A friend of mine shared with me the other day something about the history of Kalama, Washington.
Because so much of our state is named after Native American tribes, it’s natural to assume Kalama was also named after Native Americans. But the fur trader, John Kalama, who came to the area in the mid 1800’s was of Hawaiian descent and traveled from the islands.
He married a native local, and there were other Hawaiians who came for the fur trade and did the same as John Kalama. It has been said there are many people in the area and up and down the Pacific NW coast who are unaware of their Hawaiian heritage.
I found this information fascinating, and am going to research more about the Pacific Northwest connections to the islands. So, look for more interesting posts to come. I’d love to know if there are Hawaiian connections where you live. Leave a comment and I’ll do a future post!
To see a short video on John Kalama and his family, click on this link.
Mahalo for visiting!
Cheryl
Cheryl,
ReplyDeleteIt took me a while to realize this, but there are also residents of Alaska who are from Hawaii. (Makes me wonder why someone would make the leap from one climate to another, but perhaps it's the wide open spaces Alaska offers :-) Captain Cook visited Alaska (Cook Inlet) and it's thought that some of his crew members ended up in Alaska for good. Great post!
Cool to know, Deb!
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on the climate exchange--brrrrrr. I can hardly take the Pacific Northwest, although maybe Alaska is less wet and more just cold? I've never visited, so don't have a clue what it's like. I've heard it's absolutely gorgeous, so I really need to get up there someday. : )