For the next four years, Hawaiian Voyaging canoe H艒k奴le驶a will be circumnavigating the Pacific Ocean, and Campbell Riverites got a chance to explore it on Aug. 3.
The trip is being described as B次元官网网址淎 Voyage for Oceans, A Voyage for Earth,B次元官网网址� Moananui膩kea is the name of the voyage. It also is the name for the vast Pacific Ocean that is a heritage region for Peoples who are Indigenous to the islands and continents that surround the ocean. One of the goals is to B次元官网网址渋gnite a movement of 10 million B次元官网网址榩lanetary navigatorsB次元官网网址� who will pursue critical and inspiring B次元官网网址榲oyagesB次元官网网址� to ensure a better future for the earth.B次元官网网址�
Moani Heimuli is the captain of this leg of the voyage. She is the fourth generation of her family to be a traditional navigator.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e got four generations of them now, which is pretty amazingB次元官网网址� Heimuli said. B次元官网网址淐oming from HawaiB次元官网网址檌, at one point in time. We never had any navigators here. We lost that art B次元官网网址� to say today that we have four generations of navigatiors B次元官网网址� weB次元官网网址檙e very, very proud of that.B次元官网网址�
That traditional navigation is done without the use of any instruments. Using ancestral methodology re-introduced to Polynesian people by Master Navigator Mau Piailug of Micronesia, navigators are able to travel by using stars, animals, wave direction and winds.
B次元官网网址淥nce you get away from the land, itB次元官网网址檚 a lot easier because the horizon becomes your compass,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淭he land blocks swells and things like that. They come clean out on the deep sea. ItB次元官网网址檚 really nice.B次元官网网址�
Over the course of the next four years, H艒k奴le驶a will visit nearly 100 Indigenous territories in 36 different countries and archipelagos. Heimuli said that part of the goal was to build a sense of camaraderie and common heritage between these Nations.
B次元官网网址淵ou know, if you really think about it, weB次元官网网址檙e the biggest country in the world,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淎ll these little tiny Islands collectively, if we come together. We are the biggest country in the world. ThatB次元官网网址檚 the people of this Pacific Ocean from all the way up in this Pacific Northwest all the way down south to New Zealand.B次元官网网址�
The voyage started in Alaska, and will pass by B.C. through September. From there, the crews will continue south along the west coast of North, Central and South America, before they turn west early next year towards the Galapagos Islands and Rapa Nui. It will pass through Polynesia (Pitcairn Islands, Marquesas, Tuamotus) through next spring, and finish the crossing to Aotearoa (New Zealand) where it will travel through spring 2025.
The voyage will cover Melanesia and Micronesia into 2026, and then travel through Asia and up to Russia by September 2026. By the end of 2026 the voyagers will have crossed the Northern Pacific to Los Angeles, and will return to HawaiB次元官网网址檌. It will make one final trip in the spring of 2027 to Tahiti.
As they travel, they will stop in ports to change crew members, restock supplies and also to allow for a cultural exchange. There is also a sustainability component. H艒k奴le驶a is powered entirely by natural means. There is no motor, no GPS and no other navigational tools. They hope that through the voyage they are able to build a sense of stewardship for the ocean all Pacific peoples share.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e voyaging for the Earth but also voyaging for seven Generations from now,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淪o that our kids can continue to eat and thrive in the oceans that we live in now. And itB次元官网网址檚 also about gathering all these stories from the communities in the First Nations peoples and you know, weB次元官网网址檙e all connected in some way or form.B次元官网网址�
Part of that occurred on Aug. 3, when the crew met with local Indigenous Peoples to B次元官网网址渃onnect with everybody, learn our stories together and share stories.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淵ou know, generations from now, theyB次元官网网址檒l still be talking about us here in Campbell River. Like B次元官网网址業 remember when that canoe was here, you know? WeB次元官网网址檙e all people of the canoe.B次元官网网址�
H艒k奴le驶a leaves Campbell River on Friday, when the crew will make their way to Vancouver for a few days, before continuing on to Seattle and eventually the rest of the Pacific.
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