Kawaiahaʻo Seminary: The Melting Pot – National Geographic February 1924

The February 1924 edition of The National Geographic Magazine was wholly dedicated to “The Hawaiian Islands” and included a photograph captioned “Thirty-Two Girls, Each of a Different Race and Racial Combination, All Attending Kawaiahao Seminary, Honolulu: A Striking Illustration of the Mixture of Races That is Taking Place in Hawaii.”

Notes & Queries: The Hawaiian Journal of History, volume 53 (2019). https://muse.jhu.edu/issue/41515

An Inquiry Into Kawaiaha‘o Seminary’s “Melting Pot” Photograph Published in The National Geographic Magazine in 1924

The photograph, one of a series, was taken about ten years earlier on the steps of the Kawaiaha‘o Girls’ Department on the campus of Mid-Pacific Institute by teacher, Roselle F. Faast. Widely distributed in Hawai‘i, the photo was used in The National Geographic Magazine and at least one other image in the series was distributed by Mid-Pacific under the heading of “The Melting Pot” or “The ‘Melting Pot’ of Many Nations” accompanied by an index card which identified the girls by number and their racial and ethnic backgrounds or nationalities.

Beginning with the photographs’ very first publication, the identities of the girls pictured in the series were never included in the descriptions. The images of these 32 girls, as a group or in subsets, were numbered and labeled with descriptions of their “pure” and “mixed” heritages and would appear in newspapers, journals, official reports, and academic writings over the ensuing 100 years. The photographer, the girls photographed, and the school could hardly have imagined the far-reaching distribution, well beyond the boundaries of Hawai‘i, that the photographs would ultimately have or the varied narratives and meanings that would be attached to the images.

The full article can be accessed online at https://muse.jhu.edu/issue/41515

With the publication of this article, the names of these girls are reunited with the image.

Alba	Goles	Hawaiian-Filipino-Chinese	16
Bailey	Alamelani Pauline	Hawaiian-Portuguese-Irish	24
Borges	Margaret	Portuguese	8
Castro	Keaonaulu Victoria	Hawaiian-Spanish-American	20
Castro	Patricia Violet	Guam-Mexican-French	31
Chai	Kin Moi	Chinese	4
Claire	France Irene	Hawaiian-French	14
Cooper	Kealoha	Hawaiian-Portuguese-American	19
Gilman	Malia Julia	Hawaiian-Japanese-Indian	25
Hassenritter	Kahealani Rebecca	Hawaiian-Chinese-German-Norwegian-Irish	27
Hino	Nobuko	Japanese	3
Hoopii	Kuailani Hoolulani	Hawaiian-Russian	12
Joseph	Kamakanoenoekalani	Hawaiian-American	13
Joslyn	Margaret	African-French-Irish	29
Kamakawiwoole	Kaai	Hawaiian-Chinese-American	23
Kapu	Leinani	Ehu Hawaiian	2
Kim	Eun Kyung	Korean	5
Laa	Kanoe	Hawaiian-Portuguese	15
Lukela	Lowalii Caroline	Samoan-Tahitian	32
Moses	Kaanohi	Hawaiian	1
Naiwi	Akaneki	Hawaiian-Chinese	11
Naleimaile	Kalauokamaahea	Hawaiian-German-Irish	21
Olsson	Miriam	South Seas (Nauru) – Norwegian	28
Osaki	Kalihililiakawa	Hawaiian-Japanese-Portuguese	18
Panaewa	Kekaauluamoki	Hawaiian-Portuguese-Chinese-English	26
Pena	Anita Annamaria	Spanish-Porto Rican	30
Pilger	Margaret Makalika	Hawaiian-German	10
Salazar	Telde	Filipino	7
Soltonovitch	Julia	Polish Russian	9
Stone	Maile	Hawaiian-Indian-American	17
Teselsky	Alexanderena	Russian	6
Werner	Kawehionapua	Hawaiian-Chinese-German	22

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