Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 40, Number 5, 1 May 2023 — Cross the Sea as a Bird” [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Cross the Sea as a Bird”

- 'Ōlelo No'eau No. 237

By Mālia Sanders Polynesian explorers traveled from Tahiti and Bora Bora to Hawai'i over 1,000 years ago in ocean-voyaging wa'a (canoes) guided by traditional navigation. Canoe carvers were revered members of the community, and villagers would often work together to weave sails. Wa'a were a foundational part of traditional society. In the 1950s, outrigger eanoe races heeame popular since the innovation of eanoe materials - made of ultralight carbon - were lighter and faster. Duke Kahanamoku, Hawai'i's own legendary waterman, and others started the Hawaiian Canoe Racing and Surfing Association in 1950.

In 1976, attention grew when Hōkūle'a, an ocean-crossing Hawaiian outrigger eanoe under the leadership of the Polynesian Voyaging Society (PVS), made its first voyage across the Pacific from Hawai'i to Tahiti using only traditional navigation guided by natural elements, sea currents and the stars. This 30-day, 2,500-mile voyage heeame the catalyst and inspiration to regain the ancestral knowledge of oeean voyaging and traditional navigation that had been lost for hundreds of years. It was also an opportunity to train generations of young navigators and voyagers.

Loeal artist and historian, Herb Kawainui Kāne (1928-2011), designed a double-hulled canoe similar to the one used by his Polynesian ancestors. He sought to rekindle Hawaiian eulture and traditional navigation. Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association (NaHHA) co-founder Sen. Kenny Brown (1919-2014) was also a key individual who advocated on behalf of PVS to ensure their mission to mālama (care for) endured. Kenny onee told Pwo Navigator Nainoa Ihompson, "If you want to help our people, strengthen their spirit." Nainoa has taken these words to heart, and they serve as an inspiration to continue to voyage on Hōkūle'a. In 2023, Hōkūle'a will celebrate 48 years ofvoyaging and will take her 15th voyage this summer named "Moananuiākea - A Voyage for Earth." First stop will be Alaska. Hōkūle'a, along with sister eanoe, Hikianalia, will travel several legs encompassing 43,000 nautical miles throughout Moananuiākea (the vast Pacific) with a 400 member crew to visit 36 countries and archipelagoes, nearly 100 Indigenous territories, and 345 ports connecting peoples across the vast Paeihe and representing an important renaissance of culture for Native Hawaiians and for Polynesia. PVS shares that their purpose is "To ignite a movement of 10 million planetary navigators who will pursue critical and inspiring 'voyages' to ensure a better future for the earth." Today, a reawakened collective environmental conscience guides individual and Hawai'i-wide efforts to mālama our home. Moananuiākea - A Voyage For Earth, is one that will 'auamo (take on) the kuleana of our people to mālama our island earth and will have positive effects for the Paeihe community generations into the future. ■ To learn more about the voyage ofMoananuiākea, follow the virtual third eanoe (Wa'a Honua), and engage with the virtual global hub visit: https:// www.hokulea.com/moananuiakea-voyage/ and https://waahonua.com/. Mālia Sanders is the executive director oftheNative Hawaiian Hospitality Association ( NaHHA ). Working to better connect the Hawaiian eommunity to the visitor industry, NaHHA supports the people who provide authentic experiences to Hawai'i's visitors. For more information go to www. nahha.com Pollow NaHHA on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @nahha808 and @kuhikuhi808.

Hōkūle'ū (foreground) will begin her 15th voyage this summer, accompanied by Hikianalio (background). - Photo: Courtesy of the Polynesian Voyaging Society