Nāhiku
Ten high school students from KS Kapālama and four from Ke Kula ʻo Samuel M. Kamakau Laboratory Public Charter School (Hawaiian Immersion) have been selected to represent the Hōkūleʻa and the Polynesian Voyaging Society, the Hawaiian community, and their respective schools on this unique cultural-educational travel experience.
This group identifies itself as Nāhiku, the "Big Dipper" as this constellation is a key latitude marker for the apprentice navigators who will leave the Galapagos to head south, and then turn the canoe west upon seeing Nāhiku, which should put them on the right latitude to pull the small island of Rapa Nui out of the sea.
Cultural-Educational Travel
Soon Hōkūleʻa will arrive at the remote Polynesian island of Rapa Nui. Students are studying the early and contemporary environmental conditions of Rapa Nui and the socio-cultural issues connected to people and landscape (one example of which is the iconic moai, huge ancestral stone images). To get to and from Rapa Nui (where Spanish and Rapa Nui are spoken), the midway transit stop is the Polynesian archipelago of Tahiti, French Polynesia (where French and Tahitian are spoken). Students will interact with the small island community of Moʻorea where they will meet with scientists at two marine environmental agencies to learn about lagoon reef restoration, a turtle hatchling program, dolphin research, and a range of coastal and inland archaeological sites.
In both Rapa Nui and Moʻorea, students will have cultural exchanges at schools, elderly homes, and offices of governing officials, and will engage in community service projects to lift up the sustainability goals of the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage.
This group identifies itself as Nāhiku, the "Big Dipper" as this constellation is a key latitude marker for the apprentice navigators who will leave the Galapagos to head south, and then turn the canoe west upon seeing Nāhiku, which should put them on the right latitude to pull the small island of Rapa Nui out of the sea.
Cultural-Educational Travel
Soon Hōkūleʻa will arrive at the remote Polynesian island of Rapa Nui. Students are studying the early and contemporary environmental conditions of Rapa Nui and the socio-cultural issues connected to people and landscape (one example of which is the iconic moai, huge ancestral stone images). To get to and from Rapa Nui (where Spanish and Rapa Nui are spoken), the midway transit stop is the Polynesian archipelago of Tahiti, French Polynesia (where French and Tahitian are spoken). Students will interact with the small island community of Moʻorea where they will meet with scientists at two marine environmental agencies to learn about lagoon reef restoration, a turtle hatchling program, dolphin research, and a range of coastal and inland archaeological sites.
In both Rapa Nui and Moʻorea, students will have cultural exchanges at schools, elderly homes, and offices of governing officials, and will engage in community service projects to lift up the sustainability goals of the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage.