Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 21, Number 8, 1 August 2004 — Various Pacific Northwest sites named after Hawaiians [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Various Pacific Northwest sites named after Hawaiians

By William Kuamo'o The Chinook Indians of the Pacific Northwest have two remarkable words in their vocabulary: Kanaka and Owyhee. When and where did these two Hawaiian words assimilate into the Chinook language? Apparently with Captain Cook circa 1789 and Captain George Vancouver circa early 1800s. Captain Vancouver and the English Hudson Bay Fur-trading Company were headquartered out of Fort Vancouver, in the present-day state of Washington, from 1800 to the 1860s. They imported Native Hawaiian, or Kanaka, workers from Owyhee (how the English originally spelled Hawai'i)

to supplement the Indian workers. Additionally, many Kānaka served as seamen on English vessels and may have left the seafaring life to settle down in the Oregon Territory. One such Kanaka was a seaman named John Kalama, recorded as marrying a loeal Nisqually princess and settling in what is today the town of Kalama in Clark County, Washington, just north of Vancouver and the Columbia River. The early Native Hawaiian Oregonians persevered in the new Oregon Territory through the 1800s, and soon many geographical name places bore testament to their arrival and settlement. We find: • Aloha, Oregon, a suburb outside of

present-day Portland. • The Owyhee River, named after a band of Hawaiian fur-traders in the 1700s and forming the border between Oregon and Idaho. • Owyhee County, Idaho, named after the same band of Hawaiian furtraders exploring the area in the 1700s. These adventuresome, courageous explorers were not only brought to the Pacific Northwest as seamen, trappers, miners and fur-traders, but were also acting consistently with their Polynesian heritage of bold seafaring exploration of new lands and places. As with our Hawaiian ancestors, both across the Pacific Oeean and in the Pacific Northwest, our young people should also be encouraged to

strive to be bold, adventurous pioneers striking out for new lands and horizons to seek their fame and fortune. This article is an excerpt from "The History of My Family Kuamo'o, Son of Hilo & Honolulu, Hawai'i" by William Kuamo 'o, who makes his home in Scottsdale, Arizona. Mr. Kuamo'o, a retired vice-president of Valley National Bank of Arizona, has resided on the U.S. continent for 41 years. If you are a Hawaiian on the continentwith an interesting story to tell, or if you know of one, please contact OHA Outreach Coordinator Aulani Apoliona at 594-1912, or e-mail aulania@oha.org. ■