VIDEO: History of Hawaiians in B.C. celebrated at Fort Langley festival

VIDEO: History of Hawaiians in B.C. celebrated at Fort Langley festival Published 9:00 am Monday, July 13, 2026 Hawaians are an almost-forgotten part of Canadian history, often missing from stories of the fur trade.

VIDEO: History of Hawaiians in B.C. celebrated at Fort Langley festival Published 9:00 am Monday, July 13, 2026 Hawaians are an almost-forgotten part of Canadian history, often missing from stories of the fur trade. A two-day festival at Fort Langley National Historic Site aimed to correct that.

Remembering the forgotten history of Hawaiians in Canada during the fur trade at historic Fort Langley pic.twitter.com/wKWQ4xrGS0 — Langley Advance Times (@LangleyTimes) July 11, 2026 “That’s one of the main reasons why we’re here,” explained organizer Jessica Hokulani Demos, Executive Director of the non-profit Spirit of the Pacific Cultural Society, which presented Hoʻopili me ke Aloha, a July 11-12 celebration of culture, community, and the connections between Hawaiians and Indigenous peoples in the Pacific Northwest. “This is a piece of history that is not widely known, is not taught in our schools, and so we are trying to bring it and share it with the world, said Demos.

Presenters explained that Hawaiians were hired to work on ocean-going ships that transported furs to foreign markets, then were directly employed to work in the region’s burgeoning fur trade. They would take up farming, mining, forestry and other resource sectors professions, eventually settling in the Gulf Islands, as well as Victoria, Nanaimo and the Lower Mainland. It was the third year of Hoʻopili me ke Aloha, a two-day celebration of culture, community, and the connections between kānaka maoli (Native Hawaiians) and Indigenous Peoples of the Pacific Northwest, featuring music, dance, storytelling, hands-on workshops, traditional arts, food, and more.

At one workshop, Nancy from Brookswood was learning how tomake a hat out of coconut fronds. “I watched people working, and so this year I signed up for the workshop,” she explained. At the same workshop, Lu’i U’i from Hawaii was demonstrating how to make a traditional haku braid to create a floral crown or headband “As Hawaiians, my partner and I, we have an outreach program,” she explained, which started out by teaching Hawaiians who live in other countries and has since expanded.

“We [now] teach Native Americans, Indigenous, First Nations, and all Pacific Islanders”