I write songs about my friends, my experiences, the places that I go, the feelings I have felt. I love to share my music with everyone. I love to share my ALOHA. That is how we stay connected.
—Kyla Uilaniokekaimalie Maunakea (Miss Killa)
For many immigrant communities, a sense of home and familiarity is very much welcome to ease feelings of homesickness and displacement. Even with the early fur trade newcomers, there are accounts of music being played at the frequent lūʻau held by the Salt Spring Island Kānaka and those employed at the Hudson’s Bay Company forts further south. Kanikapila (live music sessions) lasted for hours as workers and families shared music, food, and stories with each other. Gatherings such as these helped build camaraderie and establish community dynamics that mirrored traditional social structures in Hawaiʻi.
Today, musicians in the Hawaiʻi-to-Pacific Northwest diaspora still play an important role in creating common spaces of connection through familiar songs and sounds. A simple mele (song) has the power to transport a listener to a different time and place, and it is no different for those who have found a place to share their music on the continent.
Musician Uaia Keola Napoleon, originally from Molokaʻi, performs live music at local restaurants and gatherings in the Portland area. Closely tied to his roots and identity as Kanaka Maoli, Uaia also teaches ukulele classes and shares his music with local hula hālau (hula school), Ka Lei Haliʻa O Ka Lokelani.
Keʻaliʻi Puna Vai O Lehua, or K-Boy, began drumming at a young age and grew up surrounded by Hawaiian music and hula hālau. With family roots in Haleʻiwa, Oʻahu, K-Boy goes back and forth between there and Portland, Oregon, maintaining his connections to both places.

Next History Page – Newcomers: The Plantation Era and Beyond
