UH Hilo anthropologist honored for his research on Kauaʻi with mayoral proclamation: Dr. Peter R. Mills Day
Kauaʻi Mayor Derek SK Kawakami declared May 27, 2026, as Dr. Peter R. Mills Day in honor of the esteemed professor and his “culturally grounded understanding of Kauaʻi’s history and the central role of Native Hawaiians.”
By Susan Enright/UH Hilo Stories.
Peter Mills, a professor of anthropology at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, had a big surprise waiting for him as he visited Kauaʻi last week with colleague Jillian Swift and a group of their students taking a cultural field trip.
During the trip, Mills was hosted by the not-for-profit Kauaʻi-based Kaumualiʻi Foundation to present his research on Pāʻulaʻula (formerly known as Russian Fort Elizabeth) located on the west side of the island. The foundation is dedicated to creating awareness of King Kaumualiʻi’s reign and role in history. Board members include former UH regent and former Kauaʻi County Fire Chief Robert F. Westerman, Keao Nesmith (native of Kekaha, Kauaʻi, and adjunct faculty in linguistics at UH Mānoa), Peleke Flores (teacher and recipient of National Education Association Alton Onizuka Award), Michael DeMotta (former Curator of the National Tropical Botanical Garden), and Denise Karratti (vice principal at Waimea High School, Kauaʻi).
Mills’s research, covered in his book Hawaiʻi’s Russian Adventure: A New Look at Old History (2002), proves the fort was primarily built and used by Hawaiians, not Russians, challenging a century of “traditional” narratives. This research honors the ʻike kūpuna (ancestral knowledge) carried by direct descendants of King Kaumualiʻi who have fought off organized Russian efforts to retain the colonial site’s name.
Dr. Peter R. Mills Day
The surprise came at the talk, given at Waimea Theater, when Mills was presented with a proclamation signed by Kauaʻi Mayor Derek SK Kawakami, declaring May 27, 2026, as Dr. Peter R. Mills Day on the island of Kauaʻi, in honor of the esteemed professor and his “culturally grounded understanding of Kauaʻi’s history and the central role of Native Hawaiians, helping to reframe important historical narratives and bring greater awareness to the legacy of our island,” as worded in the document.
“The trip coincided with me giving a talk to Waimea High School students on March 27, followed by an evening talk at the Waimea Theater, where I was very surprised to receive the proclamation,” says Mills.
A career of service and commitment to public and community-oriented scholarship
Mills has been a faculty member at UH Hilo since 1997, based at the Department of Anthropology, making profound positive impacts through his commitment to public and community-oriented scholarship.
In additional to his commitment to groundbreaking research, he has increased access to educational and professional training opportunities, particularly through the development of UH Hilo’s master of arts in heritage management program.
His leadership and service within and in collaboration with public, nonprofit, and professional organizations has been far-reaching; he has served as president and vice president of the Society for Hawaiian Archaeology, delivered public lectures through the Archaeological Institute of America and Historic Hawaiʻi Foundation, and has served as a board member on the Hawaiʻi Historic Places Review Board, the Paniolo Preservation Society, and works closely with the Honokaʻa Heritage Center.
Learn more about his research activities here.
A lifetime of achievement
The recent honor on Kauaʻi is not Professor Mills’s first recognition for his research at Pāʻulaʻula.
In 2015, he received Hawaiʻi’s highest recognition of preservation projects by the Historic Hawaiʻi Foundation.
In 2022, he received the prestigious Public Archaeology Award from the Society for Hawaiian Archaeology for this tireless preservation work. The purpose of the SHA award is to recognize individuals or groups who reach a broad audience in their local communities and seek to involve these communities in their archaeological efforts.
And in 2025, the Society for Hawaiian Archaeology awarded Mills their biggest award, the Lifetime Achievement Award, bestowed on only six people in the last 40 years.
Mills’s work at Pāʻulaʻula extends as far back as his dissertation research in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley. This later developed into his book, Hawaiʻi’s Russian Adventure.
“A point of emphasis in the (2022 SHA) award is that my dissertation research from 29 years ago is still assisting the Kauaʻi community by reinforcing ʻike kūpuna (ancestral knowledge) carried by direct descendants of King Kaumualiʻi, especially Aunty Aletha Kaohi of Waimea, Kauaʻi, and a small army of ʻWest Side’ residents who have fought off organized Russian efforts to retain a colonial site name,” explains Mills in an email shortly after receiving the SHA award.
Due in great measure to Prof. Mills’s work, the Hawaiʻi Board of Land and Natural Resources in 2022 voted unanimously to rename Russian Fort Elizabeth State Historical Park to Pāʻulaʻula State Historic Site. This decision is an important commitment to recognizing Pāʻulaʻula’s role in Native Hawaiian history.
Mills will be retiring from UH Hilo at the end of this semester.
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Learn more about Professor Mills and his research
Story by Susan Enright, public information specialist for the Office of the Chancellor and editor of UH Hilo Stories. She received her bachelor of arts in English and certificate in women’s studies from UH Hilo.
