W&M Featured Events
[PAST EVENT] "Pride and Prejudice on Kaua‘i, Hawaiian Islands" - Peter Mills, University of Hawai'i, Hilo
Pride and Prejudice on Kaua‘i, Hawaiian Islands The role of historical archaeology in deconstructing “Russian Fort Elizabeth State Historical Park.”
Peter Mills (Professor of Anthropology, University of Hawai'i at Hilo) will discuss the role of archaeology in deconstructing Eurocentric colonial histories on Kaua'i, Hawaiian Islands. Beginning in 1816, Hawaiians added a fort to King Kaumuali‘i’s residential compound during a brief alliance between Kaumuali‘i and George Anton Schäffer of the Russian-American Company. Despite the fact that Hawaiians built and occupied the fort, not Russians, and then used it for a half century, colonial narratives and public interpretations have emphasized the site's Russian identity for more than a century. Hawaiians called the fort "Pa'ula'ula" (lit. "red enclosure"), and Schaffer had named it "Fort Elizabeth." A current proposal to rename the park to "Pa'ula'ula/Fort Elizabeth" has prompted strong backlash from members of the Russian-American community, including the Russian Ambassador to the U.S., Anatoly Antanov.
Sponsored by the William & Mary Department of Anthropology, Reves Center, Office of Student Leadership and the Graduate Student Association.