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May 31, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Symbolism of Central Union Church

“We have built this building so that everyone who looks upon it will say, not: ‘Is that a library, or a club house, or a school, or city hall?’ but, promptly and without question, ‘That is a church!’”

“And we have built it after the colonial style of architecture so that all might say with equal assurance, ‘And it is a church with a New England background!’- for we wanted this church to be a fitting tribute to the missionaries who came to these Islands from New England over a century ago bringing Christian civilization with them.”

“We were greatly pleased when Ralph Adams Cram, our artist-architect, assured us that the colonial style was fitting for our climate because its essential elements had grown up in the semi-tropic lands around the Mediterranean and it had been used successfully in the extreme South as well as in New England.”

“We have put this building not on some noisy dusty corner but in a beautiful eight acre garden. One comes back from Japan deeply impressed by the beautiful setting of the temples of that beautiful land.”

“Why not, in Hawaii also where things grow so wonderfully, why not a Christian Church surrounded by the beauty of nature? And so the garden around the church is a symbol of natural religion. We come to worship through the beauty of nature and we say with the poet, as we approach the sanctuary,

‘A garden is a lovesome thing, God wot!
Rose plot, fringed pool,
Ferned grot! The veriest school
Of peace. And yet the fool
Contends that God is not—
Not God? In gardens? When the eve is cool?
Nay, but I have a sign
‘Tis very sure God walks in mind!’

“For a long time we were uncertain as to whether or not we could afford a spire. Now that it is built we all realize how incomplete would have been the picture without the spire like ‘a sacrament of hope,’ as Dr. Ross called it, pointing above the trees of the garden. How wonderfully Mrs. Frear has caught the symbolism of it in her poem!

‘Lo here among the palm-trees
Our isle has flung a spire—
A slender bud of beauty
Pointing higher, higher—
A lifted torch awaiting light
From Heaven’s altar fire.”

“At the entrance to the church is a broad and simple porch of welcome – yet only one door, with a cross above the grille work. That door stands open every day and is the symbol of Christ who says, ‘I am the door, by me if any man shall enter in, he shall be saved; and shall go in and out, and shall find pasture!’”

“But the approach to the door is through four columns and lighted by three great lanterns. The columns are the four gospels through which we come to know the character of Christ and hear his voice and, as to the three lanterns, they may symbolize the mystery of the Trinity – one God, one light, yet revealed as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, or …”

“… if you are practically minded rather than theological, let them stand for the three Christian graces of faith and hope and love which, seen from afar and shining upon the church, shall draw men unto the door.”

“High in the lantern of the spire is another light shining out over land and sea as though One said, ‘I am the Light of the world – he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness.’ “And above the spire flies the dove as a weather-vane – the dove of peace and symbol of the Holy Spirit.”

“Once inside, each man can make his own interpretation for this is a church of freedom in the quest of truth, but, if you are interested, I will give you mine. I find a symbolism of world fellowship in the different countries represented in the wonderfully beautiful interior.”

“The general design is clearly English, yet the chaste white beauty of it all reminds me of churches in Holland. The basilica form and vaulted ceiling are Roman but the columns speak of Greece and, back of that, of Egypt. Corinthian are the capitals, yet the details are copied not from the acanthus but from the pineapples and coconut palm fronds of Hawaii.”

“New England contributed the small paned, round topped windows but the redwood pews and chancel are from California and the lighting fixtures are old Italian sanctuary lamps, slightly modified to burn electricity in place of oil.”

“‘What a mixture!’ one might say who reads this in cold type. But look about you – all is harmonious, all fits together as a symbol of the unity of all men and races in Christ Jesus.”

“To continue the symbolism may I suggest that the twelve great columns shall stand here as long as the church shall last calling to mind the twelve apostles and that the thirteen lamps represent thirteen churches – the lamp has ever been a symbol of the church.”

“You can make up your thirteen any way you choose. Take the seven churches of Asia and add those others which figure so largely in Paul’s letters – Philippi, Berea, Thessalonica, Athens, Corinth, Rome. Think of their light shining down upon us through the centuries!”

“Or take thirteen churches of today – the Baptists, Congregationalists, Methodists, Quakers, Presbyterians, Disciples, Lutherans, Unitarians, Christian Scientists, Episcopalians, Dutch Reformed, Greek Orthodox, and Roman Catholic. Let them all shine with the light of a common love of Jesus Christ.”

“Even though we may not follow them in all details of liturgy or doctrine we will welcome their light upon the world – ‘Many are the lamps, but the light is one.’”

“There are four plain panels at the rear of the church. It might be perilous to paint pictures on them in reality but let us paint them there in our imagination. On one will be Buddha, meditating on the sorrows of life beneath the sacred Bo tree, on another Confucius writing down the wisdom of China, on a third Moses coming down from Sinai and on another Mohammed kneeling in prayer. All to remind us that there is a kinship and a common aspiration in all religions.”

“You may notice that there are ten glass doors opening directly out into the garden – five on either side. They are the ten commandments – we look out into life through the clear and transparent doors of the moral law.

“‘Oh,’ someone says, ‘But here is another door at the mauka end of the aisle upon the right.’ Yes and over that door the eyes of faith see written: ‘A new commandment I give you, that ye love one another even as I have loved you!’”

“Above the doors are fourteen windows through whose clear glass we look up to the blue sky and flying clouds of heaven. They are for the saints and heroes of the faith who served their day and generation and are now delivered from the labors and struggles of this life. Let us put them there, not in colored glass, but in the fairer colors of our imagination.”

“Here above the choir is St. Paul and around the corner, still to the left of the pulpit, St. Augustine. Looking directly down into the pulpit, to remind the preacher of all humility and tenderness, is St. Francis of Assisi and just beyond, to make him brave and fearless, come Joan of Arc, Savonarola, Wyclif and John Huss.”

“On the other side of the church stand Luther, John Robinson, the pastor of the Pilgrims, David Livingstone, the representative of all missionaries, Florence Nightingale and General Booth.”

“Above the gallery is a triple window reserved for the saints of our own land. Just now we will place in the center panel Abraham

Lincoln and on either side Booker Washington and Alice Freeman Palmer.”

“But these are not all the windows. High in the clerestory are twelve more. We will put no names upon them. They are reserved for the future! New saints and heroes must arise in the new days that lie ahead.”

“We reserve one for some American Pasteur who shall win the battle against cancer and tuberculosis. One for some prison reformer who shall make our jails true hospitals for moral disease. One for some social leader who shall solve the conflict of capital and labor and bring justice and good-will to industry.”

“Another shall yet be dedicated to some President or Senator who shall lead America out into fellowship with an organized world. Another is reserved for some Saint who shall so reveal the awfulness of the city slums that the conscience of the people shall be aroused to abolish them, and yet another window awaits the great prophet who shall burn into the souls of his generation the folly and impiety of race-prejudice and make humanity to be a real brotherhood at last.“

“Do not forget, young men and women of the future, these unnamed windows high above you. They set the goal for

tasks yet unaccomplished and challenge you with unattained ideals.”

“As one approaches the chancel in this beautiful church home of ours the symbolism deepens. Here is the lectern with the Bible on it, reminding us of what we owe to the inspiration of the past. Here is the pulpit – for the prophetic message looking toward the future. And here in the center and focus of it all is the Communion Table ever reminding us of the mystic presence of the Christ who says, ‘Lo, I am with you alway.’”

“High above all is the cross, the supreme symbol of our holy religion – a symbol of suffering, yet a symbol of hope. It is not a crucifix with a dead Christ upon it. Our cross is empty.”

“Our Christ is not holden of death- He is risen and triumphant. Our cross has trefoil ends that touch it with a beauty that was not present at Calvary because for us the cross is not a symbol of defeat but of victory – Even as the text says, high above it, we hold the sublime faith that, even though crucified, ‘Love never faileth.’”

“One word more! It says in Acts, ‘God dwelleth not in temples made by hands’ and again in First Corinthians, ‘Ye are a temple of God.’”

“It is not the buildings that make the city but the people in it and no church can serve apart from the men and women who gather beneath its over-arching roof. Not only the church must stand in friendly welcome in its garden in the midst of the city – its members must have the friendly heart as well.”

“It is not enough to write ‘Love never faileth’ upon its walls – we who worship here must believe it and practice it. Even the uplifted cross may be mute to men who do not find its power changing the lives of those who look upon it.”

“‘Ah, friend, we never choose the better part

Until we set the cross up in the heart.’”

“How long will this church endure and speak its magic unto men? Only so long as the people who use it are themselves first of all temples of the living God!” (All here is, in part from a sermon preached by Albert W. Palmer, D.D., LL.D., Litt.D. Central Union Church, Honolulu, Hawaii, June 1, 1924.)

May 30, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Waikiki Toboggan

In the late 19th century, Waikiki’s shoreline was mostly a day-use beach; overnight accommodations were scarce. Visitors were usually residents of Honolulu who would arrive via horse-drawn carriage, on horseback of in a canoe.

They came to enjoy gazing at the surf or taking a ‘sea bath’. As ‘sea bathing’ gained popularity in coastal areas of the US, as well and England, private bathhouses began to appear, there, as well as at Waikiki.

Bathhouses served customers with bathing suits and towel rentals, dressing rooms and each access to the beach. Initially, bathhouses served only day-use recreation of visitors, but eventually some of them began to offer overnight rooms.

At the Long Branch Bathhouse (named after a popular New Jersey resort) another form of recreation was established …

“Our reporter visited Long Branch Waikiki Tuesday and saw the working of the toboggan slide at that place. The following particulars regarding this inovation in bathing tactics were gathered on the spot and may be of interest to our readers.”

“The platform of the arrangement is reached by a flight of steps and the chute or slide is twenty inches wide. This narrow width gives a great momentum to the toboggan as it slides over the rollers for about 200 feet until the water is reached.”

“Only one toboggan starts at a time and it is placed level on the platform and afterwards its forepart is depressed by a lever to the angle of incline when it starts toward the water.”

“The toboggan itself is a wooden frame with a turn up end upon which the bather reclines and the pleasure is in the swiftness of motion over the chute.”

“When the bather reaches the water his toboggan skips on the surface for some distance from fifty to one hundred feet in proportion to the momentum acquired in the descent and then he has to swim ashore and propel his toboggan to a landing.”

“To a young person either male or female this pastime cannot be otherwise than delightful and it gives an excitement which ordinary bathing lacks. It is almost impossible that any accidents should occur on the chute as there is no chance to topple over nor is there any fear of the construction giving way.”

“Originally the toboggan is a Canadian Indian invention and was first brought into public notice at the Chaudiere Falls Province of Quebec where an ice slide forms every winter below the cataract.”

“Of late years the pastime has undergone many changes and improvements and from being an exclusively winter sport the same idea has been extended to summer and to any clime.”

“Mr Sherwood the proprietor of the Waikiki bathing establishment and chute informs us that the work of perfecting tho constructions of his unique slide and the neccessary buildings will cost him nearly 5000 and that he intends to make still more accommodations.

“There are now forty two dressing rooms for gentlemen and eighteen boudoirs for ladies. To these accommodations will be added a bathing platform 100 feet along the beach by 80 feet wide and a trapeze and spring board attached.”

“There will also be a restaurant and when the whole is finished we may expect to have occasionally to report aquatic feats of considerable magnitude.”

“It may be expected that pastimes of this nature will be enjoyed chiefly by young persons but there is no reason why the seniors should not participate in what is really an enjoyable and sanitary sport.”

“The price of each scoot on the toboggan is the remarkably low figure of five cents.” (Hawaiian Gazette, May 28, 1889)

May 28, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Luau Diplomacy

From royal prince to revolutionary to Hawaiian Delegate, Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana‘ole traveled a unique route to the United States Congress. Known primarily as “Kuhio” or by his childhood nickname “Prince Cupid,” he remains the only Member of Congress born into royalty.

Kuhio was born on March 26, 1871, in the village of Kukuiula in the Koloa District of the island of Kauai. Kuhio was the youngest of three sons of High Chief David Kahalepouli Piikoi and Princess Victoria Kinoiki Kekaulike. Princess Victoria’s sister, Kapiolani Napelakapuokakae, married into the royal line of Hawaii in 1863 when she wed King David Kalakaua.

In 1880 Kuhio’s father, David Piikoi, died and King Kalakaua appointed Kuhio’s mother governor of the island of Hawaii. The king issued a royal proclamation making Kuhio and his two brothers princes in 1883 and made them wards following their mother’s death a year later. He then incorporated Princess Kekaulike’s line into the Kalakaua dynasty.

King Kalakaua provided the best education available for his sister-in-law’s sons. After St. Alban’s School (forerunner of Iolani) and Oahu College (Punahou School), Kuhio joined his brothers at St. Matthew’s Military Academy in San Mateo, California.

In 1888 King Kalakaua sent Kuhio to Japan with the hope of setting up a marriage with the Japanese royal family. Kuhio spent nearly a year as the guest of the Japanese government, learning the art of diplomacy, but he made no effort to secure a marriage. Upon returning home, Kuhio briefly took up a position in the Ministry of Interior and Customs.

Continuing to groom Kuhio and his brother, David, to be potential heirs, Kalakaua sent them to study business in Gloucestershire, England, at the Royal Agricultural College. The pair toured Europe, greeted as equals in royal courts across the continent.

The brothers returned from England in early 1891; King Kalakaua died in January while visiting San Francisco. His sister, Liliuokalani, succeeded to the throne and set Princess Kaiulani, daughter of Kalakaua’s youngest sister, Miriam Likelike, as her heir apparent, cementing Kawananakoa and Kuhio, respectively, as presumptive heirs behind the princess.

His former ally Robert Wilcox defeated Kuhio’s brother David to become the first Hawaiian Delegate in the US Congress. Kuhio then joined Wilcox’s Home Rule Party. However, Kuhio grew disenchanted with the Home Rule Party after witnessing some of its racially charged politics firsthand.

In July 1902, the party tapped Kuhio to lead a reorganization committee. Kuhio’s proposals prioritized attracting younger moderates, but Wilcox preferred the status quo. However, a speech at the opening of the territory’s Republican convention cemented Kuhio’s choice to run as a Republican.

Former Nebraska Senator John M. Thurston declared, “You might as well send a frog to chipper at the doors of the Court of St. James for what you want as send to Washington a Delegate who is not one of or in harmony with either of the two great political parties.”

Kuhio joined the convention as a nominee for Delegate, announcing, “I am a Republican from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet.” Republicans nominated him by acclamation.

Kuhio’s campaign developed around embracing Americanism, saying at stump speeches, “Monarchy had accomplished a useful means, and democracy arises to carry on the work.” Ultimately, Republicans swept both the legislature and the delegacy. Kuhio’s victory fatally weakened the Home Rule Party.

Kuhio arrived in Washington, DC, with much exuberance, though the reality of his isolated position rapidly set in. Most Washingtonians simply referred to him as “Kuhio” or “Prince Cupid,” after his childhood nickname.

As a statutory representative – Kuhio’s Delegate position was created by federal statute rather than articulated in the Constitution – Kuhio had little influence in the House but he developed non-traditional ways to push his legislative interests.

After settling into his position, Kuhio wrestled with mainland ignorance of Hawaii. He was appointed to the traditional seats on the Territories Committee and the Post Office and Post Roads Committee, but often found himself testifying before the Merchant Marine and Fisheries or Naval Affairs panels instead.

He struggled to pass bills approving a franchise grant to expand the installation of electric lights in Hawaii. Afterward in the 59th Congress (1905–1907), he concentrated on getting money to build, repair, and maintain lighthouses on the islands and encouraging greater trade.

No one seemed to know whether funding existed for the project, so Kuhio shuffled back and forth between the Navy Department’s Lighthouse Board, Speaker Joe Cannon, and a clerk of the Appropriations Committee before discovering the funds had been suspended under the belief that Hawaii was an insular possession, like Puerto Rico or the Philippines.

Over and over the Kuhio became aware that neither congressional colleagues nor federal bureaucrats knew much about Hawaii. So he dedicated himself to educating American administrators about the islands. Much of this process happened off the House Floor. (US House)

In 1905, Hawaii served as a pit stop for congressional delegation on its way to Japan and the Philippines. Members were eager to travel abroad, though most viewed that particular delegation trip as a vacation. Still, the trip drew considerable press attention.

Shortly thereafter, Kuhio noticed the level of interest and in 1907 he began arranging delegations of his own – some referenced this as Luau Diplomacy.

For one notable excursion, Kuhio wrote to every Member of Congress, inviting them to be guests of the territory ahead of the 64th Congress (1915–1917) scheduled to open later that December. (This was the third Congressional Party to visit Hawaii as official guests; similar delegations toured the Islands in 1907 and 1909.)

The nearly 50-man 1915 delegation (27 Representatives, 10 Senators, congressional family members, staff, and a group of press), using a $15,000 disbursement from the Hawaiian territorial legislature, represented the largest group of Congressmen to visit the islands at that time.

The Islands’ welcoming committee had planned a three-week tour of the Hawaiian Islands for the Members with the hope of securing from Congress various economic support for the territory.

The party featured some of the most powerful men in the House of Representatives, including Republican Leader James Mann who, like former Speaker Cannon, hailed from Illinois.

Politicos buzzed on the mainland that Republicans had a good shot at taking back the House in the upcoming 1916 elections, and Kuhio – a Republican himself – was eager to make good with the potential new House leadership.

Mann gave Kuhio every reason to be encouraged, saying, “These islands may be assured of a continuance of prosperity.”

Laden with lei, regaled with patriotic music, and awash in florid greetings, the congressional guests at one point gave three cheers for Kuhio and sang a rousing rendition of “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow.”

A fleet of cars whisked some Members off to their hotels to prepare for the evening’s Governor’s Ball at ‘Iolani Palace. Other Members and their families donned bathing suits and enjoyed the sand and surf at Waikiki Beach.

Member, Clarence Miller of Minnesota, brought a massive moving picture machine to record the trip. “This tour is a great idea,” Miller enthused. “They know something about Hawaii in Congress, but not nearly as much as they should know. Everybody’ll learn something this time. Something they won’t forget, either.”

Kuhio and the territorial legislature set an exhausting schedule for the congressional visitors. A ferry ride to the island of Maui featured a tour of the harbor, the lighthouse, and a cannery.

The itinerary also included stops at schools, public utilities, clubs, and private residences – places the organizers hoped would help the island secure funding for harbor and infrastructure improvements and lead to the repeal of a sugar tariff they felt had hamstrung Hawaii’s economy.

Members gradually absorbed their island education. Representative Albert Johnson of Washington met with the inspector in charge of immigration to the island, claiming the issue was of “keen interest” given his strong stance against immigration from Asian nations.

Virginia Representative Carter Glass and North Carolina Senator Lee S. Overman voiced their hopes for a thorough education in the Hawaiian sugar trade. Representative Joshua Alexander of Missouri spoke at length about his hopes for a resolution to the Islands’ transportation woes with the mainland.

Representative Swagar Sherley of Kentucky, a prominent member of the Appropriations Committee, however, had a different focus in mind. “The military and naval end of congressional appropriations will occupy much of my visit to Hawaii,” he said, specifically referencing Pearl Harbor and the installations on the island of Oahu.

The firsthand experience often helped grease the skids for legislative action afterward. “I have a few things to take up with the prince about the merchant marine and transportation facilities that come within the jurisdiction of my committee,” wrote Representative William Wilson of Illinois after one tour, “and I intend to help rectify those unreasonable sailing conditions when we get together.” (US House)

Faced with repeated stonewalling in committees, particularly on the issue of harbor improvements, Kuhio changed his tactics. In a period of increasing tensions between the US and Japan, his new idea was to tie the federal government tighter to Hawaiian infrastructure through renewed focus on military and naval bases on the islands.

He took his case before the House Naval Affairs Committee in 1908. “Gentlemen of the committee, this Government has for ten years neglected the safeguard of preparing a naval base in the mid-Pacific,” Kuhio declared. It amounted to an “inexcusable neglect” not of a special Hawaiian interest, but of a national security necessity.

Kuhio’s persistent lobbying on the issue over the course of a decade paid dividends after he led a 1919 tour for Navy Secretary Josephus Daniels and the navy board to visit Pearl Harbor. Daniels agreed with Kuhio’s assessment, and Congress responded to the secretary’s report with an appropriation of $27 million for recommended improvements and expansions.

Kuhio spent much of his time protecting Hawaii from federal policy changes that conflicted with its interests. In 1917 he testified against the passage of a bill introduced by Missouri Democrat Joshua Alexander, which would have sharply regulated wireless radio usage and traffic within the United States.

Laden with communications from Hawaiian businessmen, Kuhio argued that radio was essential to the growth and development of the islands and that new federal regulations would hurt Hawaiian economic expansion and the ability of its people to assimilate into American culture. The committee accordingly scuttled the bill.

After World War I, Kuhio pressured Congress to continue the suspension of coastwise laws that forbade foreign ships from serving as passenger steamers between Honolulu and San Francisco without the payment of a hefty fine per passenger.

Members on the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, however, were eager to roll back the wartime suspensions. But with American ships still pressed into service as military transports, Hawaiians relied primarily on foreign ships to travel to and from the mainland. (US House)

The luaus for the Congressional members worked; by the 1920s and 1930s, these Hawaiian-style parties flourished across the mainland, and even made it to the US Capitol.

Speakers of the House Nicholas Longworth and William Bankhead agreed with the Los Angeles Times: “We don’t need an excuse to enjoy the relaxed, romantic pleasure of a Hawaiian party.”

May 27, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Carlos A Long

Carlos (Charles) Long was from Milano, Italy. He married Julia Naoho of Maui, whose uncle, Samuel Kamakau, was one of the first Hawaiian historians.

Long was a merchant. He owned schooners. He also had several large tracts of land in Honolulu.

Julia Long had five children with Charles Long, namely: Giovoni, Carlos, Antonino, Katarina (Wright) and Elia. (Elia Long, oral history)

Carlos Appiani Long, born in Honolulu March 4, 1874 (half-Italian and half-Hawaiian), received his early education at St. Louis College and Punahou School.

He then went to Santa Clara College and received his degree from the Commerce Department. (Star Bulletin)

“He was prominent in athletics in his school days and played football on the Punahou, Maili, Town Team and other football elevens.”

“At Georgetown University, he was captain of the varsity football team in 1901, being one of the first Honoluluans to be honored in that manner in the mainland.” (Elia Long, oral history)

“While a student at the Georgetown University, Mr Long was very popular among the fellow students, and in 1898 was chosen unanimously the captain of the university football team.” (Honolulu Republican, August 8, 1901)

“Football appeals to more people than probably any other athletic game … But it is not only native born Americans who have proved themselves adepts to the game. Some of the best players on the leading teams have been foreigners.”

“Georgetown university, for instance, has for its captain this year a native of the Sandwich Islands, who was almost unanimously picked out by his fellows as the best man to the college for the honor and the responsible position.”

“He has all the natural talents of the Hawaiian race, with a soft, dreamy, gentle nature and appearance and musical inclinations. Long is a remarkably strong player and has had considerable experience in Honolulu at Oahu College”. (Logansport Pharos-Tribune, Nov 20, 1899)

“He began his law course at Stanford and later received his law degree from Georgetown University in Washington D.C. He was admitted to practice law in the courts of the District of Columbia and Hawaii.”

“He entered politics and was twice elected to the Territorial House of Representatives in 1903 and 1905. He was later appointed tax assessor for Kauai and served for eight years before returning to Honolulu in 1929.”

“For several years he was administrator for estates. He engaged extensively in the real estate business.” (Elia Long, oral history)

Carlos married Lizzie Maunakapu Whiting. They had three children Leslie, Carlos “Sonny” and Elia. Each of the children attended Punahou. (Elia Long, oral history)

A subdivision tract and one of its main streets share the name.

“Carlos Long bought about 2,000 acres of land in Palolo. Much of the land in Palolo Valley during the 1900s was too swampy, too steep, or too remote for the development of housing subdivisions.”

Then, the Palolo Golf Course was constructed.

“The landscaping of a golf course in the 1930s enticed new residents, and the population continued to grow with the Wilhelmina Heights subdivision on Mauumae Ridge and the St. Louis Heights subdivision on Kalaepohaku Ridge.” (DEA, Cultural Surveys)

In late-1948, the first phase of a multiple phase subdivision was proposed in the back of Palolo Valley.

“The new subdivision is located in a 90 acre tract formerly owned by the Carlos Long estate. The whole tract was purchased for $350,000 by Mr. [Ruddy] Tongg and a group of associates through the American Finance Ltd.”

“Opening of a new upper Palolo valley subdivision with 125 home lots at ‘wage earners’ prices’” was announced. “Purchase price of each lot will average $3,900 … this includes the price of installing sewers, roads, sidewalks and curbs, water lines storm drains and street lights”. (Star Bulletin, December 30, 1948)

The Realtor marketing the project that the first “32 lots in the Carlos Long Palolo Valley Tract, owned by American Finance, are being placed on sale … primarily for veterans.”

May 26, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians

it started with one man named Johann Suter (later John Sutter) who came to California from Switzerland in 1839 and settled a large tract of land in Sacramento, which he called New Helvetia (New Switzerland). The goal was to bring other settlers to New Helvetia and build an agricultural and trade colony.

Sutter originally didn’t start in California; first, he left his family in Switzerland and travelled extensively through the Eastern US, Oregon and eventually to Hawaii where he met Russian traders who told him about Alto California where land and furs were abundant.

It was in Hawaii that he made the decision to head to California via Alaska. (Noren) After a brief stay in the Islands, in 1839, Sutter had a “crew consisted of the two German carpenters I had brought with me from the Islands, and a number of sailors and mechanics I had picked up at Yerba Buena.”

“I also had eight Kanakas, all experienced seamen, whom King Kamehameha had given me when I left the Sandwich Islands. I had undertaken to pay them ten dollars a month and to send them back to the Islands after three years at my own expense if they wished to leave me.” (Sutter; Houston)

At the time of Sutter’s arrival in California, the territory had a population of only 1,000-Europeans, in contrast with 30,000-Native Americans. At the time, it was part of Mexico.

When they landed and set up New Helvetia (August 13, 1839,) “I selected the highest ground I could find. The Kanakas first erected two grass houses after the manner of the houses on the Sandwich Islands; the frames were made by white men and covered with grass by the Kanakas.” (Sutter)

Sutter employed Native Americans of the Miwok and Maidu tribes, Kanakas and Europeans at his compound, which he called Sutter’s Fort.

In the following years many Sandwich Islanders followed these few to California. John Sutter brought them there to work at Sutter’s Fort and at Hock Farm.”

“A colony of more than 100-native Hawaiians formed a colony in Sutter County called Verona, the first non-native American settlement in the Central California Valley.”

“These Hawaiians fished for bass, trout, and catfish and sold them at the Fort and in Sacramento. They learned to raise alfalfa and raised hogs and cattle. The Hawaiians rowed their boats, assembled their tents and played their Ukulele and Guitar. When a visiting Hawaiian brought poi, ti leaves, kukui and other items from home the Hawaiians held barbecues and luau and danced hula.” (Willcox)

In his memoirs, Sutter recalled the Hawaiians, “I could not have settled the country without the aid of these Kanakas. They were always faithful and loyal to me.” (Sutter)

From 1839 to 1849, Sutter’s Fort was the economic center of the first permanent European colonial settlement in California’s Central Valley. During that time, the Fort catalyzed patterns of change across California. Then, the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill in 1848.

“[B]y the mid-1800s, there were hundreds of Hawaiians in what is now Canada and California. In 1847, Hawaiians made up 10% of San Francisco’s tiny but growing population.” (Terrell)

“In the aftermath of the gold rush, many Hawaiians stayed in California. And as they settled in California, a number of Hawaiian men married local indigenous women. Which, it turns out, was a common occurrence up and down the West Coast.” (Terrell)

“Both Hawaiians and Indians in the Oregon Territory were explicitly excluded from the dominant society. From the mid-1860s onward, neither they nor their offspring were legally permitted to marry into the dominant society.” (Barman & Watson)

As a result, Hawaiians were absorbed into local Native American communities through intermarriage. These Hawaiians were less likely to return to the Islands and leave their Native American wives and children behind. (Farnham)

One such is the Shingle Springs Band. “They were known as the lost tribe of kanakas. They are not our Indians. They’re not local.” (Marilyn Ferguson; Terrell, Civil Beat)

Then in 1916, an agent with the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs traveled to California looking for landless and destitute Indians.

The agent recorded a number of Miwok families living in the Placerville area and called those people the El Dorado Band.

Then he visited the group near Verona — about 50 miles away. According to letters from the time, the group at that point was mostly made up of extended family members. A few Hawaiian men and their wives — local Miwok and Maidu and one white woman.

The spit of land they lived on was small. It nearly disappeared when the river swelled from rain. They lived on fish and marsh birds. Bought meager food supplies from town by delivering fish to markets and individual houses nearby.

The agent dubbed this group of Indians the Sacramento-Verona Band of Homeless Indians and suggested buying land for them.

“They seemed open to banding together,” he wrote. And would be excellent candidates for the federal government’s plan to “colonize and civilize Indians” in California. (Terrell; Civil Beat)

The Bureau of Indian Affairs relocated one of those communities to what is now the Shingle Springs Rancheria. Tribal members say they owe their survival to their Hawaiian ancestors and believe their relatives on the mainland deserve the same recognition as tribes in the US. (Ho-Chunk)

But the Sacramento-Verona tribe didn’t move to the 160-acre parcel. For decades the land sat fallow and unused. Then in 1970, the BIA reached out to the descendants of the group dubbed the Sacramento-Verona tribe to see if they wanted to sell the uninhabited land that had been set aside for their families.

They opted to keep the land and came together as a tribe. Built homes on the land. A church. A community center. Negotiated with the state to get highway access to the land. They renamed themselves the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians.

And they started making plans to open a casino. That’s when things got heated. Not everyone wanted the Shingle Springs Band to open a casino in the area.

The Miwok families that the Bureau dubbed the El Dorado Tribe in 1916 lost their land decades ago. Now, some of their descendants say it’s unfair for the Shingle Springs Band to have taken Miwok as part of its name. Unjust — and perhaps a misinterpretation of the law — for them to have tribal land in the area.

Most of the members of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians have Hawaiian roots. Tribal ancestors married Native Hawaiians who came to California during the Gold Rush of the mid-1800s and the groups formed Indian-Hawaiian communities around Sacramento.

However complicated their origins, the tribe’s sovereignty has been upheld repeatedly in court. (Terrell; Civil Beat)