Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 7, Number 9, 1 September 1990 — NHCAP eanoe project now underway [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

NHCAP eanoe project now underway

By Deborah L. Ward Editor, Ka Wai Ola O OHA Two giant spruce logs from the forests of Alaska, destined to be transformed into twin hulls of a Polynesian voyaging eanoe, were blessed in Hawaiian rituals held July 24 by the Native Hawaiian Culture and Arts Program (NHCAP). The ceremony, held on the lawn of Atherton Halau at Bishop Museum, wa- attendedby invited guests and community supporters of NHC AP and by representatives of the Sealaska Corporation. whieh donated the two 66-foot long logs. and the Sealaska Heritaqe Foundation. The logs were cut in May and arrived in Hawai'i in July. The building of the eanoe is part of the NHCAP Explorations Proiect on Hawaiian oeean traditions that will incorporate research and education in construction methods, oceanogranhy, astronomv and meteorology. Project coordinator is Nainoa Thompson, navigator of the Hokule'a voyaging eanoe. Wright Bowman, Jr. is the designer and builder of the eanoe. Sealaska Corporation is one of 12 regional Alaska Native corporations created by Congress through the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971. It operates as a for-profit corporation in southeastern Alaska in the seafood processing, timber and building materials businesses. The Sealaska Heritage Foundation is a non-profit, charitable organization whieh seeks to preserve. promote and maintain the cultures and heritage of the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian people. It is sup ported in part by the Sealaska Corporation. NHCAP board chairman Thomas Kaulukukui, Sr. welcomed the invited guests and dignitaries. He said the logs symbolized bringing two groups of people together, Native Hawaiians and Alaska Natives. Following a prayer by Moses Keale, Sr., consultant to NHCAP, executive director Lynette PagKnawan of NHCAP told the invited dignitaries that the program's mission is to revitalize, re discover and perpetuate Hawaiian heritage. In addition to its Explorations Project, NHCAP is funding individual research of Hawaiian tradition, she said. Awards have been made to 14 individuals for research contracts. NHCAP is the only federally funded native organization specifically commissioned to support the preservation and perpetuation of traditional Hawaiian culture and arts. Unlike its predecessor, Hokule'a, the Exploration Project's eanoe will be fashioned from natural materials. Sails will be woven from lauhala (pandanus) leaves, and lashings will be made from sennit and olona fibers. The spruce logs were selected after a year-long search of Big Island koa forests failed to locate trees suitable for the eanoe project. There is, however, historical evidence that drift logs from the northwest coast of Amenea were used in Hawai'i for canoes. Dr. Walter Soboleff, chairman of the board of the Sealaska Heritage Foundation, gave a traditional formal speech in his native Tlingit tongue to salute his forbears and those of his Hawaiian "relations." He praised the renewed interest in cultural traditions by both Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians. He bestowed on the future eanoe the Tlingit name "Kutx ah yunaha kah ya tun," whieh means "on a constellation course." The Tlingit are one of Alaska's largest native groups, numbering about 17,000 in and out of the state. Byron Mallott, president and chief executive officer of Sealaska Corporation, noted that-the southeast Alaska Natives also shared a tradition of being people of the sea, like Hawaiians, and expressed thanks to NHCAP for allowing them to share in the project. Marlene Johnson, chairman of the board of Sealaska Corporation noted, "We are very proud to share with you and be a small part of this with you." A purification and blessing ceremony was performed with prayer and chants by Kelii Taua, Charles Kaupu and John Kaimikaua. Participants

included Soboleff,Mallott, Johnson, Hector Busby of Aotearoa (New Zealand), and chanters Randi Fong, a NHCAP board member, and Holoua Stender The Exploration Project is funded by the Native

Hawaiian Culture and Arts Program through a eooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service and Bishon Museum, and with support from private donations and the Hawai'i Marit'me Center.

nHHHHHH *?sHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH^H ■■■ HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHP^ I^HHHMHHHHI Charles Kaupu (left) and Keli'i Taua conduct the log blessing ceremony at Bishop Museum's Atherton Halau.