Resolution urges name change for Captain Cook

Kaawaloa is a storied place that includes Keala­kekua Bay, where British explorer Capt. James Cook was killed in 1779 during a skirmish between his crew and the subjects of Kalaniopuu, alii nui of Hawaii island.

It was a historic home of Hawaiian chiefs, whose name means “the distant kava,” as runners were sent from there to Puna or Waipio to bring back awa plants, according to “Place Names of Hawaii,” by Mary Kawena Pukui, Samuel H. Elbert and Esther T. Mookini.

In the 1920s, Kaawaloa was renamed Captain Cook by the U.S. Census Bureau because the post office was on Captain Cook Coffee Co. property.

A resolution asking the Census Bureau and Hawaii County to restore the original Hawaiian place name passed the state House of Representatives Committee on Culture, Arts and International Affairs on March 16.

“Captain Cook is one of the primary places that needs to be changed back to its original name, (given) the mana (power) of the place,” said Rep. Jeanne Kapela (D, Naalehu-Captain Cook-Keauhou), who introduced House Concurrent Resolution 27, adding community advocates and the Native Hawaiian Caucus had helped shape the resolution.

Cook continues to be widely credited with the discovery of Hawaii, although the islands were discovered and settled by Polynesians more than 400 years before his ships arrived.

“Captain Cook was an explorer of great fortitude,” 17-year-old Hema Kealohanuikaiama Watson testified at the March 16 legislative hearing. “However, he also brought diseases to our lands, captured one of our most high-ranking alii and was killed for it.”

Rather than “reinforcing one of the most infamous people in Hawaiian history,” said Watson, a student at Halau Ku Mana Public Charter School in Honolulu, it would be “better to return (Captain Cook) to its original name, (which) is particular to this aina and will reinstate the mana that it had.”

“I share the disdain for what Captain Cook did, but I also honor history,” said Rep. Gene Ward, who voted yes with reservations, after Watson spoke, “and I’m afraid if we erase or cancel that with this resolution, this story’s not going to be told.”

But Cook’s story was “already in the history books” and on the monument the British erected to him in Kealakekua Bay, Watson said afterward in a phone interview.

“I don’t think any of his legacy is in any danger of being forgotten,” he said, adding, “no one’s saying his monument should be taken down.”

In written testimony opposing the resolution, Kenneth R. Conklin of the Center for Hawaiian Sovereignty Studies wrote that “throughout Hawaiian history, place-names have changed to memorialize major new events.”

“Greater status or fame displaces lesser status or fame,” he wrote, adding residents and businesses in Captain Cook “would incur major expense to change their addresses and documents.”

But Clair Mason, testifying in writing on behalf of The KoLab, a coworking space and community center in Kailua-Kona, said passing this resolution “would be an act of respect to the culture and people of this place.”

“Some might view the name ‘Captain Cook’ as a testament to history,” she added, “however the real testament would be respecting the history and culture of kanaka maoli by restoring the original name.”

Hawaii Council member Maile David, whose district includes Captain Cook, said in a phone interview that the area is “a very historical area in itself, so I think it deserves the recognition and to have the proper Hawaiian district or ahu­puaa name, which is Kaawaloa.”

Her own residence address in South Kona “says Captain Cook, which is confusing, because the closest post office to me is Honau­nau,” David said, adding, “If it said Kaawaloa, I would feel really great.”

HRC 27 will move on to the House floor and the Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee, Kapela said.