EAGLE MOUNTAIN, Utah — Utahn Kalima Watson doesn't just dig into family trees. He helps people find their roots and discover who they are, all online.
"I'm trying to get people to see genealogy and family history the same way that I do," Watson said.
The Hawaiian native who now lives in Eagle Mountain is the creator behind "Just Kalima," — an online channel that has amassed nearly 200,000 followers on Instagram. He makes videos about genealogy and family history for people, but he's especially trying to reach younger audiences.
"Genealogy can feel boring sometimes. I wanted to find a way to make it engaging and get through to people," he said.
He says people send him their family names, and then he'll use sites including Ancestry.com and Family Search.org to track down the details, and then turn them into quick stories for various social media platforms.
Watson's journey started after moving from Hawaii to Utah in 2017. He wanted a tattoo that represented his Hawaiian roots so he could stay close to home while in Utah. But before getting it, he dove into his family's history. That's when he started learning about his ancestors, who he says were chiefs, voyagers, and leaders in Hawaiian history.
"People who did incredible things," he said. "And the more I learned about them, the closer I felt to them."
That search is what eventually gave him the idea for the videos he creates now.
At times, Watson chooses followers at random and creates videos about their ancestry. One of those followers is Mark Helske, also from Eagle Mountain. He said Watson uncovered stories about his family he hadn't known. "I had no idea who Matthew Pennell was, that I was related to him," Helske said during a Zoom call. "He managed a lighthouse that was under a lot of scrutiny because previous keepers of the lighthouse had not been doing their job properly and there was like a big accident. Matthew Pennell took over for years and years. I had no idea that was a part of my family's history."
He added, "It gives you like a feeling of pride knowing that you have ancestors that did something meaningful."
That is exactly what Watson says he hopes people walk away with. "When you know the hard things they've done, it makes doing hard things yourself feel easier," he said. "That's the goal — to empower people."
