|
The
Northwest and West Coast Tours
Photo Below: Totem
Poles in the Twilight: Klawock, Prince of Wales Island, Alaska
 On
May 15, Hawai'iloa and Hokule'a left Hawai'i on board a Matson
container s hip bound for Seattle. Hawai'iloa planned to visit
Ketchikan and Juneau to thank the Tlingit, Haida and Tshimshian
tribes of Sealaska for donating the two Sitka spruce logs for t he
canoe's hulls and to engage in cultural and educational exchanges
with the First Nations of British Columbia and the Hawaiian
community and natives of Southeast Alaska. Hokule'a planned to head
south to share its rich history with Hawaiians, native Ame ricans,
and others along the West Coast. From Seattle to Vancouver,
Hawai'iloa was captained by Chad Baybayan; Hokule'a by Gordon
Pi'ianai'a.
On May 27-28 the two
canoes were welcomed at a festival at Golden Gardens Park, Shilshole
Marina, Washington. From May 28-June 1, Hokule'a visited Tacoma as
guests of the Puyallup tribe while Hawai'iloa was on display at the
Center for Wooden Boats. From June 1 - 6, both crews visited the
Suquamish Reservation on Bainbridge Island; the Lummi Reservation
near Bellingham; the Swimnosh Reservation Long House. On June 7, the
two canoes went to Vancouver, British Columbia, and docked at the
Maritime Museum. Fr om June 8-11, they were welcomed by the Musqueam
tribe of Vancouver and the Hawaiian community of British Columbia.
The two canoes then parted ways, Hawai'iloa going north and Hokule'a
going south.
Hawai'iloa's Northwest
Journey:
Hawai'iloa, under Captain Bruce Blankenfeld, traveled to Vancouver
Island, stopping at Campbell River, Alert Bay, and Port Hardy, where
the crew was hosted by the Kwagiutl Nation. The escort boat was Mark
Alan, a 58- foot seine net boat owned by Hutch Hunt of Fort Rupert.
The canoe continued on through the Inland Passage stopping at Bella
Bella (Heiltsuk Nation), Bishop Cove (hot springs), Lowe's Inlet
(Dungeness crab spot!), Prince Rupert (Tshim-shian, Haida, and Nis
ga'a Nations), and Port Simpson (Tshimshian).
On June 25, the canoe
crossed the Dixon Entrance into Alaska, guided by Ernie Hillman, a
forest manager for Sealaska. It arrived in Ketchikan, where a huge
gathering of Tlingits, Tshimshians, and Haidas greeted the crew at a
potlatch at the village of Sax man. Hawai'iloa Project Director
Nainoa Thomspon formally thanked Sealaska, Tlingit elder Judson
Brown, former Sealaska CEO Byron Mallot, and Ernie Hillman for their
roles in securing the logs.
The canoe then
continued on under Captain Wally Froiseth to Hollis, Wrangell,
Petersburg, Kake, Angoon, Sitka, Hoonah, Haines / Klukwan, and
Juneau, where events culminated in a dinner and a seminar on a
sustainable future. High school students from Hawai 'i joined the
crew in Haines. The crew was hosted throughout Alaska by native
village corporations and the Alaska Native Brotherhood and
Sisterhood, native dance groups, as well as Sealaska, the regional
native corporation for SE Alaska. The two-month lon g journey was
highly successful in bringing together the indigenous grouops of
B.C. and Alaska, and the Hawaiians.
Hawai'iloa was barged
from Juneau to Seattle by Alaska Marine Lines and to Honolulu by
Aloha Cargo Transport; both companies donated their services. The
Voyaging Society also received generous financial support form the
Cooke and Atherton Foundations, Gra ce Pacific, Bank of America, the
Skaggs Foundation, native councils and corporations of British
Columbia and Southeast Alaska, and private individuals.
Hokule'a's West Coast
Journey:
While Hawai'iloa made its way to Juneau, Hokule'a went south, with
stops in Portland, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Long Beach, and San
Diego. The canoe was escorted by the 72-foot Coast Pilot, under Tony
Carter. In San Francisco, Hokule'a was greeted by 32 paddling canoes
and showered with orchids from the Golden Gate Bridge. A crowd
estimated in the thousands gathered to greet the canoe.
For Captain Gordon
Pi'ianai'a, the most meaningful part of the trip were the
connections made with transplated Hawaiians, some of whom had never
been to Hawai'i. He also said that he learned a lot about native
Americans on the West Coast. "The farther sou th we went, the fewer
cultural and financial resources they had," he pointed out. Crew
member Moana Doi reported that excitement and interest was great at
each of the stops, with long lines of visitors to the canoe. She
said at one stop, the crew was invi ted to a sweat lodge to
participate in a native American purification cermony.
Kimo Lyman, Mike
Tongg, and Chad Baybayan served as captains of the canoe. Hokule'a's
West Coast Tour was sponsored by the Bishop Museum and the Hawaii
Maritime Center. Alexander and Baldwin Foundation / Matson donated
the shipping of Hokule'a to the West coast and back; and the
shipping of Hawai'iloa to the West Coast. Hawaiian Airlines donated
fares for the crews of West Coast Tour; it discounted fares for the
crews of the Northwest Tour.
For a filmmaker's
version of the 1995 voyage to Alaska, see "The Voyage Home:
Hawai`iloa's Northwest Voyage" (Producer: Williams Communications,
1996, 56 minutes ), available from
the PIC (Pacific Islanders in Communications)
video catalog. |
