Talk:Kanaka

issue with description of item
Hi. I'm a little concerend by:
 * "a general term for Polynesian peoples, especially those used as laborers or indentured servants by the British Empire

Straightforward enough, but given the overall tone of the target article, which IMO needs to be split between the Oceanic context the North American one, this seems a little negative in description; Kanakas were not held in disregard in North America, rather the contrary. Maybe "used as indentured servants by the British Empire and hired as labourers by the Hudson's Bay Company" is a little more precise and doesn't "taint" the HBC legacy re Kanakas by association with the slave-labour menaing in the South Pacific. Again, the language is straightforward enough, I just think it has to be tweaked.Skookum1 (talk) 15:45, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

Kanaka placenames in California
I've already added the BC names, what ones there are articles for anyway. There are others in the Pacific Northwest states that may eventually qualify for articles; I just happened to find the following list of Californian Kanaka placenames so am posting it here for reference/research purposes; at least one Kanaka Creek (California) is a notable gold rush creek so likely should have an article; which one it is I'm not certain; it's what gave birth to Alleghany, California - ah, the one in Sierra County, it seems. I've redlinked things that seem like they will have history articles, there may be others of note (source was here: Which like other placenames like Owyhee River underscore why I think there needs to be Kanaka (Oceania) and Kanaka (North America instead of the current Kanakas.Skookum1 (talk) 04:26, 3 June 2008 (UTC)