Resolutions moving through the state Legislature urge the Board of Land and Natural Resources to restore the eastern shoreline of Kauai’s Waimea Valley, currently called Russian Fort Elizabeth Park, to its former Hawaiian name, Paulaula.

About 200 years after the fort’s construction, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources created a working group in 2018 to discuss ways to update the park’s informational signs for residents and visitors.

A statue of King Kaumu­alii, erected in Waimea Valley in March 2021, drew further interest to the history of the area.

Rep. Dee Morikawa (D, Niihau-Koloa- Kokee) said she became familiar with the area’s history when the statue was completed.

“That kind of makes it feel more like it has its Hawaiian place now, with the king watching over it,” said Morikawa (D, Niihau-Koloa- Kokee), who introduced House Resolution 100 and House Concurrent Resolution 104. “It’s so appropriate that the name be formally changed now.”

In preparation for the possible name switch, the Department of Transportation has removed roadway signs referencing the area as Russian Fort Elizabeth, said Division of State Parks Administrator Curt Cottrell in testimony supporting HCR 104.

“Things are in motion to put it back in a more accurate post-culture nomenclature and perspective,” Cottrell said.

The history of Fort Elizabeth goes back to the early 1800s when George Schaffer, a Russian American trading representative, arrived to salvage goods from a Russian shipwreck off the coast of Kauai. He began constructing Fort Elizabeth during his stay in 1816 but was driven out of the islands before its completion, according to a website by the nonprofit Friends of King Kaumualii.

Kaumualii and his men completed Fort Elizabeth and used it as an administrative center, a prison and a burial ground, according to the website. The fort was dismantled by the Hawaiian government in 1864, and according to HCR 104, all that remains is the outer structure.

Kenneth Conklin, executive director of the Center for Hawaiian Sovereignty Studies, wrote in testimony opposing the two resolutions that the “Russian-ness” of the current name represents an essential part of Kauai’s history. He said renaming Russian Fort Elizabeth Park would be similar to Soviet Union politicians who removed their enemies’ names from history books.

Malia Nobrega-Olivera said in testimony supporting HCR 104 that she learned about the area’s history when she began working with the Moku o Manokalanipo Civic Club.

“Since then we’ve made it a point to actually bring ohana, friends, visitors, civic club members on huakai (journeys) to visit the area and to share the moolelo (story),” Nobrega-Olivera said.

Nobrega-Olivera emphasized the importance of educating others on the area’s history, which she believes will happen if the area is renamed.

“It’s really that larger story, and then that connection to our alii, specifically Kaumualii as our fearless leader, that really makes it special,” she said.