By: Danielle Epifani

In 1976 Hōkūle’a arrived on the shores of Tahiti having raised Havaiki from the sea. Known as the dwelling place of the ancestors, Tahiti is considered the departure point for the historic migrations that would colonize the largest expanse of ocean on earth- the Polynesian Triangle. Through the re-creation of a traditional double-hulled voyaging canoe, Pwo navigator Nainoa Thompson would become the next to inherit, and carry the legacy of celestial wayfinding into the future. The arrival of Hōkūle’a in Tahiti had been a dormant journey of 600 hundred years. It united the people of the South Pacific, awakening in them a sense of identity and pride for which their forefathers accomplished one of the greatest feats in human history.…