 Kawemhakan was founded in 1958, primarily by people who lived in the village of the local chief Janomalë, which was situated further upstream the Lawa River.It was common practice by Wayana to relocate to another village after the death of a chief, but Janomalë's death coincided with the arrival of Baptist missionaries to the area.Both the American missionaries and the Surinamese government wanted to concentrate the Wayana in a central location, as that would make their missionary and development efforts easier.