Sakada Day Celebration remembers legacy of first Filipino immigrant workers in Hawaii

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - A cultural celebration today will honor the contributions of the first Filipino contract laborers who immigrated to Hawaii 118 years ago to work on sugar and pineapple plantations.

Filipino community leader Bennette Misalucha and Brix Kozuki of the Filipino Curriculum Project joined HNN’s Sunrise to talk about celebrating the sakadas' legacy and a free event at the Hawaii Plantation Village in Waipahu to honor their contributions.

“In 2015, the Legislature passed a law designating every December 20th as Sakada Day in Hawaii. That was the day, the first sakadas, and there were 15 of them, first set foot on the shores of Hawaii... and started Filipino migration in Hawaii, and the United States. The Governor signed the law... and the rest is history,” Misalucha said.

The Sakada Day Celebration takes place today (Dec. 21) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and features live performances, food trucks, cultural activities and presentations by students with the Filipino Curriculum Project, which developed a nine-month high school elective course focused on Filipino American history and culture -- the first in the nation.

Students who are part of the course at Farrington, Waipahu, Dreamhouse Ewa Beach Charter, and Lanai High Schools will showcase art, exhibits, oral histories, and performances to commemorate the diverse stories of the sakadas.

“We were inspired by the over 100,000 sakadas who came to Hawaii to work on the sugar and pineapple plantations and wanted to ensure the story and legacy of the sakadas get transferred to the next generation. So in commemorating the legacy of the sakadas and having students from the Filipino history/culture course present their final projects, we hope the community can join in on learning about and commemorating the sakadas,” Kozuki said.

“Only a handful of them are around, and I felt the children of sakadas and the rest of us are the ones who need to learn more about this legacy,” said Misalucha, past Chair of the Philippine Celebrations Coordinating Committee and Chair of this year’s Sakada Day celebration. “This is really a wonderful collaboration where we are honoring the past but also making sure the future, our young people are involved.”

For more information, follow on Instagram @filipino_curriculum and on Facebook at Filipino Curriculum Project.

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