Today on World Oceans Day, we, the crew of Hokule‘a, will step off the deck of our beloved voyaging canoe and onto the world stage at the United Nations.
Our steps will be sure as we enter this sacred space, bringing with us the history and legacy of Polynesian wayfinding, the wisdom of our ancestors, and the messages of stewards, islanders and ocean people from around the world.
Our hearts will be filled with the inspiration and love we have seen, and our arms will be filled with gifts entrusted to Hokule‘a — gifts of hope and promise from people who have inspired us as we have sailed throughout the world.
On this Malama Honua voyage, we have seen the remarkable work of communities deeply committed to stewarding our seas and our Island Earth.
It is a rare privilege and great responsibility to be called upon to be the voice of Hokule‘a. Hokule‘a is a beacon of hope, not just for Hawaii but for the world. She was born out of unrest and controversy for Hawaiian people and the Pacific more than 40 years ago. Through the cultural rebirth she ignited and the inspiration she represents, she has grown into the only vessel of her kind — not just the first traditional Polynesian voyaging canoe born in 600 years, but a vessel strong enough to carry the proud declarations of ocean peoples around the world. These documents are promises of action and commitments of Malama Honua — caring for our Island Earth — that give me hope for the future of our world. A future my children, and my children’s children, deserve.
We see the rising swell of action taking form at home. The Promise to Pae ‘aina, a coalition of commitments to steward our beloved islands, and the Promise to Children, an unprecedented collaboration between our education leadership based on the principles of Malama Honua, are two remarkable examples inspired by the voyage thus far.
After 40 years, we left our home waters to bring Hokule‘a on her worldwide voyage, venturing into the Indian and now the Atlantic Ocean for the first time. We set our sails to circumnavigate the world to search for stories of hope, people and places where stewardship is a way of life and solutions to our most pressing environmental problems can be found.
The world’s oceans — which make up 71 percent of this planet and 97 percent of Earth’s water — drive the climate, temperature, culture and biodiversity that make living possible for humans. To protect life on Earth, we have to protect the oceans; everything that we need to sustain ourselves on this tiny island we call Earth is protected by the world’s oceans.
As islanders we understand the fragile balance between our ocean and land, our people and our environment. As voyagers, we sail relying entirely on our oceans, the natural world around us and the wisdom of our ancestors to find our way home.
In 1976, when Hokule‘a became the first traditional Polynesian voyaging canoe built in more than 600 years, she sparked a revival of the art and science of traditional wayfinding and deep-sea voyaging across the Pacific. We knew then that Hokule‘a had the power to connect and inspire people. It is our humble hope that our Malama Honua voyage will catalyze the growing movement to care for our Island Earth across all the world’s oceans.
On World Oceans Day next year, Hokule‘a will anchor once again at Kualoa on Oahu — where she was first launched more than 40 years ago.
When our crew walks ashore, we will bring home these stories from around the world, and hope that we have helped set a course for Island Earth that is committed to a lasting legacy of stewardship for our islands and our ocean.
