Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, 1 September 1983 — THE NAVIGATORS [ARTICLE]

THE NAVIGATORS

Pathfinders of the Pacific

On September 27, Tuesday night Hawaiian television viewers were treated to a unique television program 'on KHET-Hawaii Public Television. The program was a documentary about Pacific Island navigation and of the heroic feats of the great Hawaiian voyagers of the past. It was a dream eome true for part-Hawaiian anthro-pologist/film-maker Dr. Sanford Low who had been working on the project for the past two years. Major funding for the film was a "gift" project by Pacific Resources, ine. whieh had been "looking for a project whieh would celebrate the achievement of the Polynesian people and benefit the Hawaiian community." Other sources of funding were the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations and the Hawaii Committee for the Humanities. "The Navigators" as a film has beautiful footage of the Pacific islands and emphasizes the point that these islands were settled by highly skilled people

from the West Pacific. Mueh of the footage is devoted to interviews with Mau Piailug, a native of Satawal, in the center of the Caroline Islan(ls. He is one of the few remaining Pacific island navigators who do not use instruments to sail by. His instruments are the stars, the weather and birds and the oeean. People here in Hawaii remember him well for helping Hokule'a sail to Tahiti back in 1976. His interviews are provocative as he speaks from experience in the simple eloquence of a Pacific islander. There is special footage on recent archaeological finds in Fiji (pottery) and in Tahiti (parts of a voyaging eanoe). PRI will be giving copies of the film to the State educational system and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs has requested a videotape copy to be made available thru OHA for Hawaiian organizations and groups.