Minority without a champion: the Kanaka contribution to the western United States, 1750-1900

Kanakas, Owhyees, Blue Men, were all names given to laborers from Hawaii, or the Sandwich Islands, who contributed significantly to the economic, cultural, and political history of the United States territory west of the Mississippi River in the period 1750-1900. The Sandwich Islands first entered the international economic scene in the latter eighteenth century when its excellent ports and favorable climate made the Islands an ideal winter harbor and stopover for merchant ships, whalers, and explorers' vessels who needed to replenish food and water supplies, or make necessary repairs. Just as frequently the crews of these vessels needed to be supplemented, and the Kanakas were eager to travel and to receive wages paid to seamen. Kanaka seamen sailed with William Douglas, Robert Gray and George Vancouver; and as seamen and land based laborers for the North West Company, Astor's expedition, the Russian-American Company, Hudson's Bay Company, and Nathaniel Wyeth's Columbia River Fur and Trading Company. In 1834 the first American missionaries arrived in the Northwest, and they immediately made demands on the Islanders for labor supply. Both the Methodists and the ABCFM missionaries hired Kanakas for building, kitchen chores, farm labor, blacksmithing, and as herders. When the Oregon country began to attract annual emigrations from the East, the Kanakas found their skills also in demand by these new settlers. They were hired to work in the sawmills or as farm and house servants. Their seamanship opened doors all over the world for them, and involved the Islanders in various foreign intrigues. In Japan they were among deserters imprisoned and mistreated by the Oriental isolationists. During the American Civil War many were taken prisoner by Confederate ships. They also played a role in the movement to improve the lot of sailors by appearing before the British admiralty courts seeking redress for poor treatment aboard British ships. Those Kanakas who remained on the American mainland wanted to become citizens of the United States with their white neighbors. Their petition to the territorial government of Oregon, however, was refused. Restrictions were placed upon their continued immigration into the Northwest area, they were ignored by the 1849 Oregon census, the U.S. Consul in California received instructions from the Secretary of State barring the Kanakas from assistance or protection in California ports, and a long verbal battle ensued in the U.S. Congress over excluding them from the Donation Land Act. But the Kanakas were still

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