
Before entering the classroom, members circled at the edge of the Mauna Kea plain to chant and orient themselves into island districts, later inside that orientation deepens with the question: “O wai oe?” A simple question, who is your water? But the apparent simplicity of Hawaiian language belies its complexity and with this question participants contemplate the places and the people associated with them that are a sustaining source of life, gaining a deeper mutual understanding of the environments that shape us and creating the initial bond that will grow as they journey together over the year.

Nā Kālai Wa`a has provided a binder with a wealth of curriculum resources, corresponding to this sessions’ themes. But also there are some navigational tools on hand with Hope McKeen and Roxanne Steward, resource and science resource teachers, respectively at Ka`Umeke Kā`eo charter school in Hilo who share some electronic multifaceted, interactive resources that bring the canoe and the World Wide Voyage into the classroom and provide real time connections with crew members.


The final section of the day was spent on the pragmatic endeavors of a test sail for returnees and line handling and knots for newcomers. But story is vital to every aspect of the “way of the canoe” and this is no exception. Pua Lincoln Maielua shares the legend of Kana, who is the smallest and weakest of Chiefess Hina’s twelve children. His grandmother Uli sees great potential in him and predicts that he will one day be the only one capable of rescuing his mother. Uli brings him to her upland home, where he grows into a great being with the special ability to stretch himself to a great length. And as his grandmother predicted, he ultimately uses his power to rescue his mother. A metaphor for the importance of line and knots in the voyaging tradition, the legends of Kana also illustrate that even the youngest, weakest member of the crew has the potential to do great things and that if you have the belief of just one person, you can accomplish great things.

Chant, story, awareness, skill-building, becoming crew, these are the threads woven through E Lauhoe Wa`a and offer a lifeline for educators and students. E Lauhoe Wa`a, like the voyaging program has grown from the hearts and minds of the voyagers and it has taken off and evolved because it has dramatically changed the lives of those who have been able to experience voyaging. A successful voyage requires an understanding and appreciation of our origins, knowledge of place, self-knowledge and the constant awareness of our surroundings. Voyaging is not just a contemporary, popular concept but an enduring guide to those who are seeking to understand how to set the course of their lives, to create a future for generations to come.