The first Native Hawaiians in the US were fur traders

Sport & Games · Published 20 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Long before the 20th-century waves of migration, Native Hawaiians were establishing a footprint in the Pacific Northwest. They weren't just travelers; they were essential laborers who built the infrastructure of early American colonies, moving from the islands to the mainland to forge early trade networks.

The migration of Pacific Islanders to the United States began in the final decade of the 18th century. The very first migrants were Native Hawaiians, who arrived as fur traders. Hired by British traders in Hawaii, they were taken to the Northwestern US to establish trade networks with Honolulu. These early migrants often charged less than American workers for the same labor, returning to Hawaii once their contracts concluded.

A permanent settlement occurred in 1811 when fur merchant John Jacob Astor brought Native Hawaiians to the Astoria colony in present-day Oregon. Astor utilized their labor to build the city's houses and infrastructure, as well as to develop primary sectors like hunting, fishing, and agriculture. By 1813, most of these workers were employed by the North West Company after it absorbed Astor's Pacific Fur Company.

Following this period, Native Hawaiians continued to migrate to the Pacific Northwest for work with the Hudson's Bay Company and the Columbia Fishing and Trading Company. By 1830s, another group arrived in California, where they became traders and formed communities. The Yerba Buena community, currently called San Francisco, comprised 10% Native Hawaiians by 1847. This early history predates the 1950s migration surge, which was later driven by military service, religious ties, and economic opportunities.

Today, Pacific Islander Americans make up about 0.5% of the US population, totaling roughly 1.4 million people. While the population is diverse—including Samoans, Chamorros, and Marshallese—the foundational history of the group in the mainland US is rooted in these 19th-century maritime and fur trade connections.

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