Learning Resources:

Film & Media

Films Featuring the Polynesian Voyaging Society and Hōkūleʻa Crew

Moananuiākea

Moananuiākea: One Ocean, One People, One Canoe

This film celebrates the historic Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage that connected countless individuals and communities from around the globe. This voyage also represented the fulfillment of the vision of Nainoa Thompson and his contemporaries, the passing of the mantle of celestial navigation to the next generation of kānaka maoli who will retain the skills of their ancestors and perpetuate this tradition for generations to come. Click here to learn more. Naʻalehu Anthony, 2018.

Papa Mau: The Wayfinder

Papa Mau wears traditional lei and face paint

Papa Mau: The Wayfinder

In the Wake of Our Ancestors

This documentary is about traditional canoe building and wayfinding, leading to the building of a traditional voyaging canoe for the island of Hawaii. Tells the story of the search for logs for building a canoe and explores the challenge of providing future generations with a quality place to live through finding the limits of our environment and committing to protecting our home. Click here to learn more. Evanari Media Productions, 1992.

Voyagers – The First Hawaiians

Told through the artwork of Herb Kāne, this is a tale of ancient Polynesians who were forced to leave their home and travel across the ocean in hopes of finding a new place to live. After carving voyaging canoes, they headed north, guided only by the stars and the character of the seas. Catching fish and collecting rain for water, they sailed through terrible storms and windless doldrums to eventually discover their new home, Hawaiʻi. Click here to learn more. Public Broadcasting System, 2009.

The Navigators

The Navigators: Pathfinders of the Pacific

To explore this ancient navigational heritage, anthropologist and filmmaker Sanford Low visited the tiny coral atoll of Satawal in Micronesia's remote Caroline Islands. There he spoke with Mau Piailug, the last navigator to be ceremonially initiated on Satawal, and one of the few men who still practice the once-essential art of navigation in the Pacific. In a dramatic demonstration, Mau Piailug sails a replica of an original Polynesian canoe from Hawaii to Tahiti. Click here to learn more. Sam Low, 1983.

The Voyage of Hokuleʻa

The Voyage of the Hokuleʻa

Voyage of the Hokuleʻa follows the 3000-mile journey from Hawaii to Tahiti in a double-hulled canoe. It showcases the beginnings of the Polynesian Voyaging Society and its endeavor to build and sail a modern replica of an ancient voyaging vessel. The aim of the 17-man crew is to retrace the route of Polynesian mariners, navigating as they did without the use of modern instruments. Click here to learn more. National Geographic Society, 1976.

Media Featuring the Polynesian Voyaging Society and Hōkūleʻa Crew

KGMB, one of the pioneering television stations that has served Hawaiʻi since 1952, aired special programs and documentary footage showcasing Hōkūleʻa’s historic voyages from the mid-1980’s. This media is now available through ʻUluʻulu, the Henry Kuʻualoha Giugni Moving Image Archive of Hawaiʻi. Click on each clip to learn more.