection, and continuing advancement. It explores diverse expressions of identity, societal and institutional responses, and their impact on queer people’s lived experiences of love, intimacy, and identity. A key objective is to understand the interconnected matrix of social, cultural, legal, religious, and other factors that account for Hawaiʻi’s distinct and progressive stance toward LGBTQ+ and Māhū individuals and rights.
After the talk session, we invite you to ask our panel questions as well as walk through the Reading Room Library & Archives to see on display rare, archival material from Hawaiian Historical Society and Hawaiian Mission Houses that supports historical narratives and the vision of Lei Pua ʻAla.
About the Speakers
Dean Hamer is a New York Times Book of the Year author, Emmy Award–winning and Oscar-contending filmmaker, researcher, and curator whose work has long focused on communicating complex and controversial ideas to diverse audiences. His current work centers on Hawai‘i and the Pacific Islands, exploring the stories, histories, and lived experiences of gender and sexual diversity across the region.
Joe Wilson is an Emmy Award–winning filmmaker whose innovative films blend live action and animation to explore urgent social issues and amplify voices from the margins. His work has screened worldwide, reached millions of viewers through PBS, Netflix, and international broadcasters, and received support from Sundance, Ford, and Mellon. He now explores the hidden histories of gender and sexual diversity through film, books, exhibitions, performance, and public art.
DeSoto Brown, Hawaiian Historical Society Trustee and Librarian, is a lifetime collector and Hawaiian historian who has dedicated his life to preserving the past. Descended from the famous 19th century Hawaiian historian and writer John Papa I’i, DeSoto surrounds himself with personal and political possessions from Hawaiian ali’i, as well as stacks of other materials representing Hawai’i’s cultural and natural history. He graduated from Punahou School, Choate School, and cum laude for Communication Arts at Hawai’i Loa College. The author of three books on historical pop culture in Hawai’i, he began volunteering at Bishop Museum in 1981 and has been a full-time archivist and historian with the museum since 1987.
About Lei Pua ʻAla
Lei Pua ʻAla (also known as the Queer Histories of Hawaiʻi Project) is a prominent, multidimensional cultural and educational initiative dedicated to documenting, restoring, and sharing the history of gender and sexual diversity across Hawaiʻi. Visit https://www.queerhistoriesofhawaii.org to learn more about their good work.