What we do

{Download a pdf of our Brochure}

The Foundation receives and distributes funds for annual events such as:

• A Cultural Lu'au - 700 in attendance
• Hula and Craft Workshop - 300 attendees
• Hapa Haole Hula Competition  CLICK HERE for more information - NEW EVENT!
• Ho'ike & Hawaiian Festival CLICK HERE for more information - Over 8,000 in attendance
• Hawaiian Holiday Bazaar CLICK HERE for more information - 1,000 in attendance
• May Day is Lei Day - 1,000 in attendance

We also offer to members and the community at large

• Hawaiian `Olelo Language Classes
• Hawaiian History
• Hawaiian/Polynesian Foundation Library
• Kupuna Elder Gatherings
• Hula Classes for all ages

As well as senior outreach and academic programs throughout the PNW community. The importance of `ohana (family) is emphasized in frequent gatherings and with the "Keiki Korner" found at all of our events.  The majority of our events are free to the community and we invite all to attend.  Ke Kukui Foundation promotes local economy through partnerships with area businesses as well as organizations who have similar goals.  Collections to the Oregon/Washington Food Bank and donations are made annually.

Why it's Important

Ke Kukui Foundation is a mainland based Polynesian group. You may be asking yourself, why we do what we do and why should you think it's important?

The End of a Culture? Hawaiian Population Decreases

More than half a million native Hawaiians were living in the islands at the time of European contact in 1778. Within 50 years, that population was cut in half as Western diseases claimed thousands of lives.

A series of events followed:  the Kapu system ended, Missionaries forbade many traditions including hula, foreign owned plantations absorbed local farmlands; waves of immigrant workers arrived - making Hawaiians a minority in their own land, the queen was illegally removed by force and the monarchy dissolved; and WWII brought a lasting military presence. By 1900, there were only 30,000 pure Hawaiians left.  University of Hawaii sociologists estimate that the extinction of full-blooded Hawaiians could come within the next 45 years…

With the cost of living in Hawai`i skyrocketing, many of the Hawaiian born have moved to the mainland to seek a better life for their families and children.  Ke Kukui Foundation's goals are to celebrate the Hawaiian culture by sharing the language, traditions, music and dances with the children who have never known their culture and the adults who are displaced from their home.

An Amazing History in the Pacific Northwest

Oregon and Washington has a unique history with Hawaiians arriving in 1811. Hundreds lived in and around Kanaka Village at Fort Vancouver in Washington during the fur trade in the late 1830s. In fact, the Hawaiian dish, lomilomi salmon came about thanks to the salmon from the PNW.

Kalama, Owyhee River, Kanaka Creek, and even a Waikiki Beach are all named by or for Hawaiians in the Oregon and Washington areas.  Kanaka Village image courtesy of National Parks Service.

Hawaiians were highly skilled workers and contributed greatly to the lumber and fur trade. Some arrived as indentured servants traded by KIng Kamehameha III, others to make a living in the new world after the end of the Kapu system.  After the end of the fur trade, some stayed and intermarried into area Native tribes. Many Hawaiians died when Oregon pioneers brought diseases.  When Oregon and Washington declined to observe them as US citizens with rights to own land, many returned home to Hawai`i or moved to Canada where they were able to buy land.

Follow the link to listen to Crossing East: Hawaiians in the Pacific Northwest on National Public Radio.  To learn more about how Captain Vancouver helped return Hawaiian girls to Hawaii.