There has been some debate within the Legislature on House Concurrent Resolution 27, which would request the U.S. Census Bureau and the County of Hawaii to re-designate the name of Captain Cook to Ka‘awaloa. The debate on the name change stems from many other social conversations, such as: the name change of McKinley High school on Oahu and the name changes and statue removal across the United States. Hawaii has a very unique socio-political history that traces back to before the formation of its Kingdom by King Kamehameha the Great.
Proponents of the measure look to history prior to the arrival of Capt. James Cook. The area of Ka’awaloa is rich in Native Hawaiian history and can be traced through mele, oli, and olelo no’eau. The fertile soil of this land is rooted in the history of great high ali’i. Many Native Hawaiian’s, including many Kupuna of the area, find a sense of place and forever will refer to this land as Ka‘awaloa.
Opponents of the measure look to the history post-arrival of Cook, a British navigator who was the first known European to find Hawaii. Many opponents refer to the term “cancel culture” — a term that means: “the practice or tendency of engaging in mass canceling as a way of expressing disapproval and exerting social pressure.”
The issue is what came first the chicken or the egg? To say that it is “cancel culture” is far from the truth — especially knowing that the original cancel culture existed when our territorial government banned Hawaiian language from being taught in our schools, and most traditions and beliefs, like Hula, were banned, place names like Ka’awaloa changed to Captain Cook, Pu‘uloa to Pearl Harbor, and many other names “canceled.” The government tried to cancel Native Hawaiian culture and language entirely.
Will we adjust to a name that predates the current name? We hold dear to traditional place names because of our sense of place and connection to the area. More needs to be done to solidify a process for a recommended name change by providing a voice to the people. A House Concurrent Resolution is just a recommendation, not legislation with teeth. A referendum of some kind needs to take place for those who live within the area, as most Native Hawaiian’s and kupuna are not privy to the legislative process, and a selected few can dominate the testimony during the legislative proceedings as we have seen in the past.
Bronsten Kalei Kossow is a resident of Kona.