Kaua‘i Community College archivist to lead Hawai‘i association

Kauaʻi Community College Kikuchi Center Archivist Jason Ford was voted president-elect of the Association of Hawaiʻi Archivists.

Elected last month, Ford will serve one year in this role before assuming the presidency.

“I am very grateful to be nominated. I aim to support collections managers and the community to have the skills to utilize, protect and preserve the unique island heritage of Hawaiʻi,” Ford said.

He also hopes the Association of Hawaiʻi Archivists fosters partnerships with cultural heritage organizations to strengthen collective efforts in preserving Hawaiʻi’s history.

One of Ford’s first initiatives is collaborating with the association’s board to address the recent dismissal of the U.S. Archivist. He said the mission of the association is to advocate for archives that preserve the historical record in a way that is supposed to be unbiased and apolitical.

He is also working to establish a statewide consortium of repositories to facilitate the return of Native Hawaiian cultural artifacts to their original islands.

“Native Hawaiians have specifically expressed that it is their preference that Native Hawaiian cultural items be returned to the original island location,” he said. “By having a consortium of repositories working collectively, we may be able to achieve that.”

Ford holds a degree in Hawaiian language and a graduate degree from the UH Mānoa Library and Information Science program. With a background in ethnography and Hawaiian language translation, he has served as Kauaʻi CC’s Kikuchi Archivist for more than two years.