It was standing room only in the theatre at the Fort 91原创 National Historic Site on Saturday, May 18, as visitors crowded in to watch a dance celebration in honour of the many Hawaiians who were part of the Canadian fur trade.

Sandra Borger, the interpretation coordinator at the site, who organized the Luau, explained the fort had 鈥渧ery deep roots with the Hawaiian community.鈥�

鈥淭he Hudson鈥檚 Bay Company employed a lot of Hawaiians here at Fort 91原创 and all along the West Coast,鈥� Borger explained.

鈥淗awaiians were really skilled workers and they were really good with swimming. They were very good at navigating in the oceans.鈥�

These were handy skills to have because a lot of the Hudson鈥檚 Bay employees couldn鈥檛 swim, Borger remarked.

鈥淥ne of the main causes of death for voyageurs was actually drowning. And so having Hawaiian men on your crew was really great, because if someone fell overboard during navigation, or if a bale of fur fell overboard, a Hawaiian worker was able to swim really well and navigate the waters.鈥�

In collaboration with the non-profit , the Hawaiian Luau event allowed visitors to delve into the history of the Hawaiian people and their pivotal role in shaping the fort鈥檚 identity, including Hawaiian language workshops, heritage presentations, and lei crafting.

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Society executive director Jessica 鈥楬okulani鈥� Demos, a second-generation Hawaiian-Canadian, said it was the society鈥檚 first time performing at the fort, but they expected to be back.

鈥淭hey are wanting to tell the story of the Hawaiian settlers that came and worked at the fort, so they reached out to us to help tell that story,鈥� Demos said, 鈥淭he history of the Kanaka Maoli, of the folks who settled there and worked there.鈥�

Demos explained the society operates a school devoted to Polynesian dance that offers workshops and educational programs around the Lower Mainland.

Their main studio is based in Maple Ridge, a community with many links to Hawaiian history.

鈥淜anaka is Hawaiian for people. So we鈥檝e got a lot of Kanaka in Maple Ridge. We鈥檝e got , the actual river, and then we have Kanaka Creek Elementary School, too. There鈥檚 a lot of students that go there, or families that attend there, who have no idea that it鈥檚 named after the Hawaiian folk who lived there, in that area.鈥�

It wasn鈥檛 just a few people, either, she noted.

鈥淎t one point during the fur trade, almost 50 per cent of the men who were employed in Fort Vancouver were Hawaiian.鈥�

A B.C. Knowledge Network 鈥溾�� page posted by the public broadcaster describes a time when small Hawaiian communities dotted the B.C. coast, including the Gulf Islands, Nanaimo, Victoria, and Metro Vancouver.

鈥淣ear what became Stanley Park in Vancouver once stood a small settlement called Kanaka Ranch. Moodyville in North Vancouver had Kanaka鈥檚 Row.鈥�

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