Kepa: A Hawaiian in the Wild West 

Amy Lewis portrait

Photo by Kevin England

Hello, my fellow Book Dragons!  

It’s NaNoWriMo time for writers in the area. If you live with a writer participating in this exercise, you’ll see them working hard towards a goal of 50,000 words written this month. Bring them coffee and the occasional chocolate. Great books are being written nationwide in November, and our friends and family wonder where we’ve disappeared. 

Tomorrow is Election Day. Please exercise your right to vote. It’s the essential duty of being an adult in America. No matter what the result, we are a nation of peaceful transitions of power. Let us find a way forward together to do that.    

Every column I write means I have met another great local author with a story to tell and a depth of knowledge about their subject. Hearing the passion in their information is an uplifting experience.   

Russell Cahill is no exception to that as the author of three books, and we will focus on one of them: Kepa: A Hawaiian in the Wild West.   Cahill retired from years of service in the National Park System. He served as a national park ranger in California, Alaska, Hawaii, and Washington D.C. and was director of the Alaska and California state parks systems.

He has worked in Washington State natural resources and parks since 1980 and was the first executive director of the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition.   He’s passionate about sharing his knowledge of his culture and history as a Hawaiian. 

Cahill's first book is a Hawaiian adventure titled Kolea, which is described as a historical adventure fiction.   It is an entertaining read. Taking you into Hawaiian story and culture, it's a fast-paced adventure featuring the growth and friendship of two young men who train as warriors.   His second book, which I have not read, is Tales from the Parks. This book is a memoir of the exciting and funny things during his lengthy career working in the National Park system. Visiting with him, I know that he’s a great storyteller. 

Kepa: A Hawaiian in the Wild West is a longer story set when Hawaiians began migrating to the West Coast of America. Ships traveling towards the West Coast generally stopped at Hawaii first to give their crews a rest and take on supplies. You can imagine that some sailors did not want to get back on board. Hawaiians took the opportunity for adventure, money, escape island living, etc.     

The book follows Kepa, a young man who leaves Hawaii to help his family avoid a scandal, on his journey up and down the North American coast. He encounters Native Americans, runs afoul of the Mexican Army in the area, participates in a little-known insurrection, and proves his worth with his skills in woodworking and weapon making.   

Kepa’s story takes him through the fur trade, the gold rush, the Russian settlements, and my favorite town, Astoria.   He endures love and loss in his family and is on the move most of the time, evading potential capture. Through this story, I learned a great deal about the influence of Hawaiians in how we live today and, sadly, how white folks treated them during this time. 

I was dismayed to learn that our county is named after Samuel Thurston, who was instrumental in disenfranchising Asians, Hawaiians, and Native Americans, causing many Hawaiians to flee north to Canada. They lost their homes, possessions, gardens, and orchards carefully cultivated over many years. Perhaps it is time to think again about renaming our county. 

Cahill’s books are available locally, online, and on Amazon. Please consider your local bookstores when purchasing! 

Amy Lewis focuses her column on the literary world of Thurston County, spotlighting writers, small presses, book artists, poets, and storytellers of all types. Contact her – amy@thejoltnews.com – if you have a literary event, book, or reading.