Cultural Resources

Native Hawaiian Culture

The first Polynesian settlers from the Marquesas Islands arrived in Hawai‘i 1,600 years ago. Over the next 1,300 years, they developed a complex and rich cultural system. Hawaiian society included a political structure based on social status and prestige, with rulers claiming direct descendance from the gods. Canoe-making, sculpting, and manufacturing of kapa cloth were common industries, and ceremonial traditions involved music, dancing, poetry, and mythological stories (mo‘olelo).

The Hawaiian people developed advanced agricultural and aquacultural systems that supported an expanding population. Important agricultural products included kalo (taro), ‘ulu (breadfruit), and ‘uala (sweet potato). Aquaculture provided resources like i‘a (fish), pipi (pearl oyster), and ‘opae (shrimp).

When European explorers arrived in Hawai‘i during the 18th century, the traditional system of land division was ahupua‘a. The ahupua‘a system divided land into sections that ran from mountains, to the plains, then to the sea. Landowners were responsible for land management and the agricultural, aquacultural, and medicinal resources the land encompassed. This ahupua‘a system supported self-sufficiency. The largest such division on O‘ahu was the Hono‘uli‘uli ahupua‘a.

 

An Ewa Plantation-era aqueduct

NPS photo

Colonial Era

As 19th century foreign colonizers expanded their influence on the islands, they replaced traditional ahupua‘a land divisions with European-American methods of organization. New methods of land management included the drilling of wells, creation of aqueduct systems, and construction of railroads.

In 1877, James Campbell purchased 41,000 acres of land, including the future site of Honouliuli Internment Camp, for ranching. In 1890, the Ewa Plantation Company was founded to produce sugar on O‘ahu. During its first year, the company dug 22 wells, planted 775 acres of sugar cane, and the first Japanese laborers were hired to work on the plantations.

Over time, workers from other countries, including China, the Philippines, Korea, Portugal, and African Americans, were brought to the island plantations. Due to military and economic interests, the Hawaiian Kingdom was overthrown leading to Hawai‘i becoming a U.S. territory in 1900. Eventually, the establishment of military facilities on O‘ahu, including the official development of the Pearl Harbor naval base in 1908, was built upon the Hono‘uli‘uli ahupua‘a.

 

World War II and After War's End

After the attack by the Japanese Imperial Army on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the U.S. military acquired land in Honouliuli Gulch for use as a civilian incarceration and prisoner of war (POW) camp. The Honouliuli Internment Camp opened on March 2, 1943, and covered 160 acres. The camp included American-military style housing for civilian internees and military guards, tents for POWs, barracks and mess halls, guard towers, and basic infrastructure.

After World War II, the U.S. military Corp of Engineers (COE) bulldozed the camp in 1946. The land was subsequently leased out for farming and ranching until about 2000. In 2002, volunteers from the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i (JCCH) re-identified the location of the camp.