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Daughters of Mau: contemporary women voyagers

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Content Running Head: DAUGHTERS OF MAU: CONTEMPORARY WOMEN VOYAGERS

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DAUGHTERS OF MAU: CONTEMPORARY WOMEN VOYAGERS

by

Shannon Mae Kēhaulani Enos

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACTULY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

August 2015

Copyright 2015 Shannon Mae Kēhaulani Enos

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Acknowledgements
Nui koʻu mahalo i ke Akua mana loa, nā ʻaumākua, a me nā kūpuna o ke au i hala no nā
pōmaikaʻi a pau. Eia nō au i ka hopena o ke ala kulanui, me ka mahalo piha i nā kānaka he nui i
kōkua a kākoʻo mai iaʻu i nā makahiki o ka wā hele kula. No laila, makemake au e mahalo aku
iā lākou.
I would like to thank my dissertation chair, Julie Slayton, JD, PhD. Mahalo nui loa for
agreeing to be my chairperson. It was a bold step for me to leave my thematic group in order to
pursue a topic that really meant something to me. You believed in me from the very beginning,
and you affirmed that I indeed had a viable study. Thank you for valuing who I am, and for
supporting my topic of study. You guided me through the dissertation process with aloha,
demanded excellence, and allowed me to hone my critical thinking and writing skills. I have
been influenced by your professionalism and work ethic. You have been encouraging,
supportive, and caring and have become a role model and mentor to me. Mahalo nui loa i ke
alakaʻi ʻana a me ke kākoʻo ʻana mai iaʻu.
Thank you to my second committee member, Artineh Samkian, PhD. I am very grateful
for your critical feedback and suggestions you gave to make me think more critically and be
more clear and transparent in my writing. I also appreciated your excitement in my topic, and I
extend my warmest mahalo to you.
Thank you to my third committee member, Puanani Higa, EdD. Thank you for your
encouragement to pursue my topic as well. I appreciated the feedback you gave me, and it
helped me to be clear about the context I presented in writing. Mahalo nui.
Mahalo to Papa Mau, Uncle Clay, Uncle Shorty, Chadd, the entire Makaliʻi crew, Nā
Kālai Waʻa Moku o Hawaiʻi, extended ʻohana waʻa, and the courageous voyagers who came
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before us. This study could not have been done without all of you. Thank you for instilling
kuleana in us to carry forward what we have been taught. Thank you for all the gifts
incorporated with waʻa life. I am forever grateful for the experiences had, and relationships built
because of voyaging. Special mahalo to Nā ʻĀpiʻialiʻi, Holoholo Queens—if you no go, you not
going know! You are all a source of inspiration, motivation, and activation! Eō!
I would like to thank my mother, for supporting me in so many ways. I would not have
been able to finish this dissertation without your support. This last year has been extremely
challenging in every way. You have taught me to pray every day, and to be strong. Thank you
for everything you do for the kids and me.
To all of my family and friends who helped along the way through words of
encouragement, babysitting, dinner dates, or reminders that I could do it, mahalo piha! I thank
all of you, for I could not have done any of this alone.
Last, but definitely not least, to my two keiki, Kahiʻonaokeawe and Helena, thank you for
being patient while mommy went to school. Thank you for cheering me on and for the many
hugs just because I needed it. You were both patient and understanding for the last three years,
and remained resilient this last year and a half as our family had such huge life changes. You
two are my heroes, and I hope that I have made you proud. I learn the most from being your
mommy. I hope that you always follow your heart, pursue your dreams, and find value in all the
gifts of knowledge that our ancestors have given us to carry on, and always know how important
you are. Thank you so much for being my reasons to work hard and never give up—every day.
The two of you have been my constant motivation, and you have helped me more than you
realize. To infinity! Aloha au iā ʻolua.
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgements 2
List of Tables 5
List of Figures 6
Abstract 7
Chapter One: Overview of the Study 8
Background of the Problem 9
Statement of the Problem 13
Purpose of the Study 14
Research Questions 15
Methods 15
Significance of the Study 16
The Researcher 17
Limitations 17
Delimitations 18
Definitions 18
Organization of the Dissertation 19
Chapter Two: Literature Review 20
Hawaiian Epistemology 21
Indigenous Knowledge 32
Indigenous Teaching and Learning 61
Conceptual Framework 73
Summary 80
Chapter Three: Methods 81
Research Design 81
Indigenous Methodology 82
Sample and Population 83
Instrumentation 85
Data Collection Procedures 86
Data Analysis Procedures 90
Credibility and Trustworthiness 92
Conclusion 93
Chapter Four: Findings 95
Case #1: Kalei 96
Case #2: Pūlama 139
Case #3: Moana 185
Cross Case Analysis 237
Chapter Five: Discussion 244
This Dissertation’s Contribution 245
Educational Practice 246
Educational Policy 248
Future Research 249
Conclusion 249
References 251
Appendix A 255
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List of Tables
Table 1: Micronesian Sequence of Learning Navigation 56
Table 2: Names and Meanings of Houses in Hawaiian Star Compass 59
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List of Figures
Figure 1: Makaliʻi and Satawal 12
Figure 2: Micronesian Star Compass 55
Figure 3: Hawaiian Star Compass 58
Figure 4: Conceptual Framework 77
Figure 5: Guitar and ʻukulele used on the E Mau voyage 155

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Abstract
Due to colonization, Native Hawaiians have been historically marginalized and disconnected
from their culture, resulting in profound negative outcomes. This study explored traditional
(non-Western) forms of education through the case studies of Native Hawaiian women voyagers
and focused on voyaging knowledge and culture as they participated in the E Mau voyage in
1999. The purpose of the study was to understand the influence that the voyaging experience
had on these women, and to understand how the reconnection with their cultural experience
influenced their lives. The study sought to answer three research questions: 1) How did the E
Mau voyage influence the lives of the women crewmembers? 2) How did the E Mau voyage
influence what they do with their lives? 3) How did the approach E Mau took to preparing them
for the voyage shape how and what they learned? Participants in the study were Native
Hawaiian women born in the 1970s, and were crewmembers on the E Mau voyage. This
qualitative multi-case study included multiple in-depth interviews and the collection of
documents and artifact from each participant. Findings revealed that values and relationships
were significant in the transference of voyaging knowledge. The Indigenous learning process the
women experienced was reciprocal in nature, including observation, application, and the
expectation to teach others as part of the learning environment. Cultural connections and
understandings were strengthened, and the study showed that the voyage experience influenced
the women’s perspectives, decisions, and actions years beyond the actual experience.
Keywords: Indigenous learning, Indigenous knowledge, Native Hawaiian women,
traditional education, voyaging

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CHAPTER ONE: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
Indigenous researchers use the term indigenous as referring to people who have
experienced colonization of their culture and their land (McGovern, 2000). Wilson (2004) refers
to the colonization process, in which Indigenous peoples were robbed of land and resources, and
the struggle to maintain their Indigenous beliefs, languages, environment, heritage, and other
capacities, as inherently difficult. In the context of colonialism, Indigenous knowledge was
“irrelevant and incompatible” (Wilson, 2004, p. 360) with colonizer’s traditions. Therefore,
Indigenous traditions were devalued—resulting in the oppression of Indigenous peoples. After
centuries of colonization and colonialism, there have been efforts to revive Indigenous
knowledge, as this knowledge is seen as a form of empowerment for Indigenous people (Battiste
& Henderson, 2009; Wilson, 2004).
Indigenous knowledge is intertwined with decolonization and understanding that
connection allows for a re-valuing of Indigenous ways. One way in which Native Hawaiians
have sought out opportunities to reconnect to their Indigenous knowledge is through the
traditional art of navigation. Native Hawaiians were re-introduced to this traditional art form in
the mid-1970s, by a Micronesian man named Mau Piailug. The last four decades have seen a re-
valuing of traditional Oceanic knowledge, resulting in a reconnection to cultural voyaging
practices across the Pacific (Goodyear-Kaʻōpua, 2013; Low, 2013).
The purpose of this study was to understand how voyaging could reconnect someone to
her culture, provide an alternative approach to learning, and foster positive life outcomes. This
study sought to explore how contemporary female voyagers of Native Hawaiian descent
experienced and acquired voyaging knowledge through the process of preparing for, and
participating in, the E Mau voyage. I was interested in how the women blended their learning
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resources in order to adapt and acquire Indigenous knowledge, and what cultural connections and
values had been internalized. I was also interested in finding out how these women became
empowered in the process of their learning, teaching, and living as a result of their voyaging
experience. The study sought to understand the relationship these women had to their Native
Hawaiian identity prior to the voyage, and how their participation in the voyage influenced their
experience and life post-voyage.
In this chapter, I will set the context of this study by presenting a brief history of Native
Hawaiians, along with a brief overview of the Hawaiian Renaissance highlighting the role of
traditional Oceanic voyaging. In addition I will discuss the context and purpose of the E Mau
voyage and my personal connection to this study. Also presented in this chapter will be the
purpose of the study, research questions, methods, and significance of the study.
Background of the Problem
Indigenous peoples have been striving to reclaim their identity, language, culture,
heritage, and voice for generations (Tangihaera & Twiname, 2011). Native Hawaiians are
amongst these people, trying to reconnect to their land, culture, history, perspective, and ways of
learning, in efforts to strengthen their Native identity and increase positive life outcomes
(Wilson, 2004). Due to over a century of U.S. colonization, Native Hawaiians have been
forcibly disconnected from their culture, resulting in numerous disparities and a decline in their
overall health and wellbeing (Kaholokula et al., 2012; Kanaʻiaupuni & Ishibashi, 2003). In an
effort to change the trajectory for Native Hawaiian communities, education—one indicator of
health and well-being—has been one avenue in which to reclaim Indigenous knowledge and
traditional learning environments as a means to address these disparities. Voyaging is one form
of education that has been used to reconnect Native Hawaiians with their traditional knowledge,
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culture, and identity, and has served to promote value in Indigenous education (Goodyear-
Kaʻōpua, 2013). In order to understand the context of this study, one must have a basic
understanding of the background of Native Hawaiians, and the resurgence of traditional Oceanic
voyaging, as the practice exemplifies one form of Indigenous knowledge.
Background of Native Hawaiians
A healthy, complex society existed in Hawaiʻi prior to Western contact in 1778, where an
estimated 800,000 Native Hawaiians populated the island chain (Warner, 1999). The arrival of
Westerners to the shores of Hawaiʻi introduced disease and illness to the healthy Native
Hawaiian society, leading to a massive reduction in the population to only 40,000 people in
approximately 100 years. (Warner, 1999). Key pivotal points in Hawaiian history added to the
rapid decline of the Native population, Hawaiian identity, and overall health and well-being of
the Hawaiian language and culture. The arrival of missionaries in 1820, the māhele (land
division act) of 1848, the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893, and ultimately,
banning the use of Hawaiian language in the school system in 1900, all contributed to the
negative effect on Native Hawaiian identity (KSBE, 2013). As Warner (1999) offered, “non-
indigenous peoples have disenfranchised Hawaiians from their land, their sovereignty, their
language, and their culture and have even redefined their identity” (p. 69). As a result, there
have been devastating, compounded, generational effects on Native Hawaiians today.
Currently, in Hawaiʻi, 22% of the population is Native Hawaiian (Kaholokula et al.,
2012). They make up approximately 46% of all Pacific Islanders in the U.S. (Kaholokula et al.,
2012). Native Hawaiians have a long history of steady decline in health and well-being.
According to Kanaʻiaupuni and Ishibashi (2003), Native Hawaiians have numerous health
problems, high dropout rates, high incarceration rates, and negative school-related outcomes.
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They have high rates of poverty, lower average income, and are underrepresented in professional
occupations (Kaholokula et al., 2012; McGlynn & Provitera, 2007; Speck & Keahiolalo-
Karasuda, 2011).
Hawaiian Renaissance
In the 1960s and 1970s, a cultural resurgence began that reawakened Native Hawaiians
who had long been oppressed in their own homeland (Tsai, 2009). Revitalization efforts to
strengthen Hawaiian culture emerged in Hawaiian language, hula, music, politics, arts, and
voyaging (Tsai, 2009). During this time, in the mid-70s, the voyaging canoe Hōkūleʻa was born
and the Polynesian Voyaging Society was formed (Low, 2013). Hōkūleʻa’s maiden voyage in
1976 re-opened the ancient Oceanic pathways between Hawaiʻi and Tahiti. The canoe sailed in
the traditional manner, navigated by Mau Piailug—using only the stars, ocean swells, winds,
birds, environment, and the wisdom of the ancestors to guide them. Hōkūleʻa quickly became a
symbol of pride to Native Hawaiians, and since her inception, numerous voyaging canoes have
been built across the Pacific (Low, 2013); thus leading to the transferal of seafaring knowledge
and traditions to a new generation of voyagers. Mau Piailug was a master navigator, a teacher,
and a mentor to many students across the Pacific (Low, 2013). Nainoa Thompson became one of
his most well-known students, when in 1980 he became the first Native Hawaiian to successfully
navigate Hōkūleʻa to Tahiti using traditional navigation methods, in over 200 years (Low, 2013).
E Mau—Sailing the Master Home
Mau Piailug had a great motivation to preserve the art of navigation, as he understood the
value of this traditional knowledge (Low, 2013). He came from a tiny atoll named Satawal, in
Micronesia. He was trained in the traditional manner and learned navigation from his
grandfather. He became a pwo (master) navigator and agreed to teach navigation to those
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outside of his own culture, which meant going against his own cultural norm (“Mau Piailug,”
2010).
In 1995, voyaging canoe, Makaliʻi was born under the leadership of brothers Shorty and
Clayton Bertelmann. The purpose of the E Mau voyage was to show gratitude and appreciation
to Mau for all his years of unselfish teaching to the people of the Pacific, especially Native
Hawaiians. The reconnection to voyaging culture sparked a revival to strengthen Hawaiian
identity (Herb Kane as cited in Papa Mau video, 2010). In 1999, Mau was honored for the first
time, by being sailed home to Satawal, aboard the voyaging canoe Makaliʻi. This display of
thanks was important as it also showed the people of Micronesia the value of their own
traditional knowledge, which stimulated an interest in their own culture (Krauss, 2004).

Figure 1. Makaliʻi and Satawal
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Statement of the Problem
Native Hawaiians have been historically marginalized and disconnected from their
culture, resulting in profound negative outcomes. An interest in restoring traditional forms of
education in Hawaiʻi has emerged as a means of addressing the disparities facing Native
Hawaiians today (Kaholokula et al., 2012; Kanaʻiaupuni & Ishibashi, 2003). In Hawaiʻi’s
educational landscape, attempts have been made to reestablish cultural connections and
incorporate Indigenous knowledge within formal school settings (HIDOE, 2015; Wilson, 2004).
Such attempts have resulted in the creation of Hawaiian immersion schools, Hawaiian culture-
focused charter schools, Hawaiian culture-based education, and culturally responsive education
models sensitive to Native Hawaiians (ʻAPL, 2015; Goodyear-Kaʻōpua, 2013; HIDOE, 2015).
Through these efforts there has been an increased awareness and accessibility to these types of
school settings.
Traditional knowledge is not valued in the dominant Western education system
(Goodyear-Kaʻōpua, 2013; Smith, 1999). Indigenous youth, such as Native Hawaiians, are often
disconnected from their culture in traditional Western systems of schooling, as it does not foster
the same values, relationships, and connections often found in Indigenous cultures. For example,
connections to the environment such as those found in Oceanic voyaging traditions, is an
important aspect of Native Hawaiian culture. Kahapeʻa-Tanner suggests that, “the dominant
society in Hawaiʻi today fails to value fully Oceanic knowledge and even the ocean itself” (as
cited in Yamashiro & Goodyear-Kaʻōpua, 2014, p. 176). The tension between two opposing
knowledge systems is embedded in Native Hawaiian and Western cultural values and worldview.
Indigenous people must often defend the validity of their own knowledge systems within the
constructs of Western schooling. The study intended to understand the lived experiences of the
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women as they revalued and reconnected to their Indigenous knowledge and culture. This study
investigated how Indigenous knowledge was transferred and the influence of the voyaging
experience on the women’s lives.
Purpose of the Study
This study explored traditional (non-Western) forms of education through the case
studies of Native Hawaiian women voyagers, specifically, Oceanic knowledge related to
voyaging culture. This study sought to understand the influence that this specific type of
Indigenous experience and the knowledge they acquired had on women who may have been
previously disconnected from, or had little experience with, traditional forms of education. Also,
this study sought to understand how the reconnection with their cultural experience influenced
how they led their lives, and if they perceived any positive life outcomes as a result.
The role of Native Hawaiian women was an important focus in this study, as different
cultural perspectives were at play. In Native Hawaiian tradition, women were leaders and there
is evidence of women in what sometimes were assumed as men’s roles, which included being a
navigator, leading battle, and conducting ʻawa ceremony (Kamakau, Pukui & Barrere, 1991;
Poepoe, 1906; Pukui & Korn, 1973). In Mau Piailug’s culture, women were not allowed to sail
on canoes, and did not participate in ocean activities—they were of the land. The women
participants in this study were reconnecting to Native Hawaiian ways and also lived in a Western
society. The blending of these three cultural lifestyles converged in the voyage experience of the
women in this study, making their lived experiences unique. The study included elements of
how the women perceived ideas of equality, how they aligned with Native Hawaiian
perspectives, and how they navigated their environments as they lived in and experienced these
multiple worldviews. This study sought to understand their contemporary role as Native
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Hawaiian women voyagers, and provided insight into these overlapping cultures and
perspectives.
Research Questions
The research questions for this study are:
1. How did the E Mau voyage influence the lives of the women crewmembers?
2. How did the E Mau voyage influence what they do with their lives?
3. How did the approach E Mau took to preparing them for the voyage shape how and
what they learned?
The foundation of this study was grounded in three bodies of literature: Hawaiian epistemology,
Indigenous Knowledge, and Indigenous Ways of Teaching and Learning.

Methods
This study used multi-case study methods, as I was interested in investigating how Native
Hawaiian women were influenced by their participation in the E Mau voyage. The case study
method is most appropriate when the unit of analysis is clearly defined (Merriam, 2009). In this
study, the unit of analysis is one Native Hawaiian female voyager. According to Merriam
(2009), qualitative case studies allow for the researcher to better understand the phenomenon by
gathering data that is rich, descriptive and interactive. I conducted in-depth interviews with three
Native Hawaiian women voyagers for this study in order to understand how the E Mau voyage
influenced their lives, and in turn, how the voyage influenced what they did with their lives
thereafter. Each voyager was interviewed two to three times, and interviews were supplemented
with and included the exploration of documents and artifacts related to their experiences.

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Significance of the Study
This study aimed to address the perceptions surrounding Indigenous and Western forms
of education through the investigation into traditional Oceanic voyaging. Historic events, along
with existing tension between knowledge systems have contributed to poor educational and life
outcomes for Native Hawaiians. This study sought to build understanding of the value of
Indigenous knowledge as a learning system with the potential to provide positive outcomes for
Native Hawaiians. It also sought to establish an understanding of a blended learning
environment in which modern day voyagers often exist. Contemporary Native Hawaiians often
find themselves straddling both Hawaiian and Western lifestyles in regards to beliefs,
perspectives, values, and ways of knowing. Insight into how one can navigate both knowledge
systems in order to have positive life outcomes can be beneficial to those who are in similar life
contexts, particularly, Native Hawaiians, and those who seek to increase the overall health and
wellbeing of Native Hawaiians.
This study was intended to contribute to literature that is lacking in terms of Indigenous
knowledge transference and its relation to positive outcomes. While there is not significant
research that explicitly demonstrates that connecting to Native Hawaiian culture and language
will improve academic outcomes for Native Hawaiian children, research on other historically
marginalized populations suggests that connecting to funds of knowledge and culture does
improve learning outcomes for these children (Landson-Billings, 1995; Ladson-Billings, 2014;
Tharp & Gallimore, 1998). Other studies have been conducted on culture-based education,
culturally responsive teaching, and culturally relevant schooling, as well as the investigation of
Indigenous education sovereignty (Ladson-Billings, 2014; McCarty & Lee, 2014). Those studies
provide contexts related to teaching and learning approaches, curricula, pedagogy, and the
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medium of instruction (Ladson-Billings, 2014; McCarty & Lee, 2014). However, there is still a
gap in literature related to the transference of Indigenous knowledge and whether positive
outcomes have been observed as a direct result of that. This study intended to fill that gap in the
literature.
The Researcher
It is important to identify myself as the researcher in this study, as the motivation for this
research is based on my connection with the E Mau voyage. I am a Native Hawaiian female,
born and raised during the Hawaiian Renaissance. I sailed on the E Mau voyage as a
crewmember, and had the opportunity to learn directly from Mau. I was raised in a
predominantly Western schooling system, and began to reconnect with cultural traditions and
knowledge as a teenager and young adult. I am an educator, and have experience in both the
Western and Native Hawaiian school settings. My internal motivation for this research comes
from the desire to carry out my kuleana (responsibility/privilege)—to share what I have been
taught, as requested by my teacher, Mau—along with my own desire to improve learning
environments and increase positive life outcomes for Native Hawaiians. My voyaging
experience has shaped my approach to life, and my passion for this subject guided this study,
therefore, as a key instrument of data collection, I had to be mindful of that fact while gathering
and analyzing the lived experiences of others in the course of this study to ensure that the
findings were credible.
Limitations
The following limitations that may have impacted this study include:
1. Generalizability—this study relates to a specific voyage and three specific cases,
therefore, it is not generalizable to all voyaging contexts and participants.
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2. Truthfulness—data collected through interviews, documents, and artifacts relies solely on
the truthfulness of those interviewed, which is beyond the control of the researcher.
Delimitations
The following delimitations that may have impacted this study include:
1. Sampling—purposeful sampling criteria were created by the researcher to ensure that
participants were crewmembers on the E Mau voyage, and were Native Hawaiian women
of similar age, therefore, any decisions made in the selection process was at the discretion
of the researcher.
2. Protocols—interview protocols were limited to questions that the researcher was
interested in examining, as the researcher was the key instrument of data collection,
therefore, limited the type of data that was collected.
3. Specific Voyage—the researcher’s decision to limit the study to a specific voyage may
have an impact on the study, as it will not have broad generalizability.
Definitions
E Mau: The name of a specific voyage in 1999 that sailed master navigator, Mau Piailug,
home to Satawal.
Hōkūleʻa: Voyaging canoe that became the symbol of Native Hawaiian identity and
pride since the Hawaiian Renaissance.
Indigenous: Referring to a group of people that have been colonized and/or oppressed in
relation to Native beliefs, knowledge, and practices.
Native Hawaiian: Individuals who are descendants of those who resided in the Hawaiʻi
prior to Western contact in 1778.
Makaliʻi: Voyaging canoe that sailed Mau Piailug home in 1999.
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Traditional: Native, indigenous knowledge, beliefs, practices, which include non-formal
and/or informal educational settings.
Indigenous Knowledge: The concepts, skills, and applications transferred between
teacher and student in the Indigenous learning environment within the voyaging context.
Organization of the Dissertation
This study was organized into five chapters. Chapter 1 provided an introduction to the
problem. It provides background on Native Hawaiians, Indigenous knowledge, and context of
the E Mau voyage.
Chapter 2 presents a literature review focused on Hawaiian epistemology, Indigenous
knowledge as it relates to traditional navigation and wayfinding, and Indigenous ways of
teaching and learning in a voyaging context.
Chapter 3 provides the methodology used in this study. It elaborates on the research
design, population and sampling, and process for creating instruments for data collection. This
chapter also explains procedures used for data collection and the data analysis process.
Chapter 4 presents the findings of the study. It presents the findings each case
individually, and is followed up by a cross-case analysis of all three cases to identify themes that
emerged across the data.
Chapter 5 shares this dissertation’s contribution, as well as a discussion of the study, with
implications and recommendations for educational practice, policy, and the potential for further
research based on the results of the study.

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CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
This study was based on the following research questions:
1. How did the E Mau voyage influence the lives of the women crewmembers?
2. How did the E Mau voyage influence what they do with their lives?
3. How did the approach E Mau took to preparing them for the voyage shape how and
what they learned?
To answer these questions, I drew upon three bodies of literature: Hawaiian epistemology,
Indigenous knowledge, and Indigenous teaching and learning.
First, I present literature on Hawaiian epistemology, which explains what counts as
knowledge and how we know what we know (Meyer, 2001). Epistemology shapes one’s
perspective and worldview. Hawaiian epistemology is important to this study because it helped
me to understand the perspective of the women crewmembers and how the voyage influenced
their beliefs, values, and cultural perspective as it related to and intersected with the Indigenous
knowledge on the voyage. This section focused solely on Hawaiian epistemology, as the women
in this study were all Native Hawaiian.
Second, I present literature on Indigenous knowledge. Indigenous knowledge is a
complete system—holistic and experiential in its learning processes (Hare, 2011). Indigenous
knowledge is based on the connectedness between people, land, environment, the natural world,
sustainability, and spiritual balance (Barnhardt & Kawagley, 2005; Hare, 2011; Wilson, 2004).
This section was referred to as Indigenous knowledge rather than Hawaiian knowledge because a
primary voice used in this section is that of an individual who is not Native Hawaiian. The
knowledge presented is related to Oceania, not specifically Hawaiʻi. This literature was relevant
to my topic because Indigenous knowledge was an essential aspect of what the voyage intended
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to impart on the participants. What value Indigenous knowledge had was an important element
in understanding how the voyage influenced the lives of the women crewmembers.
Third, I present literature on Indigenous teaching and learning. Similar to the previous
section, this literature is not specific to Hawaiian ways of teaching and learning, but rather, to the
Indigenous references used as sources here. This literature was relevant to this study because it
assisted me in understanding how Indigenous knowledge was transferred, and how the women
crewmembers learned on the voyage. It also helped in understanding how the women in the
study passed on what they learned to others.
Finally, I conclude this literature review with my conceptual framework that informed the
methods for this study and helped to determine what data I collected, the instruments I used to
collect the data, and how the data was analyzed.
Hawaiian Epistemology
Epistemology is the philosophy of knowledge. As stated in Meyer (2003), epistemology
seeks to answer the questions: “What is knowledge?” and “How do we know what we know?”
(p. 77). Hawaiian epistemology contrasts Western norms of empiricism, and challenges
universal principles and mainstream philosophical assumptions (Meyer, 2003). Hawaiian
epistemology is important to my study because the women interviewed were all Native
Hawaiian, predominantly educated in Western schooling. Therefore, their views regarding what
counts as knowledge was important to understand, as the study revealed the exchange of
knowledge that took place while on the voyage. The value that was placed on any knowledge
they received or pass on was shaped by their epistemology. Understanding Hawaiian
epistemology served as a foundational element in conducting this study. This section will focus
on seven epistemological themes as presented by Meyer (1998). Those included in Meyer’s
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research represented a strong group of Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners and community
leaders, and served as a source of understanding of what counted as Hawaiian knowledge.
Meyer
Meyer conducted a qualitative study in 1997 that focused on the central research
question:
• How does a group of Native Hawaiian educators, who are also cultural leaders, think
about and define Hawaiian epistemology? (Meyer, 2003, p. 129)
Also explored were the following related questions:
• What are some of the similarities between ancient Hawaiian epistemology and current
Hawaiian notions of epistemology? What are the differences?
• What are current examples of learning contexts, pedagogy and curriculum that reflect
Hawaiian epistemological belief?
• How does the politics of colonialization affect Hawaiian epistemology? (Meyer,
2003, p. 129)
Twenty Native Hawaiian educational leaders were interviewed in 1997—10 men and 10 women.
Their age ranged from 41 to 92 years old, with 65 being the average age. Those interviewed
were looked to as cultural leaders and cultural practitioners in the Hawaiian community.
Interviews continued until the sampling was saturated and themes and ideas became repetitious
(Meyer, 2003). Data was then coded and analyzed. Seven themes emerged from the voices of
those interviewed in which Meyer labeled as follows:
1. Spirituality and Knowing—Cultural contexts of knowledge
2. That Which Feeds—Physical place and knowing
3. Cultural Nature of the Senses—Expanding notions of empiricism
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4. Relationship and Knowledge—Notions of self through other
5. Utility and Knowledge—Ideas of wealth and usefulness
6. Words and Knowledge—Causality in language
7. The body/mind question—Alternatives to the illusion of separation
The boundaries between these seven epistemological themes were fluid and reflected the nature
of Pacific Island culture (Meyer, 2003).
Spirituality and knowing—Cultural contexts of knowledge. Meyer (1998) asserted
that knowledge and spirituality were inseparable according to Hawaiian viewpoint—“knowledge
and spirituality are interwoven into almost every description of how Hawaiians view intellect,
skill acquisition, wisdom, learning, knowledge, and understanding” (p. 22). Spirituality was
connected to how we related to the world and how the world related back to us (Meyer, 2001).
Knowledge was shaped by our environment, by spiritual forces, and had a cultural context
(Meyer, 2001). Spiritual forces included the natural environment, God, gods, and family deities
known as ʻaumakua—family both past and present. It had an origin and history, and was
connected to future. The passing of knowledge was intergenerational. Those interviewed
believed that “they are links in a Hawaiian chain reaching back to antiquity” (Meyer, 2001, p.
128). This belief shaped how knowledge was valued, exchanged, and acquired (Meyer, 2001).
Knowledge was believed to be immortal and had spiritual continuity, affecting the way
Hawaiians approached knowing (Meyer, 2001). Pua Kanahele (as cited in Meyer, 2003) spoke
to the theme of spirituality and knowledge:
It [knowledge] doesn’t only have to do with intelligence, it has to do with spirituality, it
has to do with everything that has lined up before you, and all of the things that are lined
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up ahead of you. All sorts of coming together to make all of this happen. You, yourself,
cannot make any of this happen. (p. 156)
Sonny Kinney (as cited in Meyer, 2003) also acknowledged the continuity of spirituality as it
related to knowledge:
It has a future [knowledge]. What I do here, whatever knowledge I’ve gained here or
done here will follow after me. That’s like immortality, you know. Knowledge is a
sequence of immortality. (p. 156)
That Which Feeds—Physical place and knowing. Physical place is an extension of
spirituality. The environment shaped our worldview, and there was a connection between place
and knowing. Lands of origin, and the connection to sustenance was an important aspect of this
theme. The idea of “feeding” was both literal and metaphorical, and the place where knowledge
grows is within the classroom known as ʻāina—the natural environment of land, sky and ocean
(Meyer, 2003). An important aspect regarding Hawaiian knowledge was experience. In order to
have truly experienced our environment, we must have been open to it and practiced it. Hannah
Kihalani Springer (as cited in Meyer, 2003) shared manaʻo (thoughts) regarding this connection
to the environment:
Our cultural as well as physical geography is the foundation of our creativity, of our
problem solving, of our knowledge building. (p. 158)
Gennie Kinney (as cited in Meyer, 2003) also reflected on the connective nature of environment:
If you go down to the ocean, you have to sit there and listen. You have to listen for the
pōhaku [rock] to call you. You have to thank the ocean for helping shape it, you have to
thank the rain, all those wonderful things. It brings you back to how wonderful our world
is. You gotta be observant, you gotta have all the senses. (p. 159)
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The important connection between knowledge and ʻāina—was that it was one’s teacher. As
island people, the land and ocean educated us and directed us, and the spirituality associated with
our connection to ʻāina was the direct connection we have to our history, ancestors, and family
deities (Meyer, 2003).
Cultural nature of the senses—Expanding notions of empiricism. Senses were
developed by culture, and were based on how and where one grew up (Meyer, 2001).
Empiricism relied on the five senses that allowed one to see, hear, smell, touch, and taste.
Hawaiian empiricism included the sense of “awareness.” The importance of these senses, were
affirmed in the use of terms found to illustrate these senses in Hawaiian language. The word ʻike
literally meant “to see,” and it also meant “to know,” showing the important connection between
the sense of sight and how it related to understanding. Thus the ability to observe was held in
high regard in the acquisition of knowledge. Hannah Kihalani Springer (as cited in Meyer,
2001) commented on the importance of culture as it related to the sense of sight:
[My mother] was doing stuff, she was doing this observation. I understand the concept of
observation, but she was doing it. She talked about the difference between going to hula
and doing hula. So, I say that my mom was engaged in the act of observation. She
wasn’t teaching me the theory that if you look out on to the landscape and if you know x,
y, and z, you may infer a, b, c. She was doing it. (p. 132)
The idea of knowing was not passive. There was an active engagement with the environment
that formed an understanding (Meyer, 2001). There was a reciprocity and engagement between
our senses and the environment, and it is reflected in the language used. Another example was
the use of the word aʻo, which meant both “to teach” as well as “to learn.” The ability to listen
well was held in high regard. It required one to truly focus, and the word for this in Hawaiian is
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hoʻolono, which is a term connected to Lono—the god of sound. Florence Like Kumukahi (as
cited in Meyer, 2001), highlighted the importance of listening well in a Hawaiian cultural
context:
They tell you one time, you know Hawaiian style before…Hawaiians don’t like to repeat,
when they tell you to do something. First, they’re going to show you what to do. It’s up
to you to look and to do what they did. They are not going to repeat it back to you. So, I
guess we learned more by observation. We hardly asked questions because we should be
smart enough, one time they tell us, so it’s just like, intuition, you know? Because
Hawaiians don’t like to repeat and repeat, then they call you hupo, where you should be
intelligent enough to know. (p. 133)
Abbie Napeahi (as cited in Meyer, 2001), added more insight to the cultural connection of one’s
senses:
You know what they used to say to me, and I’ll never forget, that’s what I taught my
children: nana pono ka maka, hoʻolohe pono ka pepeiao, paʻa kou waha, hana ka lima.
That’s a famous saying from my poʻe kupuna [elders]. Be very observant and when you
are to listen, listen very carefully, but whenever you listen, that’s not for you to open your
mouth and create problems, that’s why they say, shut your mouth and work, do the work.
(p. 133)
According to Meyer (2001), how we engaged in the world was the fundamental building block of
knowledge. Culture influenced our senses and knowledge was something that was caused
(Meyer, 2001). For example, “the honor we hold for our kumu, our teachers, affects how we
listen” (Meyer, 2001, p. 133). The idea of “awareness” as a sixth sense was an important aspect
to the use of senses. It was “a valuable example of the active role Hawaiians had and currently
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have with knowledge creation” (Meyer, 2001, p. 134). Hawaiians used all their senses to
become aware of the world, and to engage with the environment, thus creating a foundation for
gaining knowledge and understanding. Dreams were included in this “awareness” and were
believed to be a valid way of knowing. Pua Kanahele (as cited in Meyer, 2001) explained the
importance of dreams:
Another way of knowing is in dreams. You learn by dreams, and I’m not really a
dreamer. My grandmother was a great learner of dreams, but sometimes, mostly, dreams
are all jumble, jumble, jumble and they don’t really reveal very much, but when they
come and they’re very precise and they come oriented toward a particular thing, and each
step of the dream is very precise, you can see it very clearly, then it means something and
you pay attention to it. (p. 166)
Duality in Hawaiian culture also existed, which informed how one engaged with the
environment through our senses. The environment itself had gender—and that gender shifted
(Meyer, 2001). Meyer (2001) said, “in our environment, in the water, in our rains—even the
rains have gender, our storms have gender, our winds have gender” (p. 194). Evidence of male
and female traits existed in our environment, and the shifting of these traits affected one’s
experience of the world based on where one grew up (Meyer, 2001). “How one experiences the
environment plays a huge role in how the world is understood and defined, and this experience is
nursed and fed via cultural practices, beliefs, and values” (Meyer, 1998, p. 23).
Relationship and knowledge—Notions of self through other. Relationships were
essential in shaping knowledge. The interdependent nature of Hawaiian relationships between
self and environment was a central aspect of Hawaiian culture. This type of relationship
provided Hawaiians with opportunities to develop harmony with the land, exhibit balance,
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practice reciprocity, and generosity with others (Meyer, 2001). Individuals were connected to a
larger community. There was no autonomous self, only self and other (Meyer, 2001). The idea
of self was intimately tied to other. It is important to note that this practice of interdependence is
not at a loss of one’s individuality, but the influence and value in the community framed by one’s
individual importance to the greater whole.
There was an understanding that we are part of a continuum that was reinforced through
relationships. Therefore, maintaining one’s relationships was a deliberate and conscious effort,
and thus knowledge was something that was exchanged with others. Hannah Kihalani Springer
(as cited in Meyer, 2001), asserted that:
There’s a tremendous amount of self re-enforcement of what I believe to be so, that we
are part of this continuum and within this continuum there’s a flow and exchange, there’s
cognizance and reciprocity that transcends time, space and generation. (p. 167)
Maintaining relationships was an integral part of knowledge acquisition, and knowledge itself
was thought to be both a gift as well as a responsibility (Meyer, 2001). Elders were placed in
high regard, and it was important to be validated by others, especially by mentors and teachers
who were older than you. Lynette Paglinawan (as cited in Meyer, 2001) stated:
The validation by others only enhances the mana that is there. The value of that tradition
lies within itself, and the results of the use of that practice of that tradition is the
validation, but the mana is further enhanced as others begin to recognize the value. (p.
168)
Utility and knowledge—Ideas of wealth and usefulness. Knowledge must have
purpose in order to have any value. Purpose is defined as something that is worth passing on to
the next person or generation (Meyer, 2001). Hawaiians, with its oral culture, passed on
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knowledge that was meaningful—that had utility and function (Meyer, 2001). Knowledge was
not something that was merely acquired, but something that was useful and practiced. Function
was shaped by history and value was placed on knowledge that had been passed on. The idea of
practice was not separate from intelligence (Meyer, 2001). Instead, the value of knowledge was
in the functionality of it when put into practice. Pua Kanahele (as cited in Meyer, 2001) affirmed
the theme of utility and knowledge:
They have to experience it, and sometimes you see somebody who’s gathering all of this
information kind of already beginning to understand it, which means he’s more in tune
with what this information is all about, whether he has had experience in this or whether
there is an alignment coming together of ancestral memory making him aware of it, you
know, it’s not known until a little bit farther, but what he does with it is, to me, [is] the
real test of intelligence, how he treats it and whether it becomes functional for him, not
only cerebrally, but also functional for him in everyday life. (p. 171)
Words and knowledge—Causality in language. Words and knowledge are linked.
“Words cause things to happen” (Meyer, 2001, p. 139). Florence Like Kumukahi (as cited in
Meyer, 2001), gave insight with this example of words and causality:
We were always told, you put plenty love into it. Don’t grumble, you’re doing it with
love, your kaukau [meal] will come out delicious, but if you grumble, then everything
will sour, you know? OK, you give an assignment to a family. Maybe that family you’d
say: “You cook the long rice and chicken.” Come that night it starts to bubble, then you
would know they grumbled, they didn’t put their heart and soul in making this, so you
can find out who grumbled, I mean, by the taste. (p. 174-175)
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It was also important to listen instead of talk. Some believed that the one that spoke the least
may had been the most intelligent (Abraham Piianaia, as cited in Meyer, 2001). Words held
much value and it was important to speak only when appropriate.
The Body/mind question—Alternatives to the illusion of separation. This theme
emphasized the link between body and mind, and acknowledged that intelligence was found in
the core of our body. Body and mind are not separate. Intelligence was embedded in feelings, in
instincts—in one’s naʻau (Meyer, 2001). Naʻau is the place in the body referred to as stomach,
liver, or gut. It is where intellect and wisdom were found (Meyer, 2001). Gennie Kinney (as
cited in Meyer, 2001) spoke about naʻau:
You bring your naʻau right there, and when you know you know something, you feel it
over here [points to stomach]. You know you know it. (p. 176)
Naʻauao is the term for knowledge. When broken into two words, naʻau (stomach) + ao (light,
enlightened), it means enlightened stomach. In Hawaiian worldview, the idea of knowing and
feeling were linked and connected, and became instinctual (Meyer, 2001). Ed Kanahele (as cited
in Meyer, 2001) stated:
I don’t divorce myself from feeling and knowing something. Feeling and knowing go
together. Emotion, on the other hand is a different thing. You can get angry, glad,
happy, euphoric, whatever other kind of emotional words you want to use, but in a
situation of knowing something, feelings come into play. (p. 177)
Calvin Hoe (as cited in Meyer, 2001) explained the importance of the mind/body connection:
I know something when I feel comfortable. You feel things. Keep your senses open.
Remember, how you feel about something—if it feels right. (p. 176-177)
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This theme highlighted how feelings shaped epistemology, and connected us back to our senses
and the other aforementioned themes. As Meyer (2001) said, “knowing something is feeling
something, and it is at the core of our embodied knowledge system” (p. 177). Wisdom was
found in our naʻau, and it was where our emotions resided. The combining of knowing and
feeling described how Hawaiians connected spirituality, senses, utility, relationships, and land, to
provide the basis of understanding and ultimately, intelligence. Pua Kanahele (as cited in Meyer,
2001), provided a culminating narrative to exhibit this:
Naʻau is the center of who you are. Naʻau is the center of your body, the center of your
poles between your very spiritual and your very earthy, or your very airy and your very
earthy, and it’s that center pole. I think when your whole body or when your whole self
reacts to something it all comes to that center: If it doesn’t react to it, then one part or the
other parts, if you’re looking at something at a different level of intelligence, what you’re
doing is really working up there [points to head], you don’t feel anything down here
[points to naʻau] but it’s something that has to do with intelligence, but if it’s something
that you can react to and if it’s something you seem to understand from either your
childhood or from your growing up days, and right away you can relate to that thing. All
of that comes to center, so you can pull everything together and it centers…that’s naʻau,
naʻauao. To me, naʻauao is when everything, not when YOU, but when everything kind
of centers for you and then a light comes on, and then you can relate to it, that’s naʻauao.
It’s understanding it at many different levels, not only with the level of intelligence, of
thinking about it, but the level of practicum, of having done it somewhere, understanding
how it works, understanding why it works. To me that’s naʻauao. It’s being centered,
it’s when everything comes together. (p. 180-181)
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Conclusion
Hawaiian epistemology was a foundational element in understanding the Native
Hawaiian women in this study in terms of the beliefs and perceptions as what counts as
knowledge. Meyer presented seven epistemological themes that emerged from the voices of
twenty Native Hawaiian leaders and cultural practitioners. This literature supported the
researcher in the quest to understand how the women in this study were shaped by their
epistemology. The next body of literature to be presented is Indigenous knowledge, focusing
specifically on traditional Oceanic voyaging.
Indigenous Knowledge
Indigenous knowledge is based on the connectedness between people, land, environment,
the natural world, sustainability, and spiritual balance (Barnhardt & Kawagley, 2005; Cajete,
2000; Hare, 2011; Wilson, 2004). Indigenous people have become specialists in observation,
and seek to maintain the interdependency and balance in all life (Barnhardt & Kawagley, 2005).
As Smith (2012) argues, the term indigenous is problematic because it collectivizes many
distinct populations, linked by similar experiences of colonization of land and culture, and
struggles of oppression. Native Hawaiians are one distinct population within the larger group
known as indigenous peoples. In recognizing this distinction, the term Indigenous knowledge
was used to represent this section due to the source of this knowledge stemming from Mau
Piailug, a non-Hawaiian. Therefore, knowledge transferred was not specifically Hawaiian, but
rather part of Oceania.
Grounded in the broader concepts of Indigenous knowledge—connectedness, spirituality,
and environment—this section will only focus on Indigenous knowledge related to Oceanic
voyaging culture as this study had a narrow and specific focus. Identifying specific voyaging
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knowledge was useful in my study, as it helped to determine what Indigenous knowledge was
gained on the E Mau voyage, as well as what Indigenous knowledge, if any, was transferred
following that experience. It was important to understand what counted as knowledge in a
voyaging context in order to recognize how the E Mau voyage influenced the lives of its women
crewmembers, and how that experience influenced what they did with their lives post-voyage.
Voyaging knowledge in this section will be presented through words of pwo (master) navigators,
Mau Piailug and Nainoa Thompson, as well as other navigators and crewmembers that sailed
directly with Mau. Oral and written accounts of voyaging knowledge have been documented
and shared through writings, journal entries, video recordings, or personal accounts. The
following three themes will be highlighted: pilina (connectedness, relationships), values, and
traditional navigation and wayfinding.
Pilina—Connections and Relationships
Knowledge is shaped by cultural context, one’s environment, and spiritual beliefs
(Meyer, 2001). This section emphasizes the importance of making connections and building
relationships, and highlights the following four themes: spirituality, environment, crew, and
canoe. Similar to epistemological themes presented earlier, these four themes are fluid and can
be interwoven with each other. Knowledge in the context of voyaging, then, is the understanding
of, and belief in, these connections.
Spirituality—Connection to ancestors, ʻaumākua, and akua. Spirituality and
knowledge are linked (Meyer, 2001). Knowing and understanding is built upon the connection
between self and family: ancestors, ʻpiritua—family deities both past and present, God and
gods. This understanding acknowledged that we are not alone, but rather, spiritually connected
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to our ancestors. Tava Taupu (as cited in Low, 2013) described how he felt when he first saw
voyaging canoe, Hōkūleʻa:
It all comes back to me, my ancestors. I feel my ancestors all around me.
(p. 67)
Shorty Bertelmann (as cited in Low, 2013) commented on seeing Hōkūleʻa as well:
When Hōkūleʻa came along I knew I had to be part of it, to help bring back our traditions
and to learn more about my ancestors. (p. 72)
It is important to acknowledge ʻaumākua—family deities both past and present—as they can be a
source of strength, comfort, and motivation. Nainoa Thompson (as cited in Low, 2013) spoke of
the connection to ʻaumākua:
I was not sailing by myself. They were with me. As I was pulling the island out of the
sea, in my mind and heart, I was sailing for them. They were my strength. Maybe that
would be my own personal definition of ʻaumākua.
(p. 310)
Sam Low (2013) wrote about Nainoa Thompson’s connection with ʻaumākua as he paired
beloved family and friends with actual stars and constellations that guided and watched over
him. He wrote:
Nainoa found his ʻaumākua in the stars. When his childhood guardian, Yoshio Kawano,
passed away, Nainoa went into the pasture behind his grandmother’s home in Niu and he
looked up to see Spica rising, so Spica became Yoshi’s star. He named Capella for his
grandmother Gardie. Alpha Lupus became the Willy star, for Will Kyselka. Eddie
Aikau is embodied in the constellation Scorpio, known in Hawaiian as “mania-a-ka-
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lani”—“made fast to the heavens”—the fish hook of the great Maui who pulled the
Hawaiian islands from the sea. (p. 224)
The acknowledgement of family in visible clues kept this spiritual connection in the present and
tangible, and often became a constant reminder that one is not alone. In challenging times, the
spiritual connection to our ancestors was comforting and strengthening. Nainoa Thompson’s
father, Pinky Thompson (as cited in Low, 2013), remembered when he was in the battle of
Normandy, and recalled being comforted by his ability to call upon his ʻaumākua:
He asked us to call the supreme powers of our own spiritual beliefs to be there. I felt a
tremendous relief that I could call the ʻaumākua that our family had talked about for
years in muffled tones and I could have them with me that night and for the rest of the
time I was in combat. That was a hell of a relief. That was the first time I felt an intense
connection to my family’s spiritual beliefs. (p. 224)
Connection to God or gods was evident in protocol. The canoe itself was a spiritual symbol.
Sam Kaʻai (as cited in Low, 2013) illustrated this spiritual connection:
Hōkūleʻa is an altar that we raise up again. She is the ahu o ka moana—the altar of the
sea. You who have been chosen as the crew are the ʻohana waʻa—the family of the
canoe. You will be the gifts to the gods. You will go down the sea trail, down the lei of
bones, down the whispers. We are from Hawaiʻi ahi—from Hawaiʻi of the flame. You
will sail to Hawaiki—the homeland. (p. 63)
An ʻawa ceremony was conducted prior to a canoe’s departure on a long distance voyage and
was significant in order to spiritually separate the crew from land. Sam Kaʻai (as cited in Low,
2013) identified the spiritual connection within the ʻawa ceremony:
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When you clap the first time, it means “You said it.” The second clap means “I hear it.”
The third means “I hold you to it.” Paʻi ka lima, or heaven holds you to it. You make a
pledge with the body of god within you and surrounding you: “I will follow the
command. I will be on this voyage. I will be one with the crew.” And those all around
you, when they clap, are saying “We heard you and heaven will hold you to it.” The
crew pledges their loyalty and their hand to the kāpena, the captain, and the hoʻokele, the
navigator. Everyone speaks the truth, because they drank the body of akua. That is what
the ʻawa ceremony is. You offer yourself up—to be one with heaven—and to do
heaven’s work. It is beyond being a man. It is being in the eternal spirit, being the god
within you. (p. 237)
Environment—Connection to the natural world. The connection to the environment
was an extension of spirituality. The environment provided the classroom in which experiences
could occur. The connection with the environment began with awareness. Nainoa Thompson
(as cited in Low, 2013) spoke of this awareness:
I’ve become a lot more aware than I was before of my universe. I know a lot more about
Mau’s teaching. I can understand how he can be the person he is. Mau is just a genius.
He has to be, to be able to compute all these things in his mind. His cross-references tell
him where he is in the ocean—where to point the canoe so the land will come to it. It’s
been a great experience. (p. 133)
Nainoa reflected on his increased confidence in this type of knowledge and referred to the
heavens as his “good friend” (Low, 2013, p. 133), which affirmed the importance of connecting
with one’s environment. As his connection to the environment grew, so did his knowledge and
understanding. Nainoa (as cited in Low, 2013) shared:
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The more I learn, the more I understand. The more I understand, the more I know how
complicated the heavens are. As Mau said, “You have to begin to study them when you
are three years old to really know.” (p. 134)
As the connection between self and environment strengthened, so did one’s spiritual connection
and identity. Nainoa (as cited in Low, 2013) commented on his experience of first being
introduced to the heavens:
I was fascinated that the stars had a pattern and that you could use them to guide you on
the ocean. All of a sudden, I realized that our ancestry is tied to the heavens and the
ocean. My whole world as a Hawaiian became immense, timeless, without measurable
distance. My interest in navigation and my ancestral history started right there, at that
very moment. (p. 40)
Connection to the environment entailed forming a relationship with it. To see the natural world
through ancestral eyes meant releasing the mind of preconceived notions of Western thinking.
Sam Low (2013) wrote of Nainoa’s journey in connecting with the environment:
…he’d spent hundreds of hours examining the sky holistically, without instruments, as
his ancestors must have done. By discarding the preconceptions of western navigators,
he had discovered shapes and relationships in the sky that had not been seen for centuries.
He was, as some might say, “thinking out of the box,” but more accurately, he had
thrown the box away. Looking up from beaches in Hawaiʻi and from this one in Tahiti,
he was asking questions that his ancestors might have asked. He was treading in their
sandy footprints. (p. 220)
As one’s understanding of connection to the environment progressed, the realization that the
environment is family emerged. The land itself was symbolic of family guardians and the
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spiritual and environmental connections were merged. Nainoa Thompson (as cited in Kyselka,
1987) spoke of this understanding:
I remember a story I was told one time (how accurate I do not know) of the people of
ancient Polynesia. They had their family guardians, kūʻula, that gave them prosperity.
They were symbolized as figures shaped of carved stone. Fishing families had their
kūʻula that attracted fish and gave them protection. The navigator of old, as the story
goes, was not like other men. He was separated from them—a man of the sea, not of the
land. So his kūʻula was not bound to the land but was the land itself—the highest
mountain, a mountain of power. (p. 220)
Therefore, preparing for long distant voyaging meant preparing to separate self from land and
commit to ocean. In doing so, connecting with the land became an intimate relationship, and a
much needed act for personal preparation. Nainoa Thompson (as cited in Low, 2013) reflected
on his connection to the mountain named Mauna Kea:
Sleeping on Mauna Kea’s slopes was a way to get close to the mountain in both my mind
and in my naʻau, my gut. I had done all my academic study. I had gone to Tahiti. I was
physically strong—at my best. I had worked with the best teachers—Mau, Dixon, Will,
my father—and I had the support of so many people. But something was missing, my
own spiritual preparedness. My own personal journey. I was trying to find my home—
inside of me—and Mauna Kea defines home to me. It’s the highest mountain. Sam said
that the Big Island was my kūʻula—my guardian. When we came back from Tahiti we
would be approaching from the east so we would see Mauna Kea first. It was my
spiritual beacon—a place that I would be coming home to. (p. 226)
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Understanding one’s environment meant building a personal relationship with nature, observing
and being one with it. This type of knowledge increased awareness and trained your instincts.
Nainoa (as cited in Low, 2013) recognized this type of trained instinct in his teacher, Mau
Piailug, and commented on his connection with the environment:
He practices a kind of science that’s a blend of observation and instinct as compared to
the laboratory scientist measuring outcomes. Mau observes the world twenty-four hours
a day. It’s constant. That’s his relationship to nature. As I grew up, I learned to see the
world through science and math. But he saw the world in a much more internal way—
through trained instinct. (p. 207)
Crew—Relationships with self and others. Building upon the spiritual and
environmental connections, the relationships formed between self and the crew was essential.
The crew on board a voyaging canoe lived together for weeks or months at a time, travelling
thousands of miles of ocean. It was important to understand that the crew becomes family.
Bruce Blankenfield (as cited in Low, 2013) affirmed this connection:
An ʻohana is an extended family. You have that in other cultures, but among Hawaiians
it’s real strong. I think it comes from our culture of voyaging. For the crew to survive on
long voyages they had to take care of each other. And that’s what we were learning when
we sailed together. (p. 199)
Life on board a voyaging canoe impacted living conditions and magnified life. The ability of the
crew to connect with each other was extremely important. Mel Paoa (as cited in Low, 2013)
shared his thoughts:
When you come on the canoe you separate from your land family and connect with your
canoe family. Every time I sailed I had more people I trusted my life with—Nainoa,
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Chad, Bruce, Tava. I felt real comfortable with them. The more I sailed with them, the
more I got to know their personalities. Their stress level. Sometimes you don’t need any
verbal communication, it’s something special, a sixth sense between each person. (p.
199)
Marion Lyman (as cited in Low, 2013) wrote in her journal about the bonds formed between
crew:
The crew becomes as one more and more each day, each respecting the other’s rights to
their moods and being beautifully courteous and helpful at all times. The bond between
us will never be broken. (p. 293)
Forming relationships amongst crewmembers was essential for safe journeys across the ocean.
The ability for the crew to live together showed itself in respect and behavior and true caring for
one another. The connection to crew was a loyalty to each other bound by trust. Steve Somsen
(as cited in Low, 2013) wrote of this connection:
Everyone on board realizes that when we make landfall it will never be the same again
for this small group of fourteen people. We are a family. There’s no doubt we have our
minor problems. We try to air our grievances. …For the most part, we are a harmonious
group. We eat and sleep and sing together and share the joys and frustrations of
voyaging. (p. 318)
The most important aspect of knowing the value of connection to crew was exhibited in the
words of Master Navigator, Mau Piailug (as cited in Low, 2013):
I told them that when we go to sea we must aloha each other. We must be like a family
together. Take care of each other. I told them that the canoe is our mother and the
navigator is our father. (p. 89)
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This knowledge and understanding was affirmed in Nainoa Thompson’s (as cited in Low, 2013)
observation of the crew:
After two years of training, they had learned to care for each other and their canoe. (p.
287)
Waʻa—Connection to the canoe. Mau referred to the canoe as our mother. In doing so,
the canoe was treated with respect and honored as such. The canoe was a maternal symbol—a
vessel that carried you. Jo-Anne Sterling (as cited in Kyselka, 1987) shared her thoughts about
the canoe, Hōkūleʻa:
I have lots of respect for this canoe. I talk to her, take care of her. She loves to go. It’s
amazing to watch her. Sometimes she goes goofy, then gets out of it. She comes alive at
sea. It seems as if we’re being drawn to Tahiti. Nobody is steering. Sails are set and
we’re going. She’s taking us there.
Down in the compartment I listen to the sounds at night. Familiar sounds. When the
winds are high and the sea is rough she feels as if she’s 120 feet long instead of 60. She
can make herself look so small and pathetic on the big ocean. But then she can also make
herself look big and fly like a bird. (p. 149)
Every person who sailed on the voyaging canoe formed his/her own relationship with her.
Similar to building a relationship with other individuals, such is true to form an intimate
connection with the canoe itself. Nainoa Thompson (as cited in Low, 2013) wrote in his journal
about his relationship with Hōkūleʻa:
I really got a thing going with Hōkūleʻa. I can really feel her now. How she rides on the
swells, up and over, pitch and roll. Pivoting on the top, riding down, pulling to one
side—the sound of the steering paddle as it bites into the water. (p. 135)
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Nainoa (as cited in Low, 2013) also commented:
I began to feel the canoe all around me and I sensed the stars in relation to the canoe
without really thinking about it. I could feel when we were on course and when we were
off. I became attuned to her motion. (p. 272)
One formed a relationship with the canoe, and knew the canoe in a personal, intimate way. This
was a critical component in establishing pilina (connection) with the waʻa (canoe).
One’s relationship with the canoe was intimate and personal. Nainoa Thompson (as cited in
Low, 2013) spoke of crewmember, Snake AhNee and his relationship with Hōkūleʻa:
He used all his senses to steer the canoe. When he held the paddle it was like he was
holding the canoe through the shaft of that paddle. His steering was very soft. He made
very little corrections. Some people pulled the paddle up quickly to let the canoe run up
into the wind then pushed it down hard to bring it off. Snake’s corrections were always
very small and they were very soft. When he steered, the canoe was quiet. (p. 124)
Connecting with the canoe meant understanding she had a spirit. The canoe was personified and
the way she was treated and respected was part of voyaging culture. Low (2013) provided
insight to this understanding:
Hōkūleʻa invited her crew to dance—and she danced differently in a single set of waves
than she did in two—or three. She danced one way if she was running with the wind and
another if she was sailing into it. The possible combinations are infinite, so the
choreography was complex. Hōkūleʻa demanded attention from her human partners. If
they faltered, she reminded them. She turned up into the wind and slowed and shook her
sails. “Listen to me,” she said, “Can you hear it?” An alert helmsman knew to push the
paddle down to help her fall off the wind. Or she might turn downwind, speed up and
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pull at her tiller. “Pay attention,” she said. All these were clues to maintaining a steady
course, an important task for any navigator, but particularly so for one finding his way
without instruments. (p. 123)
The connection one had with the canoe formed a foundation connected to spirituality, family,
and one’s understanding of the value of individual relationships. The canoe is the mother. She
was personified and connected to one as family. Pōmai Bertelmann (as cited in Papa Mau video
@ 41:00) spoke about voyaging canoe, Alingano Maisu:
To see her on the water was really, really special for me. More than the fact that she’s
fast, she’s strong. She’s got all these different personalities. She’s got this deep sense of
strength. I think that kind of surprised everybody. She’s got this drive to always want to
move and that’s my Dad.
Values
Voyaging knowledge is embedded in cultural values. Understanding and behaving in
alignment with these values is part of the knowledge that was imparted on voyages. This section
focuses on four values essential to canoe culture. Values related to voyaging are not limited to
these four—they are only the ones being highlighted for the purpose of this study because they
were referenced the most in the sources available. The four values presented in this section are:
hōʻihi (respect), mālama (to care for), hilinaʻi (trust), and kuleana (responsibility/privilege).
Hōʻihi—Respect. Mau said, the canoe is our mother, and the navigator is our father.
This basic understanding provided context to the value known as hōʻihi (respect). Building on
the spiritual connection to family, respect for the canoe and the navigator was a foundational
value. The core belief that one had great respect for the navigator was evidenced in thoughts and
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behaviors of the crew. Pwo navigator, Shorty Bertelmann (as cited in Papa Mau video @ 11:20)
shared his memory of the time when he first met his teacher, Mau Piailug:
I came down to the canoe, and from far away, I recognized that he was a man with a
special spirit, a special person. I know he couldn’t speak English, and I couldn’t speak
his language, so we just started…communication actually was no problem at
all…everything just started flowing as if we knew each other already.
Shorty showed much respect for Mau, as he referred to him as an ancestor. This connection to
family once again, was intertwined with the respect he had for him. The navigator was his
teacher, and he understood the value of that relationship. Shorty Bertelmann (as cited in Papa
Mau video @ 12:45) explained:
If I wanted to know anything about anything about the stars, the ocean, about waves… he
would just like give me the answer right there, and it went right through him to me, and
then it represented who he was and everybody he learned from, the past and
everything…he was like a living ancestor that you could finally talk to.
The value of hōʻihi (respect) was validated in how Mau Piailug was respected by his students.
Pwo navigator, Chadd Paishon (as cited in Papa Mau video @ 12:20) spoke about Mau:
Mau was the one that was able to come back to our culture and help us to remember that
these things that were magic to us to watch him do all these things…and they still
magical to us to be at the level that he’s at…he’s helped us to reconnect again.
Nainoa Thompson (as cited in Kyselka, 1987) wrote about his respect for his teacher, Mau
Piailug, in his journal:
I realize the wealth that he has given me, in sharing navigational secrets in the context of
the tradition of his culture. My thoughts are sad that the voyage will soon end and with it
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his teachings, for he must go back home to Satawal. He is a man of priceless gifts. A
man who took our hands, as if we were children, and walked us through it all, upon the
wake of our ancestors. (p. 214)
Respect also came in the form of how one treated his teacher. To care for your teacher was a
sign of respect. Ben Finney (as cited in Low, 2013) wrote:
Shorty has been chosen to be Mau’s understudy and personal servant. He behaves as an
island navigator’s apprentice should. He keeps quiet, is attentive to Mau’s every need
and sticks close by him, even to the point of sleeping out on the open deck at his master’s
feet. (p. 94)
There was a reciprocal relationship of respect as well. Though sometimes subtle, reciprocal acts
of respect could be shown through one’s actions. On one particular voyage, a fresh mahimahi
fish was caught. Crewmember, Tava, gave the head of the fish to navigator, Mau Piailug so that
he could have it for his soup. This was a good gesture and sign of respect. Mau replied to Tava,
“Next fish I get I make for you” (Low, 2013, p. 304). This simple response showed both
gratitude and respect and affirmed the connectedness between teacher and student. It showed the
reciprocity of the value of hōʻihi (respect).
Mālama—To care for. The value of mālama means to care for—to care for oneself, for
each other, for the canoe, and for the environment. Nainoa Thompson (as cited in Low, 2013)
commented on this value:
My teacher, Mau Piailug, told me that after a pwo navigator has been initiated on
Satawal, his first duty is to sail from his island and return with “something of value” for
his people. This voyage is symbolic of a navigator’s responsibility to help sustain his
community in harmony and health. In our Hawaiian language we have a word—
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mālama—which means “to care for,” and I think it evolved from our own heritage of
long distance voyaging. Our ancestors learned that to arrive safely at their destination
they must mālama each other and their canoe. (p. 335)
The value of mālama (to care for) also meant to care for knowledge itself. The value of mālama
(maintain) was essential to maintain the art of non-instrument navigation and wayfinding. The
transferal of traditional knowledge relied on the value of mālama (to care for/maintain) in order
to pass the knowledge on to future generations. It was critical to maintain traditional knowledge
of one’s past heritage because, as historian and anthropologist, Herb Kane (as cited in Papa Mau
video @ 36:20) said, “people who have lost their past become lost people” and “without the past,
we are simply rudderless.” Master navigator, Mau Piailug had much concern about taking care
of traditional knowledge for future generations. Mau (as cited in Papa Mau video @ 53:38)
spoke of the importance of mālama (to care for/maintain):
After I am gone, you must continue to work together to make sure that navigation
continues to grow. Because throughout Micronesia, navigation is gone, on all of the
islands, Pohnpei, Chuuk, down to Yap and Palau. Once they lose it there is no way to
bring it back to life. I would like my grandchildren to remember me, and to want to learn
traditional navigation. When I sit next to them, their parents will tell them to get close to
this old man and learn before he dies.
The value of mālama (to care for/maintain) becomes urgent when the loss of knowledge becomes
a threat to culture, traditions, and heritage. Once the knowledge is lost, it has the potential to be
lost for good, thus ending the continuum for future generations. In relation to voyaging culture,
Mau Piailug had much concern over the fate of his own people. Sam Low (2013) wrote:
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…most alarming to Mau, outboard motors began to replace sails and paddles. For the
first time in the island’s history, 40-gallon drums of gasoline appeared out of the hold of
the visiting ship and made their way into the island’s canoe houses. Even worse, few
young men approached Mau to learn navigation. Traditional navigation was no longer a
viable career because trained instinct was rapidly being replaced by western instruments.
Mau worried about losing “the talk of the sea”—a rich body of traditional wisdom that
had not only been essential to island life but was a thing of beauty in itself. In many
ways, navigation and sailing had defined what it meant to be a man on Satawal. It was
the heart of the island’s culture. …If no one knew how to harness the wind and find the
fishing grounds, how would the islanders survive? (p. 308)
Mālama (to care for/maintain) was essential in maintaining traditional knowledge in a present
where such knowledge was not necessarily valued in the Western world. Nainoa Thompson (as
cited in Kyselka, 1987) commented:
Through this experience I’m beginning to understand the suffering of Mau in maintaining
his heritage, a difficult task in a rapidly changing world. I don’t know the depth of the
hurt he feels in seeing more of his culture lost with each generation. (p. 214)
Hilinaʻi—Trust. Voyaging knowledge is embedded in the value of hilinaʻi (trust). Trust
in ancestors, environment, intuition, and oneself. This kind of trust demanded a relaxed
awareness and openness to one’s environment, both physical and spiritual. This could be
challenging to those who were not raised in such a way. Voyaging culture required trust and
sometimes, one had to release his/her mind from past experiences in order to be open to the
awareness needed on the canoe. Nainoa Thompson (as cited in Kyselka, 1987) shared:
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For my own sake I will need to relax. The land will show itself when it will. I must give
up and give in to the notion that I can do nothing about it. (p. 218)
Trust also meant letting go of control in knowing and involved emotion and spiritual connection.
Nainoa Thompson (as cited in Kyselka, 1987) commented:
I walk to the bow of the canoe for I know the island is there. I don’t know how I know.
…The navigation at this moment seems to be out of my hands and beyond my control.
I’m the one given the opportunity of feeling the emotion of the navigator not yet ready to
have a complete understanding of what is happening. It is a moment of self-perspective,
of one person in a vast ocean given an opportunity of looking through a window into my
heritage. (p. 221-222)
Navigational knowledge involved many skills. One of those skills was the ability to trust the
knowledge handed down through generations. There is a relationship between trust and
knowing. To release oneself from Western, scientific knowledge system, and to allow oneself to
be present was part of hilinaʻi (trust) and could provide direction needed on a voyage. Nainoa
Thompson (as cited in Kyselka, 1987) gave insight to this value of hilinaʻi (trust):
I gave up. I think it was because I was so tired that I just gave up forcing myself to find
the clues visually. All of a sudden I felt warm, but it was raining and cold. When I gave
up trying to force myself to find answers, I knew. I took command of the steering and
said, “Here, we’re going this way.” When I relaxed and gave up, somehow I knew. Then
there was a break in the clouds and the moon showed—exactly where I thought it was
supposed to be. Even when I saw it, I wasn’t surprised. That’s my most valuable
moment, that one. (p. 232)
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The intersection of Western and Indigenous knowledge systems is a reality in today’s voyaging
culture. The value of trust did not always come easy to those who were in a predominantly
Western environment. The more trust one had in the Indigenous knowledge, the sharper the
skills of a navigator became. Nainoa Thompson (as cited in Low, 2013) explained:
I can’t explain it. There was a connection between something in my abilities and my
senses that went beyond the analytical, beyond seeing with my eyes. It was something
very deep inside. Before that happened, I relied on math and science because it was so
much easier to understand things that way. I didn’t know how to trust my instincts. My
instincts were not trained enough to be trusted. That night, I learned there are levels of
navigation that are realms of the spirit. Hawaiians call it naʻau—knowing through your
instincts, your feelings, rather than your mind or your intellect. It’s like new doors of
knowledge open and you learn something new. But before the doors open you don’t even
know that such knowledge exists. (p. 277)
The value of trust highlights the connection to our ancestors and the knowledge of past
generations. Accepting and understanding this was part of hilinaʻi (trust). The knowledge that
we were connected to our ancestors meant that as an individual, you were part of the continuum
of knowledge. Trusting oneself, and one’s own intuition then, was part of hilinaʻi (trust). To
know is to trust in oneself. Nainoa Thompson (as cited in Kyselka, 1987) shared his thoughts:
I think what Mau was saying to me is that you’ve got to believe to know. You’ve got to
believe in your teachers and you’ve got to trust yourself. At times the principles of
navigation we’ve set out just don’t work. Not that they’re wrong—it isn’t that—but
sometimes you just don’t have the clues. If you can’t believe in your intuition at such
times, then you’re really lost. (p. 229)
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Kuleana—Responsibility, privilege. The value of kuleana means responsibility. In
voyaging culture, it referred to passing on the knowledge and art of navigation. It was a
privilege to receive knowledge. Therefore, it was one’s responsibility to not just maintain that
knowledge, but to transfer that knowledge, to assure it continued for future generations. Sam
Low (2013) wrote:
The secrets that Mau received from his father and grandfather had been carried down
from the earliest settlers of Satawal. Passing them on went beyond a duty—a kuleana as
Hawaiians would call it—it meant a kind of immortality. A master navigator lived on in
the sound of voices chanting in the canoe house—his students conveying his knowledge
to new generations. (p. 326)
The value of kuleana (responsibility) was shown in the passing of knowledge. The privilege of
being called a navigator relied on the kuleana (responsibility) entailed in transferring this
knowledge on to the next generation. Nainoa Thompson (as cited in Low, 2013) shared:
Mau told me, that a navigator is never really considered a master until he passes on his
skills to his students. (p. 326)
Traditional navigators of Satawal were given the title of palu or pwo once they exhibited a
certain level of knowledge. To those who carried the title of pwo navigator, the value of kuleana
(responsibility) became their responsibility to carry on the art of navigation, which included
passing the knowledge on to future generations. Shorty Bertelmann (as cited in Papa Mau video
@ 50:34) shared his thoughts of becoming a pwo navigator:
For Mau, it’s like he’s passing the torch on…he’s always holding the torch for us, yeah,
but now he was giving it away…so that was big for me.
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Bruce Blankenfield (as cited in Papa Mau video @ 50:22) also commented on the kuleana
(responsibility) of becoming pwo:
You could feel the energy, the importance…the real seriousness of what he was trying to
pass on.
The kuleana (responsibility) associated with voyaging laid in the ability of those who could
preserve and pass on the traditional knowledge of navigation. Pwo navigator, Chad Baybayan
(as cited in Papa Mau video @ 50:00) summarized the importance of kuleana (responsibility):
What the pwo is about is the navigator’s accepting the kuleana of being the steward of
that art—that you’re a teacher, you’re a caretaker, um, you have to recruit new people in
so the art can keep on living…
Traditional Navigation and Wayfinding
Navigation is the study or skill of determining position and direction. Wayfinding
encompassed all of the ways of orienting oneself in physical space in order to navigate from one
place to another, involving the use of all senses and environmental clues. This section focuses
on the traditional art of navigation as used by Indigenous peoples of the Pacific—those
connected by ocean.
Non-instrument navigation and wayfinding. Non-instrument navigation and
wayfinding are important in maintaining cultural integrity. They involved challenging oneself to
learn that which may not have been valued by larger society. Navigation was conducted without
the use of western tools. Instead, it involved a relationship with the sky, wind, ocean, and other
signs of nature as a guide. This relationship with the environment was one that was built over
time. Pwo navigator, Nainoa Thompson (as cited in http://www.olukai.com/walkstory/nainoa-
thompson-kaiulani-murphy/) explained about navigation:
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A navigation system in many ways is really quite simple. You have this amazing natural
world and all the signs in the sky and the heavens, in the wind, in the wave—all that you
need to know to sail to an island very far away is there. The question is, can you see it,
and can you read it? (00:27)
Navigation and wayfinding required a personal commitment to the art. They involved being
open and aware to the surrounding environment in order to safely traverse the open ocean to
one’s destination. Nainoa Thompson (as cited in Kyselka, 1987) reflected on this art:
Navigating without instruments is a personal act. You must know the principles but you
cannot reduce wayfinding to a set of formal operations. I’m constantly discovering new
things that are useful in getting the canoe there. (p. 206)
Navigation and wayfinding included epistemological beliefs and incorporated the knowledge
infused in cultural connections and values. Nainoa Thompson (as cited in Kyselka, 1987)
commented on his growing understanding regarding navigation:
On this trip I’ve been getting glimpses of a greater world of navigation, far
beyond what I prepared myself for. I learn through my culture, but that alone is not
enough: it does not provide all the right answers. When I understand things without
knowing how, that’s when I know I’ve taken great steps. (p. 206)
Kyselka (1987) asserts that non-instrument navigation and wayfinding use the mind and senses
and position the navigator at the center of the sky and ocean, with the islands moving along the
edge of that circle. They are an internal system of reference. Kyselka (1987) also referred to the
wayfinder as one who was able to read signs in nature related to speed and direction in order to
maintain continuous orientation and always knew where his starting point was in relation to his
destination.
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Role of the navigator. In island cultures, the role of the navigator is important for
survival. The chiefs who regulated island affairs and resources did not have jurisdiction on the
ocean. In Satawal, where Mau Pialug was from, the power of the chiefs ended at the fringing
reef. It is there that navigators such as Mau were in control. Their role was essential, as they led
canoes to fishing grounds and brought things of value back to their island. Mau (as cited in Low,
2013) explained that at sea, he was chief:
On the canoe I am above the chief. He has to do what I say. (p. 56)
Mau Piailug learned the art of navigation from his grandfather. The technical knowledge of
navigation was passed down through generations and connected one to his/her ancestors. In
Satawalese tradition, there are two levels a navigator can attain: palu and pwo. A navigator who
was palu had the knowledge to voyage alone. A navigator who was pwo had mastered all arts
associated with navigation (Low, 2013). Mau (as cited in Low, 2013) shared more about being
palu:
To be a palu (navigator) you must have three qualities: pwerra, maumau, and reipy
(fierceness, strength, and wisdom).…if you are not fierce, you are not a palu: you will be
afraid of the sea, of storms, or reefs; afraid of whales, sharks; afraid of losing your way—
you are not a navigator. With fierceness you will not die, for you will face all
danger…that is a palu: a palu is a man. (p. 56)
Both Mau and his grandfather were pwo navigators. A pwo navigator learned all technical
aspects of navigation, passed an initiation, mastered the spiritual arts, and went through a special
ceremony giving them the honor, responsibility, and status of pwo (Low, 2013).
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Navigators were responsible for their crew, and to get their canoe safely to their
destination. Much skill and preparation was involved and Nainoa Thompson (as cited in Low,
2013) shared what it was like to be the navigator:
You’ve got to discipline yourself. You don’t run around the canoe doing things. You
want to stay still and calm so you don’t get tired. You don’t want to have highs and lows
during the day. It becomes a kind of meditation. You want to stay level so if there’s a
navigational clue that you have to be ready for, you’re not wasted. It’s an issue of
endurance—you have to go until the island comes out of the sea. (p. 307)
The navigator must remain attuned with his environment at all times, being open and ready for
clues and signs in nature to provide direction and maintain orientation. Nainoa Thompson (as
cited in Kyselka, 1987) commented on his teacher, Mau, and his role as navigator:
Mau says he never sleeps when he’s navigating. He says his eyes are closed but inside
he’s not. Somehow he rests enough to take care of the fatigue and he maintains
orientation. It’s fascinating this man’s abilities. (p. 208)
Mau’s navigation system. The system of navigation taught to Mau from his grandfather
had been handed down through generations. This knowledge was transferred orally and was
known as the “talk of the sea” or the “talk of navigation” (Low, 2013, p. 54). All knowledge was
committed to memory through chants and a cycle of repetition (Low, 2013). The transferal of
knowledge took place on the beach where one learned about stars, ocean swells, wind, and other
signs in nature. Mau’s navigational system began with learning the stars and the star compass.
Mau’s star compass used 32 lumps of coral arranged in a circle to represent stars that rose and set
(Low, 2013). Training began with the memorization of the star compass.

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Figure 2. Micronesian Star Compass (retrieved from pvs.kcc.hawaii.edu)
Mastering this navigational system involved rigorous training, and knowledge
acquisition and a sequence of learning the following, but not limited to: paafu, aroom, wofanu,
futaur, and etak (Low, 2013). The following table explains the terms as cited in Low (2013).

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Table 1
Micronesian Sequence of Learning Navigation
paʻafu numbering the stars – a way of finding direction
aroom reciting the reciprocals of the star houses
wofanu sailing directions
futaur alignment of stars with landmarks to find passage through reef
etak dead reckoning position by imagining his canoe in the center of the
star compass and islands sliding by under star paths – a mental
system of triangulation

Mau was raised learning navigation as a child. The skills and knowledge he had was acquired
over many years of growing up in an environment that fostered awareness and increased
connections with the natural world. As Nainoa learned from Mau, he experienced challenges
that revealed a misalignment of teaching and learning styles—Mau from an Indigenous style, and
Nainoa from a Western style. Nainoa Thompson (as cited in Kyselka, 1987) commented on
Mau’s navigational system:
I look at Mau’s navigational statements. Lots of what he says doesn’t make
mathematical sense to me. But it works for him and has enabled his survival.
Mathematics misses when we try to understand what he does. His system works for him
without a doubt. The five waves he sees are always there for him, though I might not
find them. The reference birds, too, they’re also there to guide him to the land. My
system makes sense to me. Whether it works or not we’ll soon know. So far it’s working
and I’m learning. That’s why we’re out here—to learn. (pp. 158-159)
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Nainoa’s navigational system. As a student of Mau, Nainoa Thompson was exposed to
Mau’s navigational system. Nainoa (as cited in Low, 2013) gave insight into the navigational
concept known as the star compass:
I knew the compass as a concept, but I didn’t know how it worked. It was an intellectual
idea. I knew there would be problems trying to apply it on the ocean. (p. 119)
Kyselka (1987) explained that a star compass marked where stars rose in the east and set in the
west. Mau and Nainoa were taught differently, therefore, Nainoa could not easily internalize
everything that Mau understood, as he knew it. Due to the nature of Nainoa’s upbringing and
being raised in formal Western schooling, he adapted the knowledge he acquired from Mau and
created a system that made sense to him. As stars rise and set on the horizon, they define points
in which one can steer by. Nainoa created a star compass based on Mau’s teachings, and
coupled it with his mathematical logic. His star compass had 32 “houses” (Low, 2013, p. 119),
which was 11.25 degrees each, creating a 360-degree circle.
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Figure 3. Hawaiian Star Compass (retrieved from pvs.kcc.hawaii.edu)
The cardinal points in this compass used established Hawaiian names (Kyselka, 1987).
There are four quadrants in the star compass, each a mirror image of the adjacent quadrant,
naturally divided by a cardinal direction (Kyselka, 1987). Nainoa gave each house a Hawaiian
name that connected to navigation and wayfinding. The quarter directions of the compass are
named with an image of a bird in mind—outstretched wings, similar to the canoe’s positioning in
the sea. The houses closest to east and west were named for elements that would give a
navigator clues to land. Houses located in regions of celestial poles, were named for the
darkness of the area, as well as for the importance of stars both bright and dim (Kyselka, 1987).
Below is a table of each name and it’s meaning:

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Table 2
Names and Meanings of Houses in Hawaiian Star Compass (as cited in Kyselka, 1987, p. 95)
ʻĀkau North, “right,” to the right of the observer facing west, the direction of the sun’s
path across the sky
Hikina East, “coming,” the direction from which the sun comes into the sky
Hema South, “left,” to the left of the observer facing west, the direction of the travelling
sun
Komohana West, “to enter,” the direction in which the sun enters the sea
Haka “Empty,” denoting the emptiness and darkness of the region of the celestial poles
Nā Leo “The voices,” which, to Nainoa, are the “quiet voices of the stars”
Nalani A name associated with Canopus, the second brightest star in the sky, and one
that sets far to the southwest
Manu “Bird,” visualizing Hōkūleʻa as a bird flying southeast, its head and neck
outstretched and wings outspread
Noio Hawaiian name for the brown noddy tern that leads the wayfinder to the land
ʻĀina “The land,” the direction in which the land is expected to be at the end of the
voyage
Lā The place where lā, the sun, rises and sets

Signs in nature. Navigation and wayfinding required constant orientation and awareness
of signs in nature. This included observing sunrises, sunsets, colors in the sky, clouds, winds,
ocean swells, and birds to use them as clues in making landfall. Nainoa Thompson (as cited in
Low, 2013) shared how Mau used such clues in order to predict weather:
When I had spent enough time with him, I realized that he was not looking at a still
picture of the sky. If you took a snapshot of the clouds and asked him, “Mau, tell me
what the weather is going to be,” he could not give you an answer. But if you gave him a
sequence of pictures on different days—he would tell you. (p. 207)
Signs in nature gave a navigator clues so they could make a good sail plan to their destination.
Mau (as cited in Low, 2013) explained how he observed the weather to calculate wind:
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To find if weather will change look high. If clouds move in same direction as surface
winds, then nothing will change, but if clouds move in different direction, than surface
winds might change to direction clouds are moving. (p. 207)
Nainoa (as cited in Low, 2013) added to Mau’s comments:
That was only the first indication, but Mau taught me that you don’t really know yet. If
the clouds form lower down and they’re still going in the same direction as the high
clouds then there’s a better chance the winds will change in that direction. When the
clouds get low enough, then the winds will definitely change. (p. 207)
Low (2013) explained that early Hawaiians were observant and attuned to signs in nature, using
the colors in the sky at sunrise and sunset as weather predictors. Specific terms were used to
illustrate red streaks in the sky or red glows at sunset. Mau and Nainoa were observant to the
colors in the sky at sunrise and sunset as it aided in weather prediction and sailing preparation.
Birds were another indicator that aided a navigator. Nainoa Thompson (as cited in Low,
2013) commented on the use of birds:
Mau taught me that the seabirds are a navigator’s best friend, and sure enough, there they
were just like they were supposed to be. I was exhilarated because I knew that land was
close by. (p. 316)
Nainoa (as cited in Low, 2013) illustrated how birds were used to help a navigator find land:
When it’s time to go back to their nests, when the sun gets low, you watch which way the
birds fly. They will lift off the water, fly higher, and then fly straight to the island. (p.
316)

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Conclusion
Indigenous knowledge specific to traditional Oceanic voyaging was presented in this
section. The voices of pwo navigators Mau Piailug and Nainoa Thompson were used, along with
crewmembers and other navigators who sailed on Hōkūleʻa during the Hawaiian Renaissance.
This literature provided insight as to what knowledge was transferred during the voyage and how
the women in this study may have been influenced by it. The following section presents
literature on Indigenous teaching and learning.
Indigenous Teaching and Learning
Indigenous teaching and learning involves a balanced, reciprocal relationship between
teacher and student. The Hawaiian word used for this relationship is aʻo. This means both to
teach and to learn. There are three phases that have been identified in this section to reflect the
culture of learning in a voyaging context. These phases have been labeled as follows: I ka nānā
nō a ʻike (Observe and Acquire), Ma ka hana ka ʻike (Practice & Apply), and Hōʻike
(Demonstrate and Evaluate). This literature was valuable to this study as it provided a learning
context, and gave insight to roles of Indigenous teacher and student. This helped to determine if
the women in this study were influenced by their own teaching style and/or influenced by how
they learned on the voyage.
I ka nānā nō a ʻike (Observe and Acquire)
The first phase of Indigenous learning was that of pure observation. The teacher’s role
was to show and model skills and content knowledge, while the student’s role was to watch,
listen, and learn by repeating and mimicking the teacher (Low, 2013). In a purely Indigenous
setting, observation and learning took place in the natural environment, without the use of
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Western instruments and tools. In a non-Indigenous setting, observation and learning of
voyaging skills were adapted to meet the needs of the student (Low, 2013).
Learning in an Indigenous setting. Learning in an Indigenous setting involved the
natural world and one’s relationship with it. No writing, no Western tools. Mau Piailug began
learning the art of navigation from his grandfather at the age of three. As a child, he was placed
in the lagoon waters to learn the motion of the waves. He spent countless hours observing the
sky and studying the stars. Knowledge was passed orally in the form of chants. As his
grandfather chanted, Mau listened. Everything was committed to memory. Mau (as cited in
Low, 2013) shared his experiences learning the stars:
When I learn from my grandfather, it was hard because at night he told me about the
stars—that’s all. Just once. The next day I walk around and play but inside me I never
forget because he say ‘Next night you come back and I see if you know or not.’ (p. 192)
Student qualities and attributes. Observation was a key factor in selecting students
who were deemed worthy of receiving knowledge. Knowledge was considered sacred, therefore,
on Satawal, where Mau was from, students who had an innate desire to learn, sought out their
teacher. An Indigenous teacher would carefully observe his potential students, looking for
stillness, humility, and knowledge. Those students who displayed these qualities became
apprentices (Low, 2013). Mau observed two Hawaiian men who displayed humility and a desire
to learn—Shorty Bertelmann and Nainoa Thompson. He deemed them worthy to be his students.
Mau (as cited in Low, 2013) shared his thoughts of his students:
When I look at them, I’m thinking good guys because they like learn. I am not asking
them. They come to me and they want to learn. They ask questions. I am strong for
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teaching them because their talk to me is good. That’s why I decided to teach them. (p.
58)
When a teacher observed preferable qualities in a student, he entrusted that student with his
knowledge. Mau observed such traits in Shorty Bertelmann. Nainoa Thompson (as cited in
Low, 2013) commented on this:
Shorty is spiritually intense. When he goes to sea he is so geared—his whole mind and
body are connected—and he is very intense, yet very quiet. He does whatever it takes to
succeed and he fights for all of that. (p. 198)
Shorty used the power of observation to learn as much as he could from Mau. He observed Mau
as much as possible, and learned through repetition and mimicked his skills (Low, 2013). This
desire to learn was an admirable quality for a student to have. Mau recognized this and
welcomed Shorty as his student by continuing to share his knowledge with him. Shorty (as cited
in Low, 2013) shared his thoughts:
I just spent a day with him trying to help him when I could, and another day and another
and after a while it seemed like he welcomed me to be with him, and I was surprised
because I never thought that a man like him would pay any attention to a person like me.
(p. 57)
Learning through observation. The role of the Indigenous teacher was to model the
skills and attributes of his art. The role of the student was to fully observe and replicate those
skills. Shorty Bertelmann (as cited in Low, 2013) gave insight to this type of learning in respect
to voyaging knowledge:
The way that I learned from Mau was by watching what he did and trying to understand
how he did it—by figuring it out for myself and then asking him if that was the right way.
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You don’t just go up and ask him to teach you. It’s not a classroom with handouts and
lectures. (p. 57)
The teacher’s role was to teach by showing and modeling. Natural tools were used in this
process. Sam Low (2013) wrote about how Mau taught Nainoa Thompson using natural tools:
Mau had taught Nainoa on shore by arranging white pieces of coral to represent the 32
cardinal points of his star compass. Then he fashioned a model canoe from a pandanus
leaf and placed it in the middle of the compass. Using palm fronds to represent waves, he
showed Nainoa how they arrived from different points of the compass and caused the
canoe to roll in different ways, a teaching technique called pukulaw—or “wave tying”—
and he used this method to teach Nainoa to name the pandanus leaf swells by their
direction. (p. 203)
Indigenous learning included teachers giving feedback, but not in the same way Western teachers
gave feedback. Students in a Western education system often received feedback to inform them
how they were learning knowledge and content, often in the form of grades, verbal praise, and
test scores (Barnhardt & Kawagley, 2005). In contrast, Indigenous teachers’ feedback was found
through direct observation. It was not in instant verbal feedback or quantitative measurement.
Instead, it was in the mannerisms and body language of the teacher that a student would know if
they were progressing in their learning. Sam Low (2013) wrote of this type of observation in the
teacher and student interaction between Mau and Nainoa:
Many times, aboard the small Radon, they would sit quietly observing the ocean. Often
Mau would say nothing. Sometimes he would ask Nainoa to point out the direction of
swells and when Nainoa had done this, Mau would just nod and indicate that it was time
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to return to shore. Gradually, Nainoa learned to look for Mau’s approval in actions rather
than in words. (p. 204)
Use of Western learning tools. In non-Indigenous settings, teaching and learning was
adapted to include the use of Western learning tools available to the student. When Nainoa
Thompson learned from Mau Piailug, he was a student raised in a Western education system. As
an Indigenous teacher, Mau adapted his teaching method to better ensure the transferal of
knowledge from teacher to student. In doing so, Mau allowed the use of Western tools to aid his
student in the learning process. Mau (as cited in Low, 2013) remembered teaching Nainoa about
the stars:
Go back and get your notebook and write everything down. I will tell you a little bit, but
write down whatever I tell you so you don’t forget. When I learn from my grandfather, it
was hard because at night he told me about the stars—that’s all. Just once. The next day
I walk around and play but inside me I never forget because he say “Next night you come
back and I see if you know or not.” In Satawal, students have to remember, but here they
write it down because they have paper, they have pencil. (p. 192)
Nainoa Thompson used the planetarium to aid his learning of the night sky. He also used a
children’s star book to learn the basic stars and constellations. In addition, he had learned
through a formal astronomy class during his years as a university student. He had been exposed
to formal Western tools of learning to acquire knowledge of the stars, yet he had to blend this
style of learning with the Indigenous way of observing the actual night sky. In doing so, the
blending of learning tools was needed. Nainoa (as cited in Low, 2013) commented on this:
I wanted to learn the sky first hand. If you look in books for astronomers they have all
this clutter in them. I could not learn the sky that way. Rey broke the sky up into small
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sections. His book is a children’s book, but if you are an adult and you don’t know the
sky you are like a child. (p. 111)
Sam Low (2013) wrote of Nainoa’s learning of the stars and observations of the night sky:
The planetarium was a god-send but it had its limitations. It was an artificial sky. It did
away with the inconvenience of clouds, for example, and it was a teaching device prone
to errors, so while it was extremely useful for developing hypotheses, every one of them
had to be tested against the real world. Nainoa observed the stars in his back yard and
from his boat off Oʻahu, but he knew that to really understand the sky he should observe
it from many vantage points in Hawaiʻi. (p. 218)
Ma ka hana ka ʻike (Practice and Apply)
The second phase of Indigenous learning involved practicing and applying the skills
acquired. Literally, by doing, one learns. Indigenous knowledge was functional and purposeful,
therefore, must have application. This section is categorized into four subsets—building one’s
own understanding through practice, understanding the roles of teacher and student in the
learning practice, attaining achievement and recognizing teacher affirmation, and the blending of
knowledge systems to practice and apply skills.
Building Understanding. Application of knowledge relied on the student’s basic
understanding of knowledge that had been taught. When Nainoa Thompson first learned from
his teacher, Mau Piailug, he had to build a skill set that was new to him—skills that Mau
possessed over time. Nainoa (as cited in Low, 2013) reflected on his learning process to build
his own understanding:
Mau taught me the conceptual framework of navigation through the star compass. But
the next challenge was to apply the concepts to the real ocean and make that work. I had
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the opportunity to learn that in my fishing boat with him. I watched what he watched,
listened to what he listened to, felt what he felt. The hardest for me was to read the ocean
swells the way he could. Mau is able to tell so much from the swells—the direction we
are traveling, if the wind will change, the approach of an island, but this knowledge is
hard to transmit. No two people sense things exactly the same way. To help me become
sensitive to the movements of the ocean, Mau would steer different courses into the
waves, and I would try to feel it and remember the feel. (p. 202)
Nainoa observed Mau and his abilities. As a student, one must take the time to understand first
in order to apply those same skills. Observing those skills in a teacher was the first act of
processing in order to apply and build one’s own understanding of the specific knowledge and
skills. Nainoa (as cited in Kyselka, 1987) reflected on his teacher, Mau:
Mau knows direction like he knows the back of his hand. He knows waves like he knows
an old friend. The waves show him the way no matter how they’re covered up. Mau just
looks at the ocean and he sees direction. He can’t explain how he does it. He’s an artist,
a master. I can appreciate his art without being able to do it myself. (p. 146)
The learning process—Teacher and student roles. Indigenous learning involved
teacher and student working together in a reciprocal relationship. The teacher guided and
continued to observe the student, while modeling specific skills as necessary. The teacher
gradually allowed the student to do more on his own in order to practice the skills taught. The
role of the student was to take ownership and responsibility of one’s own learning, by building
confidence in oneself and applying the knowledge and skills learned in real life situations. Will
Kyselka (1987), wrote of this teacher student relationship involved in the learning process:
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Mau and Nainoa have separated, not isolated, themselves from each other, as it must be
on a voyage of learning. Mau is Nainoa’s teacher, helping him learn the ways of the sea
and always present in the event of difficulty. He does not take part in the navigation.
Nainoa must learn from himself. It must not be easy for Mau to stand by and watch
Nainoa make decisions that he would not have made, and to see him not see that which is
obvious to him. But this is the way it must be: Nainoa is learning. (p. 166)
Much of the learning process also happened during informal learning settings. Sam Low (2013)
wrote of the learning process and relationship between teacher and student, as it occurred on the
tiny atoll of Satawal:
On Satawal, Mau taught his students in a holistic process that took place in every arena of
life, in activities that westerners divide into economics, politics, and socializing. His
students joined Mau’s canoe house. They worked there, ate there, gathered there with
others to drink palm wine, and they were taught kkapesen neimatau, “the talk of the sea,”
during formal nighttime sessions under a murmuring kerosene lantern or on the beach
under the enveloping stars. The teaching also took place informally. Students helped
Mau work on his canoe or tend his gardens and during a break they might ask questions
about navigation or be quizzed. There were no grades and very little praise and so a
student might be easily confused about his progress. But over a period of years, he would
notice that Mau had loosed the reins a bit—had allowed him to steer the canoe for longer
periods of time without correction—and by this he knew he was doing well. This kind of
teaching relied on an ancient communal way of life. It was extensive as opposed to
intensive. (p. 204)
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Teacher affirmation. As student learning progressed, the Indigenous teacher would say
less, show less, and be more absent from view. In doing so, the student was able to build
confidence in self and apply the skills that had been learned, making their own mistakes along
the way, and reflecting on their own practice. The more a student showed accuracy in
application of knowledge and skill, the more a teacher would let go of the reigns. Low (2013)
wrote that on the canoe, Mau spent more time in his puka (hole), and that was a good sign.
Nainoa Thompson (as cited in Low, 2013) commented on how he would look to his teacher for
affirmation that he was doing well:
I don’t remember the exact moment, but I remember sailing with him on training sails
and I could tell when he was confident I was learning. He was heavily scrutinizing my
ability to navigate. I looked to see if he was relaxed or not relaxed. I looked for those
signs all the time because I was trying to build my own confidence. (p. 204)
Blending knowledge systems. Students raised in a non-Indigenous setting continued to
build understanding through the use of blended knowledge systems. Students used resources and
tools available to increase their own understanding in order to practice and apply what had been
taught to them. Nainoa Thompson (as cited in Low, 2013) commented on this as he used other
resources—Western science—to help clarify what he learned from Mau:
Dixon got me to understand that you cannot tell direction from a single individual wave.
He knows from a scientific point of view that here is a certain amount of chaos associated
with wind being generated locally. The wind that you are experiencing is making waves
but the waves don’t come straight downwind: they will come from different directions
because of the way that wave patterns are formed. (p. 203)

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Hōʻike (Demonstrate and Evaluate)
Indigenous knowledge was only valuable if it had application and function. The learning
process involved observing, practicing, and finally, demonstrating one’s ability in applying the
acquired knowledge in real life settings. Students demonstrated their skills, while teachers
constantly evaluated their students. The behavior and relationships between student and teacher
were evident in how one demonstrated and evaluated proficiency. This section highlights the
role of the teacher, the role of the student, and the culmination of learning, as related to voyaging
and the relationship between Mau Piailug and Nainoa Thompson.
Role of teacher. The evaluation phase involved the teacher stepping back from an
authoritative role, and allowed one’s student to take command of the canoe completely.
Gradually, the teacher would spend less time in view, and would remain silent in order to allow
the student to take on the leadership role. Sam Low (2013) wrote of Mau paying Nainoa a large
compliment while on the canoe—“by not paying much attention to him at all” (p. 292). In this
way, the teacher divorced himself from his student and true demonstration of one’s abilities
could be tested. Nainoa Thompson (as cited in Low, 2013) spoke of his teacher, Mau, as he
demonstrated this evaluation phase:
Dawn comes. No birds. Not a single noio. I’m getting anxious and puzzled. Everything
had worked like clock-work up to now. But no birds. No clue. No place to go. We
waited, and we waited. Mau just sat back and did not say a word. (p. 319)
This phase of demonstration and evaluation was evident when the teacher remained silent,
especially in moments when the teacher could help guide his student. Nainoa Thompson (as
cited in Low, 2013) commented:
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I am sure that Mau knew the island was there long before any of us, but he kept his
silence. (p. 317)
The silence of the teacher affirmed that the student was being evaluated and the transferal of
knowledge was being demonstrated through student actions.
Role of student. The student observed, practiced what was learned, and ultimately,
showed his own understanding by accepting the kuleana (responsibility/privilege) and
demonstrated competency by doing. When this happened, there was a shift in role from teacher
to student, and it now became the responsibility of the student to demonstrate his/her knowledge.
Chad Baybayan (as cited in Low, 2013) commented on the changing of roles between Mau and
Nainoa:
I remember Nainoa and Mau feeling their way as student and teacher. Nainoa was saying
“I’m taking over now.” He had the courage to assume command. Mau stepped back and
was comfortable with Nainoa’s role. That was a turning point. (p. 256)
A student showed their understanding by accepting responsibility. He also had to show
understanding in the intuitive realm to show that he could navigate confidently. The following
excerpt gives insight to Nainoa’s last lesson from Mau prior to navigating his first open ocean
voyage. The seriousness of this conversation was a form of evaluation of the student’s ability.
Sam Low (2013) wrote:
Can you name the stars in the star compass? Mau asked.
Nainoa nods—Yes.
Can you point to the direction to Tahiti? asked Mau.
Nainoa pointed to the star direction—south-southeast.
Can you see the island?
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The question puzzled Nainoa. “I could not literally see the island,” he recalls. “It was
2400 miles away. But it was a serious question. I had to consider it carefully. Finally, I
said, “I cannot see the island but I can see an image of the island in my mind.”
“Good,” said Mau. “Don’t ever lose that image or you will be lost.” (p. 208)
Following the student’s final lesson, the student demonstrated his ability to sail the canoe safely
across the ocean. The teacher watched and observed in this final evaluation, making sure that his
student could indeed demonstrate competency. Mau (as cited in Low, 2013) spoke of this last
evaluation of his student:
After I teach him then I like go with him on the canoe in case he miss the navigation. I
like go because I’m thinking in case they get lost then I going to make sure. (p. 217)
Culmination of learning. The transference of voyaging knowledge was successful when
a student could demonstrate competency and skill in navigation and wayfinding. According to
Mau’s tradition, one is only considered a master navigator after successful transference of
knowledge from teacher to student. This marked a culmination of learning, and also the
continuation of the knowledge as the responsibility of a teacher was to pass it on. Therefore, the
relationship between teacher and student continued in the ongoing kuleana
(responsibility/privilege) and continuity in the transference of knowledge. After Nainoa
Thompson successfully navigated the canoe across the ocean, Mau (as cited in Low, 2013)
verbally affirmed the culmination of learning:
I am proud and happy for you, but I am more happy for myself because I am your
teacher. (p. 326)
These words affirmed the success of a student. Yet, it was in the successful transference of
knowledge that a teacher was also successful. The culmination of learning really meant that the
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reciprocal relationship between student and teacher had been successful through the transference
of knowledge and therefore, assurance of the continuation of voyaging knowledge and practice.
In culmination of the learning process, it returned one to the beginning—where
observation and learning through the form of mimicking one’s teacher was evident. Learning is
cyclical. An Indigenous teacher saw success when their student could see what he saw, hear
what he heard, did what he did, and passed that knowledge on to others. Mau (as cited in Low,
2013) shared these final thoughts as it related to the culmination of learning, when he asked his
student, Nainoa:
I ask him, to see is he like me. When I am on the land I know where islands are. When I
ask him where is Tahiti, he knows where it is inside of him. A navigator knows where
the land is inside of him, even when he can’t see it. (p. 208)
Conclusion
Indigenous teaching and learning had distinct teacher and student roles. The process of
teaching and learning involved observation and acquisition, practice and application, and
demonstration and evaluation. The teaching and learning presented in this section pertained
specifically to voyaging context. This literature gave insight to how E Mau’s approach to
teaching and learning influenced the women in this study. In the following section, the
conceptual framework will be presented, which guided and informed the research.
Conceptual Framework
In this section, I present my conceptual framework, which guided this study. According
to Maxwell (2013), the conceptual framework is a key part of the research design as it is the
“system of concepts, expectations, beliefs, and theories that supports and informs your research”
(p. 39). The three bodies of literature presented in Chapter 2 aided in the construction of my
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conceptual framework. I will first present key points of each body of literature that I used in the
construction of my conceptual framework. Next, I will offer my theoretical lens and my main
assertion. Then, I will explain the graphic used to illustrate my conceptual framework and the
components embedded within it. Finally, I will conclude with a summary of the conceptual
framework, as it guided the methods and instrumentation for this study.
Connection to Bodies of Literature
The three bodies of literature presented in Chapter 2 are interrelated, integrated, and
influenced each other. Epistemology and what one believes to count as knowledge are highly
influenced by one’s learning context as well as the values learned. Knowledge acquisition is
ultimately shaped by one’s own beliefs and one’s own established value system. Therefore,
teaching and learning environments are also influenced by an individual’s epistemology and
values. The connections between these three bodies of literature are very fluid and often overlap.
This section will highlight main ideas of each body of literature that informed the construction of
the conceptual framework.
Hawaiian epistemology. My conceptual framework drew from the following four
themes presented by Meyer (1998) in the Hawaiian epistemology section. The following are
connections extracted from those themes:
1. Spirituality and knowing—the idea that one is a link in a chain dating back to
antiquity, and part of a continuum is an important idea. There is a connection one has
to ancestors, deities, and spiritual forces. Knowledge is intergenerational and
knowledge itself has value and maintains a spiritual continuity.
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2. That which feeds—the belief that knowledge meant having experience with
environment. Connection and experience with the environment is how one connects
with their spirituality, history, and ancestors.
3. Culture nature of the senses—by doing, one learns (one knows). One must use all
senses in the acquisition of knowledge. Knowing involves feeling, using the naʻau
(gut) to understand.
4. Utility and knowledge—knowledge must have function and purpose to hold value. If
it has purpose and value, then it is worth passing on to the next generation. Value is
tied to applicable knowledge.
Indigenous knowledge. From this body of literature, I extracted from the pilina
(connections/relationships) and values section. The pilina (connections/relationships) section
refers to one’s connection to the environment, the canoe itself, other crew, and spirituality
(similar to the epistemology section). The following are the values extracted from this section
that informed the construction of the conceptual framework:
1. kuleana—responsibility and privilege of learning and sharing knowledge.
2. mālama—to care for and maintain the cultural knowledge for future generations.
3. hōʻihi—the respect and honor one has for the words of their teacher and the
knowledge that is given. The connection and values are integrated and intertwined
and is shown by how one carries and passes on the knowledge received.
Indigenous teaching and learning. In this section, I focus on the role of the teacher, the
role of the student, and the idea that there are three phases to teaching/learning: observation,
practice and application, and demonstration. How one learns can influence how one teaches.
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The influence teaching and learning has on an individual can also shape one’s epistemology and
values.
Theoretical Lens
I assert that the E Mau voyage was an important experience for the women in this study. I
believe that the individual women in this study were shaped by their own epistemology,
experiences, and learning prior to the voyage. Who they were as individuals influenced their
participation with the E Mau voyage. Their interactions with the voyage experience included the
relationships they established with the canoe, the environment, and other crewmembers. The
knowledge that the voyage imparted included deepening cultural connections and strengthening
cultural values associated with traditional navigation and wayfinding. I assert that their voyaging
experiences were built upon their pre-voyage life experiences, and aided the choices they made
in their personal and/or professional lives. The women’s connection or lack of connection to
their home and family life, as well as healthy attachments to others, would be a major thread
during each phase of their life—pre-voyage, during voyage, and post-voyage. Their pre-voyage
life, especially their connection to family, set them on a trajectory for the course of their life by
establishing values, beliefs and connections, which carried through their voyage experience and
post-voyage lives.

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Figure 3 below represents my theory of action and illustrates my conceptual framework:

Figure 4. Conceptual Framework

I assert that the Native Hawaiian women who sailed on the E Mau voyage were shaped
by their own epistemology, life experiences, and learning environments prior to their
participation with the canoe. Their preparation for the voyage and the voyage itself allowed them
to build a deeper understanding of their own cultural connections, while learning traditional
knowledge that they may or may not have been exposed to prior. The interaction between the
individual and everything the voyage entailed created an environment where their prior life
mediates the way they experience the voyage and the implications after the voyage. I also assert
that their voyaging experience influenced their lives somehow and would be evident in how they
perceived connections, values, and teaching/learning. The learning experience the women had as
INDIVIDUAL
PRIOR
TO
VOYAGE

•
epistemology

•
experience

•
learning

CONNECTIONS

•
perspectives

•
in3luences

VALUES

•
kuleana

•
mālama

•
hōʻihi

LEARNING
AND
TEACHING

•
role
of
teacher/student

•
observe,
practice,
show

VOYAGE
EXPERIENCE

•
learning
process

•
connections

•
in3luences

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a result of participating in the E Mau voyage influenced how they approached the world and led
their lives post-voyage. The voyage was a source of empowerment for the women, as they
learned the value of traditional non-instrument navigation and wayfinding in spite of living in a
dominantly Western society. The voyage experience gave them a traditional learning
environment and exposed them to cultural values that served as a vessel to improve their own
lives by giving them or increasing their meaningful connections to their identity, history,
spirituality, and Native Hawaiian culture.
Individual prior to voyage. Prior to voyaging, the women in this study were shaped by
their past experience, upbringing, education, what they learned, how they learned, and their own
epistemology—values, beliefs connections, spirituality. Family connections and stability played
a central role in the development of the women’s pre-voyage life, and influence their voyaging
experience. The women who had a stable connection with their home and/or school
environments as a youth, had a strong foundation prior to their voyaging experience, which
allowed them to be ready and open to absorbing voyaging knowledge, skills, and values during
the E Mau preparation and sail. The canoe became a central figure in their lives, at least in part
because of who they were prior to their participation on the voyage.
Voyage experience. The preparation for the voyage as well as the voyage experience
itself included the interaction between the individual with all aspects related to voyaging. The
voyaging knowledge presented in Chapter 2, such as connections to environment, connections to
the canoe and others, along with values of kuleana (responsibility/privilege), mālama (to care
for/maintain), and hōʻihi (respect) were major concepts that emerged in the women’s stories. The
voyage preparation and sail exposed the women to Indigenous learning environments, which
included observation, practice, and the expectation for them to teach others. The learning
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environment also included values and a set of behaviors and routines that were part of their
training. Certain knowledge was valued or strengthened, connections were made, and their
interactions with the voyaging experience influenced their lives, including how and what they
passed on to others. They drew upon all past learning experiences and resources to blend and
adapt their learning for their own benefit and growth. Their prior self was strengthened through
their voyage experience, and their cultural understanding and identity was shaped in the process.
Post voyage. I contend that the individuals thought and behaved a certain way prior to
voyaging due to their own learning, experience and epistemology. The experience influenced
their lives post-voyage. Their experiences brought value to their lives, influenced them in
positive ways, reconnected them to cultural knowledge, or strengthened cultural connections,
values, and beliefs in the process. The women in this study were in a blended environment in
which there was value and use of multiple knowledge systems and resources in order to foster
positive learning environments.
Conclusion
My assertion is that the voyage was a major highlight in the women’s lives, and deepened
their cultural understandings and connections. Their pre-voyage life experiences are a
combination of their connections to their culture, home, and school environments, which set the
foundation for connections made during the voyage, as the women were shaped by their past
experiences, learning, and epistemology. The influence of the voyage was heavily dependent on
how well positioned the women were to take up the elements of the voyage and apply them to
their post-voyage lives. Healthy attachments and connections established during their pre-
voyage lives was a major factor in creating a foundation for which to build further learning
experiences, and would be an important theme through the voyaging and post-voyaging phases
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of their lives. The women’s pre-voyage family connections played a major role in how the
women would experience the voyage and the extent to which they would be able to use that
experience to take them somewhere new.
Summary
This literature review focused on three bodies of literature: Hawaiian epistemology,
Indigenous knowledge, and Indigenous teaching and learning. The epistemology section related
specifically to Native Hawaiians because the researcher was only interested in studying women
of Native Hawaiian decent. The Indigenous knowledge and Indigenous teaching and learning
sections referenced specifically traditional Oceanic voyaging. The methodology for this study
will be outlined in the following chapter.

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CHAPTER THREE: METHODS
This chapter describes the qualitative and Indigenous methods I used to conduct this
study, including the type of approach, instrumentation, data collection and data analysis that
were used. The purpose of this study was to explore traditional forms of education through the
case studies of Native Hawaiian women voyagers. Specifically, I gathered their stories, insights,
and experiences related to their preparation for and participation in the E Mau voyage. I
investigated their ideas and influences in regards to Hawaiian epistemology, voyaging
knowledge, and the learning environments in which they were a part.
This qualitative study focused on the following research questions:
1. How did the E Mau voyage influence the lives of the women crewmembers?
2. How did the E Mau voyage influence what they do with their lives?
3. How did the approach E Mau took to preparing them for the voyage shape how and
what they learned?
Research Design
A qualitative multiple case study approach was used in this study. According to Merriam
(2009), “this type of study involves collecting and analyzing data from several cases” (p. 49).
Consistent with Merriam (2009), the case study approach allowed for investigative inquiry to
take place within real-life contexts. Multiple cases were used as it enhanced the validity and
generalizability of the findings.
The units of analysis for this study were individual women who sailed on the E Mau
voyage. All women were Native Hawaiian and were similar in age. Identifying the individual
women as the unit of analysis allowed me to compare and contrast findings across cases to
identify themes as to the voyage’s influence on their lives and move from their individual lives to
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a way of understanding the extent to which the concepts in the conceptual framework explained
their experiences in more general terms.
A qualitative case study approach was used for this study because this type of research
design enabled me, as Merriam (2009) suggested, to understand and make meaning of the
phenomenon. Case studies are grounded in real-life contexts and often produce rich and holistic
descriptions of a phenomenon (Merriam, 2009). Three features of the case study approach
affirm that it was appropriate for this study. According to Merriam (2009), case studies are: a)
particularistic—focuses on a specific event or phenomenon, b) descriptive—produces “thick” (p.
44) descriptions of the phenomenon, and c) heuristic—emphasizes meaning, perception, and
interpretation of the phenomenon being studied.
My dissertation study provided insight into traditional forms of education in an
Indigenous/Native Hawaiian context. This multiple case study focused on three women who
sailed on the E Mau voyage. This allowed me to explore more in-depth, the influence that the
voyage experience had on what they learned and how they approached their lives after the
experience.
Indigenous Methodology
In addition to drawing on Western methods of study design, data collection, and analysis,
Indigenous methodology was also used in this study. Methodology refers to the research
process, including the selection of participants, the interpreting of data, and the presenting of
findings (Smith, 2012). I am a Native Hawaiian female, therefore, an Indigenous researcher. I
am connected to the research, and have a responsibility to the community in which this study
was situated. As Smith (2012) stated, “indigenous peoples want to tell their own stories, our
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own versions, in our ways, for our own purposes” (p. 29). I am connected to this research,
culturally, genealogically, and politically, and I am embedded in this research.
My approach to this study used Indigenous methods—specific tools to gather information
(Smith, 2012). It informed the selection of the dissertation topic, the creation of the interview
protocol, participant selection, data collection procedures, and the narrative presentation style of
the findings. There was also a conscious awareness of the voices used in the literature review,
and a strong desire to give back and be accountable to the community in which this dissertation
is located.
Sample and Population
Participant Selection
My approach to sampling used a blend of Indigenous and Western methods. The focus of
this study is narrow in scope, and the pool of participants for this study was limited to a specific
voyage. As a member of that voyage, I already had built relationships and trust with the women
in the participant pool. As Smith (2012) points out, relationships and trust are important in
Indigenous methods, as the researcher is part of the collective group being studied, and may have
similar beliefs and values in the culture of the group. I directly contacted as many women as I
could that I had contact information for who sailed on the E Mau voyage when gathering
participants for this study. A total of nine women were emailed directly to inquire if they were
interested in participating in the study. Of those, six women responded as interested or willing to
participate in the study. Upon receiving the responses of those interested, I then narrowed down
the participant pool to include variability amongst the women, which would lend itself to
improved validity. Three women were chosen to participate in the study, and all women who
responded were notified through email of their participation status.
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Purposeful selection was used to determine participants for this study. With purposeful
selection, participants are deliberately chosen for their ability to provide relevant information
that would not necessarily be available elsewhere (Maxwell, 2013). This study focused
exclusively on women voyagers who participated in a specific voyage. The E Mau voyage was
selected because I participated on this voyage and had established relationships with the crew,
therefore, I used purposeful selection in choosing the voyage as well. It was essential to select
participants who met specific criteria. Merriam (2009) suggested using a set of criteria to guide
the selection process. The following criteria were used to select participants for this study:
Criterion 1. The first criterion was that participants must have participated directly as
crew, specifically, on the E Mau voyage that took place in 1999. Since the focus of this study
was specific to this event, it was essential that I selected participants from the limited pool of
people who sailed on the voyage.
Criterion 2. The second criterion was that the participants must have been Native
Hawaiian women. For the purpose of this study, I was only interested in the perspectives of the
women who sailed on the voyage. I selected women crew of Native Hawaiian decent, who
participated in the E Mau voyage.
Criterion 3. The third criterion was that the participants of this study be those women
born in the 1970s, during the time known as the Hawaiian Renaissance. I was interested in
women crewmembers of similar age, so that their life experiences could be compared and
contrasted. One focus of this study was to see how the participants were in blended learning
environments, and I wanted to find out their connections or disconnections to their culture. Due
to historic events in Hawaiʻi, it was important to find participants who were born during the
Renaissance period, when the resurgence of Hawaiian identity became more prominent.
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Voyaging canoe, Hōkūleʻa was also built during this time, and this study rests in the
contemporary time period spanning from the 1970s to present. Therefore, I selected Native
Hawaiian women crew who were born in the 1970s.
Instrumentation
The purpose of this study was to explore connections with Indigenous knowledge and
traditional forms of education through the case studies of individual women voyagers. This
study was interested in the relationship between Indigenous knowledge connections, values, and
learning as a means of increasing positive life outcomes for Native Hawaiians. This study was
interested in a specific voyage, and focused only on the Native Hawaiian women who
participated on that voyage. As a researcher, I was interested in the experiences of these women,
and how the voyage influenced their lives, and how learning occurred during the preparation for
the voyage, as well as during the voyage itself.
I used both qualitative and Indigenous methods for the instrumentation of this research
study. In the qualitative case study approach, the researcher becomes the primary instrument in
data collection and analysis (Merriam, 2009). Therefore, in my role as a researcher, I was the
primary instrument used in both data collection and data analysis for this study. In regards to
Indigenous methods, I was an “insider” to this research, as I was part of the E Mau voyage
myself. This meant that I had to be accountable to the collective story that emerged in the
research. Storytelling was used as an essential tool during the data collection and analysis
process, as well as in the presentation of the findings. According to Smith (2012), “the story and
the storyteller both serve to connect the past with the future” (p. 145). The perspectives of the
women in this study contribute to a larger collective story of voyagers past, present, and future.
My role as an Indigenous researcher was to keep that goal in the forefront during the entire
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research process. Qualitative and Indigenous methods were blended, as I was an insider
researcher and the main instrument in data collection and analysis. I sought to collect the
women’s stories, but focused the type of data that would be collected by using semi-structured
protocols and my Conceptual Framework as a guide, which impacted the type of stories the
women shared in the interview process.
Data Collection Procedures
I collected data from individual interviews of the women voyagers, as well as through
relevant documents and artifacts that were in their possession that they were willing to share. I
approached data collection with a combination of qualitative and Indigenous methods.
One goal of Indigenous research is to collect the stories of the women participants. I coupled the
collection of their stories with qualitative methods and the use of semi-structured interview
protocols, in order to guide the type of stories that emerged, as I was interested in data specific to
the concepts outlined in my conceptual framework. I wanted to give voice to the stories of the
participants in the study, and I also wanted to layer an analytic lens on the stories they shared. In
doing so, I added a new set of ideas to their stories rather than simply portraying their stories.
Therefore, I made a conscious decision to collect data that would allow the women to share their
stories, but would also elicit data related to those concepts I was most interested in exploring.
Interviews
For this study, I interviewed three individual women who sailed on the E Mau voyage.
My Conceptual Framework presented in Chapter 2 guided the concepts to be investigated in the
interviews. In qualitative research, interviews provide insight into participants’ feelings and
interpretations of the phenomenon (Merriam, 2009). In Indigenous research, values, integrity,
and relationships are part of a “code of ethics” used in the research process (Smith, 2012).
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Participants determined time and location of all interviews. Food and gifts for the family were
included during the interviews, as relationships and trust are important in Indigenous methods.
This study included multiple interviews, with each participant being interviewed two to three
times, totaling seven all together. The first participant was interviewed two times. The first
interview was 2 hours and 56 minutes, and the second was 1 hour and 28 minutes, for a total of 4
hours and 24 minutes. The second participant was interviewed three times. The first interview
was 1 hour and 53 minutes, the second was 2 hours and 14 minutes, and the third was 45
minutes, for a total of 4 hours and 52 minutes. The third participant was interviewed two times.
The first interview was 2 hours and 20 minutes, and the second was 1 hour and 11 minutes, for a
total of 3 hours and 31 minutes. The study had a total interview time of 12 hours and 47
minutes. Interviews focused on concepts related to epistemology, voyaging knowledge (pilina
and values), and learning, as presented in the conceptual framework. Interview protocols sought
to elicit insight into the women’s perspectives and experiences pre-voyage, during the voyage,
and post-voyage in order to understand how they may have changed in the process. Protocols
also sought to gain insight into how the women adapted and blended learning resources to meet
their individual needs of gaining the Indigenous knowledge presented and if any connections and
values were internalized, influencing their behaviors and perspectives post voyage. Interview
protocols were used to guide the questions asked of each participant (See Appendix A). A
combination of semi-structured and unstructured interviews was used. As Merriam (2009)
states, semi-structured interviews are guided by a list of open-ended questions to be explored,
while unstructured interviews are informal and are exploratory, allowing new information and
insight to emerge. The focus of the first interview was to gain an understanding of each
participant’s epistemology, experience, and context of learning environments, as it provided
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insight into who these women were prior to the voyage. A semi-structured interview protocol
was used to assist me in asking questions related to their beliefs, cultural connections, and
learning environments prior to and during their voyaging experience. The first interview was
used to gain insight into what they learned and how they learned leading up to and during the
voyage. What connections, values, and knowledge was gained, shaped or changed as a result of
their participation was elicited through the interview protocol. The second and third interviews
sought information as to how the women perceived teaching and learning post-voyage, and if
any knowledge gained on the voyage had transferred to their life. Documents or artifacts that
were in the participant’s possession, and shared by the women, were gathered during the
interview using an unstructured and informal format to allow for the exploration of the
phenomenon. The same semi-structured interview protocol was used during the second and third
interviews, which focused on gaining insight as to what the women valued and what they had
internalized and deemed worthy of sharing. I used follow-up questions to clarify and investigate
further any concepts that needed to be revisited as a result of the initial interviews. I also had to
be mindful to ask the participants to explain or describe what they meant on specific questions,
as they were aware that I was also part of the voyage. My role as both researcher, and
crewmember was beneficial and cautionary at the same time. I knew when to probe further for
more explanation or description, and at the same time, I needed to keep my thoughts,
perspectives, and emotions at bay to make sure the women’s stories were not influenced by my
own. I used a separate journal for each participant, in which I jotted down notes, thoughts, and
questions during the interview, so that I could revisit them and clarify things that I heard them
say. All participants agreed to be audio/video recorded. I used a digital recording device as my ,
and a smartphone recording device to record all interviews. Interviews were collected over a
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four-week period of time. Two of the three participants were interviewed over a two-day period,
while one participant was interviewed over a two-week period. All interviews were audio
recorded, and the video recording was used sparingly for the collection of artifacts as necessary.
For example, I used the video recorder in addition to the audio recording device if the participant
was moving around and not stationary, so that I could see the context and surroundings. The
video recording device was only used during artifact collection and was only turned on so that it
would allow for free and informal movement and sharing of the participants, and provide clarity
for me when I reviewed the recordings during data analysis.
Documents and Artifacts
Documents and artifacts solely in possession of the participants were sought for the
purpose of this study. This type of data is often grounded in real life (Merriam, 2009).
Documents “refer to a wide range of written, visual, digital, and physical material relevant to the
study at hand” (Merriam, 2009, p. 139). Artifacts represent various forms of communication
such as diaries and newspapers (Merriam, 2009). Common documents include diaries, photo
albums, video footage, and travel logs. Documents, both personal and visual, are important as
they can give a snapshot into one’s personal experience, and can provide insight into personal
perspective and what is deemed important (Merriam, 2009). Data were sought that provided
connections and insight to what the women counted as knowledge, what was valued enough to
pass on, and how the approach E Mau took to learning has influenced them. This type of data
collection, coupled with an open ended interview, was beneficial to this study as it allowed
participants to delve into their personal experiences and share insights and perspectives triggered
by various types of documents and artifacts in their possession. The document/artifact sharing
reflected an Indigenous approach to data collection, as it allowed participants control to share
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what they valued and felt was important. This allowed them to guide their own story and pass on
the information that mattered to them, rather than being guided by the researcher. The first
participant shared photographs of people, and the stories of places and relationships she had with
the people in the photographs. The second participant shared her photo album of the voyage,
newspaper articles, lyrics to songs, and photographs while recounting her experiences. The third
participant shared photographs of the canoe while on the voyage, and showed me an actual canoe
anchored in the water as she spoke of her perspectives and responsibilities about voyaging. The
merging of qualitative and Indigenous methods informed the approach I took to data collection.
Participants allowed me to photograph or video record documents and artifacts, so I was able to
access them after the interviews concluded.
Data Analysis Procedures
The data gathered for this study included interview transcripts, documents, and artifacts
collected from the women who were interviewed. According to Corbin and Strauss (2008), the
data analysis process involves identifying various components, giving meaning to them, and
understanding the relationships and functions of those components. Data were collected that
gave insight to who the women were prior to the voyage, how their voyage experience
influenced and shaped their cultural connections, values, and ways of learning, and how the
voyage influenced their life post-voyage. According to Merriam (2009), the goal of data analysis
was to make sense of the data collected and to identify data that can be used to address the
research questions. I drew from both Indigenous and Western methods to inform my approach to
data analysis, as I wanted to be true to the women’s voices that were shared, the larger voyaging
community in which the study was located, as well as have the ability to further understand and
extend beyond their stories themes that were inferred through qualitative analysis. Data analysis
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began during data collection, and this integration is distinctive of qualitative design (Merriam,
2009). I began to analyze data as it was collected. I took notes and kept a journal for each case
throughout the data collection and data analysis process. All interviews were recorded and
transcribed by the researcher. I used open coding to categorize each data source into major
themes connected to my conceptual framework. Such as, data that gave insight into how the
women strengthened or changed their perceptions related to what they valued, how they formed
connections and related to others, and how their approach to learning and teaching was
influenced due to the voyage experience. Data that showed what the women counted as
knowledge and what had been internalized gave insight as to how the voyage influenced their
lives. Focus was placed on any themes that emerged connected to epistemological points
highlighted in the conceptual framework, as well as Indigenous knowledge specific to pilina
(relationships/connections) and values, along with teaching and learning elements of
teacher/student roles, and Indigenous learning (observe, practice, demonstrate). The interview
transcripts were coded for a priori or open codes and I used analytic codes to interpret meaning
from the data (Corbin & Strauss, 2007, as cited in Merriam, 2009). I also kept asking myself
how I felt about each case as I interacted with the data. Indigenous methods affirm that sharing
of stories is a way to demystify knowledge for the larger community (Smith, 2012). As I
transcribed, read, and re-read the data of each case, I asked myself, “what is the story being
shared?” I reviewed the artifacts that had been shared and asked myself, “what type of items did
they share, and what does each artifact show and tell me?” I summarized each case as a story in
order to analyze each woman individually, to make sure that I could share their stories as they
shared it. I then laid my conceptual framework over their stories in order to explicitly connect
concepts presented, and was able to analyze each case using the framework as a guide. I then
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cross analyzed the three case studies to triangulate the data and looked for generalizable themes
that emerged across cases in order to answer the research questions. I reviewed the artifacts
again to see if there were themes that emerged through what they chose to share, and compared it
to their narratives to see if it supported and aligned with their stories, or if it showed anything
contrary. The intersection of Indigenous and qualitative methods aided my approach to data
analysis and served as checkpoints for me during the process, as I felt accountable to accurately
portray their story, and be able to analyze and make connections beyond their stories in order to
add to a broader Indigenous knowledge base.
Credibility and Trustworthiness
Qualitative and Indigenous methods were used in this study. As an Indigenous
researcher, and someone who had an insider connection to this research, it was important for me
to locate myself in this study to keep my own biases in check. I needed to be mindful that I was
indeed telling the stories of the participants in the study, not my own. In addition, in order to
triangulate the data, multiple cases were used, there was variability in participant selection, and
the same interview protocol was used for all three cases to increase the validity and internal
(within each case) and external (across cases) generalizability of the findings. I used the
following reflexivity tools during the data collection and data analysis process: 1) reflective
notes, 2) analytic memos, and 3) journals. The questions I asked myself while using these tools
dealt with my role as an Indigenous researcher, my accountability to the community in which the
study is grounded, and the implications of my own influence and perspectives on the research.
The use of multiple case studies and Indigenous methods improved my ability to minimize
validity threats and increase confidence in the findings.

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Reflective Note
Throughout the data collection process, I used reflective notes to recount the experience
of the interview, specifically, to identify how I felt during the process. This allowed me to check
to see how my own biases influenced the data, and enabled me to “discipline my subjectivity”
(Erickson, 1984), and clarify what the data actually told me. I did this for each interview, for
each case.
Analytic Memo
I used analytic memos after a few interviews in order to see if my own perspectives and
experiences had any influence on the data. I asked myself questions like, “what do I think I’m
finding,” and “what is it that I think I know?” I also asked myself, “what evidence from the data
tells me this is in fact what the participants think and feel?” This allowed me to be mindful that
the take-aways of each case were really grounded in the data, and not my own biases or
experiences.
Journals
I kept a journal for each case during the data collection process. I wrote thoughts, ideas,
and questions in the journals and this allowed me to question my own biases and focus on what
the data was really telling me. I used a journal for each participant from the beginning of the
interview process and throughout the data collection and data analysis process. Questions and
clarifications were derived during the interviews, and which allowed me to follow-up or further
delve into their stories during the interviews as well. This enabled me to have an audit trail of
my thought process, and allowed the story to emerge for each case.

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Conclusion
This study sought to investigate traditional forms of education through lived experiences
of Native Hawaiian women who sailed on the E Mau voyage. A qualitative approach was used
for this study. Purposeful selection was used to choose participants for this study. Three women
voyagers were the units of study for this multi-case study. Data was collected through a series of
semi-structured and unstructured interviews. Supplemental data in the form of artifacts and
documents were also collected during the interview process. The data analysis process was
guided by my conceptual framework and research questions.

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CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS
The purpose of this dissertation was to understand the ways in which voyaging might
reconnect someone to her culture, provide an alternative approach to learning, and foster positive
life outcomes. This study sought to explore how contemporary female voyagers of Native
Hawaiian decent experienced and acquired voyaging knowledge through the process of
preparing for, and participating in the E Mau voyage. It also sought to learn how the women
made connections with their culture and values as a result of that voyaging experience. The first
three chapters of the dissertation provided an overview of the study, a review of the literature on
Hawaiian epistemology, Indigenous knowledge, and Indigenous learning and teaching, and the
data collection methods used for this study. In this chapter, I will present the findings of the
study.
The conceptual framework informed the findings of this study by providing a guide and
lens to understand the data. It allowed me to make connections between the women’s lives prior
to the voyage, during the voyage, and post voyage to see how they were influenced by their
experience. It also helped me understand how their epistemology was shaped, cultural
connections and values developed, and perspectives on learning were affected.
This dissertation is a qualitative study that used a multiple case study method. Each case
was an individual female voyager of Native Hawaiian decent who sailed on the E Mau voyage in
1999. For each case, I conducted 2-3 in-person interviews, and also collected artifacts during the
interviews. I will present the findings of each case separately, and each research question will be
answered individually within the presentation of findings for each case. Pseudonyms were used
to provide confidentiality to the participants. I will conclude with a cross-analysis of the three
cases. The data collected and findings of this study address the following research questions:
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1. How did the E Mau voyage influence the lives of the women crewmembers?
2. How did the E Mau voyage influence what they do with their lives?
3. How did the approach E Mau took to preparing them for the voyage shape how and
what they learned?
Case #1: Kalei

Kalei was born in 1975 and was raised in a rural town on the island of Kauaʻi. She was
the eldest of four children. She attended public school on Kauaʻi from kindergarten through
grade 11. After a major hurricane hit the island of Kauaʻi, Kalei was sent to the island of Oʻahu
for her senior year of high school, and graduated from a public school located in a suburb on the
East end of the island. She attended college at a public state university on the island of Hawaiʻi
but did not graduate with a degree. During her childhood, she was close to her family, and they
were active community members and strong advocates in the Hawaiian sovereignty movement.
She became involved with voyaging during her college years where she developed a love for
sailing. She sailed on Makaliʻi during the first leg of the E Mau voyage in 1999, from Hawaiʻi to
Majuro, Marshall Islands. At the time of this study, Kalei resided on Kauaʻi with her partner of
18 years and their two children. She was working as a manager in the hotel industry.
RQ#1: How did the E Mau voyage influence the lives of the women crewmembers?

The voyage influenced Kalei’s life by re-connecting her with the values and
understandings of Hawaiian culture. She was highly exposed to Hawaiian culture growing up,
yet she did not align with or fully connect with cultural values at the time, and was ashamed of
her culture. The voyage enabled her to deepen her understandings of cultural connections she
had grown up with, and she aligned with voyaging culture and the systematic and inclusive
nature of the canoe. Although she was close to her family, she felt neglected and longed for
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quality family time, as they were often involved with the community as a whole. The voyage
experience filled a void for her, and she felt validated as an individual, and part of family that
aligned with her interest in the ocean and sailing. The voyage influenced her sense of self-worth,
giving her more confidence in and empowering her in relation to her own capabilities as an
individual.
To answer the research question of how the voyage influenced Kalei’s life, it was
important to establish her profile prior to the voyage and post voyage in order to see if she had
changed in any way. The following section will be presented in three phases to be able to
compare pre- and post-voyage profiles. The first phase will describe Kalei’s upbringing,
influences, and connections while growing up. The second phase will focus on her voyaging
experiences from the time she became involved with Makaliʻi through the voyage. The third
phase will be her life profile post-voyage, focusing on how the E Mau voyage influenced
different aspects of her life at the time of the study.
Prior to Voyage

Kalei was raised in a rural town on Kauaʻi island with her parents and three younger
siblings. She attended public school on the island for all grades, but was sent to Oʻahu for her
final year of high school. Members of her family were strong advocates in the Hawaiian
sovereignty movement of the 70s and 80s, and Kalei was highly exposed to Hawaiian culture.
She said she was “proud to be Hawaiian,” yet she did not truly align with or understand fully the
cultural environment in which she grew up, thus her Hawaiian identity was not very strong. She
had no interest in voyaging canoes prior to meeting Makaliʻi, the voyaging canoe, even though
her father was involved with Hōkūleʻa. She felt close to her family because they did everything
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together, yet she felt neglected at the same time. There was a disconnect within her core family
unit, and she wanted more quality time and individual attention within the family.
Guided by the conceptual framework presented in chapter two, the following data
represents evidence related to the connections, values, and learning experiences Kalei had
ranging from her childhood through her college years. The data presented in this section will set
the foundation and establish her pre-voyage profile in order to identify how the voyage actually
influenced her life.
Connections
Kalei was highly exposed to Hawaiian culture and had many opportunities to participate
in cultural protocols while growing up, yet she was disconnected from it, and did not have a
strong Hawaiian identity. Her parents were highly involved with the community, and Kalei
longed for quality family time. At the same time, she did not align with her school environment
or have a strong connection to school where she felt she could thrive, until her senior year of
high school, when she lived with a different family and attended a different school than where
she grew up. This experience of moving to another family and attending another school
provided her with a mental shift and she aligned with her new school environment, where she
felt supported by her teachers. The data related to connections have been grouped in the
following themes: culture and identity and environment. These themes are presented separately,
yet, are integrated and have concepts that may overlap.
Culture and identity. Kalei was well aware of her Hawaiian identity growing up. She
was highly exposed to Hawaiian culture and said she was “proud to be Hawaiian,” yet she did
not want to apply her culture and did not truly connect with her Native Hawaiian identity. Her
parents were very involved with the Hawaiian community and were active in the sovereignty
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movement. They often included her in those community events and she “would just be around,”
but did not have a strong desire to participate. Although her parents explained the reasons
behind their actions and protocols, Kalei did not have a deep understanding of those cultural
connections. She shared how she felt about her parents and her culture at the time:
So I think for me, growing up with that type of a background, and with that type of
parents, I mean I hate to say it, but I think I was really kind of ashamed of my culture. I
really think that I really felt embarrassed and ashamed of my parents. Like honestly,
because I kind of wanted more. I didn’t really appreciate my culture growing up as much
as I do now.
This is evidence of Kalei’s disconnection to cultural understandings and her lack of connection
to her Hawaiian identity. She had a significant amount of exposure to Hawaiian culture, but did
not actively seek out or align with that to which she was exposed. Her internal feelings drew her
to reject her parents in a way, and the lifestyle in which she was raised. Instead, she aligned with
“friends that were not exposed” to Hawaiian culture. She aligned with her peers and considered
their families to be “normal,” as their families looked very different than her own—parents with
9-5 jobs, and vacations to Disneyland. Kalei’s family trips would often be to the island of
Kahoʻolawe, where they would actively engage in cultural practices. At the time, she did not
appreciate the cultural knowledge she was exposed to, and “didn’t want to apply it.”
Kalei longed for more than what she was exposed to, but felt that she did not have many
opportunities to connect to what she was interested in. She shared her thoughts on how she felt
growing up:
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I think I felt that I didn’t have a lot. I don’t think I had a lot that was put in my path for
me sort of speak, you know, I…we didn’t have money, I couldn’t do things I wanted to
do… maybe I wanted to learn more that…but it wasn’t being given to me…
This quotation shows a desire to connect to what she believed to be her true identity. She felt
like she did not have opportunities to connect with her own interests, and it almost seemed like
she was trapped in an environment that she did not align with, nor had any control over. It also
shows how she felt about her situation growing up, revealing a passive demeanor and lack of
individual drive and initiative to change her environment as she suggests that it was up to others
to put things in her path or have opportunities given to her rather than seeking them out on her
own.
Environment. Kalei often engaged in the natural environment, as her father would often
take her to work in the loʻi (taro patch), or to the mountains to collect wai (fresh water) or
pōhaku (stones) while engaging in culture related activities. Her family would visit Kahoʻolawe
twice a year, and she learned about the values associated with Hawaiian deities in the process.
Although she was exposed to the natural environment she lacked an authentic connection and
understanding of her own relationship within the environment. She did not “want to participate
most of the time” in the activities that allowed her to connect with the natural environment.
Kalei said she was “close” to her family, but she explained how she felt “really
neglected.” Her family was heavily involved with the community, but her own family unit
lacked quality one-on-one time. She commented that her parents did not have “any big
expectations” of her, and that she “never felt pressured to like have to do anything.” She viewed
her parents as “those crazy people” and questioned their actions at a young age, wondering if
what they were fighting for was “really gonna be worth it.” Kalei’s own expectations and desire
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was to have a stronger connection with her family in the form of quality family time. She
explained:
I just really wanted like, how come we don’t have our own time as a family… But yeah, I
think that was kind of it you know, we were just always with the
community…always…my parents were just…you know, we didn’t have any family time.
In fact, I don’t even remember…I don’t even think we really even sat down and ate
dinner together as a family. You know what I mean?
Here Kalei revealed a void—a feeling of neglect and disconnect with her family environment. It
showed her longing to have a stronger connection with her family unit, and a glimpse at what
type of actions would be evidence of value in the family.
She shared memories of being picked up late, or completely “forgotten” at school by her
parents, leaving her feeling “embarrassed” and in disbelief. She felt so angry at her parents after
an incident when she was “forgotten” at school, she claimed it was “literally the reason why” she
started “smoking weed.” This type of memory left her feeling neglected as a youngster growing
up, and is additional evidence of her disconnect with her family environment.
Kalei also did not connect with her school environment growing up on Kauaʻi. She
claimed to be a “terrible” student and “rebelled a lot” at school. She said she “didn’t have any
ambitions,” and plans of “going to college,” was not in her mindset growing up. She “wasn’t
one to do assignments,” and did not feel motivated or supported during most of her school years.
Although her father supported the school and would often teach “summer programs, summer
fun, and teach them how for pound poi,” Kalei did not feel a strong connection to her school
environment. Her relationship with her school environment changed during her senior year of
high school. Hurricane ʻĪniki hit the island of Kauaʻi, and Kalei’s mother sent her to live on
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Oʻahu for her final year of high school. This proved to be a driving force that caused a mental
shift and new connection to her school environment. The move meant “a total different life
style” for Kalei. She lived with a family friend and therefore, she “had to be a different way.”
She experienced a school environment different than her previous years, and it gave her a “real
big reality check” because students at her new school “had ambitions” and “wanted to go to
college!” She experienced a shift in herself due to her new environment:
When my mom moved me away from home, that really made my whole mentality, you
know, my whole thinking change. My concept of going to college and going to school
was like…it’s actually really important to go to school. So I really did a lot better [at
school]. Really, that was my senior year, my last year of school. I ended up getting
scholarship to go to [college]. I actually had, I think I had two big grants, which covered
my schooling really…and my dorming. So I had lots of help. And really, that was
thanks to my mom, but you know, she was like…you gonna go to college. And at that
time, it did open up…education really came into play.
Kalei aligned with her schooling environment. She was able to live in a different place—in a
suburb, with a different family, and had the support of her mother, who gave her an expectation
to go to college. She had attention and support in her new environment, and was not so heavily
exposed to Hawaiian culture at the time. Her new school and living environment was unlike her
family and past school environments, where she had no expectations placed on her. At her new
school and living environment, she excelled, as she was surrounded by like-minded people and
given expectations to further herself into the future.
Kalei had no connection to canoes or voyaging, even though her father was involved with
Hōkūleʻa. She never met the canoe, and was disinterested in learning about voyaging while
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growing up. When she went to college on Hawaiʻi Island, her Dad invited her to go with him to
attend a blessing for a new canoe named Makaliʻi, which was built on the same island. She
refused, and had no interest or desire to connect to voyaging, and she knew her rejection
disappointed her father. Therefore, Kalei lacked any connection to voyaging canoes.
Values
Kalei believed that her family valued its connection with the community and the
importance of everyone coming together to help mālama (take care) each other. She recognized
how her dad was connected to everything “with hawaiiana…and the community.” She shared
her perception of what was valued in her family:
So we would all go down there and he would always teach us about the loʻi (s) and try to
instill the story of the reason we go down there. And the reason, you know, you have to
be a part of this because you always gotta help out and mālama (to care for) right.
Everybody’s gotta come together and you know…
Kalei understood the importance of mālama (to care for), and the connection between her family
and the community. She was taught to value working together, stories, and community
involvement as a child. Yet, this was a concept that she did not actively feel within her own
family unit. The value of mālama (to care for) was evident in her family’s community
involvement, but was not explicitly evident within her personal perspective of the family.
Learning
Kalei attended public school while growing up. As previously mentioned, she did not
have a strong connection to her school environment. And although she received grants and
pursued some college at a state university, she did not complete degree requirements. Her
learning environments with her family included cultural education, and although she didn’t view
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her father as her teacher, she credited him with teaching her everything she valued, as she
explained, “everything my parents did and said and taking us places was more educational and
stuck with me more than school.” In spite of her statements that she didn’t enjoy being dragged
along with her family to cultural events that were important to them, as she did not see the
importance of it at the time, her exposure to those Hawaiian cultural environments ended up
being the most significant examples of her learning experiences. The following section will
include Kalei’s learning experiences in school as well as in the natural environment as she
participated with her family in cultural learning. The categories related to learning that emerged
from the data are labeled as: experience and process, and teacher and student roles.
Experience and process. Kalei’s learning experiences are directly connected to the
cultural exposure she had coupled with her parents’ teachings. She learned in the natural
environment, through hands-on experiences that had function and application. Kalei shared how
her father would share stories and explain the reasons why they did certain things. For example,
Kauaʻi was known for having fresh water, so she learned how to hike the mountains of
Waiʻaleʻale to gather fresh water from the source. She remembered how her father “would take
us up ma uka (upland) and he would show us.”
Her learning experiences included yearly visits to the island of Kahoʻolawe, which was
formerly used as target practice for the U.S. military. Due to Hawaiian activists like her parents,
the island was returned to the Hawaiian people, and her family made annual visits to the island to
perform cultural protocols. She reflected on her learning experiences there:
Kahoʻolawe…okay, so Makahiki everybody goes…and there’s all the protocol…I
learned all the chants, to know E ala e (chant to wake up the sun)…everybody does their
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little set of oli (chant), and you wake up in the morning, and everybody goes and hiʻuwais
(cleanse)…
Kalei learned chants and performed cultural protocols while participating in these cultural
learning environments. At the time, she did not have a good understanding of what she
experienced and often did not align with it. She remembered how she would “stand in line and
give hoʻokupu (offering),” and how her “mom would always explain…this is what you’re gonna
do, and the reason why you have to do it.” Although she did not find value in her learning
environment as a youth, her example of giving hoʻokupu (offering) was reflective of Indigenous
learning, where one learns by doing the action. The learning experiences she shared revealed a
strong connection to being exposed to cultural learning environments. While growing up, she
did not value or align with this type of cultural engagement, but it became part of her learning
fabric nonetheless, and she commented that these types of learning environments stuck with her
more than formal schooling. Kalei experienced an Indigenous learning process when she
participated in cultural events with her parents. She learned by observing, followed by
participating in the actions herself, but she did not get to the final stage of the process, which was
passing on what she learned to others. Similar to the examples provided in Low (2013), the
Indigenous learning process included observation, practice, and showing or teaching someone
else the skill or action as a means of passing on the knowledge. Kalei experienced this type of
learning, and it was a powerful teaching tool as shown in her narrative because her examples of
learning that remained with her were connected to those cultural experiences that she had with
her family.
Kalei’s memories of public school on Kauaʻi was limited to her getting “into trouble,”
“no talking,” and “not too much hands-on things.” The data did not reveal specific examples of
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her learning process or environment in formal school settings. She questioned if the school
taught her anything, and commented that the school she attended on Kauaʻi did not promote
college.
Teacher and student roles. Kalei’s educational shift took place during her senior year
of high school, when she moved away from her family and attended a public school located in an
Oʻahu suburb. She shared an example of a teacher there who genuinely cared about her and
stood out in her mind. Here is an example of the role of a teacher who encouraged her to further
her education:
…he ended up like genuinely was trying to push me…you know, like, you gotta do this,
you know…where you gonna go to school… it was that whole molding…the concept of
education to me, actually kind of set in. Unfortunately, it was my senior year, but you
know, I noticed the teachers there were a lot more interested in educating the kids and
trying to pick up your interest in life. I gotta say, that those two teachers really did stand
out.
The role of the teacher in this example showed someone who cared about Kalei’s future, and
gave her encouragement and supportive. She was valued as an individual and she was guided to
continue her formal education. Kalei’s internal motivation was linked to how valued and cared
for she felt. What she said showed that she excelled when she felt personally valued, and when
she was not overtly cared for, she rebelled and disengaged from her environment, whether it be
at home or at school.
Kalei actually learned a lot from her father, although she did not view him as a teacher,
because she did not view herself as a student of her Dad. She said, “ I really learned everything
from my Dad.” In the context of her learning environments with her father, the role of the
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teacher was to take her to on-site locations, and “show” her by modeling the skills being taught.
Her memories of going to the mountains or to the loʻi (taro patch) are examples of the role of the
teacher as one who shows the student what to do, and in turn, the student mimics their teacher in
a functional learning environment. Reflective of Indigenous learning and Hawaiian
epistemology, Kalei experienced opportunities to connect with the environment in real life
settings. As Meyer (2001, 2003) would agree, Native ways of knowing included connecting
with the natural environment, and had function and purpose. The learner would actively observe
and apply the knowledge they learned in real world application. Kalei often experienced this
type of learning environment with her father.
Kalei shared her perspective on the role of a student. She viewed the role of a student as
one who must understand something enough to be able to pass it down to the next generation.
This was reflective of Indigenous learning, as the student became the teacher in the learning
process. As Nainoa learned from his teacher Mau, as described in Low (2013), learning was
cyclical and value was placed on knowledge transference. Student-teacher roles switched once
the student could exhibit competency and was able to carry and pass on the knowledge. She
described her perspective of the role of a student:
I think it was really just um, really understanding the importance in learning something
and being able to pass it down. To me I think that’s what is important…like what I feel I
gained out of being a student is learning how to understand the reason why you’re being
taught something and really learning to understand that one day you are gonna have to
pass it down….and that’s gonna be, really, the overall um…I guess a graduation of
things…just passing it down to the next generation and understanding that, cause
sometimes you know you meet people and it seems like they don’t wanna let it go yet.
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You know, learning to let it go…just giving that away to the next generation…that’s
what I think I learned as a student.
Her perspective of a student’s role is inclusive of both her formal learning environment as well
as her cultural learning environments. Her example is synonymous with Hawaiian epistemology
concepts that include the transference of knowledge from one generation to the next, as student
becomes teacher, and knowledge has continuity and value as it is maintained. Meyer (2001)
contends that knowledge had value if it was important enough to pass on to the next generation.
In doing so, knowledge is linked back to ancestors in the past, as well as those generations yet to
come in the future.
Conclusion
Kalei was exposed to Hawaiian culture, but did not fully understand or connect with her
Hawaiian identity. She had opportunities to connect to the natural environment while engaging
in cultural activities and protocols with her family, and those learning experiences became part
of her knowledge base, but she did not align with them or form a strong connection to her
cultural experiences. She felt neglected by her family, and, for much of her life, did not feel
connected to her school environment. Her mentality shifted during her senior year, when she
attended school on a different island and lived with a different family. She was provided an
opportunity to attend college, but did not obtain a degree. She had no interest in voyaging
canoes, and no desire to strengthen her own cultural connections. Kalei’s perspective of mālama
(to care for) was shaped by her family’s commitment to care for the Native Hawaiian
community, yet she lacked the feeling of being cared for within her family unit and longed to be
valued and overtly loved. The disconnect she felt in her home and school environments, along
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with her desire to be valued as an individual member of her family prepared her to embrace the
canoe experience in which she was yet to encounter.

Voyaging Experience
Kalei first met voyaging canoe, Makaliʻi, while attending college on the island of
Hawaiʻi. The canoe had just been built, and her father urged her to join him in going to the
canoe blessing. She refused and was uninterested. The psychological effects of her upbringing
carried over into her college years. She rejected her father’s request as it was connected to an
external vessel (the canoe), rather than her individual needs or interests. Feeling like she
disappointed her father, she and a few friends drove to Kawaihae a few weeks later to visit the
canoe—mainly so she could tell her father that she at least went to see it. She described her first
experience that day at the pier in Kawaihae:
So we get there, and Chadd is like, you guys can come on top! He tells us, right, so we’re
like…oh, that’s okay. No no no, he goes…come come come…so, he gets us on the
canoe and literally, all three of us just had this epiphany…of like, holy crap…this is like a
fricken amazing, beautiful like, waʻa (canoe)…like, what the heck? After that day, we
was down there every single day. Literally, every single day. Before that, I had no clue.
Clueless of like of the concept of voyaging…and what my dad would…he would talk
about it, but that was never…that wasn’t something that stuck in my head I think,
because like, this was always hands on…where that was, he would fly to Honolulu.
That moment became a highlight in Kalei’s life and the canoe became her family. She had
rejected her culture while growing up and did not want to be like her parents, and in an instant,
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the canoe connected her with something inside her, which motivated her to return to the canoe
every day soon after her initial meeting.
Kalei had the opportunity to help in the completion of the building of Makaliʻi. She flew
to Tahiti to meet the canoe on Makaliʻi’s maiden voyage in 1995. It is there that she was able to
make connections and see the importance of her father’s role in the voyaging community, and
she began to understand and make cultural connections with things she was exposed to all along.
She did not complete her college degree, and returned to Kauaʻi to help her mother. During that
time, she flew back and forth to Hawaiʻi Island to continue training on Makaliʻi. She fell in love
with sailing, and she worked so she could sail. She was selected to be on the first leg of the E
Mau voyage in 1999. At the time of the voyage, she worked as a lifeguard at a resort on Hawaiʻi
Island, and lived in Kawaihae.
The section that follows includes the span of time from when Kalei first met Makaliʻi, all
the way to the end of her participation in the E Mau voyage in 1999. Data presented in this
section have fluid thematic organization, but use the three main themes presented in the pre-
voyage section, to be able to compare and see how the voyage influenced her life. The following
themes are: connections, values, and learning.
Connections
The voyaging experience provided Kalei with a strong sense of family. She aligned with
the inclusive nature of the canoe, and she began to shape her identity and saw herself as a
capable individual. She strengthened her cultural connections and deepened her understanding
of cultural beliefs, and was open to the learning experience. The next section presents Kalei’s
connections related to: culture and identity, and environment. The two themes relate to one
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another, and are meant to build upon and be compared to the same themes presented in Kalei’s
life prior to her involvement with the canoe to see how the voyage experience influenced her.
Culture and identity. When Kalei met Makaliʻi, she had been exposed to Hawaiian
culture all her life, but did not deeply connect with her Native Hawaiian identity, and was
ashamed of her culture and her parents’ active involvement in the sovereignty movement. The
voyage experience gave her an opportunity to connect to her culture on her own—not as a tag
along to her parents—and she began to strengthen her understandings and make connections that
shaped her Hawaiian identity. She began to find herself and fill a void that existed, as she
became part of a community in the process, and felt important as an individual that was part of a
larger group in which she had purpose and interest. She described how the canoe shaped her
identity as she began to learn and make connections:
…how to love myself and be proud of who I am. You know, the purpose of…the
voyaging concept…of how we came here…our ancestors…you know, the canoes were
built and got us here, and people are here today because of the waʻa.
The canoe helped her bridge an understanding of the connection between past and present.
Kalei’s experience with the canoe helped to shape her epistemology as she made connections
between her ancestors and her current life experience, consistent with the ideas offered by Meyer
(2001) when she talked about being part of a link in a chain dating back to antiquity. She felt
connected to her cultural identity, whereas growing up, she did not want to participate and did
not appreciate her culture.
The voyaging experience gave Kalei the opportunity to feel her ancestors, and to form
her own connections to Hawaiian epistemology. She recalled how she tried to “envision what it
was like back in the days when our kūpuna, our ancestors built the canoe, launched the canoe,”
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and she allowed herself to connect to them. She shared how she always wanted to know how her
kūpuna (ancestors) actually felt, and the canoe gave her that opportunity to feel what they might
have felt. The voyaging experience made her feel “culturally connected,” and she realized that
she was doing something that her ancestors once did in the past, and it was “amazing” to her.
Kalei’s involvement with Makaliʻi gave her strength and confidence, and she saw herself
as a capable woman. After helping to build the canoe, she realized that she could do anything.
She remembered how she felt:
Just feeling like we were capable, like we can build one canoe! Like, we literally can
build one canoe! We know how to do this now…we can do this! Do you realize we can
do this? You know, just that feeling was inspirational. I just felt empowered.
This is evidence of how she changed over time. Growing up, she did not have ambitions or
strong feelings of accomplishment, and during her voyaging experience, she felt empowered and
capable. Her identity was shaped and her cultural connections were strengthened as she saw the
importance and value in her participation, and found herself to be capable, and a contributing
member of the cause.
Environment. Kalei’s voyaging experience allowed her to understand her father, and the
natural environment in which he placed her in at a young age. She was exposed to a lot of
cultural practices while growing up, but she did not align with the application of the cultural
knowledge in which she was exposed. While growing up, she participated without being
interested. The voyage gave her a connection, and she was interested and wanted to learn, which
allowed her see the important role her father played in voyaging culture. She remembered going
to the mountains to gather pōhaku (stones) with her father as a child, but never understood the
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significance until she saw it with her own eyes and understood it. She described how she saw
her father present a pōhaku (stone) at a ceremony in Taputapuātea:
…so it wasn’t until the ceremony when everybody was, you know, that was the hoʻokupu
(offering)…you give a pōhaku (stone) to that marae, the pohaku (stone)…and the reason
why is because that’s from where that pohaku (stone) came from…the journey of the
waʻa (canoe)…it got there, and that pohaku (stone) came that other island…you know
how to keep all the islands connected…you know, sort of like the piko (center, umbilical
cord), just like the ʻawe (tentacle), yeah…like it’s the ʻawe (tentacle) of the heʻe
(octopus)…you know, it’s like all of that was like, wow. I finally got that part of my dad.
Like wow, that’s pretty cool. Now, I like understand why he did that! But before that, I
didn’t understand it at all.
This quotation showed how Kalei began to make connections to her culture, and to her father.
She began to understand and was less ashamed and more open to the pride of her culture and her
father’s strong connection to it. This is evidence of her deepened cultural connections due to her
interest and participation with the canoe, because she finally understood the reasoning behind the
actions. Her participation with the canoe gave her the opportunity to connect to other people
with a shared purpose. She was grounded in her environment because she felt connected and
needed, and therefore, was able to make the connections with her father’s role and participation
in the larger voyaging community. The canoe environment gave her stability that she had lacked
growing up, and she was now able to build further understanding intellectually because her
emotional and psychological needs were being met by the canoe family.
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Kalei’s relationship with Makaliʻi was very special. She claimed that the canoe gave her
life, and she found something that she “really loved,” that taught her “values and responsibility,”
and learned what family was all about. She explained what her connection was to the canoe:
I think I just love that canoe, I think of the canoe as like a Mama, like how we
always…how we were trained, I should say…I remember when we first started sailing,
we would always feed the canoe first, before you feed yourself, because the canoe…she
is our life, you know…she’s there, she’s given life to us, she’s taking care of us…you
gonna feed the canoe first. But you know, I think that just applying our culture to that
sense of respect to the canoe. Like, I just love that canoe. Everytime I see Makaliʻi…I
just…I love that canoe! I used to talk to the canoe…I dunno, it was like, Makaliʻi is
something special. She’s our Mama.
This is evidence of Kalei’s strong connection with Makaliʻi. She longed for quality family time
while growing up, and Makaliʻi provided that for her. She was a part of the canoe, and was able
to apply and live in a manner that aligned with her internal value set.
Kalei’s connection with the crew was “like being in a family.” She acknowledged in the
past that she was close to her family, but yet, still felt neglected because they lacked quality
family time. The voyage experience provided her with a crew who became the family that she
longed for. She shared her thoughts about her connection to the crew:
Um, actually I think, being a part of the crew, and being around the crew was definitely
different for me growing up. Cause for me, I felt that I was more connected to and part
of a family that does things together…like how I was talking about growing up, where it
felt to me that we were part of a whole community, that, I didn’t…maybe to me, I always
felt like, my family never did things as a family unit. And I think for me, the training I
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had, just the interest…and it was really to do with the interest and love with what I’m
doing, that being a part of a big group…being a part of Makaliʻi…was, to me…I don’t
know, we were just being around positive people that think positive…we all having the
same goals and aspirations…and teaching each other…I dunno…
This is evidence of how Kalei aligned with the goals and purpose of Makaliʻi. She connected
with the teachings of the canoe, and it was something she was interested in. She was able to
connect with others on the crew because they all had an interest in learning the same things, and
she felt part of a family unit that interacted together. This was different than her upbringing
where she participated in the interests of her parents, rather than her own interests. The canoe
provided her a place to feel important because she was part of the group, she was needed, she
was interested in it, and she aligned with the expectations and behaviors in which family was
expressed.
The canoe provided Kalei with a strong canoe family and she was appreciated and
recognized for her individual part of the larger whole. She recalled how good it felt to be in a
group that was “in sync” and who “have the same goals.” She reflected on her captain, Uncle
Clay, who instilled the expectation to always work together on the canoe because they “need
each other to survive.” Her connection to voyaging was strengthened as she aligned and
connected with those expectations.
The canoe gave Kalei the sense of family that she felt she was missing while growing up.
At the end of the first leg of the E Mau voyage, Kalei had to fly back to Hawaiʻi, and the canoe
continued on with the rest of the voyage. She shared how sad she felt when they first sighted
landfall:
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Literally I remember when…talking about that…being together…was, I remember when
we saw land…when we first saw Micronesia…I think I was still in my bunk sleeping…I
heard them say that they saw land, or all hands on deck…and I remember the first feeling
I had was (inhale) I didn’t want it to be over…like I didn’t wanna get off the canoe. And
it was like…no, can we just stay on here another week? Like, aw…I just knew it was
OVER…and for me, being part of a group…we’re out there for so long…that was a real
sad moment…was when I knew I had to leave the voyage.
This revealed Kalei’s strong desire to be part of a group. Her connection to the voyaging
environment filled a need for her. She felt connected, and had a sense of family while voyaging.
When the first leg ended, she was left with a feeling of sadness, because her family unit would
also come to an end.
Values
Kalei’s opportunity to participate in the voyage allowed her to live values associated with
voyaging. The following section reveals values that emerged from the data, and showed how
Kalei identified and aligned with the following values: hōʻihi (respect), mālama (to care for),
and kuleana (responsibility).
Kalei explained how she learned the importance of hōʻihi (respect) on the canoe. At
times, this meant respecting the elders and holding the tongue:
I think we all gave respect, I think more so on the waʻa…and I’ll be honest, there were
times when we were disrespectful you know, or irritable at somebody OFF the
waʻa…but, you know, on the waʻa, definitely I think… I notice sometimes, the kupunas
could get kinda annoying…but you know, it’s biting your tongue and just you know,
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having that respect for them because again, you know, you just have to understand, you
know…knowing your place, I guess.
This quotation is an example of understanding one’s place in the generational link. Respect is
given to elders, and the idea of disrespecting them is frowned upon. This cultural value of hōʻihi
(respect) was revealed in Kalei’s understanding of place, that she must respect her elders.
Mālama (to care for) was incorporated into the voyaging experience as everyone on
board took care of one another, as well as the canoe. Kalei recognized this value as she
explained how if “somebody is feelin ill or if somebody is hurt,” the crew would pitch in and
take care of that person or their duties on the canoe “without any bitter feelings.” This was a
value lived by everyone on board, and gave Kalei a strong connection to the canoe family.
The value of kuleana (responsibility) was an expectation that was instilled in Kalei. She
gave an example of how kuleana was exhibited on the canoe:
…so we all have watch captains and then you have everybody on watch right, so
obviously you have your watch captain, he’s like your leader…it’s the fact that our leader
doesn’t have to tell us anything. And knowing that we just, you know, we ʻaʻa ka
maka…we just obviously, you not going wait til somebody else does somethin…you see
something, you gotta tie it…you know, it’s just…you’re right there, you’re gonna do it.
This example shows that having kuleana (responsibility) meant knowing what to do, and doing it
before being told. This was in contrast to her experiences growing up, where her parents would
explain how to do certain protocols and the reasoning behind it. Kalei’s example showed how
being responsible meant taking ownership of what needs to be done, and the importance of
taking initiative. She was able to form this understanding on her own through her participation
in voyaging.
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Learning
Kalei’s learning experiences related to voyaging began the day she stepped foot aboard
Makaliʻi. The following section describes her learning related to voyaging, and has been
categorized in the following two themes: experience and process, and teacher and student roles.
Experience and process. Kalei’s learning experience began on her first encounter with
Makaliʻi, where she was quickly put to work in preparing the canoe to sail. Learning was
immediately applicable. She recalled how the captain passed her some line, showed her how to
measure, and made her feel like she “was part of something” because he allowed her to help put
the canoe together on her initial meeting. She experienced a “just do it” style of learning. She
“never forgot that feeling” and it gave her a sense of connection and she had a desire to return
the very next day because of how she felt. She felt part of a community, which filled her need to
be valued and have purpose within a group.
Kalei learned by watching her teachers, then repeated their actions over and over until her
teacher no longer checked her work. She explained how she took ownership in the work she did,
and how her learning process involved watching her teacher, followed by mimicking and
practicing skills over and over:
I think because we must have done things over like 10 times, like, lash it, and then re-lash
it. And Chadd, ask him like, oh my gosh…is this…did we do this right? And you know,
if we didn’t do it right, he would show us how to take it apart. And we would take it
apart. But literally, I think I honestly, now that I’m thinking about it…I think we must
have re-lashed stancions like I dunno… a handful of times taking apart a knot, putting it
back together, taking it apart, putting it back together…
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This is evidence of the Indigenous learning process, where a student is shown how to perform a
skill, and is followed by the student repeating that skill as a means of practicing, then looking to
the teacher to evaluate the accuracy of the work. Similar to the experiences of the crewmembers
cited in Low (2013), voyaging knowledge was transferred by means of a learning process that
included observation, practice, and being able to show competency by applying the skill in real
life. Kalei took ownership and was accountable for her learning during this process, and she
aimed for accuracy in the performance of the task. She was now in an environment with
expectations that was tied to survival, and the accuracy of her work was essential to the safety of
others. She met those expectations, and her participation was important and valued.
While sailing on the E Mau voyage, Kalei experienced the surrounding elements, and she
liked being able to apply the skills she had learned. She explained how she applied what she
learned in a real-life context:
…being able to finally apply what we learned and read the wind…how the wind
changes…you know, the swells, when you can finally read that because when we sail and
practice interisland, you really don’t have…you not seeing that because everything is
bouncing off the land…to me, that’s the one feeling I like, was just in awe every day,
like, I cannot believe, I’m actually doing… But it was the fact that everything we just
learned…is real…you know it’s real, but being able to use it and see it…was pretty
amazing.
This is an example of how Kalei’s learning experience had real-life purpose. The voyage
allowed her to directly apply the sailing skills she was taught, and to be able to use those skills in
a practical way. As Meyer (2001) points out, knowledge had value when it had purpose and
function. The skills she learned had direct application in the voyage, and she was able to make
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connections between what she learned, and why she learned in order to sail. In doing so, her
learning had value, and she had an important relationship with the canoe and crew, as her actions
would benefit the larger purpose and group.
The learning process gave Kalei the opportunity to connect with the natural environment
by going to places specific to skills that she needed to learn. She visited Pololū to watch the
sunrise, Māhukona to learn at the navigational heiau, Kawaihae to learn sailing skills on board
Makaliʻi, and the outdoors to watch stars and weather as part of her training. There were reasons
for visiting certain places to learn, and often times, kūpuna (elders) would accompany them and
share stories of the places and explain cultural connections along with learning sailing skills.
Kalei remembered how the elders or the captains “would just tell us stories.” Storytelling was
part of her learning process, and it was something she recalled Mau doing as well.
Kalei’s learning experience included a blended learning environment. The E Mau
voyage incorporated the use of Mau’s language in the learning of the star compass and star
names. It also included the use of stories and place-based learning, as well as a written crew
manual. She explained what her learning process entailed:
I looked at E Mau more of her first kind of voyage…because that’s when I think all of the
academics kind of more came into play, where we did have a binder of information.
When I started in 95, we didn’t have that information, so you know, it was a combination
of you know, going out in the morning and going to different areas on the big island, and
learning the purpose of an area, and the reason why…I guess, not even select areas, but
going to specific navigational areas, I guess is a better word, because we went to like,
Māhukona…where you have the navigating heiau. So, you know, it’s going to these
places, you know, with kūpuna, cause you always should have kūpuna. And learning the
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history from kūpuna and just having everything passed down, and with the academic side
of it…having a binder put together really was helpful for us to really kind of visually put
it in kind of perspective. So was a combination of both, but i think more hands on
learning is really what helps it to stick….by getting out there…waking up early in the
morning to beat the sun rising, to watch the sun rise, you know…or staying up really late
to watch, you know…it’s just learning all the different times of the elements I think.
This is evidence of Kalei’s blended learning environment, as it included indigenous learning, by
using elders and places, and also used Western tools such as a written manual to aid in the
learning process. Kalei aligned with the hands-on approach to learning, but she found value in
the combination of learning tools. This example is similar to how Nainoa Thompson used both
books and the planetarium to learn the stars, and coupled it with actually going to different
locations to study the stars in their natural setting (Kyselka, 1987; Low, 2013). It shows how
Kalei’s learning experience was adapted to fit the needs of the learners to ensure success in the
transferal of voyaging knowledge.
Teacher and student roles. The role of the teacher in Kalei’s learning experience was
one who “showed” her how to do things, and also told stories as a means of teaching. The role
of the teacher was to model and be an example. In return, the role of the student was to watch
and learn. Kalei spoke of how she wanted to “impress” Mau on the voyage, and wanted to do
well in the eyes of her teachers.
The teacher role also allowed Kalei to practice and learn, and allowed the student to
perform tasks on her own, checking and interjecting only when needed to make corrections. The
student role in this case was to watch, practice, and show her teacher that she could accurately
perform the task. When the teacher stopped checking her lashings, it was evidence of her ability
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to perform the task correctly. There was a reciprocal relationship between teacher and student,
and a cyclical nature in the Indigenous learning process. Similar to the examples of the teacher-
student interactions between Mau and Nainoa, as cited in Low (2013), such was Kalei’s
experience with the learning environment she encountered with the voyage.
Conclusion
The data showed that Kalei began to make connections and deepen her understanding of
Hawaiian culture, and opened up to learning more as she became more involved with the canoe.
She aligned with the values of mālama (to care for), hōʻihi (respect), and kuleana
(responsibility), and she finally felt part of a family that had similar goals and interests. Her
emotional and psychological need was to feel valued, important, and cared for. That need was
not met during her upbringing, and her involvement with Makaliʻi was able to provide her with
the sense of family she longed for. The behaviors and actions the canoe family exhibited aligned
with how she wanted to be cared for and therefore, created a stable environment for her to thrive
and learn. This also allowed her to build intellectual understandings and make connections that
she could not in the past, as her emotional well-being was a barrier to her full cultural
understanding of actions and experiences she had in the past. Her learning experiences with the
canoe involved immediate application of skills, storytelling, connections with places and elders,
and the observation, practice, and execution of sailing skills. Her learning process also involved
a blended style with the use of multiple learning tools that involved both Indigenous and Western
teaching methods.
Post Voyage
The E Mau voyage influenced Kalei’s life by giving her a strong family connection and
an opportunity to live the values with which she aligned. The voyage experience was a bridge
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for her to reflect on her own upbringing, and influenced her understanding of her own family,
allowing her to re-connect to the cultural knowledge she was exposed to growing up. She was
more appreciative of her parents and the bigger purpose of community that her parents tried to
instill in her as a youngster.
Sixteen years after the voyage, Kalei resided on the island of Kauaʻi with her partner of
18 years, and their two children. At the time of this study, she was a manager working in the
hotel industry. The following section will present Kalei’s post-voyage perceptions related to
connections, values, and learning.
Connections
Kalei’s understanding and appreciation of her cultural upbringing increased due to her
voyaging experience. She had a clearer connection with the natural environment and the
reciprocal nature of her surroundings. The section below reveals her connections as it relates to
the themes of culture and identity, and environment.
Culture and identity. After the voyage, Kalei became “stronger” and more “confident”
as an individual. She had an increased awareness and “sense of self” that strengthened her
identity. She explained that the canoe experience gave her knowledge and she could confidently
“teach” others by sharing her experiences. The voyage influenced her interests, and she had
goals of being a captain of her own boat and working on the ocean.
The voyage influenced her connection to her cultural upbringing, and gave her a new
understanding and appreciation for the lessons her parents tried to instill in her while growing up.
Her “cultural ties” were strengthened, and her perspective on her culture was more positive, and
she was no longer ashamed as she was when she was young. She shared her perspective:
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You know, I think it took me like 18 years of my life to finally realize like wow, you
know, my parents…what they were trying to instill you know, with me, growing up was
pretty awesome. It’s just, it took that much time for me to grasp it and hold onto it.
This quotation shows a change in her perspective related to her cultural connections. The voyage
experience re-connected her to something she was surrounded by and rejected most of her life.
She had an increased appreciation and understanding of her parents and the way she was raised.
Her learning experience, connection with others, and hands-on approach to learning, all helped
her to make connections to her culture and identity, and she was able to take ownership in her
own learning.
Environment. Kalei had a clearer understanding of the reciprocal nature of the natural
environment. The voyage influenced her perspective and strengthened what she had already
been exposed to growing up. She shared how land and people were connected. How “water
provides life,” and understanding the need to keep “the streams clean” because it is all
connected. How “the community comes together and they clean the loʻi (taro patch) and it
provides food” for everyone. She had a deeper understanding of “purpose” and the “reason
why” things are done a certain way, in order to “give back” to the land because the land allows
one to grow. She was exposed to the connections between people and the natural environment as
a child, but the voyage influenced her perspective and deepened her understanding of those
connections, and she valued them post voyage. She made connections between her ancestors and
the use of the canoe as a vehicle to stay connected. She understood the foundational lessons of
the canoe, which included using natural resources and making preparations in order to “set a
foundation” before setting sail.
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Kalei found the voyage experience to have positive effects on her overall wellbeing. She
described her connection with voyaging and how it related to her health:
It benefits your health you know, emotionally, physically…um, you know…it helps align
the spirit! I don’t know. I mean, I feel all of that really…it just keeps you, you know,
physically, mentally alive. I think it’s therapeutic you know…it re-energizes your
spirit…and especially more because I mean we’re lucky, our people come from the
canoe, so I look at it like that, so anytime you on one canoe yeah, it feels good to me.
Kalei connected the canoe to her own wellbeing, as well as her ancestors. The canoe influenced
her health in a positive way and she viewed the voyage as a way to improve physical, mental,
and emotional health. The canoe was her connection to a family where everyone and everything
was tied together, and that fed her spirit. The canoe represented family and embodied the
important elements that nourished her being.
Values
Post voyage, Kalei was most influenced by the value of laulima (working together). The
canoe provided Kalei with a sense of family, and a setting in which people worked together.
Having a sense family and working together was really important to Kalei. The canoe family
worked together toward common goals and purpose, and was in contrast to her upbringing,
where she witnessed her parents working in the community, but she herself did not necessarily
align or want to participate. She aligned with the value of laulima (working together) and it
remained with her:
For me, it’s that concept of working together, and communicating, so I try to apply
all…in my everyday…you know, I’m 40 hours a week away from my family, when I
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come home, I try to do the same thing. It has molded me to you know, keep my
mentality…and my way of thinking I guess.
Kalei found value in working together and the communication style of the canoe. She tried to
apply a sense of laulima (work together) in her daily life and the value of working together has
influenced her mindset. Ever since she was a child, Kalei longed to be on the same page as those
who were in her environment. The value of working together with others on the canoe gave her
a precious experience partly because it filled that longing.
Learning
The influence the voyage had on Kalei is evidenced in her re-connection with her cultural
knowledge base, and her openness to value the learning experiences she had growing up. Kalei’s
high exposure to Hawaiian cultural ways of learning was not internalized during her pre-voyage
life. She identified with being Hawaiian, but did not fully align with those learning experiences
to the point of wanting to apply what she learned. The voyage experience did not influence her
learning, but rather, the way she viewed her own learning and upbringing, which increased her
value system related to the cultural knowledge she learned as a youngster. The canoe made her
feel important and positive. When she learned through the lens of the canoe, she was able to
connect to her previous learning environments as a youth and she was able to feel how she was
connected to those past experiences. She described her post-voyage perspective on her learning
experiences and reflected on her upbringing:
I can kind of visually see how I learned growing up, and I think it really was a hands on
training passed down from an elder, you know, my dad…but just looking at it as…from
moʻolelo you know…like they say, our culture is lost because we don’t have a
written…anything written on our culture…you know, the knowledge of being passed
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down and have a hands on…applying it hands on I guess… I mean, it’s the same thing
for me with Mau, cause I pretty much…now that I realize it, I really didn’t learn anything
from school…I really did learn most of what I know now and the way I live now,
according to what I was taught, you know, by my dad…about just learning about a whole
and a community.
This is evidence of Kalei’s understanding of her own learning and cultural knowledge because
the voyage gave her an opportunity to learn in a similar fashion, and she was then able to
understand the value in what she already knew. She was exposed to Hawaiian learning
environments when she was young, including being shown how to perform a function, and then
applying it in real life situations. This approach to learning reflects the Indigenous learning
process as exhibited in Nainoa’s experience learning how to navigate from Mau, as cited in Low
(2013), where he was given knowledge from an elder in a hands-on environment. The data
showed parallels between her learning environments on the canoe, and those she experienced
during her upbringing. The examples she provided were related to her father and the lessons he
taught her, but she did not realize the actual lessons until after she experienced the voyage. The
feelings of neglect and shame she felt growing up caused her to reject certain aspects of her
relationship to cultural connections. The voyage experience aided her in reconnecting with her
cultural upbringing and learning environments that she had previously pushed away when she
was young. The influence she had from her father during her childhood remained strong
throughout her voyaging experience, as it was the true foundation of her learning.
The influence of the voyage really solidified what Kalei already knew, but could not see
because she was ashamed of her culture and her parents growing up. The canoe helped her to
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make connections to her past and enabled her to value those connections and understandings.
She remembered learning with her father:
So we would always go pick pohakus (stones) and literally, my dad would give us a
bucket…my brother and I…we had to fill up this five gallon bucket right, of pohakus
(stones), so you know there’s...we’d always be like, throw all the pohakus (stones) in,
cause me and my brother are just over it. But to my dad, it was…that’s not one good
pohaku…he’d be like throwing pohakus (stones) out of this bucket and we’d be like
what? Looks just like that one! But there’s a reason why you pick certain pohaku
(stone). And you know, I understand now what the importance of a pohaku (stone) is and
I think it associates with the waʻa in general because of the fact that you know, his belief
whenever you voyage or you travel, this represents your home or your ʻāina.
Here Kalei expresses her understanding of her former learning environments as she saw the
importance of a pohaku (stone) as it was used in a voyaging ceremony. Prior to the voyage, she
did not understand or connect with her cultural learning, and post-voyage, she was able to
connect with the cultural knowledge because she felt connected to the community and saw
herself as part of something bigger than just herself.
Conclusion
The E Mau voyage influenced Kalei’s life by re-connecting her to past experiences and
increased her understanding of the cultural knowledge that she had already been exposed to. It
was the biggest difference between her pre- and post-voyage profiles. The canoe provided her
with a setting in which she lived the value of laulima (working together), and that filled a need
for her and she felt like part of group that had similar goals. Her preference for hands-on
learning environments was affirmed, and the data showed that her biggest teacher was really her
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father. The voyage experience reinforced what her father had tried to teach her but was unable to
do to her own feelings and needs being unmet within the family unit. Her voyaging experience
was shaped by her desire to connect to a group and to feel a part of it.
RQ#2: How did the E Mau voyage influence what they do with their lives?
The voyage influenced Kalei’s perspective and expectations in relation to her family and
work environments. It influenced her connection to the natural environment and instilled the
value of working together with others. The data did not show that the voyage had significant
influence on her actions and choices because of her participation in E Mau, but it did show that it
influenced on her perspective. The following section will describe the influence the voyage had
on her perspective and how she felt voyage related concepts were incorporated into her family
and work settings.
Family
At the time of this study, Kalei lived on the island of Kauaʻi with her partner and two
children. She described her desire to have her children to “grow up really understanding how
special it is to have a culture.” She found value in cultural connections after her voyaging
experience, and she wanted her children to have those connections as well. She gave her
children similar experiences as she had growing up, and replicated those lessons that her father
taught her by taking her kids to the mountains and to the loʻi (taro patch) so they would be able
to form connections with the environment and understand the value of that cultural knowledge.
She also shared how she wanted her oldest child to get “Makaliʻi training” and learn the lessons
of the canoe. She sought others to provide the environment for her child to experience. She
explained what she envisioned her child could learn from Makaliʻi:
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For me, it’s learning to be in a group of people that you don’t know, and you learning
how to blend together…learning each other’s differences so that you know, I dunno, it
makes you a better person…you know, learning how to work with somebody that you
know, I dunno. I guess trying to find…learning your weaknesses and turning them into
strengths I guess, by you know, everything from…it’s just the way the training you know
is set I guess. I would love for my daughter to be a part of something like that where she
can see those values LIVE.
Kalei’s quotation showed the value she saw in Makaliʻi’s training, but she looked outward for
others to provide her child with the opportunity to learn those lessons. She did not take an active
role in the process to transfer the knowledge she had, or did not view herself as a teacher. She
took a passive role in shaping the learning environment. Although the voyage influenced her
value of the canoe experience, the data did not support evidence that it influenced her actions or
decisions related to it. The voyage did not remedy her need to feel connected to others, which
resulted from her childhood feelings of being neglected. The voyage was a temporary
experience that was unable to heal past hurt.
Kalei described the reality of balancing the different facets of her life. She made life
decisions that reflected the value of mālama (to care for). She put the needs of her family first,
and the increased responsibility of motherhood also brought increased difficulty in maintaining
and practicing the values of the canoe. The voyage influenced her expectations on the family,
but she found it difficult because expectations were not always met. She shared her feelings
regarding family life:
…there’s more, the responsibility is getting bigger. And then, you trying to incorporate
keeping those values and you finding that if you not practicing or still being around it,
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you can kinda lose it. How do you hold on to that and remember like…what you used to
do…cause after a while it just gets easier to just you know, like, ah, forget it. You know
like, whatever and just…things just get out of whack…and I think that’s just how it is
kind of right now…seems like my life is a little chaotic like that. And I don’t, I want it
back to you know…to being simple…like I have all these expectations now when I come
home…
This is evidence of her desire to hold on to the values instilled during her voyage experience, but
the increased difficulty to actively live them. She was removed from the canoe environment, and
without it, she struggled to recreate a similar environment for her family. She was unable to
create the conditions she sought on her own, and was dependent on others to create the
environment for her that reflected the canoe family. There is no evidence of actions or examples
of decisions made that were reflective of the voyage’s influence in the family.
Career
Kalei was a manager working in the hotel industry at the time of the study. She had
expectations for her team to “communicate” and wanted the work environment to feel “like a
family,” reflective of the voyaging family she had. She reflected on how the voyage influenced
her expectations in her work environment:
I go to work, and I try to instill…you know, I wanna make my team positive. I don’t like
negativity. I got to see how we work as a unit, and Makaliʻi did that. You know, leaving
things behind, we have a purpose, coming to work, no drama, that’s just what we do, and
you feel good when you do it, you know. It’s learning how to feel good to do something
and to give back.
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The voyage influenced Kalei’s perspective and expectations by giving her an example of what a
team looked like, and she wanted to replicate that in her work setting. She said that she
established voyaging concepts at work by “setting proper guidelines” for her team to follow, and
by trying to incorporate a systematic “routine” into the workplace that encouraged “working
together as a whole.” She did this by showing “respect” for fellow team members, and building
a culture of trust in the office. She explained how the voyage influenced her perspective at work:
I know I can count on my team and that’s what I like to instill in my team…that just
cause I have the name tag that says I’m the boss, doesn’t really mean I’m the boss you
know…we all do the same thing, I expect everybody to understand together and not
individually, so yeah, I do think that comes from…my way of thinking…my concept of
that has a lot to do with my training and my voyage you know…working, we’re all in the
same…
The voyage influenced Kalei’s desire for her team to work together as one. This shows the value
she placed on laulima, and that is the concept that she wanted to replicate in the workplace.
Although this quotation shows the canoe’s influence on her mindset and expectation, it did not
reveal specific examples of how she incorporated that, so there is little evidence of how the
voyage actually influenced what she did with her life related to her career. She imposed
voyaging expectations in the workplace, such as instilling the need to work together towards a
common goal, and she felt more connected with her team when they were all in sync.
Kalei learned through the use of storytelling while preparing for the voyage. She
incorporated stories into her workplace by sharing her experiences with others. She enjoyed
“sharing and talking” about her journey and would often share her stories about the voyage with
“groups of people,” including those on her team at work. This is similar to her learning
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environment she experienced growing up with her father, as he would use moʻolelo (stories) to
express the important connections to places and their relationship and responsibilities connected
with those places.
Conclusion
The voyage influenced Kalei’s outlook and perspective and the expectations she placed
on her family and colleagues. Examples showed evidence of how she wanted her team to work
together, which is reflective of the canoe family she had on the voyage and her overall mindset
of how a team should run. The data lacked evidence of the voyage’s influence on specific
actions or decisions she made connected to her family or career choices at the time of the study.
RQ#3: How did the approach E Mau took to preparing them for the voyage shape how
and what they learned?
The approach and preparation used in preparing for the E Mau voyage included the
immediate application of skills. Kalei learned through observation, and by repetitive practice of
the skills learned. The learning environment included in voyage preparation gave Kalei
opportunities to learn on-site at significant places, through the use of moʻolelo (stories) as a
learning tool, learning from elders, and hands-on activities. This section examines the data as it
relates to how and what Kalei learned while preparing for the E Mau voyage. The two themes
that emerged from the data have been labeled as: the learning process, and learning outcomes.
Learning Process
Kalei’s preparation and training for the E Mau voyage were consistent with Indigenous
learning, in that it involved observation, practice, and real life application. Similar to how
Nainoa learned and interacted with Mau, as cited in Low (2013), the student watched the teacher,
followed by practicing of skills in real life settings. Meyer (2001) would agree that learning also
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had function and application, and was not passive, but in the doing. Kalei’s learning process has
been categorized into three themes: learning phases—related to how she learned, influences and
perspectives—related to individuals who influenced how she learned, and the environment—
related to where she learned, and the connection to place as part of the learning process.
Learning phases. Kalei’s learning process involved her watching and practicing skills
that had real life application and function. The approach the voyage took to prepare her was one
that was inclusive from the beginning of her involvement with the canoe. She described her
learning process very simply: “Just do it. I showed you how to do it…just do it.” Her
explanation of how she learned on the canoe is summed up by the phrase “just do it.” In
Hawaiian, this phrase is known as ma ka hana ka ʻike (by doing one learns), and is reflective of
the hands-on nature of Indigenous learning (Meyer, 2001). She recalled how on her very first
day on Makaliʻi, she was “passed some line” and taught how to measure and lash the canoe. The
skills she learned was repeated and practiced, and if she did not perform a skill correctly, her
teacher would “show” her how to take it apart and do it right. This method of learning motivated
Kalei to “take it apart” and “put it back together” many times until she could accurately perform
the skill. The evaluation method of checking for accuracy was in the form of the teacher no
longer watching the student. This is similar to the teacher-student relationship example of Mau
and Nainoa, as cited in Low (2013), where the teacher is less observant of the student’s actions
once a student shows they have mastered the task.
Kalei’s learning included the use of moʻolelo (stories), interaction with kūpuna (elders),
special places, and the use of both Indigenous and Western educational tools. She described how
the E Mau voyage preparation included the use of a manual, as well as the need to learn star
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names and the star compass in Mau’s language. She shared a summary of this type of blended
learning:
But to me, I looked at E Mau more of her first kind of voyage…because that’s when I
think all of the academics kind of more came into play, where we did have a binder of
information. When I started in 95, we didn’t have that information, so you know, it was a
combination of you know, going out in the morning and going to different areas on the
big island, and learning the purpose of an area, and the reason why…I guess, not even
select areas, but going to specific navigational areas, I guess is a better word, because we
went to like, Mahukona…where you have the navigating heiau. So, you know, it’s going
to these places, you know, with kūpuna, cause you always should have kūpuna. And
learning the history from kūpuna and just having everything passed down, and with the
academic side of it…having a binder put together really was helpful for us to really kind
of visually put it in kind of perspective. So was a combination of both, but I think more
hands on learning is really what helps it to stick….by getting out there…waking up early
in the morning to beat the sun rising, to watch the sun rise, you know…or staying up
really late to watch, you know…it’s just learning all the different times of the elements I
think.
This is evidence of a blended learning approach that included various methods. It showed the
interaction and connectivity between the learner and the natural environment. It also showed the
value of Indigenous learning through the use of kūpuna (elders), moʻolelo (stories), and places.
It revealed how knowledge that was valued was passed down through each generation, which
was reflective of Hawaiian epistemology concepts. Kalei’s voyage preparation allowed her to
use multiple learning tools and she experienced a holistic, inclusive learning environment.
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The use of moʻolelo (stories) was evident in the data. Kalei reflected on the use of
moʻolelo (stories) and the importance of learning about places. Stories were often used as a
means to pass on knowledge from one generation to the next (Meyer, 1998). Mau learned from
his grandfather through the use of stories and chants as a tool of knowledge acquisition, as
shown in descriptions cited in Low (2013). There was a connection between learning how to
sail, and the people and places that were attached to the canoe. Learning sailing skills included
knowing the storied places and connecting with ancestors. She explained:
But it’s learning through moʻolelo too you know, and always having an elder, a kupuna
there and being in touch with the community that way where you find out where these
kupuna are. You know, cause it’s gonna stem from the story yeah, and you know, that
story is coming to life and there’s a reason, you know, everybody has their own story I
guess, you know, the kupunas…their stories back then you know, and for us now to just
be able to have the tools to build the canoe and you know, try to keep it along the same
story that our ancestors knew, our kupuna told, you know, for them, when you see them,
they get so happy…it makes them joyful…they cannot believe we doing it again, I guess.
This reveals the important link between past and present and the value of moʻolelo (stories) and
kūpuna (elders) as a means to maintain cultural knowledge and continuity. This emphasized
ideas presented by Meyer (2001) about the importance of linking generations of knowledge, and
Kalei understood the need to connect with kūpuna (elders) as part of the learning process.
Influences and perspectives. Mau influenced the learning process in many ways, but
Kalei was able to experience learning his language through voyage preparation. She commented
how her training incorporated Mau’s language, and the crew memorized star names and learned
the star compass in his language. She remembered the challenges in pronunciation, but also
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remembered how she enjoyed learning that. The voyage encouraged her to extend beyond the
norm, and implicitly set an expectation to strive for more. She enjoyed the challenges involved
in the learning process during the voyage preparation.
Captain Clay Bertelmann, who was the driving force behind the building of Makaliʻi as
well as the E Mau voyage, was a big influence on the learning process. Kalei remembered how
his vision was “equality,” and he enforced that expectation amongst the crew. Men and women
were treated the same, and the crew needed to have one purpose while on the canoe. She shared
his vision and viewpoint:
…and once you jump on that canoe, your ego better be out the door…like, there’s no I’m
better than you kind of a thing. You can act like that when you get off the canoe, but as
soon as you jump on the canoe…you’re on the canoe to be…we have a purpose on the
canoe…and that’s…there’s only one purpose…where you know, we’re going either here
or there…and everybody understands.
This showed the mindset of everyone on the canoe, as instilled by Captain Clay. His influence
on the learning process meant that everyone understood what was expected, and Kalei learned
the importance of having one goal or purpose while on the canoe. She connected and was
important to the group. She felt like a member of the family, of the community, and it filled her
need to belong. It also showed her need for others to create the environment in which she could
feel belonged.
Environment. The natural environment was a key factor in the learning process. Kalei
learned in the areas of Kawaihae, Māhukona, and Pololū. She learned by waking up early to
watch the sunrise, stayed up late to observe the stars at night, and learning included on-site
training at sites connected to voyaging knowledge. As Meyer suggests (2003), the natural
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environment was an important element in knowing, and there was a strong connection between
knowledge and ʻāina (land). Meyer (2001) adds that knowledge could be shaped by the
environment and cultural context, making the connection to the natural environment critical in
Kalei’s learning process.
Learning Outcomes
Learning outcomes identified in this section are those specific examples of what Kalei
learned while preparing for the voyage. Her experience during voyage preparation helped her
connect with herself and her surroundings, and also instilled the value of laulima (work
together). Kalei’s preparation for the E Mau voyage shaped how and what she learned, resulting
in these learning outcomes, shown through the data presented below.
Kalei aligned with the value of laulima (work together). Laulima literally means many
hands. She connected with this value as she saw the canoe as a place where people worked
together as a group. She commented on what the canoe has taught her:
I think I just would have to say…is it laulima? I mean that’s what I take away from it
because it’s not something you can do by yourself. You know, it’s gotta be a group
effort. And it’s learning how to work together…bringing everybody together…you
always gotta try to make things work together.
This is evidence of what Kalei learned through her voyage preparation. She aligned with the
value of laulima (work together). It was something she embraced and it greatly influenced her
perspective and future expectations. She was motivated by her learning context, and her spirit
was filled by the relationships that formed, as it gave her the feeling of family connection.
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The voyage preparation also taught her more about herself, increasing her confidence
level and her understanding of her connection with her ancestors. She shared what Makaliʻi
taught her:
She’s taught me how to be a responsible person, how to be more involved in the
community…you know, how to love myself and be proud of who I am. You know, the
purpose of…the voyaging concept…of how we came here…our ancestors…you know,
the canoes were built and got us here, and people are here today because of the waʻa.
This quotation is evidence of Kalei’s relationship with the canoe and her understanding of the
canoe’s role in connecting people and place. She had an increased connection to her Hawaiian
identity and felt like she was part of her community. Her experience filled a personal need to
connect with herself as well as her surroundings.
Conclusion
The voyage’s approach to preparing Kalei included a blended learning environment,
which included Indigenous and Western learning tools. She experienced learning through the
observation and repetitive practice of skills that had real life application. She understood the
important connection between moʻolelo (stories), kūpuna (elders), and the relationship between
generations. Her learning outcomes influenced her perspective and value of laulima (work
together), and increased her sense of self, largely due to the canoe context filling the need she
had to be a valuable member of a family.
Case #2: Pūlama

Born in 1976, Pūlama was the youngest of five children, and grew up on the island of
Oʻahu. She felt like an only child, as her siblings were a lot older than her, and her parents were
both in their 40s when she was born. She attended private Catholic school for grades K-8, then a
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private Christian school for Hawaiian students for grades 9-12. She continued higher education
pursuits in Hawaiʻi and earned a Bachelor’s degree as well as a Master’s degree. Her family,
church, and school environments were interconnected, and her family was very involved in her
school life. She battled cancer at a young age, and was raised with a lot of support from her
parents. She was proud to be Hawaiian from a young age, and her exposure to Hawaiian culture
increased as she grew up, and she participated in the movement to re-establish Hawaiian
language in the islands. She was introduced to voyaging canoe, Makaliʻi, during her senior year
of high school, and was a part of the canoe family thereafter. At the time of the study, she
resided on Oʻahu with her three children and mother. She worked as a preschool teacher, and
was involved with the community in efforts to mālama ʻāina (care for the land).
RQ#1: How did the E Mau voyage influence the lives of the women crewmembers?
The voyaging experience influenced Pūlama’s life by giving her a sense of empowerment
and increased confidence level. She was able to find her strengths and realized that she was
spiritually and mentally strong. She internalized the value of kuleana (responsibility), and she
“takes action” to encourage the community to live a “healthy lifestyle.” The voyage influenced
her perspective, and her understanding of “He waʻa he moku,” that everything is about the larger
community, and caring for the resources that we have. She learned to view life as a voyage, and
she instilled the mindset of the canoe into her surroundings. She strengthened her belief that
there was a reason for everything, and her trust in a higher power was validated. She took
responsibility for carrying on voyaging culture through the application of the values she learned.
She saw herself as a teacher, and took an active role in bettering her family and community with
the use of voyaging concepts. To answer the research question of how the voyage influenced
Pūlama’s life, it was important to establish her profile prior to the voyage and post voyage in
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order to see if she was changed in any way. The following section will be presented in three
phases to be able to compare pre and post voyage profiles. The first phase will describe
Pūlama’s upbringing, influences, and connections while growing up. The second phase will be
focus on her voyaging experiences from the time she became involved with Makaliʻi to the end
of the voyage. The third phase will examine her post-voyage profile, focusing on how the E
Mau voyage influenced different aspects of her life thereafter.
Prior to Voyage
Pūlama was raised in a very religious and musically inclined family. Being the youngest
of five, she felt like she was raised more like an only child. She was diagnosed with a rare form
of cancer as a child, and went through chemotherapy and radiation treatments, as well as
multiple surgeries as a result. She was well supported by her parents and family, and had the
opportunity to attend private school for grades K-12. Her parents were both college graduates,
and they grew up American, but with Hawaiian mannerisms. She had a strong connection to her
Hawaiian identity, and was conscious of her educational path to graduate from college as well.
Guided by the conceptual framework presented in Chapter Two, the following data
represents evidence related to the connections, values, and learning Pūlama experienced, ranging
from childhood through college years. The data presented in this section will set the foundation
and establish her pre-voyage profile in order to identify how the voyage actually influenced her
life.
Connections
Pūlama always had an interest in Hawaiian culture. Her first exposure to Hawaiian
culture was through Hawaiian music her mother would often play at home. Pūlama was aware
and proud to be Hawaiian. Her niece attended a Hawaiian immersion preschool, and this
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influenced her greatly, and she willingly participated and got involved with supporting the
preschool. This experience gave her the opportunity to be exposed to Hawaiian language, and
she made it a goal to become a Hawaiian language speaker. She developed a passion for
Hawaiian language and culture, which increased in development as she went through high school
and college. She was active in the sovereignty movement, and was influenced by her
surroundings. The data related to connections, have been grouped in the following themes:
culture and identity and environment. These themes are presented separately, yet, are integrated
and have concepts that may overlap.
Culture and identity. Pūlama connected to her Native Hawaiian identity and culture.
She willingly sought to strengthen her connection, and was naturally drawn to it. Pūlama was
raised during the 70s and 80s, at a time of increased awareness related to Hawaiian language and
culture. She said she was “born at the right time” because unlike her parents’ generation, who
were not allowed to speak Hawaiian, Pūlama was raised at a time where Hawaiian language was
resurging and being reestablished in Hawaiʻi. It was a time where Hawaiians were beginning to
become aware of their identity, and she was “proud” to be Hawaiian. The Hawaiian language
movement was “empowering” to her, and she had “an opportunity to finally learn Hawaiian
language.” She shared:
I really think ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi and the resurgence of ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi was really what…I
mean in community… I was very much a part of that community with my sister. I would
show up at all the events and I think that really was my connection and my push.
Here Pūlama shows her internal motivation to connect to Hawaiian language and culture. She
participated in community events and wanted to connect and became involved with the Hawaiian
language community. She found value in her culture, and recognized that her parents did not
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have the ability to connect, as they were encouraged and forced to assimilate to a Western
lifestyle. She felt connected to her family but also drawn to her cultural heritage. Pūlama saw
the resurgence of Hawaiian language as a “turning point” for her, and she made it a goal to learn
Hawaiian language. She went to a high school for Native Hawaiian students, and entered with
the expectation of learning Hawaiian language. She saw the school as an opportunity to reach
her goal, and she already “had a drive” to connect to Hawaiian culture. She became an active
student in the “sovereignty club” and became known as one of “the Hawaiians on the campus.”
She really appreciated being at that school, and saw “the resources” that were available to her,
and made use of them. She had a healthy, stable family connection, therefore, was able to extend
beyond to seek out her interests beyond what her family provided to her.
Her mother started teaching in the kūpuna (elders) program while she was a youth. This
allowed Pūlama to be exposed to other mānāleo (native speakers), and she observed how her
mother would often care for these elders. This relationship of caring for elders was established,
as Pūlama witnessed the interaction between her mother and the elders. She learned to respect
and care for elders by observing her mom. Pūlama had a strong attachment to her family, and
was exposed to cultural practices. She had a supportive environment at home, which allowed her
to feel safe, cared for, and part of the collective family, which helped to shape her identity as a
healthy individual.
She learned the value of Hawaiian knowledge also, and recognized that her mother was
making money because she was knowledgeable in Hawaiian music, and could share that with
students in the public schools. This connection was important as it taught Pūlama the value of
cultural knowledge, and that one could make a living off of it.
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Environment. Pūlama’s connection to the natural environment was minimal. She liked
to surf, and “if there wasn’t waves, she would rather be at home!” She did not speak of any
connections to the environment as far as maintaining spiritual continuity between herself and the
natural environment, or the ocean. She just considered it her “sport.”
Her home and school environments were very supportive. Her parents were “very
religious and prayed a lot.” She attended a Catholic school, which was connected to the church
they attended, so her family-church-school environments were really connected. Their family
grew up in the church and the school, and her parents “always volunteered” and they were well
known in that environment. She went on to attend a private high school for Hawaiian students.
Her acceptance to this school was a “huge accomplishment” to her, as all her older siblings as
well as her father graduated from that school, so she felt a lot of “pressure” to get accepted.
Pūlama’s family environment gave her security and support, which allowed her to venture forth
with a feeling of connection and safety as an individual.
Pūlama’s connection to voyaging canoes increased over time. As a youngster, she
remembered visiting Hōkūleʻa with her mother, and the “idea of sailing in an ocean without
seeing land seemed kind of crazy” to her at the time. She recalled that she thought it was
“unfathomable,” and she said, “I didn’t think I could ever do something like that.” This is
important as it sets her pre-voyage perception of her own capabilities and connection to
voyaging. As a cancer survivor, she lived with physical challenges in terms of strength and
capability, which were needed to sail. It also shows that she had no intention or desire to pursue
voyaging while growing up. When she first met Hōkūleʻa, she did not have any knowledge of
voyaging concepts. She was not drawn to the canoe at that time.
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Slowly, her connection to canoes grew. In high school, she had the opportunity to help
lash voyaging canoe, Hawaiʻi Loa, as she went with a friend to the pier where it was located.
Eventually, she heard about the canoe, Makaliʻi, that had been built on Hawaiʻi island, but her
connection and knowledge related to voyaging remained minimal. She did not actively seek to
connect to the canoes.
Values
Pūlama aligned with the values of mālama (to care for/maintain) and kuleana
(responsibility/privilege), and understood the importance of education and family. She accepted
her role in the family as the youngest child, and seemed to have determination and drive from an
early age. Pūlama understood that her role as the youngest child meant that one day, she would
take care of her parents. She shared:
…well, I think the baby sometimes, I mean you know, the kuleana is you’re gonna take
care of your parents…so, growing up, I think that was always kind of the understanding.
This is evidence of her acceptance and understanding that she has “kuleana” (responsibility) to
take care of her elders. She was influenced by her environment, and assumed the role into which
she was born. She did not reject her role. This is a form of giving back, and understanding that
generations are connected, and she had a place in the link that connected the family. This value
of “mālama” (to care for/maintain) was instilled in her at a young age, and she expected to fulfill
that role. She experienced watching her mother care for the kūpuna (elders), which gave her an
example of how to fulfill that role, thus, her mother taught her the values of mālama (to care for)
and kuleana (responsibility) by modeling it for her.
Pūlama also aligned with the value of mālama (to care for/maintain) in order to
perpetuate the cultural knowledge she learned and connected with at school, as mālama (to care
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for/maintain) also means to maintain the culture for future generations. She was internally
motivated to fulfill her kuleana (responsibility) to mālama (maintain) the cultural knowledge she
had been exposed to growing up. She commented on her perspective on this:
Proud in a way that…you know, you belong here. Maybe that idea of kuleana…although
at that time, it is a burden, but there was this like…kind of like a fire you need…if you
didn’t do it, who else is gonna do it?
This is evidence that she developed an initial understanding of her connection and role in the
perpetuation of cultural knowledge. She found value in the knowledge itself, and saw herself as
having an active role in maintaining it because she herself was part of the continuum, not outside
of it. Her experience grounded her enough for her to understand the basic values of mālama (to
care for/maintain) and kuleana (responsibility) and the need to carry the burden of passing on
what she learned. Connecting with, and carrying the kuleana (responsibility) to carry the
knowledge to future generations was empowering to her.
Her family instilled the values of coming together, being neat, clean, and always being
prepared. Her dad stressed the importance of coming together at dinner to eat and talk to each
other. They had a routine of eating dinner at the same time every night. Pūlama clearly had a
healthy connection and attachment to her family, which reflected Hawaiian cultural beliefs of the
importance of familial connections. Similar to the importance of family in a canoe context, as
described by crewmembers cited in Low (2013), the value of family included the behaviors,
expectations, and values associated with it. The expectation in the home was to be neat and
clean, as the home reflected the family. They needed to have a home that was always prepared
for visitors, so that anyone who came to their home unexpectedly would “feel welcome.” This
example served as a foundation for Pūlama’s pre-voyage profile, as it stressed the importance of
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positive relationships, caring and supportive environments at home and school, and a sense of
determination towards a larger purpose grounded in values and beliefs—all things established
prior to her participation on the voyage. These values also provided baseline expectations for
Pūlama, those modeled for her, and those she actively learned through connecting with her
culture.
Learning
Pūlama attended private Catholic school for grades K-8, then attended a private school
exclusively for students of Hawaiian ancestry for grades 9-12. During her schooling, she was
exposed to typical Western influenced class settings. The learning environment was very
“teacher driven,” academic rigor and “standardized tests” were the norm, and emphasis was
placed on college preparation. For the most part, Pūlama aligned with her learning environment,
and was successful as a student, because as she says, she was “really good at following directions
and just being the good student.”
Experience and process. Pūlama experienced learning settings that were teacher driven,
and students were expected to complete textbook assignments, and memorize information. She
shared an overview of her learning experiences:
Think there was a lot of stress on aptitude tests, standardized tests, and um, you know,
being able to academically…it was pretty rigorous. But I think that um, the expectation
was all of us was either going to go to another private school…right, it was all about
going to college. Maybe that’s what I have to say…it was like the push was always to do
your best to get into college. You know, your parents are spending plenty money for you
to go to a private school, so your expectation to do really well in that world was expected.
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This statement shows Pūlama’s perception of school, and the expectations that were set. It also
shows the connection to her parents, and the sacrifice they made in order to give her the
opportunity to attend private school. She was one who fulfilled expectations, and she was likely
to please her parents by doing well in school as a sign of respect to her elders. Similar to her
understanding of her role in the family—to care for her parents, she showed an understanding of
her role as a learner—to succeed and meet the expectations set. Values such as hōʻihi (respect)
and mālama (to care for/maintain) were tied to her connection and relationship she had with her
parents, and carried over into her learning environment at school. Her example of respect for
elders is similar to crewmembers’ descriptions of their respect for Mau when they sailed with
him on Hōkūleʻa, as cited in Low (2013).
She connected with teachers who were musically inclined, or who had a Hawaiian
cultural connection, as those were her interests. She remembered a positive learning experience
from Hawaiian culture class in fifth or sixth grade:
I remember when we had to do a research project, and that was perfect cause my mom
was in the kūpuna program, so she had a lot of resources available to use and try. And I
remember I chose to make kapa. And I was able to do it, start to finish.
This is evidence of the connections she made between opportunities and resources. She was
observant of the resources made available to her, and she made use of them. Her environment
continued to influence her, and she showed pride in being able to see a project through to
completion. Pūlama aligned with hands-on, tactile, project-based learning. Meyer (2001) would
offer that value is tied to application of knowledge, and the cultural nature of the senses—
learning by doing. Pūlama valued this type of learning experience. She liked being engaged and
active in her own learning, and was not complacent. She did not give any examples of a negative
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learning experience, which was reflective of her personal demeanor and personality. She was
accustomed to pleasing others and was generally positive and driven. Pūlama experienced and
successfully navigated two worlds, and two distinct learning styles—Western and Native
Hawaiian—as she was exposed to standardized tests and academic rigor, along with learning by
doing and functional application of knowledge.
Teacher and student roles. While growing up, her perception of the expectation for
girls was to be “able to accomplish things a lot easier.” As a student, she met those expectations,
and she listened well and followed directions. Pūlama referred to her high school teachers as
“nurturing,” and said they “wanted the best” for her. From her perspective, the teachers she
experienced really meant to prepare students for college. As a student, she said girls “were
expected to perform a lot.” She did not complain of these teacher or student roles, and the data
showed that she fulfilled expectations at school. She adapted to her environments and easily
followed guidelines and fulfilled expectations that were set for her.
Conclusion
Pūlama was internally motivated to connect with her Hawaiian identity and culture. She
was driven at an early age, and actively participated in the development of her own connections
to Hawaiian language and culture. Although she grew up in a Western influenced setting at both
home and school, she was also exposed and connected to Hawaiian customs and values that were
instilled in her from home, which shaped her developing epistemology. She accepted her role in
the family, and as a student, and was easily influenced by her environment. She felt connected to
her family, and was attached to them in healthy ways, which enabled her to seek out cultural
experiences that developed her Native Hawaiian identity. She met expectations that were set for
her, and she found empowerment in the perpetuation of Hawaiian culture. Her identity
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development slowly took shape, and she was open to opportunities that were available to her,
thus, preparing her for the voyaging experience.
Voyaging Experience
The voyaging experience gave Pūlama the opportunity to strengthen her spirituality and
realize her strengths. She learned to trust the environment more—both seen and unseen. Her
identity as a Native Hawaiian female was fostered through the relationships she built with fellow
women crew. She was empowered by the experience, and saw that she was indeed capable of
anything. The perspective of He Waʻa He Moku (an island is a canoe) was instilled and
internalized, and her commitment and sense of responsibility towards the greater good was
intensified.
Pūlama first met Makaliʻi during spring break, 1996. She tagged along with a classmate
who had a connection to the canoe, and was picked up at the airport and taken straight to the
harbor where the canoe was docked. She recalled her first encounter:
And I remember I showed up, and I did not expect to go on the canoe…I didn’t know
what to expect, actually. … and I was just this tag along friend. And Uncle…then I met
Uncle Clay…and Uncle Clay scared the heck out of me. So basically that morning, they
were doing like crew sails and stuff like that, so they just loaded up the kids and getting
the canoe ready and stuff like that, and I was just gonna stand on the pier…I didn’t know
what to expect, right. And, [my friend] got on the canoe, and I was like okay, well, I
guess I’m gonna stay here. And then he said…You…and pointed right at me…this is
Uncle Clay…You! Get on the canoe. And that was my first sail. And it was amazing.
She sailed nearly every day during that spring break. She continued to fly to Hawaiʻi island to
learn, and help with the canoe thereafter. She became part of the ʻohana waʻa (canoe family),
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and the canoe became her second home. She helped in the building of the hālau waʻa (canoe
house), and ended up living on the island for the summer, where she continued to be immersed in
canoe life. The original E Mau voyage, scheduled to take place in 1997, was postponed, but
Pūlama was able to take part in the state-wide sail instead. She concurrently pursued her higher
education goals on Oʻahu, and graduated with her Bachelor’s degree in 1998. With degree in
hand, Pūlama moved to Hawaiʻi island to prepare to set sail on the actual E Mau voyage that
departed in February, 1999. She was given the opportunity to sail the entire 3-month voyage as
crew on the escort boat as well as Makaliʻi, alternating on respective legs of the voyage.
The section that follows includes the span of time from when Pūlama first met Makaliʻi,
all the way to the end of the E Mau voyage in 1999. Data presented in this section have fluid
thematic organization, but use the three main themes presented in the pre-voyage section, to be
able to compare and see how the voyage influenced her life. The following themes are:
connections, values, and learning.
Connections
The voyaging experience gave Pūlama an opportunity to realize her individual strengths.
Her understanding of relationships between self and others were strengthened, and her
connection to the canoe was solidified. She gained a greater understanding of her own identity
and role in the connectivity between generations. The next section presents Pūlama’s
connections related to: culture and identity, and environment. The two themes relate to one
another, and are meant to build upon and be compared to the same themes presented in Pūlama’s
life prior to her involvement with the canoe to see how the voyage experience has influenced her.
Culture and identity. Pūlama had an internal drive to connect to Hawaiian culture prior
to meeting Makaliʻi. She also aligned with goals to complete her formal education. These two
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strands of her identity came together during the time of her initial years with Makaliʻi. She
described how she felt at the time:
There was a lot…I wanted to complete my degree, cause I worked so hard to do it. But at
the same time, I really, really, wanted to be able to sail. You know, and um, and not just
sail for myself…but, I realized that I’m representing my family, I’m representing…you
know…the community. And I think that I wanted to prove that I could do it.
This is evidence of her connection to both her formal schooling, and her opportunities to
experience voyaging education. Her connection to sailing enabled her to form a deepened
understanding of Hawaiian epistemological concepts. She spoke of her role as being reflective
of her family and community, revealing her perception on the connection between generations
and knowledge. Her strong connection to family gave her stability and her voyaging experiences
became a natural extension of what she already knew. She felt that when she sailed, she
maintained spiritual continuity. This showed that one must be a positive reflection of the family,
as was instilled in her at home. Her statement also showed that she was not completely confident
as an individual. She grew up pleasing others and fulfilled kuleana (responsibility) as set by
others. In this example, she was given an opportunity to prove her own worth and build her true
identity by doing something she never thought she could do in the past. This too, was an
extension of her pre-voyage life, when she began to develop her identity as a Native Hawaiian by
taking an active role in the Hawaiian sovereignty club during her high school years.
The voyaging experience gave Pūlama a stronger connection to her female identity, and
her network of women crew became a source of empowerment for her. She described the
women she sailed with as having a “Western concept mindset” and they believed they “could do
anything.” She explained:
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But I think that there’s kind of a core of us that really empowered each other to be able to
do all these things. Like, “if you no go, you not going know”…that was our…that was
our little motto. If you no go, you not going know…and that’s true! So I think we
pushed each other in those ways…
This shows how a group of strong, like-minded women could enable her to build confidence as a
capable female. The value in being an empowered female was strengthened during her voyaging
years, as she was able to further develop her self confidence and extend the boundaries of her
comfort zone in a safe, supportive environment. The voyage experience allowed her to sail
across the ocean, and her perception was “what can’t we do now?” Her identity after the voyage
connected to female empowerment and she saw herself as a risk-taker and part of a supportive
group of women.
Pūlama strengthened her identity as an individual during her voyaging experience. Her
“confidence increased” as an individual, and she understood her own value in relation to
strengthening the whole group. She was “trusted” and “depended upon” by others, and the
connection she had with herself became stronger as a result.
Her identity and connection to Hawaiian epistemology concepts and beliefs were realized
during the voyage. Due to her limited physical capabilities, her connection to her own identity as
a strong, able individual was strengthened when she realized her true capabilities. She reflected
on her strengths that emerged during the voyage:
I didn’t physically believe I could do all those things that a lot of my other crewmembers
could do. So I did, I depended a lot upon them. But I got to see what the other parts of
me that are strong. You know, and um, like your mental strength. You know, and being
out there on the ocean for that long and realizing you don’t see land for that long, and you
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think you’re gonna freak out…but I didn’t! I really saw the things that I’m strong at.
You know, spiritually, I’m really strong. I believe in my kūpuna, I believe in Akua, that
we’re gonna be okay. You know, so trust.
This is evidence of Pūlama’s growth and development in shaping her own epistemology and
validating her own identity through pointing out her strong points. The voyage allowed her
individual strengths to emerge. Her connection to her beliefs reflect the themes of spirituality
and knowing, and that which feeds—where one is part of a continuum linked to ancestors and
spiritual forces (Meyer, 2001). She realized that her strength was based in her trust in these
concepts, and this realization strengthened her core identity and validated her own connections
within the continuum. Her confidence is reflective of her family context, where she had much
support and security.
Environment. Pūlama’s connection to the canoe was like family. Makaliʻi was no
longer a canoe—it was home. As a result of her healthy connection to her own family, the canoe
became an extension of her family. Her connection to the voyaging environment and the canoe
was that of an intimate familial relationship. She felt “safe” and “cared for no matter what.” She
spoke of the love she felt for the canoe and her relationship with Makaliʻi:
parent or a kupuna…you’re gonna…that’s my relationship to her, you know…cause that
was my everything, you know. She’s my home, she’s my kupuna, she’s…she is that
puʻuhonua, that kīpuka, that you know…it’s gonna protect me, and I’m gonna protect
her.
Pūlama formed a bond with the canoe, and had a reciprocal relationship of care that was
exhibited through her connection with the voyage. This value of mālama (to care for) is
reflected in the relationship between self and waʻa (canoe), and the canoe is personified and
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treated like a person, similar to the perceptions of Hōkūleʻa crewmembers as cited in Low
(2013). Pūlama’s connection and relationship with the canoe and voyaging was strengthened
through her experience.
The relationships she formed with the crew also became a network of support and she
aligned with the sense of family established in the voyaging experience. She commented how
music was part of her training, and down times were filled with “playing music” and “talking
story.” This connected to her family experiences growing up, and the experience “felt good” to
her. Her connection to Mau was established during the voyage as well. She described how Mau
treated her as “his own daughter” and the women on the crew were “given that title…Daughters
of Mau,” which reinforced the sense of family she felt as part of the voyage.

Figure 5. Guitar and ʻukulele used on the E Mau voyage
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Pūlama’s connection to the natural environment around her was most influenced by her
voyage experience. Sailing allowed her opportunities to connect with nature and use other
senses, as related to the use of all the senses during the acquisition of knowledge (Meyer, 2001).
She stated that her “confidence level” increased and her ability to use her senses to “know” her
surroundings resulted as part of her voyage. She explained that this heightened use of senses in
relation to connecting with the natural environment was “life changing” for her. She was able to
“pay attention and always be aware of what’s going on around you” in order to truly connect
with her environment at sea. Meyer (2001) would agree that knowledge was in the natural
environment, and one needed an increased awareness, as Pūlama had to “pay attention” in order
to connect with it.
Her voyage experience allowed her to strengthen her connection and relationship with a
“higher power” and her spiritual beliefs, which were extensions from her home environment, as
she shared that her family was highly religious. She described how small she was in relation to
the entire universe, and how she felt “immense support” from her ancestors and God, and her
belief that she was protected and guided by them. The voyage allowed her to strengthen her
epistemology, specifically, spirituality and knowing—one’s connection to ancestors, deities, and
spiritual forces—through the knowledge itself, in this case, voyaging (Meyer, 2001).
Values
The purpose of the E Mau voyage was to honor Mau by sailing him home to Satawal. It
was an “honor” for Pūlama to be part of “the first crew” to sail him home, and she viewed it as a
“once in a lifetime opportunity” that she would one day share with her own keiki (children) and
moʻopuna (grandchildren). The following section presents the value of mālama (to care
for/maintain), as a main theme that emerged from the data. Other values embedded within the
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concept of mālama (to care for/maintain), are: hilinaʻi (trust), hōʻihi (respect), and laulima
(teamwork). These values are interconnected, and are truly linked together in the examples
presented.
The value of mālama (to care for/maintain) was instilled by Pūlama’s captain, Clay
Bertelmann. He stressed the importance of staying together and being “accountable for each
other” on the canoe. She learned to trust fellow crew and work together as family. She reflected
on the reciprocal nature of mālama (to care for) as evidenced in the relationships amongst the
crew:
…what I love the most about our crew…is that we are ʻohana. And you always knew
that you were taken care of…you know…that you had to mālama each other, and they
would mālama you…and I trust all those people…I trust the entire crew with my life. I
mean…that’s basically what you do.
Here Pūlama shows her connection to the value of mālama (to care for), and how she was able to
build on what she already knew from childhood. She established complete trust in her
relationships with the crew, and the understanding that mālama (to care for) was mutually
reciprocal. The “family” dynamics of a crew meant being responsible to each other, and
emphasis was placed on the group as a whole, not on the individual. She could naturally extend
what she learned at home, that which was applicable in the canoe setting, and reinforce the value
of mālama (to care for) in context.
Pūlama also learned to apply the value of mālama (to care for/maintain) as connected to
the maintenance of the physical canoe. She shared how Makaliʻi protocol expected the vessel to
be carefully maintained and the needs of the canoe was placed ahead of one’s individual needs.
For example, at the end of a sail, everything on board was rinsed down “with fresh water” and
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every single item was cleaned and returned to its proper position. The care for the vessel, along
with all the resources on board was an example of mālama (to care for) and aligned with
Pūlama’s home environment growing up, where her father expected the home to always be neat
and ready.
The phrase “he waʻa he moku” (an island is a canoe) was internalized during her
voyaging experience. This referred to the canoe as an island. The concept and importance of
this term was that all resources on an island are limited, similar to a canoe. All resources were
on board—food, water, people, skills, and goals. Pūlama internalized this idea of a vessel as the
keeper of all resources during her voyaging experience. The value of laulima (work together)
was intertwined with mālama (to care for) and kuleana (responsibility), as the limited resources
available was cared for in order to maintain health and wellbeing on the canoe. By working
together to respect, care for, and manage resources on board the canoe, the voyage became a
metaphor for how to manage life in general. It became a major influence in Pūlama’s post
voyage perspective.
Learning
Pūlama’s learning experiences on board Makaliʻi started immediately. She referred to
her early learning experiences with the canoe, as being “thrown in the fire.” There was an
expectation to “perform as a crewmember” from the very beginning, and she “loved it.” The
following section will present Pūlama’s learning experiences and is organized in the following
themes: experience and process, and teacher and student roles.
Experience and process. Pūlama learned by doing. She experienced learning that was
project-based, hands-on, and had direct application of skills. She gathered pili grass on Mauna
Kea, and helped to build the hālau waʻa (canoe house) by lashing it together with her own hands.
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She experienced dry dock, where she learned “what it takes to maintain a waʻa by taking the
canoe completely apart.” She learned the importance of every part of the canoe, and how no
piece could be compromised. She experienced the blending of many disciplines, including math,
science, and economics, through learning the different facets of sailing. She learned these things
by active participation in building, lashing, and caring for the canoe. She was able to build on
previous knowledge acquired in various disciplines from her schooling, as well as learn new
skills directly related to sailing, thus building a new knowledge set.
Learning involved teaching and performing. She was given the opportunity to learn
about voyaging, and the more she performed the skills and had desire to learn, the more she
“absorbed” and was able to apply what was learned. She used the term, ma ka hana ka ʻike (by
doing, one learns) to describe how she experienced learning on the canoe. This is reflective of
Indigenous learning, as well as the epistemological theme of the cultural nature of the senses—to
learn by doing (Meyer, 2001). She said she was introduced as a crewmember from the
beginning, and had to “figure it out” as she went along. Being crew meant she was “expected to
teach” as part of the kuleana (responsibility). This is linked to the cyclical nature of indigenous
learning—observe, practice, and show, as given in the examples of Mau, Nainoa, and crew, as
cited in Low (2013)—in this case, teach others to continue the learning process.
Pūlama experienced a connection with the natural environment, and honed her
observation skills in the process. She described how learning took place at specific locations to
observe weather patterns, and she had the opportunity to make connections to the surrounding
environment. She described her feelings and learning experience:
You know, I…as everything, I think I just really felt at peace. The peace in knowing that
we’re okay. The peace in knowing that as small as you are, in a big ocean, you’re really
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safe…you’re really…I don’t know how to explain that…but it just…it’s such a peaceful
feeling. And I think the sunrises and the sunsets are so amazing because there’s this time
period when everything seems to stop. And it’s like only a few seconds. And if you miss
it, you miss it. And it just…it kind of like, realignment to me. That’s what I feel when
that happens. So when the sun comes up…right when it like pops out of the ocean…or
it’s like right before that…there’s this calm. It’s pretty intense…it just stops. And then it
comes up, and then life moves on again. But to me, it’s kind of like…it felt like
alignment. Yeah, everything is aligned again. Now you can hoʻomau and continue.
Now back to your daily program.
Here she speaks to how her learning experience provided her an opportunity to connect with her
spirituality. Meyer (2003) explained that knowledge meant having experience with the
environment, and referred to how one interacted and aligned with the environment, which
included the natural world as well as making connections with ancestors, ʻaumākua (family
guardians), and God/gods. The learning environment Pūlama experienced connected her with
her spirituality, and her relationship within the larger environment was an opportunity for her
senses to “align” and connect with the environment.
Pūlama’s learning experience involved her direct observations of Mau. She saw how he
used all his senses to stay “in tune” with the surroundings. He taught her patience and influenced
her perspective by how he consumed his time. She recognized that it was important to “pay
attention” to “things that we don’t see” and she learned by watching Mau’s actions during times
of preparation. Meyer (2001) refers to the mind/body connection, and the use of the naʻau (gut)
to sense and feel—to know. Her observations of Mau reminded her to use her naʻau (gut) and
pay attention to the mind/body connection as well as using other senses to learn.
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Teacher and student roles. Pūlama viewed the role of teachers and students as simply
“knowledge transference.” She shared her understanding of Meyer’s (2001) idea of “the
continuum”—where knowledge is transferred from one to another, from one generation to the
next, and the role teachers and students had in perpetuating knowledge. The importance of
voyaging knowledge was that it was applicable and functional, as it “keeps you alive!” So the
role of teachers and students in the transference of voyaging knowledge meant that learning
involved accuracy and mastery of skills in order for it to be transferred and applied. It was
understood that it was not individual—rather, everyone on board was affected, which intensified
the need to teach/learn to the best of one’s ability.
The role of the teacher in Pūlama’s learning experience was someone who was
supportive and inviting. She reflected on her teacher, Uncle Clay:
I remember you know, like…there were those things that I loved about Uncle Clay…was
he never looked at anybody being unable to do it. You know, cause I remember…I
wasn’t a strong swimmer, cause I have all kine problems with my ears. I wasn’t the
strongest physically on that canoe…you know, but…he never gave up on me. He was
always like…well, I see you next time! Hurry up…come back! You know, and it was
never a…you cannot. And not that I was ever told I couldn’t do it, but for me, I had
to…things were changing at that time…I’m actually part of a crew, and I have the
opportunity to do this…so I gotta do it…and I wanna do it.
Pūlama reveals her experience of her teacher as supportive, and expresses his role as one who
instills confidence in the student. Pūlama had physical limitations, yet, was inspired and given
the opportunity to be part of a crew, which built her confidence level and acknowledged her
individual value to the larger group. She had a shift in perspective due to this teacher’s
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influence, and viewed herself and her role as needing and wanting to participate. This is an
example of the role of the teacher as someone responsible for creating an inclusive learning
environment that would enable and encourage by validating a student’s individual worth.
Pūlama described how Cap would “build you up” and how he “never gave up” on her, which
increased her confidence in herself and her own abilities. This example is one of meeting
expectations, and rising up to meet the bar that has been set, which is similar to her experiences
at school and home as a youth. She was known to fulfill requirements and meet expectations,
and that carried over into her voyaging experience.
Her role as a student was to observe her teachers, to learn, and to perform. She witnessed
the learning process and the interactions between Shorty and Mau during the voyage. She
remembered how Mau “really let Uncle Shorty become the navigator” on the voyage, which
aligned with Indigenous learning, where the teacher allowed the student to shift roles and take
command, similar to how Mau allowed Nainoa to take command, as cited in Low (2013). She
observed how “in tune” Mau was, and how “he didn’t have to say a lot” to teach. She learned by
observing her mentors, and the role of an indigenous student included the three phases of
learning—to observe, practice, and show—which ultimately led to the student’s ability to teach
the next person, as shown in interactions between Mau and Nainoa as cited in Low (2013).
Conclusion
Pūlama’s voyaging experience allowed her to strengthen her spiritual connections to the
natural environment, as well as her role in the knowledge continuum. Her female identity was
fostered through the network of core women crewmembers, as they empowered each other. The
concept of he waʻa he moku (an island is a canoe) was internalized, and she built a clear
understanding connecting the vessel to it’s resources, highlighted by her role in maintaining
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resources for a larger group. She strengthened her perceptions related to her own capabilities,
and realized that although she had physical limitations, she was able and valued as a member of
the crew. She also realized her individual strengths during the process, which built upon her
previous experiences growing up.
The next section will present Pūlama’s post-voyage experience as it relates to
connections, values, and learning. These themes span across the three phases of her life, in order
to compare and contrast her pre-voyage, voyaging experience, and post-voyage perspectives and
influences to answer the research question of how the voyage influenced her life.
Post Voyage
The E Mau voyage influenced Pūlama’s connections, values, and learning perspectives.
The data revealed that she had a strong alignment with the concept of he waʻa he moku, he moku
he waʻa (an island is a canoe, a canoe is an island)—the understanding that resources are limited
and everything is interdependent. She strengthened her understanding of the values of mālama
(to care for/maintain) and kuleana (responsibility/privilege), which was instilled in her growing
up, and she felt she could do anything with the right mindset and preparation. Her spiritual
connection and relationship with the natural environment was strengthened due to the voyage.
Prior to the voyage, she was not connected to the ocean except through surfing. The voyage
made her feel connected and part of the ocean environment, and she understood her place within
the larger natural world and aligned with the physical and spiritual nature of that environment.
She had increased confidence, was inspired, and more knowledgeable post-voyage. She had a
strong sense of kuleana (responsibility) to share the knowledge that she gained, and that meant
teaching and sharing canoe values and lessons with others, which was an extension of the role
model she had earlier in life as she observed her mother in her teaching role. Voyaging concepts
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became part of her daily life, as she saw life itself as a voyage, and her perspective paralleled the
voyaging mindset. The voyage influenced her level of observation and awareness, and she was
able to “take action” faster to address things. Her female identity was most changed after
becoming a mother. She then saw her role as one who “sets a foundation” and her perspective
then focused on taking care of her children. She lived the value of mālama (to care for/maintain)
daily, as she interacted with her students, her children, her mother, and the land and surrounding
resources in her environment.
At the time of the study, 16 years post-voyage, Pūlama resided on the island of Oʻahu,
where she cared for her three children, and elderly mother, and lived in the same house that she
grew up in. She was a mother, a teacher, a caregiver, and a community leader. The E Mau
voyage imparted, and built on a system that was already developed through her childhood, a
strong value system and connection to the natural environment, which influenced her perspective
and approach to life. The following section will present Pūlama’s post-voyage perceptions
related to connections, values, and learning.
Connections
Pūlama’s connection with the natural environment increased due to the voyage
experience. Her mindset and perception about community, and the implications related to
resource management were directly influenced by the voyage. Her lived experiences gave her
the opportunity to strengthen and shape her epistemology and knowledge. The section below
shows her strengthened connections related to culture and identity, and environment.
Culture and identity. Pūlama gained a “whole other set of knowledge” that was
experienced on the voyage. Her connection to voyaging made her analyze what she was “meant
to do.” Grounded in her spiritual beliefs that she was guided by her kūpuna (ancestors) and ke
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Akua (God), she infused her prior expectations and goals of success, with new knowledge gained
from the voyage experience, in terms of finding the right job, and incorporating her college
degree. She was able to build and expand upon her foundation set in her early years of life, and
extend newly added knowledge and skills into her future goals. She had an added expectation
that the choices she made needed to be inclusive of her voyaging knowledge and cultural
connections she experienced. She sought to “value all the things” she experienced on the
voyage, and connect it with her life passions and goals. She found value in the voyaging
knowledge itself.
Her perspective changed, and how she saw herself was influenced by the voyage.
Something inside of her was different, and she felt a greater sense of kuleana (responsibility):
But it changed in that now I had this like, entire experience to kinda download…and my
change was I had to do something with it…and I wasn’t quite sure what I was gonna do
with it. And my change was…I felt very empowered. And like things had, I mean, at
home, things changed but not really. Things were pretty much the same. But I had
changed. And how I would fit into the home life, or to that life…I couldn’t quite
understand or comprehend what had gone. But I had changed as a person…I felt more
confident, I felt more inspired…but definitely I felt I had a lot more knowledge gained,
and now the kuleana is…was even stronger.
This is evidence how the voyage experience empowered her and increased a sense of
responsibility within her to do something with this new knowledge set. She believed it was her
kuleana (responsibility) to pass on what she learned. Her commitment is consistent with the
Hawaiian belief that knowledge that is valued must be passed on to the next generation (Meyer,
2001). Pūlama found value in the knowledge gained, and therefore, felt a strong responsibility to
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pass on what she learned. This shows that she found value in the knowledge itself, that the
voyage added to her pre-existing value system that was established in her youth, and her need to
take action by carrying on the knowledge.
Her female identity was strengthened by a core set of women crewmembers, and she had
validation that she was an able female, capable and strong in her own way. She since saw her
role as a mother—one who sets the foundation for her family. She shared:
As a woman, now, and I think back then…like Holoholo Queens, and all that…was very
empowering. You know, we were single. We were motivated to change the world and
whatever that meant. And um, now…to me, as a woman, I see that…and a mother…that
we are the house makers. You know…we’re the homemakers. We are the ones that set
that foundation for our family. Or maybe that’s just how I see it now. But I feel
that…that’s my role. I’ve become a mother…which has really changed my perspective
on a lot of things. Cause now I have to think about…I immediately have to think about
them. It’s not a choice anymore, so for me, it’s about setting a good foundation for them.
It’s about making sure that they’re cared for…they’re mālama ʻia.
Pūlam’s understanding of the value of mālama (to care for), as established in her childhood,
crossed over to her identity formation as she became a mother and took on the adult role in her
own family unit. She saw herself as the captain of her family, and her role was to create a
foundation for her children. The canoe environment re-emphasized what was modeled for her by
her family, as the canoe reminded her that it’s not about her, but rather, the whole group—in this
case, her children were the crew, and she was the captain or navigator, responsible for making
sure they were safe and accountable.
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Environment. The data showed that the thing that influenced Pūlama the most was the
voyaging concept, he waʻa he moku, he moku he waʻa. Literally, a canoe is an island, an island
is a canoe. Her perspective on life related directly to this phrase, and she saw everything as a
reflection of the canoe. She described her connection to the environment and the voyage’s
influence on her:
He waʻa he moku, he moku he waʻa. The canoe is your island, and the island is your
canoe. And that’s the biggest lesson, I think I learned…and I think many of us
learned…was that you know…the voyage was just the training. The voyage was just the
training ground, and that…when you come home…that’s the real voyage, because you
have to live that day in and day out. And how do you make the island that you live on, or
the place that you live on, and your home, and every single component…that island.
How are you gonna maximize, and make that the most resourceful entity to survive…and
not just for you, but for your ʻohana, and for your community. And it’s not about you…it
really is not about you!
Here Pūlama’s perspective regarding the core influence of the voyage is exposed. She related
life itself to the canoe, and viewed herself as part of a larger community, where family and
resources are connected, reflective of her stable upbringing and connections she had with her
family. Health and wellbeing was based on the survival of everyone. She placed value on the
community at large, rather than herself and her individual needs. Voyaging influenced her
mindset, and she saw everyone as a “voyager,” and the canoe as a “microcosm” of life. She saw
the canoe as something that prepared her for the challenges of real life, therefore, everyone was
on a voyage of some kind and the canoe added to her set of tools, knowledge, and mindset in
which to get through life.
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Values
The data reflects the values of kuleana (responsibility/privilege), mālama (to care
for/maintain), and hōʻihi (respect), as they are related to each other through the transferal of
voyaging knowledge. These three values really work together, and cannot truly be separated
from each other. Pūlama also displays the value of hilinaʻi (trust) as it connects to her spiritual
beliefs, and is also infused in the examples in the following section.
Kuleana. Pūlama’s post-voyage perspective of herself was one who carried kuleana
(responsibility) in the maintenance and perpetuation of the knowledge gained on the voyage.
The following statement described her post-voyage perspective:
I think perspective wise, you know, you can read all the books about your kupuna…you
can read about what everybody did and how they did it…but I actually did it! And doing
it was a…for me, perspective changed, because now, I had a kuleana, and that kuleana
was to continue this. I knew that I had a kuleana to pass whatever knowledge…and I
knew at the time, I was kind of overwhelming of what that meant, but I knew that
whatever I did, that I always needed to just have that same manaʻo of He waʻa he moku,
he moku he waʻa…and that transcends EVERYTHING. And, it’s to achieve…I don’t
know…sovereignty? Achieve food security…it’s about you know…your ʻohana, and
taking care of that. So my perspective definitely changed because I actually saw that in
motion versus just reading it in a book. And now I had a kuleana that I needed to fulfill.
This is evidence of Pūlama’s internalization of the knowledge and voyaging concepts, and she
took responsibility to pass forth the knowledge learned. The voyage expanded her perspective
about family and community, building upon what she already knew prior to the voyage. She
valued the knowledge, therefore, understood her role in applying it and the need to share it.
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Mālama. The value of mālama (to care for) was strengthened, and connected to
Pūlama’s sense of kuleana (responsibility). She focused on the “perpetuation” of the voyaging
concepts she learned, and maintained that people must be “accountable” in “taking care of each
other” in order be healthy and sustainable. The voyage influenced her through the concept of he
waʻa he moku, which became one of her core beliefs. The experience helped her clarify what
she wanted for herself, and gave her an opportunity to combine elements necessary for her
identity formation.
Hōʻihi. Respect for the knowledge itself allowed for the transference of knowledge to
take place, as finding value in the knowledge was the reason it was maintained. Hōʻihi (respect)
was exhibited through the respect Pūlama had for her teachers, specifically, Mau and Uncle
Clay. Their influence on her affirmed a deep sense of respect, as established in her childhood
years, and she was influenced by their teachings, as they modeled respect for those around them.
Respect was also shown through Pūlama’s belief that the natural environment had resources that
were limited. Her drive to mālama (to care for) the environment to ensure sustainability was
another form of hōʻihi (respect).
Hilinaʻi. Trust was another value that emerged in the data. Pūlama’s spiritual beliefs
were set as a youngster, but the voyage strengthened and deepened her trust in her spirituality.
Consistent with Meyer’s (2001) Hawaiian epistemology, spirituality and knowing was the idea
that one is a link in a chain, and one is part of a continuum. Pūlama trusted in ke Akua (God),
and her kūpuna (ancestors) to guide and protect her. The voyage influenced her perspective, and
increased her trust in her belief system. Here Pūlama showed how her post-voyage perspective
continued to guide her life:
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You know, I just think that there are always squalls that come. And how you handle
those squalls, and how you handle those. You can always handle them. There’s always a
way to take it on and to do it. You can choose to let go of the helm, you know…and
not…just let whatever happens happen. Or you can also try and find, again, yourself and
that core of who you are and try to learn from the lessons that have taken place. You
know, that everything happens for a reason.
She had complete trust and belief in her deities and ancestors. The voyage influenced her ability
to trust her surroundings, and to be in tune with her environment. She “can do anything” now
because she did it. She sailed across the ocean, and had more confidence and trust in her beliefs
and her own ability to voyage.
Learning
The voyage influenced Pūlama’s learning, and how she felt a responsibility to teach and
share what she learned. This section reveals data connected to her learning experience and
teacher/student roles that she incorporated in her life.
Experience and process. E Mau influenced the way Pūlama experienced the knowledge
imparted by the voyage. Her learning process included being in the environment of observing,
practicing, and showing the skills that were learned. She reflected on her learning experience:
You know…it was so much in the doing, and in the knowing, and in the being present,
and being where you were at…that you had to be there to experience THAT. And I
couldn’t translate that in words. I couldn’t…you know, I could tell you what I did, and
all the things I…it felt like, you know, like it was really nice…was awesome, was cool,
the people were nice…but that inside of what just happened…was just not…I couldn’t
explain it to you.
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This quotation shows how much knowledge was actually internalized by Pūlama, but her
inability to articulate into words leans to the connection of that which is felt in the naʻau—the
cultural nature of the senses. The acquisition of knowledge is felt and understood in the gut
(Meyer, 2001). This example shows how Indigenous knowledge was valued, but not easily
explained or described as other forms of knowledge, making it challenging for others to
understand, unless involved in similar experiences. This example shows how the perception of
learning was through doing, by being connected with the environment, and being actively
engaged in the experience where valuable learning took place.
Teacher and student roles. The voyage imparted the cyclical nature of indigenous
learning. The roles of teacher to student to teacher was evident in the learning phases, as
knowledge was given to a student, then the student assumed the role of a teacher when passing
knowledge on to the next. Pūlama viewed herself as a teacher, and incorporated voyaging
concepts into her life as she shared knowledge with others. She explained:
Right…it’s about looking at everybody and acknowledging every child, individual
strength, and making sure that their strength is strengthened, and the things that they are
challenged with are…that they’re given opportunities to grow. And they’re given
opportunities to thrive, and if that means that they are matched up or work with another
child that’s opposite that, or strong in that way…that’s how they grow…then that’s how
they grow.
This shows the direct influence her voyaging experience had on her. Her learning environment
involved working together, and blending the strengths of different crewmembers. Her captain
built her strengths, helped her grow and she realized her capabilities. Reflective of her school
years, she met the expectations that teachers set for her. Her perspective towards sharing
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knowledge continued, and she enabled others to grow in similar ways. As described in the
student-teacher relationship between Nainoa and Mau, as cited in Low (2013), Indigenous
learning is reciprocal and cyclical and requires the continuation of knowledge transference.
Conclusion
The E Mau voyage influenced Pūlama’s life by empowering her core identity, and
allowing her opportunities to strengthen her spiritual connections to the natural environment.
She built upon the values of mālama (to care for) and kuleana (responsibility) as established in
her childhood, and viewed life as a voyage, with the concept of he waʻa he moku, he moku he
waʻa (the canoe is an island, an island is a canoe) as a major component of her perspective. She
saw herself as a teacher—one who is able to set the foundation for others, which was first
modeled for her by her mother, and reaffirmed through her voyaging teachers. Her strong family
support established in her childhood served as a foundation on which she could expand her
cultural learning experiences, further develop her Native Hawaiian identity, and attain a new
knowledge set related to voyaging and the ocean environment. She became a stronger, more
confident, and inspired woman who continues to take on challenges as she would on the canoe—
with complete trust in ke Akua (God) and her kūpuna (ancestors), as the voyage experience was
her training on how to approach life.
RQ#2: How did the E Mau voyage influence what they do with their lives?
The E Mau voyage influenced Pūlama’s choices and actions related to her family, career,
and community engagement. Pūlama found ways to incorporate lessons learned on the canoe,
into her daily routine with her family, at work, and in the community setting. Voyaging
influenced everything she did, as she commented that, “whatever you do, that’s your waʻa
(canoe).” She added that the values of kuleana (responsibility), mālama (care/maintain), and
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hōʻihi (respect) came into play because that’s what makes the waʻa (canoe) go.” The following
section has been categorized into three sections: family, career, and community. The data below
shows evidence of how the voyage strengthened or built upon her pre-voyage foundation in
relation to Pūlama’s life in these three main areas, and how that added to her perspective,
actions, and approach to life post-voyage.
Family
At the time of the study, Pūlama resided on the island of Oʻahu with her three keiki
(children), and lived with her mother, for whom she helped care. Her children attended public
Hawaiian immersion schools, and her family was surrounded by Hawaiian culture and language.
She raised them with opportunities to connect to their Hawaiian identity through their learning
environment, and through land restoration, which Pūlama incorporated on a regular basis. The
voyage influenced her approach to how she dealt with her family by giving her a foundation and
expectation of working together to move forward every day. He waʻa he moku (an island is a
canoe) guided her perspective and she approached family life with the same mentality as canoe
life. She described her family and how it is paralleled to voyaging:
I think I look at now…my current family now is my three girls, and taking care of my
mom. And I treat it like…I do…I see a lot of things now as a canoe. You know, like, oh,
here’s my canoe. And I believe…I see it as…I see things in all these little pockets of
things that I do, or whatever I’m involved in…I look at them like mini canoes to the
larger canoe, which is our island. And that everybody kind of is on that voyage. And so,
with my ʻohana, you know…place and time. And right now, I’ve been placed in this
time of not just having to mālama (take care of) my own keiki (children)…now by
myself…but to also mālama (take care of) my mom. And…that’s pretty difficult…but I
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know that as…you know, we had difficult times on the canoe. I just really reflect upon
the voyage, and how we…you know, a little disagreement with my mom because…that’s
my mother, and I’m a mother. Little things like that…I see it as…how do I come and
you know…how do I use my experiences to best approach that? Cause we live in the
same house…it’s kind of like living on the same canoe….and utilize…how do we best do
this, cause we all have to live in harmony…even if harmony…or some sort of harmony,
and that’s kind of what I always…so with my mom, it’s just like…I see day by day. You
know, and day by day comes a new sunrise and a new sunset. And how you make the
most of that day. I think a lot about how I’m gonna make every day move forward, you
know…the best care for my mom…the best care for my girls…and…we’re gonna get
through it.
Pūlama’s mindset and her lens through which she viewed her family, is evident in this statement.
She was able to use the canoe as a reference to help her interact and care for her family.
Voyaging concepts of mālama (to care for) were important to her, and a value she grew up with,
and forward progression meant working through challenges to have a harmonious environment.
The lessons she learned on the voyage gave her experience to deal with family matters. The data
does not give evidence to specific examples of how she took action, but it did show her
perspective and how the voyage emerged in her daily thoughts and how she related to her family
as those thoughts were guided by her voyaging experience.
Career
Pūlama became a teacher, and worked with young students in different capacities. She
helped to found a Hawaiian-focused charter school, and developed educational materials for
land-based curriculum projects. The voyage may not have influenced Pūlama’s career path, as
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she already had a goal to become a teacher prior to the voyage. However, the voyage did
influence her approach to student learning, with her incorporation of waʻa (canoe) concepts in
her work. She explained her approach in working with young children:
I think for my current situation, teaching…teaching preschoolers in particular…a lot of it
is repetition, and repetition, and repetition. And a lot of it is practicing your stuff, you
know. Practicing how you use nice words, practicing how you do this, practicing how
you do that, and I think, um, I look at even them at three years old, it’s a little voyage. I
look at it as a little voyage for them. You know, and I try to see all the different little
things to get them to…well it’s to be four years old…as funny as that sounds. It’s to be
four years old…and to be the best four year old you can be, and to be mākaukau
(prepared). And um, I always go back to the waʻa, you know, and I think of those little
things…how can I simplify all that I learned in that? You know, we have…everybody
has kuleana. And I try to make the kuleana clear to them. And I prepare them in my
classroom to know where they come from. You know, I acknowledge their families…I
make sure that they know where they, where their families are from. And I make sure
that it is part of their kahua (foundation)…which…maybe I didn’t mention that before,
but for me, I see that in our voyaging ʻohana (family)…that understanding where the
waʻa came from…understanding our tradition, our moʻokūʻauhau (genealogy)…where
we came from as a voyaging canoe, as a voyaging ʻohana (family)…it’s very important.
Pūlama used a learning approach to teaching her pre-school children that was similar to her
canoe training, by practicing and repeating skills learned. She tried to set clear expectations and
referred to her students as being on a voyage, which implied there was a destination, or an
outcome to their learning. Pūlama’s link to family genealogy used in her approach to teaching
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highlighted Meyer’s (2001) idea of the value found in linking one to their ancestors, and
knowing there is a responsibility infused in learning (Meyer, 2001).
Pūlama incorporated voyaging perspectives in how she dealt with colleagues at work, by
her expectation for everyone to work together towards a common goal. The voyage influenced
her perspective on the use of resources to accomplish the goal set in the work environment. She
described how she applied voyaging thinking in her work setting:
And I always think about…so okay, so if that’s the outcome, you know…everybody
getting along…or everybody knowing each other’s…feeling comfortable with each other,
so how we gonna make that happen? So I always do that…to me, that’s how I implement
it…I always look at everything as a voyage, so how we gonna accomplish the voyage in
the best way, with the people that we have in my amount of time that we’re given?
Pūlama’s approach to her work environment showed how her thinking aligned with voyaging, in
that there was a destination, or an outcome to the journey. She acknowledged the resources
available, and the need to work together (laulima) as she did on the canoe with fellow crew. This
aligned with her upbringing and expectations established within her family as a child, and also
shows her perspective that the voyage experience was the training to build skills that could be
applied in real life.
Community
Pūlama engaged with the community as an educator at a Hawaiian fishpond, having
created ʻāina-based (place-based) curriculum and she worked to build a non-profit organization
to restore the fishpond to its full capacity, enabling it to feed the community. Following in her
mother’s example of educating and taking care of others, the voyage added to that influence in
her work there, and the fishpond became her waʻa (vessel), or the vehicle that would provide “all
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the resources you need…physically, spiritually, emotionally, mental…everything.” The voyage
influenced how Pūlama compared the fishpond to a canoe, and how she could apply voyaging
concepts to land based work that would benefit the community.
Pūlama engaged with the community by helping to create a non-profit organization that
would “train people to be able to feed their own ʻohana (family)” by giving them the tools to
make a traditional Hawaiian food staple. The strong connection between Pūlama’s pre-voyage
life and post-voyage life remain constant and she continued to develop and strengthen her desire
to mālama (care for) the larger community. Her voyage experience supported her approach to
that work, as it reflected her waʻa (canoe) training. She shared her manaʻo (thoughts) on how it
related to voyaging:
It’s not about me teaching you…but it’s about you being able to find it with your own
self to create that practice, or that knowledge set for your ʻohana. So, I think that’s
something that we were…that I envisioned this non-profit to be because it really was
about empowering you to do it for your family. And for a healthier lifestyle, you know,
for a healthier mindset. For a healthy overall everything, you know, we wanted
everybody to be healthy, and everybody to be um…and for families to stick together.
This is evidence of how the canoe mindset influenced Pūlama’s vision to train others by
providing them with an opportunity to make their own connections. The value of mālama (to
care for) and laulima (work together) are evident in her perspective, and is related to what she
considered to be healthy. The work she does with the community had functionality and is related
to the larger community rather than an individual, ideas that stem from her pre-voyage life
experience.

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Conclusion
The voyage strengthened values of mālama (care/maintain), and kuleana
(responsibility/privilege), which influenced Pūlama’s perspective on life. She incorporated waʻa
(canoe) training and lessons in her approach to how she interacted with family, students,
colleagues, and community members. She applied voyaging concepts to all facets of her
environment, and continued to engage in the world with a he waʻa he moku (a canoe is an island)
mindset.
RQ#3: How did the approach E Mau took to preparing them for the voyage shape how
and what they learned?
The approach and preparation used in preparing for the E Mau voyage included
indigenous learning strategies. Pūlama learned through observation, practice, and by teaching
others. Her voyage preparation included connecting with the natural environment, often learning
on-site at places relevant to her voyaging experience. Her teachers influenced her learning
environment and provided her with support. She also internalized a value system integrated with
voyaging concepts, and influenced her learning outcomes. This section will examine the data
related to how and what Pūlama learned while preparing for the E Mau voyage. The two themes
that emerged from the data are labeled as the learning process, and learning outcomes.
Learning Process
Pūlama’s learning process has been categorized into three themes: learning phases—
related to how she learned, influences and perspectives—related to individuals who influenced
how she learned, and the environment—related to where she learned, and the connection to place
as part of the learning process.
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Learning phases. Pūlama learned voyaging skills by what she called, “ma ka hana ka
ʻike (in doing, one learns).” Her initial learning experience was immediately inclusive, and she
felt like a “crewmember” from her very first sail. She recalled her first sail on board Makaliʻi:
you know, the Makaliʻi ʻohana…they no hold back. They throw you in the fire, so I had
to hold…I remember we had to you know, drop the sail, and like…yelling at me…they
don’t even know my name…they yelling at me to get…you know…grab the line!
Pūlama’s experience shows that idea of learning is simply by doing. Her learning experience
had immediate function, and she was treated as if she knew what to do. She spoke of being on
the canoe “for a reason,” and made connections to her spiritual beliefs and trust that she was
given the “opportunity” to be on the canoe because she was meant to be there. Her learning
experience included observation, practice, and doing. She returned to the canoe to learn more,
and she explained how she viewed the learning process:
…if you don’t know what to do, you gotta figure out how to do it quickly. You know,
and I think…and then you’re treated as a crewmember, so for me, it was a little bit
overwhelming that I don’t know what I was doing, but you already had this like,
expectation of what to do…what to become…I mean if you don’t know now, you’re
gonna know it because you have to learn it.
Pūlama chose to be at the canoe, and she felt that there was a “reason” she was there. She
“loved” what and how she learned in the canoe environment. She felt supported and part of a
larger group, and she felt an expectation “to perform” and to give all she could because that’s
what was “expected” of crew, similar to her pre-voyage experiences.
Pūlama’s voyage preparation included participating in “dry dock,” which involved
disassembling the entire canoe, refurbishing it and maintaining the individual parts, then putting
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the parts of the vessel back together again. This gave her the opportunity to form an intimate
relationship with the canoe itself, and allowed her to understand the value of each individual part
of the canoe and its relation to the whole vessel. She described the importance of dry dock and
why it shaped her learning:
Like dry dock is a really big…probably the most important time to learn about the canoe.
So we learn about what it takes to maintain a waʻa, and so down to…taking the canoe
completely apart, taking all the lashings off, and you see the waʻa as…different parts of
the whole. And it’s really cool because then you realize all the mechanics and how
important every piece of the puzzle is, and that you really can’t compromise any of it,
right…the fact that everything is lashed together…one lashing that’s bad shifts
everything. So I really enjoy dry dock because you really get to know the canoe
intimately.
This type of learning environment allowed Pūlama to make connections between parts to whole.
Her understanding of the bigger picture took shape and she saw the value of each individual part.
This understanding could be applied to how she viewed individual people in relation to the larger
community. This type of learning involved a hands-on approach and incorporated active
participation. As Meyer (2001) suggested, learning was not passive, and involved doing—ma ka
hana ka ʻike (in doing, one learns).
Influences and perspectives. Pūlama’s learning experiences were greatly influenced by
her teachers, specifically, two she referred to as Uncle Clay and Uncle Chadd. She felt they were
supportive and built her up by their actions. She shared how she felt about Uncle Clay:
But never gave up on me, which is what I think is awesome. And I like that he always
saw the smallest thing…even the smallest desire to do something…and he would try and
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go after that…cause I think he could see that in all of us. The little fear that you might
have…he tried to put it out so you could…and he would build you up in other ways…and
sometimes it was yelling at you, or sometimes it was like scolding you, or throwing
things at you…I dunno [laughter]. But there was always a lesson in everything he did.
She appreciated how her teachers would “encourage without saying a lot” and felt that when her
teachers knew she was not at the “place of knowing,” they “helped to take the time” to teach her,
and she appreciated that about them. They gave her an example of what teaching looked like,
and her memories of her interactions with her teachers, showed that they had an effect on how
she learned. She had previous learning experiences growing up, and teachers who modeled care
and high expectations. This was another example of that type of teaching style.
Pūlama’s learning experiences gave her an expectation of gender equality. Makaliʻi’s
training expected all crew to “perform” no matter the gender. This allowed her to learn to
“always work together” and to “always help each other out.” This idea was important because it
provided a foundation for her expectations of herself and how she viewed groups of people and
her desire for everyone to work together as a team. This shaped her self-perception and
empowered her to feel like she “could do anything.” Her mother provided her with a female role
model early in life, and as she was an example of a Native Hawaiian female who worked,
educated others, and cared for elders and her family, which contributed to Pūlama’s female
identity.
Environment. The voyage preparation gave Pūlama the opportunity to connect with the
environment, as she experienced going to “Pololū to watch the weather, really early in the
morning…and watch the sunrise.” This allowed her to experience the natural environment and
try to be “in tune” with her surroundings as part of the learning process. She also had the
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opportunity to help build the hālau waʻa (canoe house), and learning involved hands-on, project-
based experiences. She remembered what it was like during that time:
I helped to make the hālau waʻa at Kaʻūpūlehu. I was able to learn about building the
hālau waʻa, riding up…traveling up every morning at 4:00 in the morning…up to Mauna
Kea to gather pili and to come down and lash the hālau together.
Pūlama was exposed to natural resources as she engaged in this type of learning environment.
Her understanding of the relationship between the land, resources, and people began to take
shape, and she learned the value of doing the work, and being part of the project. This was a
foundational element in the shaping of her value system. As Meyer (2003) asserts, connecting
with the natural environment was essential to the learning process and experience with the
environment was necessary in attaining knowledge.
Learning Outcomes
Pūlama’s voyage preparation gave her a perspective that valued mālama (to
care/maintain), hōʻihi (trust), and the importance of staying together. It also taught her the
importance of paying attention and the relation between one’s senses and the environment. She
also made connections between her voyage preparations and the important connections to
kūpuna (ancestors), genealogy, and history.
The voyaging preparation enabled Pūlama to learn the importance of mālama (to care
for/maintain), trust, and the importance of staying together and working together. She was
introduced to a new knowledge set on the canoe, and mālama (to maintain) included passing on
that type of knowledge. She explained what she learned during the voyaging preparation:
I learned how to take care. I mean…it was being an ʻohana…and a community. I learned
trust. And that might not be…just that idea of everybody staying together. The
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importance of knowing where everyone is…you know, I mean…it’s a family. I think I
really liked the idea of how the…we pretty much did everything together. But the value
in that is really that idea that everybody…you’re accountable for each other.
This is evidence of Pūlama’s alignment with a community or ʻohana (family) being accountable
to one another. She learned that trust was needed to take care of one another, and mālama (to
care for/maintain) was a value that was inclusive of everyone. This was not something newly
introduced through the voyage, as data showed how she felt a sense of accountability to her
family growing up, and knew that her role in the family was to take care of her parents.
Her learning experiences allowed her to connect with the natural environment, and she
realized that some things are felt rather than seen, and that is a form of knowing. This is an
example of the cultural nature of the senses—the belief that knowledge was connected to
experiencing the environment (Meyer, 2003). She explained her thoughts on this type of
learning:
…what I took from it was that learning, or that being in the now, and knowing…like,
being so in tune with your senses and with things that are around you…just gotta pay
attention. Things are constantly moving, and things are constantly happening, and a lot
of times we don’t pay attention to those…the things that we don’t see. Be very
observant…constantly look at your surroundings and all the things that you do. Like our
kupuna…like look for hōʻailona (signs), but take the time to do that.
Her take away was to be observant, and connect with the natural environment. This type of
learning connected to her with knowledge through experience with nature. This taught her to be
aware, and open to using multiple senses in order to know.
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The voyage experience shaped her learning and deepened her understanding that she was
part of a voyaging family, and that family was connected to a long history and tradition. She
gave an example that showed the connection between past and present, as she explained the
importance of understanding the canoe’s genealogy:
I see that in our voyaging ʻohana…that understanding where the waʻa (canoe) came
from…understanding our tradition, our moʻokūʻauhau (genealogy)…where we came
from as a voyaging canoe, as a voyaging ʻohana (family)…it’s very important. You
know, we always acknowledge the kūpuna (ancestors) that helped to start the canoe.
Pūlama learned to value the connection between past history and the relationships to the
ancestors. This understanding aligned with spirituality and knowing, and the idea that one is a
link in a chain dating back to antiquity, and part of a continuum of knowledge that is
intergenerational (Meyer, 2001). Although she came from a religious family, the canoe enabled
her to connect to spirituality in terms of her relationship with the natural environment and her
alignment of herself in that environment, which is slightly different than her religious
upbringing. This connection was important to her, and shaped her perspective and also guided
her actions in her life.
Conclusion
The E Mau voyage preparation shaped how and what Pūlama learned, and she
experienced hands-on learning, influential teachers, and had the expectation to teach others in the
process. The learning process and learning outcomes she gained from her experiences gave her
an awareness and desire to connect to the natural environment, ancestors, and the resources
around her. She was able to develop her Native Hawaiian identity and connections throughout
her life, and the voyage gave her another opportunity in which to develop those connections
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further, based on her previous life experiences. The values of mālama (care/maintain) and
hilinaʻi (trust) were emphasized in the need to stay together and work together as a community,
and these values were applied to other aspects of her life.
Case #3: Moana

Moana was raised on the island of Oʻahu. She was born in 1972 to a Caucasian mother
and Hawaiian-Chinese father. She attended private school from kindergarten through high
school. She continued to pursue higher education in Hawaiʻi and obtained a Bachelor’s degree,
Master’s degree, and took graduate school courses at a school on the continental U.S. She
indicated that she had minimal exposure to Hawaiian culture while she was growing up, and was
disconnected from her Native Hawaiian identity until her late teenage years. She believed that
her parents had valued education. They had been very supportive in her schooling and
participated in school events. She first met Makaliʻi in 1995, and she remained part of the canoe
family from then on. At the time of the study Moana lived on Oʻahu with her husband and two
children. She worked in the field of education and voyaging continued to be a part of her daily
life.
RQ#1: How did the E Mau voyage influence the lives of the women crewmembers?
The voyaging experience influenced Moana’s life by increasing her desire to learn and do
more related to sailing and voyaging. She already had an interest and a desire to learn Hawaiian
things when she first met Makaliʻi, but the voyage solidified that desire for her, and gave her
knowledge and experience that continued to affect her life thereafter. Moana believed that the
voyage experience significantly increased her sense of kuleana, and her voyaging training
strengthened her expectation for excellence. She aligned with the hard work and commitment
involved with voyaging, and also aligned with the systematic structure of the canoe. She was
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able to build on experiences and cultural connections learned through her college years, and was
able to strengthen her epistemological perspectives in the process. She took responsibility in
carrying forth the voyaging knowledge and culture, and she saw herself as a teacher, and one
who created voyaging experiences for others. To answer the research question of how the
voyage influenced Moana’s life, it is important to establish her profile prior to the voyage and
post voyage in order to see if she was changed in any way. The following section will be
presented in three phases to be able to compare pre- and post-voyage profiles. The first phase
will describe Moana’s upbringing, influences, and connections while growing up. The second
phase will focus on her voyaging experiences from the time she became involved with Makaliʻi
through the voyage. The third phase will be her life profile post-voyage, focusing on how the E
Mau voyage continued to influence different aspects of her life years beyond the completion of
the voyage.
Prior to Voyage
Moana was raised in a predominantly Western environment at home and at school. She
had an older sister who was four years older than her, and her parents were supportive of them
both. She attended private school for grades kindergarten through 12. She was not exposed to
Hawaiian culture until her high school years. She did not have any knowledge or connection to
voyaging during her childhood, outside of what was shown on television. Moana’s older sister
played an important role in Moana’s journey towards the canoe. While Moana was in high
school, her sister helped the whole family become interested in connecting to Hawaiian culture.
Moana’s cultural connection was also influenced by college teachers who helped her to develop
an awareness and understanding of Hawaiian culture, thus giving her a connection to her
Hawaiian identity prior to her involvement with voyaging.
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Guided by the conceptual framework presented in Chapter Two, the following data
represents evidence related to the connections, values, and learning experiences Moana had
ranging from her childhood through her college years. The data presented in this section will set
the foundation and establish her pre-voyage profile in order to identify how the voyage
influenced her life.
Connections
Moana was disconnected from her Native Hawaiian identity, culture, and lifestyle while
growing up. She was well supported by her parents and had a stable environment and close
relationship with the schools she attended, which showed evidence of a healthy family
attachment as a child. Her family was active with her school, and she created life long
relationships with peers with whom she attended kindergarten. Her family connected to a
Western lifestyle, and she was raised in a supportive environment. The data related to
connections, have been grouped in the following themes: culture and identity, and environment.
These themes are presented separately, yet, are integrated and have concepts that overlap.
Culture and identity. Moana was disconnected from Hawaiian culture, and unaware of
her Hawaiian identity while growing up due to her lack of exposure to it. She aligned with
Western culture and had a strong female identity. She did not speak of cultural understandings
related to Hawaiian epistemology, and the data revealed no evidence of her connection to
ancestors, the natural environment, or spirituality associated with Hawaiian culture. Everyone in
her environment—her parents, peers, and other families—were “assimilated” and “Western.”
She saw those she identified as being Hawaiian as really different than her own family. She said
that her family “really didn’t participate” in any kind of Hawaiian cultural activities, and they
were basically unaware of cultural connections. Her understanding of Hawaiian culture was very
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superficial and the following statement is an example of her lack of cultural grounding as she
described her Hawaiian classmate from elementary school:
Cheryl’s family was…I guess I would assume the most Hawaiian because they ate laulau
at New Year’s. Like I remember, that’s one of the things they used to do, right. They
used to eat laulau…make laulau at New Year’s. And then in the summers they would go
camp at Punaluʻu. I couldn’t understand how they would camp like for two months in
the summer at the beach. I was like what? Where you going this summer? They would
go camping.
Moana was not isolated from other Native Hawaiians, as she had friends who were Native
Hawaiian, but she saw Native Hawaiian activities as foreign or other. She “couldn’t understand
how they would camp like for two months” and remembered the activities they engaged in as
different—they “ate laulau at New Year’s” whereas her family did not. She had no
understanding of the connections and customs associated with Hawaiian culture, and showed no
evidence or desire to want to connect to her Hawaiian identity. Thus, she was totally
disconnected from any cultural understanding, and lacked any alignment with her own identity as
a Native Hawaiian. Her identity was in stark contrast to her friend, Cheryl.
Instead, Moana connected and aligned with Western culture, as did her family. She also
aligned with her female identity early on, and was part of a “strong girl group” in elementary
school. She recognized differences between genders, but recalls she was not “treated
differently” as a girl. Moana’s perception of her own identity as a female was instilled at an
early age, and she saw herself as an able female—neither inferior or superior to males.
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Moana’s relationship to her culture changed during her senior year of high school. After
college, her sister enrolled in Hawaiian language courses. This act had a ripple effect that
extended throughout Moana’s family. Moana shared:
And um, so our exposure to the culture, I’d say, was pretty minimal. Until my sister
came home from college, and then, got involved…went to UH, and then she started
taking Hawaiian language classes, and then that kind if sparked an interest in the family.
And so my mom started taking like community Hawaiian language classes. Yeah. When
I was in high school, my sister came home and she was dancing hula. Anyway, she
ended up on Kahoʻolawe, and she took my dad with her…for like one Makahiki thing.
So that was something like oh, what’s going on? What is this? What is Kahoʻolawe?
You know, where you guys going? What is Makahiki? So those kinds of things were
starting to, you know, people in my family were starting to participate in some of those
things.
Moana’s sister’s actions powerfully influenced the family, triggering a major shift in the family’s
awareness and interest to connect with Hawaiian culture. Her family was interconnected, and
they influenced each other in important ways, showing the strong connection within the family
unit. It was the first time that family members actively sought to learn and experience Hawaiian
culture. Moana began to explore Hawaiian culture and in the process, began to explore her own
Hawaiian identity. Prior to this point in her life, Moana’s family had been her main influence,
thus her identity was defined by her family context. The family’s shift towards Hawaiian culture
provided her with an opportunity to re-define her own identity in the process.
This initial exposure to Hawaiian culture during Moana’s high school years served as a
turning point in her life, and became a major influence in her cultural connection and college
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pursuits. By the end of senior year, Moana knew that she wanted to learn more about Hawaiian
culture. Despite her counselor’s urging to leave Hawaiʻi, Moana attended a local community
college near her home, and began formal studies related to Hawaiian culture. Her initial college
years proved to be another huge influence in her life, by increasing her knowledge base and
cultural connections and understandings. She had opportunities to learn Hawaiian language,
culture, religion, and hula, from a knowledgeable and passionate teacher. She was influenced by
her context, and began to actively connect with her culture while in college. The more she
learned about her culture, the stronger her desire was to learn more, creating a steady
development of her Hawaiian identity. She said she had “a shift and an interest in learning
things Hawaiian.” Therefore, she transferred to a state university on another island to continue
formal studies in Hawaiian language and culture. Her college years proved to be a time where
she actively pursued the development of her Hawaiian identity through cultural connections.
Environment. Moana had a strong and supportive connection with both home and
school environments. Her family provided a stable support system for her, and she remembered
they were “really supportive, and participated in all the activities” she had at school. She also
had a close-knit school environment and felt supported by teachers and peers, allowing her to
establish life-long relationships with some friends who she remained “actively close” with.
Overall, she had a positive, supportive experience in her home and school environments, and was
able to form healthy, lasting relationships with those around her.
She spoke of little connection to the natural environment. She acknowledged her first
connection to the ocean began when she was in the fourth grade, after her father bought a boat
and would often go fishing. She remembered:
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And we would go on Sundays…we would go out to the sandbar with some other friends
that had boats. And they would leave all the kids and the moms on the sandbar, with like
one boat…and then the dads would go out fishing. And then they’d come back and pick
us up at the end of the day. So that was kind of my major introduction, I think, to the
ocean…and to being on the water…was from about 4
th
grade. And um, I didn’t like to
swim.
Her connection to the ocean was that of leisure and recreation, and lacked any depth or
understanding towards any meaningful connection to the natural environment.
The data revealed no evidence of any connection related to concepts of the environment
pertaining to Hawaiian epistemology, such as, spirituality, history, or connection to ancestors.
There was no evidence to show she had a connection to the natural environment, and she was
disconnected from the environmental connections in regards to indigenous knowledge or beliefs.
Moana’s only exposure to a canoe environment was when she paddled canoe as a sport in
high school. She had no connection to any kind of voyaging environment except for what she
might have seen on television. Her lack of knowledge and connection to voyaging canoes serves
as a baseline in which to compare the influence of the voyage on her life. She was encouraged
by her high school paddling coach to inquire about becoming a crewmember with the Polynesian
Voyaging Society, but after a “discouraging” phone call, she did not get an invitation to
participate in voyaging at that time, and did not actively pursue any kind of connection with
voyaging environments on her own. Therefore, her connection to any kind of voyaging
environment was non-existent.

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Values
Moana aligned with values and expectations set from home, school, and college. Values
she internalized were related to education, clear and simple expectations, interactive
relationships, and kuleana.
The value of education was instilled at home. Moana knew that her parents sacrificed in
order to give her an expensive “private school” education. She understood the relationship
between future success and educational opportunity. She felt an expectation from home to do
well, because her dad’s family did not have the same opportunity. Her father’s mindset of “hard
work” was instilled and she understood that her parents provided her educational opportunities.
She aligned with clear instructions and simple organization. Structured learning
environments resonated with her because they provided clear expectations. Therefore, she knew
what she needed to do in order to be successful in those environments. She recalled a high
school teacher she appreciated because he gave clear directions:
I liked him because he was very clear. He would want your homework to go in the tray,
and it had to face a certain way…so like this way, and not this way. And then he made
you do your…set up your binder, and it had to be how he wanted it….exactly…and he
would check it. But I liked that because it was very clear.
The learning Moana experienced in college came with kuleana (responsibility). She was
expected to teach others as part of her learning process. This was consistent with the reciprocal
relationship in the Indigenous learning process. She commented on the expectation of kuleana
(responsibility/privilege):
…okay, now you learn this stuff…then now you gotta go teach it to those younger high
school kids over there. So it gave us an opportunity to become teachers ourselves.
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This expectation turned student into teacher as part of the learning process. Moana saw this as
an opportunity to assume the role of teacher. Her sense of responsibility to teach others was
instilled through her learning process, and her kuleana (privilege) meant that she had a
responsibility to pass knowledge on to the next person. This was an example of how knowledge
that had value was passed on, and learning had continuity (Meyer, 2001).
Learning
Moana’s learning experiences were mainly in formal learning environments at the
schools she attended, but also included expectations that stemmed from home. Data in this
section reflect her high school and college experiences prior to her involvement with Makaliʻi.
Moana experienced two types of learning environments—Western and Indigenous. She linked
these two types of learning environments with perceptions of positive and negative learning
experiences. The relationship between the two types of learning environments will be contrasted
in the following section. The categories related to learning that emerged from the data are
labeled as: experience and process, and teacher and student roles.
Experience and process. Moana experienced a Western learning environment in high
school—typically teacher driven. Good grades were emphasized in high school, and although
Moana was successful in school, her learning experiences lacked personalization and application.
Moana believed that she and her peers were, for the most part, “passive learners.” She gave an
example of what she deemed a negative learning experience in high school:
Remember that old overhead projector with the roll? She would write her WHOLE
lecture out, and she would roll…and depending on which class you were…if you were
the class where she first was doing it or not, she would put the paper to cover! She would
just sit there on her stool in the science classroom and she would just
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lectuuuuuuuuurrrrre. And then at the end, maybe we got to go to the lab tables and I
don’t know…make hot water or something. She was boring.
Moana felt her teachers did not deviate from delivering content to students, creating a boring
experience for her. This is an example of Moana’s disconnect with this type of teaching
approach, and she did not find value in this learning experience.
She shared an example of a positive learning environment she had while in a cohort to
develop young Hawaiian leaders. It was there that her awareness surrounding Hawaiian
epistemology was developed. She shared her learning experience in that cohort as a place where
she learned about “self consciousness, and awareness.” She began to analyze who she was as a
Hawaiian. At the time of the study she still had her folder from that learning experience because
as she said, “it’s something that I’ve been able to use over the years.” She found value in the
learning experience, and it was shown through her continual use of the materials and content
matter years beyond the experience. According to Meyer (2001), knowledge is cared for when it
has value—if it is applicable and functional.
Moana’s learning experiences allowed her to develop a consciousness in her Native
Hawaiian identity, by building her cultural awareness and shaping her epistemology. This
awareness laid the groundwork on which all further learning experiences would be built, and
developed the lens in which all further connections would be seen.
Teacher and student roles. Moana’s learning environment during her secondary years,
were mainly teacher driven, as was common in formal, Western school settings. She said that
her teachers lectured and for the most part, and students were expected to regurgitate
information. Content was not immediately applicable to real life, and students often had a
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“passive” role in their learning. Moana’s perception of the interaction between teacher and
student was passive and non-engaging.
College proved to be an influential turning point in her learning environment, as well as
her perspective on the roles of teachers and students. She began to respect her teachers because
they were knowledgeable and passionate about what they were teaching, and why they were
teaching. She aligned with those teachers and referred to them as the “good teachers” because
their role was to make her a better person. She shared her thoughts about the teachers she had in
college:
Okay, so THOSE teachers…the good teachers…the role of them, I think was more like to
support, and to inspire, and to make you want to be better. Like they were actually trying
to TEACH you. It seemed like those teachers were more passionate about their kuleana
to teach than the teachers that I experienced in high school. And then in college, in all
my levels of college…the teachers just seemed to be more excited and more passionate
about their teaching. It seemed like they were invested in where we were all gonna go.
You know, like they cared…or they were teaching for a bigger purpose than just that
class.
Moana viewed her teachers as caring, competent, and passionate about their work, which was
linked to a “bigger purpose.” This enabled Moana to internalize the values of kuleana
(responsibility/privilege), mālama (to care for/maintain), and hōʻihi (respect). Although not
overtly expressed in those terms, her teachers modeled these values and instilled the importance
of investing in their students well beyond their time together. Moana aligned and connected to
this form of teacher-student interaction, and those teachers became examples and positive role
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models for her, and highly influenced the development of her own cultural competence in the
Indigenous learning process.
She was self-motivated to perform well for her teachers. Her learning experiences at
college, specifically the values that were instilled due to her teacher-student interactions, became
a fundamental time in preparing her for the voyage. It is the first example of influence where
hōʻihi (respect), mālama (to care for), and kuleana (responsibility) became central components in
learning—concepts that align with the values identified as part of voyaging knowledge.
Conclusion
Moana was disconnected from Native Hawaiian culture and identity, and aligned with
Western culture and female identity while in her formative years. She was well supported at
home and school, and experienced a cultural shift during her high school years due to the major
influence of her older sister. College became most influential in the development of her Native
Hawaiian identity, as she strengthened connections and understandings of Hawaiian culture,
knowledge, and learning process. Her slow development of a consciousness related to her own
identity prepared her for the experience of meeting Makaliʻi, and became a foundation for which
future connections would be built.
Voyaging Experience
The voyage gave Moana knowledge, experience, and opportunities to learn. It
strengthened her relationships with the environment, the canoe, and fellow crew. She
strengthened her identity as a Native Hawaiian female, and aligned with the values of the canoe,
with an increased understanding of kuleana (responsibility) and mālama (to care for). Her
participation in the voyage allowed her to shape her epistemology and understanding of
connections between people, place, and environment.
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Moana first met voyaging canoe, Makaliʻi, in the fall of 1995. She had a Bachelor’s
degree, and was living on Oʻahu at the time. She flew to Hawaiʻi island to “hang out” with a
friend for a weekend of “party and fun.” While standing on the pier in Kailua-Kona, they saw
voyaging canoe, Makaliʻi, recently back from her maiden voyage to Tahiti. The captains of
Makaliʻi noticed the two women standing on the dock for a while, and invited them to board the
vessel. After spending the entire day on the canoe, she recalled:
And I think Cap asked, “what are you guys doing tomorrow?” And we were like…you
know, we were gonna be partying, so we’re like, oh…we just hanging out. And he said,
“well come back at five in the morning…we’re going to Kealakekua.” So I was like,
what? So we got in the car, went to the hotel, packed up all our shit, went back down to
the canoe, and then that was it. Sailed to Kealakekua and met the Hōnaunau headhunters.
At Manini beach.
She was instantly hooked, and has been part of the canoe family ever since. She did not seek out
the canoe. She was at the right place at the right time. It was not part of her educational plan,
yet, her path led her to the waʻa (canoe), and that first encounter with the canoe influenced the
course of her life “forever.” Perhaps it was coincidence, or the belief that one is part of a link to
ancestors past—Moana connected to the canoe, and never left.
Moana flew to Hawaiʻi island nearly every weekend after that. She became immersed in
canoe life and was able to learn about voyaging through her involvement with Makaliʻi. The
original E Mau voyage was scheduled to take place in 1997. Instead, it was postponed, and
Makaliʻi commenced with a state-wide voyage across the island chain. Moana was on the canoe
for majority of that sail throughout the Hawaiian islands. During that time, she concurrently
attended graduate school at a private university on Oʻahu, and obtained her Master’s degree. She
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was employed at Hawaiian immersion schools, as well as organizations that worked with youth.
In 1999, E Mau voyage took Makaliʻi from Hawaiʻi to Majuro, throughout the Federated States
of Micronesia, and ended in Guam and Saipan. Moana quit her job and became a crewmember
on board Makaliʻi for the entire voyage.
The section that follows includes the span of time from when Moana first met Makaliʻi,
all the way to the end of the E Mau voyage in 1999. Data presented in this section have fluid
thematic organization, but use the three main themes presented in the pre-voyage section, to be
able to compare and see how the voyage influenced her life. The following themes are:
connections, values, and learning.
Connections
The voyaging experience gave Moana opportunities to continue to build her
understandings and connections to Hawaiian culture, and increased her awareness and
experience related to the environment, spirituality, and knowledge surrounding voyaging. She
valued the hard work involved with voyaging, and she was able to build upon her past
experience. The next section presents Moana’s connections related to: culture and identity, and
environment. The two themes relate to one another, and are meant to build upon and be
compared to the same themes presented in Moana’s life prior to her involvement with the canoe
to see how the voyage experience has influenced her.
Culture and identity. When Moana first met Makaliʻi, she already had an established
connection to her Native Hawaiian identity. She continued to align with Western culture and had
a strong female identity as well. Unlike her previous years growing up, she viewed herself as an
“active participant, and an active learner of Hawaiian things.” The voyaging experience
strengthened and affirmed her identity as a contemporary Native Hawaiian female.
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The women who sailed on Makaliʻi formed a strong network that supported and
empowered each other, increasing Moana’s confidence and strengthening her female identity.
She remembered how Makaliʻi had a strong female presence and they “could basically do
anything the guys could do.” She connected with fellow women crew, and she saw herself as a
strong, capable female. Similar to her pre-voyage years growing up, she had strong female role
models in her mother and her older sister, and those attachments helped to develop Moana’s
healthy female perception as she never doubted her own abilities.
During the voyage, Moana was exposed to Micronesian culture, and observed first-hand
the women’s role on Satawal—Mau’s home. She witnessed a “thriving” culture that was still
“intact” and functional. The women crewmembers did not follow Satawalese customs while
there, and were allowed to partake in customs normally reserved only for men, such as drinking
in the men’s house. She compared her own culture and beliefs with what she witnessed on
Satawal. She wondered if Makaliʻi’s female crew influenced the women of Satawal. She
wondered if they questioned their own cultural beliefs and customs after seeing the Hawaiian
women crew conducting themselves in men’s roles. She analyzed her own identity, and
acknowledged the evolution and blending of her Hawaiian and Western connections. She
believed that Hawaiians assimilated to Western culture, and she lived in a time where Hawaiians
actively reclaimed and re-established the strength of their own culture to build their own identity.
She saw herself as a “modern day Hawaiian” woman, and commented on the strong Hawaiian
women leaders during the years leading up to the voyage. She shared her thoughts:
We can blend it because we live in both societies right. I mean we’re re-establishing a
Hawaiian culture society, um, lifestyle, I think…today. And we can…to our
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advantage…we can use Western civil rights, women’s rights, and all of that, to our
advantage…as modern day Hawaiian women. And maybe that played out there.
Her experience reaffirmed her own identity. She found it advantageous to blend her cultural
backgrounds. She knew that her identity as a woman was not the same as the women on
Satawal, and the role of women there were vastly different than her own. When asked if she
would want to go back to Satawal on her own to visit, she said no, because she would not want to
live like the women there—making food and lei. Instead, she would want to “hang out with the
men” and go “fishing and sailing.” Moana was grounded in her own identity before she arrived
on Satawal. The voyage solidified her identity as a strong female, grounded in Western and
Hawaiian ways, and the ability to blend the ideals of them all shaped her perspective.
Environment. Moana’s connection to her environment on board Makaliʻi included the
people she described as “one big family.” She referred to fellow crew as “sisters, brothers, and
uncles.” The building of relationships on the canoe is consistent with examples presented in
Low (2013), which highlighted the important relationships built amongst crew. She connected
with the people she sailed with and felt supported by the crew. This aligned with the support she
had from home and school while growing up. Voyaging included a survival element, which in
her view took the idea of support to “the next humungous level.”
The pilina (relationships) established amongst crew were important. Mau became “Papa”
during the voyage preparation, and in doing so, he was treated as a kupuna (elder). This is
important because the connection to ancestors, both past and present, is important and
fundamental in the spirituality and knowing components of Hawaiian epistemology (Meyer,
1998). Although Mau was not biologically connected to Moana, the understanding of the
connection between generations continued to shape her epistemology. The establishment of
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one’s role within the intergenerational relationship was made clear when Mau became “Papa” to
the Makaliʻi crew. Moana recalled when she first heard her captain refer to Mau as “Papa”:
That was the first time…okay, for the record…if this ever goes anywhere…when we met
him, we called him Mau. Right? We never call him Papa Mau. We never call him Papa.
That came a little bit later…when Cap started calling him Papa. And I think I can totally
see it…was in the Māhukona house…and that’s the first time I recall Cap calling him
Papa. And then of course, we followed suit. And then on the voyage, he said, “I am your
Mr. Father.” And THEN he became Papa. That’s why, he not Papa to everybody. I’m
just like, oh, you guys cannot call him that. He’s not your Papa. But whatever…I guess
he can be now…but…it’s you know…anyway…you know what I mean? But when we
first met him, we met him as Mau. This is Mau. And we called him Mau. We only
called him Papa Mau after…after a little while had gone on. At least that’s what I
remember. I don’t know why that’s important. But just the different waves you know.
When Mau became Papa, his role was elevated, and he became more prominent in Moana’s
perspective. In Hawaiian culture, the highest level of respect was given to kūpuna (elders). This
quotation is also an example of her understanding using a Hawaiian epistemological lens. She
does not know why it was important that she share this memory—yet she knew it was important
to do so. As Meyer (2001) suggests, this shows the cultural nature of the senses—knowing
means using the naʻau (gut) to understand. Though cognitively she says she did not know why
she should share this relational view, she actually knew it was important to do so because she
knew in her gut that is was important and acted on it.
The connection with the canoe environment meant forming a relationship with the canoe
itself. Moana referred to the canoe as her “foundation.” She connected to Makaliʻi as a child to a
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parent, and described the canoe as her “Mom.” She cared for the canoe by feeding her, cleaning
her, and keeping her parts tidy. Moana’s connection with Makaliʻi strengthened, and her
connection to the natural environment increased. She explained how “you can hear her breathe”
when sailing at night. The voyage allowed Moana to see, feel, and learn about the environment
around her. Her voyaging experiences strengthened her understanding of connections with the
environment, as she was able to connect with her spirituality, history, and ancestors.
Values
The purpose of the E Mau voyage was to honor Mau as a teacher of navigation. Moana’s
opportunity to participate in the voyage allowed her to live values associated with voyaging. The
following section describes values Moana identified and aligned with based on her voyage
experience. Values that emerged from the data include: hilinaʻi (trust), hōʻihi (respect), haʻaha
(humility), and laulima (teamwork).
She reflected on the value of hilinaʻi (trust), and connected it to hōʻihi (respect) for her
teachers:
Well first of all, just being part of taking Mau home…you know, being part of that whole
story…getting to know him and learn from him. I don’t know. I guess we had to do it.
It was like it was just…we had to do that. It wasn’t awkward or anything, it was just very
natural. Even though we nevah know what the hell we was doing, I mean in all honesty
right…I mean most of us were green… a lot of our crew had never been out of sight of
land before. So we didn’t really know what we were doing…but we had faith…and trust
in our leadership.
Moana learned trust and faith. She respected her teachers and leaders. She commented that she
“had to do it” and that it was a “natural” thing to do. Her trust and faith in her teachers and
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leaders may be grounded in spirituality, allowing her to take her place in the “link” which
ensured the passing of knowledge through generations.
She also learned the value of haʻahaʻa (humility), and described how the crew expressed
humility during the voyage:
…we were taught to be very humble…and then we always go behind our
leadership…you know, our crew. So Mau always went first, and then it was always
Uncle Shorty, Cap, Chadd, and then all our older crewmembers, and then all of us. So
we was at the bottom. We were the bottom guys…which was totally fine…I think we all
were very happy just to be there.
Humility was valued on the canoe. This expression also aligned with the value of hōʻihi
(respect). To show respect and humility for one’s leadership and/or elders was valued, and
linked to Hawaiian perspective, similar to how Shorty showed respect by how he treated his
teacher, Mau, as described by Finney, and cited in Low (2013). The acknowledgement of one’s
teacher was also a form of respect, and from Moana’s view, it was a core value expressed
throughout the E Mau voyage.
The voyage affirmed the value of laulima—the ability to work together as one. It was
important for the crew to have a “really solid relationship” in order to work together on the
canoe. Moana associated voyaging with hard work, dedication, and commitment—all qualities
needed to work together in the spirit of laulima (work together).
Learning
Moana’s learning experiences related to voyaging began the day she stepped foot aboard
Makaliʻi. The following section describes her learning related to voyaging, and has been
categorized in the following two themes: experience and process, and teacher and student roles.
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Experience and process. Moana’s very first sail was, as she described, intense, serious,
and awesome. Learning began immediately. She aligned with the hard work and structure
associated with sailing, and her experience triggered a desire for her to “learn more about
voyaging,” and to learn more “about the ocean.”
Consistent with Indigenous learning, Moana experienced learning by observing. The
process of learning to sail involved doing— watching, practicing, and showing. The three
phases of learning is reflective of Indigenous learning, and Meyer (2001) would agree, is an
example of how knowledge is valued when applicable to real life. Moana shared the process of
how she learned during her voyaging experiences:
Um…I think by doing. Most of it was watching the older crewmembers...and explaining
it. Or watching them do it, and then us doing it. And then them letting us younger ones,
or new ones…you know…repeat it after them or whatever. We used to do lots of drills
right there on the dock. We also learned by having to teach others…so there as you
know, thousands of school kids that came through the program…through Makaliʻi from
1995 until we left on the voyage. And so, if you were down there that day, then you were
basically, teaching. You would end up teaching them.
Her learning involved three phases—watching, practicing, and teaching others. This is an
example of the reciprocal nature of Indigenous learning, as student becomes teacher, and shows
mastery in skills by teaching someone else, as exemplified in the student-teacher relationship
between Nainoa and Mau as cited in Low (2013). This learning process built upon the value of
kuleana (responsibility/privilege) for Moana, and her role in passing on the knowledge. This
learning process was similar to her past experiences in college, when her cultural identity began
to take shape.
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Moana experienced first hand learning from Mau, and witnessed the interaction between
Mau and his first student, Shorty Bertelmann. She again, spoke of learning by observation.
Through Mau’s actions, she learned how to be purposeful and patient. He taught without
speaking, and his actions resonated with her. She remembered how Mau would work on tasks
quietly in his hole, and how he observed Shorty during the voyage, allowing him to navigate
without interruption. This is consistent with Indigenous teaching and learning, as it showed how
a student exemplified his mastery or skill in the content area by showing his teacher his ability
by doing the action. The teacher then stepped back and allowed the student to take the lead, thus
ensuring the perpetuation of the knowledge for future generations.
Moana was influenced by her learning experience as she also reflected on her sense of
self in relation to the surrounding environment. By watching Mau and being in his presence, she
learned that knowing one’s internal compass was important. The following quotation confirms
the relationship one can have with the natural world, and the knowledge associated with
voyaging incorporated much more than simple sailing skills. Moana told the story of Mau
knowing where they were at the sight of a specific type of fish head:
…but because he saw the fish…in an instant, he knew where we were, in his map. And
he said, “oh, you go turn little bit this way.” And he said, “by sunset, we’ll see Satawal.”
And sure enough, that’s what happened. And so to me, the lesson in that, is that…you
have to know your map. Just because he saw one fish head...he knew exactly where he
was. But I think mostly, he just taught us from watching him. How he behaved on the
water…on the land.
This example illustrated the intuitive nature of Indigenous learning. There was a connection
between person, environment, knowledge, spirituality, and place. Mau’s example taught Moana
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the importance of knowing one’s self, and to know where one was in relation to her environment.
This physical and intuitive knowing is built upon ancestral knowledge passed down through
generations (Meyer, 2001). It highlights the importance of observation, which is a key element
in the Indigenous learning process associated with voyaging, as described by Nainoa and cited in
Low (2013). This is an example of, I ka nānā nō a ʻike—by observing, one learns.
Moana understood and internalized the Indigenous learning process during the voyage.
She explained knowing as something that was felt in the heart, not just cognitive thinking and
learning. Her learning experiences on the canoe instilled a deep understanding that the learning
process involved student showing teacher his ability, therefore, her part in the E Mau voyage was
to be part of the learning process, and she was able to witness that happen when Shorty showed
Mau that he could navigate the canoe safely across the ocean. Moana learned by watching her
teachers on the canoe. She internalized that learning process, and it influenced her perspective
on learning.
During her learning process, Moana realized that the more she gave, the more she got.
This meant that knowledge was imparted to those who commit to learning. The more a person
took initiative to learn and do, the more knowledge that person would acquire. The process of
acquiring knowledge included understanding the values of trust and respect for your teacher, and
the voyaging training instilled that in her. Moana’s learning experience showed her the
importance of taking initiative. It influenced her desire to give more in order to receive more
knowledge. The values of trust and respect for leadership was a strong influence on her, and it
was something she internalized as part of her training.
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Teacher and student roles. Captain Clay Bertelmann, known as “Cap,” had much
influence on Moana’s learning. His role as a teacher influenced Moana by instilling a demand
for excellence, preparation, and intensity. She remembered Cap:
What’s awesome about Cap, was everything was always intense. It was like…where’s
your knife? Where’s your flashlight? Could be the middle of the fricken day…he’s like
where’s your flashlight? And if you didn’t have it…he would scowl and like waddle
away. (Laugh). So he taught us to be prepared, even when you think you don’t need to
be, you know…cause it’s oh, daytime…so look…I get my knife on me right now. I no
more my flashlight but…he taught us to be prepared and to always have that intensity.
Everything was intense to him…and I liked that.
This is evidence of how Cap’s teaching style aligned with her own internal value system. She
liked hard work and structure, and Cap’s approach was similar to the teacher’s she appreciated
growing up. Cap gave students clear and direct expectations. He taught students to be
“makaʻala (alert)” in all they did and Moana internalized the demand for excellence and
preparedness.
Moana was a witness to the interactions between Shorty and Mau. She affirmed that Mau
watched Shorty, but did not interfere. Aligned with Indigenous teaching and learning, the
teacher allowed his student to apply the knowledge acquired. Moana described phase three of
the Indigenous learning process, where student showed teacher that he was capable:
It was a little bit strange because Uncle Shorty was on starboard side. Mau was on port
side. But he hardly ever came out. He didn’t come out very much. So I guess that kind
of…Uncle Shorty was being given a test…and then we were all there to help him pass.
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And just how they interacted with each other. Was all new…Mau was hands off…just
kinda watching.
Moana witnessed first hand the interaction between student and teacher as Shorty moved into the
final stage of the learning process. She recognized the “test” in progress, and identified herself
as being there to “help him pass.” This is an example of how knowledge was transferred, and
phases of the learning process took place at appropriate time and place. A student did not
demand it, nor could one hurry the process along. Learning was also not individual. It must
include transferal of knowledge from one to another. Trust in the learning process is an
underlying element here, and the value of the knowledge is found in its real life function and
application.
Conclusion
Data revealed that Moana found it advantageous to be a modern day Hawaiian woman,
able to blend and connect Western, Native Hawaiian, and female identities. She continued to
feel supported by those in her environment, and the voyage solidified the importance of strong
relationships amongst crew, as voyaging required the crew to work together to survive. Values
of hōʻihi (respect), hilinaʻi (trust), haʻahaʻa (humility), and laulima (to work together) were
developed, increasing her understanding of each through the voyaging experience. She
described the three phases of learning, which included observation, practice, and evaluation by
means of teaching others. She was able to be both student and teacher, and also witnessed her
teacher going through the last phase of the learning process by observing the interaction between
Mau and Shorty. Her development with the natural environment increased, and she internalized
the need to know herself in relation to the environment. She learned that if you give more, you
receive more, thus strengthening her desire to take initiative in order to receive more knowledge
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related to voyaging. Her life prior to the voyage set a strong foundation for her in which to build
and expand her connections to her Native Hawaiian culture and identity. She had a healthy,
stable connection to her family and school environments prior to the voyage, which enabled her
to continue the trajectory towards building her knowledge set and moving her forward in her
own development.
Post Voyage

The E Mau voyage influenced Moana’s connections, values, and learning expectations.
The data revealed that, after the voyage, she had stronger cultural connections and
understandings related to her own identity as well as her role in perpetuating voyaging traditions.
She was grounded in Hawaiian epistemology and Indigenous knowledge, specifically, how she
viewed herself in relation to the environment—physical, emotional, spiritual, historical, and
natural. She deeply internalized the values of kuleana (responsibility/privilege) and mālama (to
care for/maintain), and viewed herself as a teacher—one who carries a responsibility to create
learning environments for others that can potentially influence lives in a positive way. She had
expectations for excellence, and great respect for the knowledge she gained while voyaging. She
also had a deep respect for her teachers and those who came before her. She made a
commitment to future generations by taking an active role in perpetuating and adding to the
knowledge she gained, and voyaging became part of her daily life.
Sixteen years after the voyage, Moana resided on the island of Oʻahu with her husband
and two children. She was a wife, a mother, a voyager, a licensed captain, and an educator. The
E Mau voyage gave her important lived experiences, which influenced her internal value system,
as well as her life choices. She carried the kuleana of passing on the voyaging knowledge she
learned, and was passionate about her role to help others by providing others with similar
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voyaging experiences, reflective of her own. The following section will present Moana’s post-
voyage perceptions related to connections, values, and learning.
Connections
Moana’s understanding of Native Hawaiian connections dealing with Hawaiian
epistemology and Indigenous knowledge increased due to the voyage experience. She was able
to build upon connections she developed during her college years, and the voyage allowed her to
deepen her understandings and internalize values that continued to influence her life. The
section below reveals her deepened connections as it relates to the themes of culture and identity,
and environment.
Culture and identity. Moana had a “deepened understanding” of herself, and her
“relationship to the environment,” to her “kūpuna (elders),” and “the practice of wayfinding.”
Her epistemology was developed further due to her voyaging experience. The voyage
“solidified” and “enhanced” her cultural understandings by giving her a “heightened awareness”
and concrete connections to cultural beliefs. The voyage influenced her perceptions, thoughts,
feelings, and how she made connections long after the actual experience. The data revealed her
extreme awareness to concepts presented in Hawaiian epistemology section of chapter two. She
shared connections to spirituality, the environment, nature of the senses, and the purpose and
value of knowledge, and her role in passing the knowledge on to future generations (Meyer,
1998; Meyer, 2001; Meyer, 2003). The following quotation described her heightened awareness
of these epistemological concepts and was reflective of her voyage experience:
The intensity…well, in the space, it’s a variety of things, right. It’s that intensity to be
prepared. You’re in the natural environment. You’re at the mercy of the sea. We are
just these little, you know, little people on this big ocean. In order for us all to survive
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and make it…get home…we have to work together. So that’s like, in a physical sense,
right. Like we just have to physically get this waʻa, or this ship, from where we going to
where we going, and back. So it’s the physical-ness of it. Which means, you gotta do
your job, you gotta steer straight, you gotta go check the engine, or whatever, clean the
toilet, cook the food, do the dishes…it’s the same thing. So that’s the physical side. And
then, on the spiritual side, we creating that space to allow opportunities for people to
connect to the environment, to connect to the kūpuna, to connect to the ancestors…I
mean, sounds hokey, but you know, to connect to the akua. So we create that space yeah.
And then we create the emotional space where transformation can take place on an
individual level. Where people can become leaders. Well, emotional, like they can get in
touch with their feelings…be able to express themselves. Go through the ups and downs
of a voyage. Of being extremely uncomfortable, to being super stoked and happy, so
exhausted you can barely function…you know, all those highs and lows that happen in
voyages, you know…tired, you like give up, you piss off at the guy next to you cause
they’re slacking. To go through all of that…be able to process through all those emotions
that happen. And so that’s the space that I try and create.
This quotation is evidence of Moana’s internalization of the voyage, and the knowledge that the
voyage intended to impart on its participants. The “space” she described was a reflection of
what she herself experienced, and showed her perspective was actually influenced by the voyage.
She acknowledged her training, and the intensity and expectation to always be prepared. She
spoke about elements of survival, and the need to work together, highlighting the influence of the
value of laulima (to work together). She referred to the physical nature of sailing, and the value
of mālama (to care for) that was needed to reach a destination. She explained a connection to
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ancestors, kūpuna, and the need to transform and eventually become leaders. She commented on
the functionality and real life applications of her experience, and the process in which all of these
connections are made as embedded in the voyage experience. She internalized all of these
elements, and it became infused in her identity. She viewed herself as a teacher, and strived to
create a “space” where she could replicate similar voyaging experiences for others in hopes they
would be able to make their own connections. She took responsibility to create opportunities for
others to build physical, emotional, and spiritual relationships between themselves and the
environment.
Moana was more “experienced” and knowledgeable, and she hoped to “influence young
people” so that they could navigate their way to a better future. She saw the “potential in the
canoe” and saw herself as playing an important role in providing youth with opportunities to
learn voyaging knowledge and skills, which included making connections to the epistemological
concepts noted earlier. She saw a relation between using education as a tool to further success in
the future. This was very likely instilled while she was growing up, as education and hard work
stemmed from home. The voyage increased her desire to help others experience the value in the
lessons of the canoe, and she wanted to “influence young people to work in the industry, so they
can do something that they love, and also, something that will pay their bills so that they can live
in Hawaiʻi.” Moana took an active role in promoting future success in the youth of Hawaiʻi
through teaching voyaging. Moana’s identity was influenced by the voyage and was part of her
daily life. She recognized the concepts, knowledge, and values she gained through her voyaging
experience, and believed it could benefit others, and be a positive influence on their futures.
Environment. Data showed that the voyage environment’s biggest influence on Moana
were the teachers and elders associated with the canoe. She referred to those people as the
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“common denominators” that linked the crew together as well as the larger canoe family. She
connected with these teachers and elders because of their “level of intensity and demand of
excellence.” She credited them for giving Makaliʻi a reputation in the voyaging community as
having a “really solid foundation.” Her connection to these influential people gave Moana a
strong foundation and reinforced the need to be one who then creates a strong foundation for
others while always striving for excellence.
The voyage environment influenced Moana’s desire to “learn and do more” related to
voyaging. She wanted to “learn more about voyaging” and the canoe environment provided an
example of how to live. She described the canoe as a “great reflection of how to be with others,
and to be with yourself, and to be with the environment.” Her epistemological development was
influenced by her voyaging experiences, and the canoe environment was the focal point of the
connections made between physical and spiritual space.
Moana described her perspective on the canoe environment, and the potential it had to
benefit others:
I think the canoe and everything that comes with it, can provide direction, connections,
and can help others advance themselves forward, in whatever way. So whether it’s one
experience that someone may have, that then helps them, you know, in the future. Or if
it’s many experiences, you know, that we have, or others have, or students have when
they come…that can help to influence them in the future. I think that, yeah…I mean,
that’s why we’re doing it. I mean, that’s why Cap did it, because he wanted the canoe to
help others. And a place for us to…a place for people to practice their culture, right, I
mean…and to be free.
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This shows how Moana viewed the canoe environment, and her perspective on the potential to
provide future advancement. It is evidence of Moana taking ownership in her role to carry forth
what she learned and actually provide a space for others to experience the connections she
referred to. Moana connected the canoe to the future. She saw potential in the canoe’s influence
on others because she experienced it herself. The influence of her teachers was also presented in
this example, and her reference to “why we’re doing it” reflected her understanding of the value
of knowledge transferal from one generation to the next. She no longer saw herself as a student.
She was the teacher who was responsible to carry forth the traditions, which is consistent with
the Indigenous teaching and learning, and Hawaiian epistemology, because it emphasized the
continuation of the knowledge into the future.
Values
Post voyage, Moana reflected on the values of kuleana (responsibility/privilege), mālama
(to care for/maintain), and hōʻihi (respect), and showed how these values were internalized.
These three values really work together, and cannot truly be separated from each other.
Kuleana. Moana felt a deep sense of kuleana (responsibility/privilege) to carry on
voyaging traditions and values, and pass them on to future generations. As she reflected what
kuleana meant to her, tears swelled up in her eyes, and she was emotional because she had
internalized this value to the core. As she described her kuleana (responsibility/privilege), she
pointed to the canoe in front of her. That was her kuleana (responsibility). She said the “keiki
(children) and Mau’s family” were her kuleana (responsibility). She referenced her captain as a
major influence on why she internalized a deep sense of kuleana (responsibility). She learned by
example. She learned by watching and mimicking her teachers. Cap taught her by example—to
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give back and to honor those who came before her. She shared how Cap wanted to honor Mau
by sailing him home to Satawal:
But he wanted to really mahalo Mau, you know, for teaching his brother, and for making
Makaliʻi happen, and all of that. So that sense of giving back, like you said, I think was
always part of what we…we…that’s what we were brought up. We were brought up in
that part of the history…where giving back was what we did. We did that, right. Cause
when we sailed Mau home in ʻ99, that was the first time, over 20 years, almost 25 years,
that this man had shared, and basically saved us as Hawaiians…to be honored in his own
ʻāina…in front of his own people. So we were raised in that time of being a part of that.
So I don’t know…that just seems that’s what we supposed to do.
This is evidence of Moana’s understanding of the connection between past, present, and future as
it related to kuleana (responsibility/privilege). Similar to experiences identified in Low (2013),
she went through the phases of learning—observe, practice, and show. She was in the third
phase of the process. She understood the connection and example set by Cap, and she followed
suit. True to Indigenous learning, in a cyclical manner of teacher-student-teacher, Moana saw
herself as holding the kuleana (responsibility) to ensure the perpetuation of voyaging culture.
Mālama. Moana was influenced by the voyage to mālama (care for) the knowledge
itself. Moana found value in maintaining and perpetuating voyaging knowledge. Influenced by
her teacher once again, and she internalized the value of mālama (to care for/maintain) and
viewed it as going hand in hand with the value of kuleana (responsibility/privilege). She shared
her perspective of mālama (to care for/maintain), and her role in carrying on what she learned by
the example set by her teachers:
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I think his dream was for Makaliʻi…to keep Makaliʻi going. He always would say that,
right…keep the dream alive. So it’s easy to dream the dream, and yes, you can make it
come true. But to keep the dream alive is the hardest thing to do. And he wanted to
make sure that Makaliʻi would live past his lifetime. And he would always say, I not
going be here forever. Yeah, he wasn’t kidding. He didn’t last too long after that. But to
keep that dream alive, and then, his commitment to Mau…because he was probably the
most…at least from my perspective, the one person that was most committed to him—to
Mau the person. And, to actually taking care of him. So just trying to…I guess, lead
from that. Take from that example, and try and continue where he left off.
Moana internalized the value of mālama (to care for/maintain), and saw herself as a link in the
continuum of voyaging knowledge. This example validated and complimented her understanding
of her role and kuleana (responsibility) that she carried.
Hōʻihi. Moana internalized a profound respect for her teachers, as well as voyaging
knowledge. She made meaning of the connections and relationships encompassed in the canoe,
and placed herself as an active participant in the perpetuation and maintenance of voyaging
traditions. Similar to the values of kuleana (responsibility) and mālama (care for/maintain), she
understood that the E Mau voyage took place because of the deep respect Cap had for Mau. The
value of hōʻihi (respect) was exemplified through the E Mau voyage, and she understood that
sailing Mau home was the highest form of respect they could show him for all he had given the
Hawaiian people in the form of voyaging knowledge. Moana’s thoughts on hōʻihi (respect) was
simple and concise:
I think just to respect the knowledge, and the relationships that make it all happen…and
the opportunities. Cause it wasn’t easy I guess.
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Moana was given the opportunity to learn. She was influenced by the values her voyaging
experience taught her. She accepted her own role in teaching the values of kuleana
(responsibility), mālama (to care for/maintain), and hōʻihi (respect) to others through honoring
and caring for the voyaging knowledge she was given, by passing it on to others.
Learning
Moana connected with the learning environment of the canoe because it provided
structure, demanded excellence, and had a level of intensity that she aligned with and
appreciated. She was influenced by the Indigenous learning process and learned through
example. The following section presents data related to her post voyage perspectives on learning
related to the following two themes: experience and process, and teacher and student roles.
Experience and process. The voyage experience influenced Moana’s learning process
by giving her an example of an “indigenous way of knowing.” Through her learning from Mau,
she was able to experience an Indigenous learning process. She learned by example, through
observation, was able to practice what was learned, and showed what she learned by teaching
others—a reciprocal and cyclical relationship to learning.
The voyage influenced her understanding that learning meant being able to perform. She
compared her learning experience on the voyage with the learning environment she had during
her formative years, as the two were distinctly different. The voyage influenced her views on
learning, with the biggest difference in learning environment, being the connection to knowledge
and application. As Meyer (2001) suggests, emphasis is placed on utility and knowledge, and
value was tied to applicable knowledge. Her experiences learning on the canoe had direct
implications and application. This differed from how she learned growing up. She explained
and compared the differences in her learning experiences:
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No, different because when you’re voyaging, everything is right there. It’s immediate.
So if you tie the rope/the line wrong…then someone could get hurt. So your learning
process and your performance of that learning has more immediate affects than learning
something else, like whatever…physical science, or history, or algebra. All those things
are important, but when you’re on the canoe, if you don’t learn something to mastery,
then the affects can be very dire. So it’s real world learning. It’s like your ability to do
something correct…the other fifteen people with you…can affect them either, obviously
in a good way, or it can be in a very bad, negative way. So, the learning is more intense.
The learning is more like immediate. Right. Like if you going be one shitty steersman,
and you not going stay on course, then you going make it hard on the navigator…or
you’re never gonna get to your island. So, your performance has an immediate cause and
effect, vs learning in the classroom. At least the way…the classrooms that I were in at
that time…you know, whatever. You flunk your spelling test, well…it’s not gonna effect
the guy next to you, or cause something bad to happen. So it’s a different type of
learning.
This is an example of the type of learning she referred to as “indigenous.” Meyer (2001) would
agree that her perspective of Indigenous knowledge meant it was functional and applicable and
connected to real world situations. Her learning experience served as a model for her as she
carried on the voyaging traditions and influenced her own teaching style to maintain continuity
in the knowledge that she passed on.
Teacher and student roles. The voyage influenced Moana’s role, and her shift from
student to teacher. She internalized the values of kuleana (responsibility), mālama (to care for),
and hōʻihi (respect), and the lessons learned on the voyage influenced her life choices. She saw
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herself as a teacher. She took responsibility for the learning experiences of others. If her
expectations were not met, she also took responsibility for not teaching well enough. And she
took responsibility as a teacher to train or re-train students so that the knowledge was transferred
and carried on according to her standards. She commented that although frustrating at times, she
recognized that she “didn’t show them enough” and she “gotta go back, and train them.” The
influence of the voyage was demonstrated in her standards and kuleana (responsibility) in
teaching. She was part of a continuum, and she found importance in passing on the knowledge
as she was taught, with the same level of high expectations demanded when she was in the
student role.
Conclusion
Moana’s voyage influenced the course of her life. She internalized the value of kuleana
(responsibility), and viewed herself as a teacher, carrying voyaging knowledge to future
generations. Her connection to spirituality and environment was enhanced and the voyage
solidified her cultural connections and strengthened her identity. She was a contemporary,
Native Hawaiian female voyager, armed with lived experiences, values and a skill set that guided
her as she charted the course for future generations of wayfinders.
RQ#2: How did the E Mau voyage influence what they do with their lives?
The voyage influenced Moana’s choices and actions related to her family, work, and
community life. Voyaging was part of her daily life, as she taught sailing and traditional
Hawaiian voyaging to all ages. The voyage influenced her career choice, as well as her
engagement with the community. It also influenced choices she made for her family, and the
expectations she had regarding education for her children. The voyage continued to build on the
importance of respecting the knowledge, and her role and responsibility in passing on voyaging
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traditions to future generations was evident in her life through her choices and actions. The
following section has been categorized into three sections: family, career, and community. The
data below shows evidence of the voyage’s influence on her life in these three main areas, and
how it influenced her perspective, decisions, and actions.
Family
At the time of the study, Moana was married, and had two children. They lived on the
island of Oʻahu. Both children attended private school, and were in elementary grades. Moana’s
voyaging experience strongly reinforced her expectation for excellence in all things, including
her children’s education. Although Moana spent a good portion of her post-voyage life
advocating and working in Hawaiian language or Hawaiian-focused school settings, she
confronted the reality of making school choices for her own children. She emphasized the need
for excellence and related it to her canoe training. She described the decision to send their
children to a “haole” school because the Hawaiian-focused schools available to them at the time
were not up to her standards. She said, “So, we sent them to…their first opportunity to go into
school system…they had to go to haole school…because the Hawaiian school wasn’t acceptable
to us.” As this statement suggests, Moana had internal conflict while making decisions for her
children related to education. She said that her children “had to go to a haole school” not
because it was what she wanted but because the alternative “wasn’t acceptable” to her. This was
not her preference. It was a compromise. She helped to build some of the Hawaiian-focused
schools, yet, when it was time for her own children to attend school, she chose to send them to
haole (American/English) school because of her high demands and expectation for excellence.
Her past experience of going to private school and having a close connection with her own
school environment, coupled with the lessons of high standards set from the canoe, influenced
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her decision to send both of her children to private schools rather than public Hawaiian
immersion or Hawaiian-focused charter schools. It was an internal tension that she faced as she
contemplated the outcomes for her children. She had a desire for her children to be able to speak
Hawaiian, which they would be able to do if they attended an immersion school. Yet, she sent
them to English speaking schools because she felt it was the right decision for her family,
knowing that their educational choices would put their children on a certain type of life path.
She explained:
But, I just…I don’t know. I don’t know if it would have worked for my kids. I don’t
think we’ll ever know, right. Like it’s a hard decision to make when it’s your own
children. But, where I would love for them to ʻōlelo, and I would love for them to do
that, I don’t know…I don’t know if it’s the right decision or not. It’s a decision we made,
so now we’re on this path…it’s almost like you cannot turn back, right. You cannot go
from haole school, and then go into immersion, or into charter…or I don’t know…it’s not
likely to go that way.
Even after this decision though, she remained ambivalent. She was unsure if their decision had
been right or wrong, yet remained committed to the path, and for her, there was no turning back.
This is connected to voyaging, as one prepared for a voyage, the decision to go was made, and
there was no turning back until destination was reached or goal was achieved. Voyaging
influenced the decisions she made for her family by strengthening her expectation for excellence
and having her own standards which she deemed important. Prior to the voyage, she was
accustomed to high expectations as her family instilled the value of education in her. She further
defined excellence as being rigorous, structured, and everything related to excellence similar to
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what she aligned with in her school environment, and also in line with what the canoe taught her,
as she reflected on her decision to not send her child to a Hawaiian school:
It wasn’t rigorous enough, it wasn’t structured enough, it wasn’t like…kūlia. It has to be
excellent. And if we can’t get excellence, then we going go look somewhere else. And I
guess maybe that relates to the canoe. On the canoe, everything has to be…everything
gotta be on. Cannot be half-half. You don’t wanna be in the middle of the ocean with
one canoe that was built by someone who just says, oh that’s good enough. Cause good
enough is not good enough out there. It has to be excellence.
Her expectations for educational excellence—as she defined, outweighed the potential
opportunities for her children to be in a culturally Hawaiian school environment. Instead, Moana
was aware of the importance of making cultural connections for her children, and was conscious
of her responsibility to make those opportunities available to her children. Due to daily
responsibilities, it was difficult to manage her roles as a mother, wife, educator, and captain. She
commented on the busyness of life, but also remained aware that she had to create opportunities
for her children to experience the lessons of the canoe:
I think it’s just the busy-ness. Life. School. Work. Going here and there. You know,
just trying to do. Just trying to get through it...get through the day, get through life. But,
I think giving our kids more opportunity to interact with the canoes. So then, it’s like,
you know…it’s just comfortable to them. So they get it, like, way before we got it, right.
So then they’re just kind of growing up with it.
Moana surrounded her children with canoe life, as a natural part of their world. Her children
were exposed to seeing their mother teach, to seeing other people come to learn about the canoes
at their house, and to being able to see and touch the canoe itself regularly. Moana made a
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conscious effort to connect her children with the canoe, and was “trying to develop some kind of
summer program for our own kids…cause we work with everybody else’s kids.” The program
she was developing with a fellow female crewmember, was to give their own children
opportunities to make cultural connections and strengthen their own Native identity. The
influence of the canoe was to be a focal point of their program development. Moana shared her
thoughts on why she felt it was important to give her children these learning opportunities:
When I work with kids that are the same age as my kids, I go like…gosh, did I teach my
kids how to do this? It’s like, oh shit, I better go home and make sure they know how to
tie their bowline. It’s like, you almost forget, right…to make sure they’re learning those
things…in addition to whatever else they’re doing. Especially since my kids go haole
school.
The lessons of the canoe were important to Moana. She took responsibility in passing on
voyaging knowledge to others on a weekly basis, and emphasized the need to teach her own
children that same knowledge set. She faced real struggles as her family had competing needs,
and her ability to attend to everyone’s needs meant being mindful of what she wanted to pass on
to her own children. She recognized her own role as a teacher in her family, and took action to
fulfill her role as a teacher of voyaging traditions.
Career
The voyage influenced Moana’s career path, by setting her on a course to learn more
about voyaging, which led to her becoming a licensed captain, and an educator of traditional
Hawaiian sailing. She was instrumental in creating a voyaging program for a Hawaiian charter
school, and was leading a newly formed voyaging academy for youth to learn about the maritime
industry. The voyage influenced her role as a teacher, and she created learning opportunities for
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people of all ages to experience and connect to the environment physically, spiritually, and
emotionally, through the programs she conducted. The following section showed the influence
of the voyage on her career through the following categories: connections, influences, and
learning and teaching.
Connections. Moana became involved with a Hawaiian charter school, and created a
voyaging program and curriculum for the students of that school. A sailing canoe was built and
used as a floating classroom. The canoe was blessed and launched at Kualoa—the same place
Hōkūleʻa was launched in 1975. Moana wanted to connect to the canoe’s moʻokūʻauhau
(genealogy), and the significance of launching the canoe at Kualoa was to ensure the connection
between canoes—a familial bond between vessels. Acknowledging Makaliʻi as the “Mama
(mother)” and Hōkūleʻa as the “Tūtū (grandparent).” She made sure to connect the canoe to its
history by blessing and launching the canoe at Kualoa:
And we wanted…I wanted to make sure the canoe was part of that moʻokūʻauhau from
the very beginning…from the blessing. That would be what would tie this whole thing
into the history. Since that’s where Hōkūleʻa was launched, in 1975.
Her understanding that the canoe was part of a lineage was evident in this example. The voyage
influenced her connections and in turn, guided her actions and purpose related to the new canoe,
ensuring that the canoe would be connected to the place and history of Kualoa as it related to
voyaging. Moana understood the canoe’s genealogical connection to Hōkūleʻa’s history as well
as the significant place at Kualoa, and is an example of Meyer’s (2001) point that the continuity
of knowledge is specifically connected to environment and history. By blessing and launching
the canoe at that site, she ensured the canoe’s connection to both history and place, connecting
the relationship for future generations.
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Moana was the director of a formal voyaging academy for youth to learn about the
maritime industry, and to experience voyaging culture. Her own voyaging experience influenced
her value system, and her desire to connect others with similar experiences in order to connect
with the environment. She linked voyaging experiences with fostering positive outcomes, and
she tried to provide opportunities for young people to make connections for themselves. Her
life experiences prior to the voyage prepared her to strengthen her Native identity and
connections to her culture, and the voyage allowed her to expand those connections and take it to
another level post-voyage. She hoped her students would be “culturally grounded” and
“culturally competent,” and she guided them to navigate their own lives.
Moana’s voyage influenced all aspects of her career, and she executed the programs she
conducted in a reflective manner, honoring her own experiences, while taking it to “another
level.” She acknowledged her teachers and past experiences with voyaging, and commented that
she wanted to take the experiences she had with voyaging, and “be able to replicate that for more
people.” She was doing just that in her career, and was expanding her reach through the sailing
programs she was creating and developing at the time of the study.
Influences. Moana acknowledged her captain as an influential person in her voyaging
experience. The creation of a formal voyaging academy was in part due to his influence. She
saw the canoe as vehicle to positively influence people because it had the potential to provide
direction, and could help people advance in their lives. As she continued to develop the
voyaging academy for youth, she was grounded in the influence and connection to the canoe:
I think the canoe and everything that comes with it, can provide direction, connections,
and can help others advance themselves forward, in whatever way. So whether it’s one
experience that someone may have, that then helps them, you know, in the future. Or if
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it’s many experiences, you know, that we have, or others have, or students have when
they come…that can help to influence them in the future. I think that, yeah…I mean,
that’s why we’re doing it. I mean, that’s why Cap did it, because he wanted the canoe to
help others. And a place for us to…a place for people to practice their culture, right, I
mean…and to be free.
This is evidence of the influence Cap had on Moana’s choices and decision to carry on his
dream. She honored her teacher by incorporating his desire for the canoe to help people, similar
to how Cap chose to honor Mau by sailing him home. The cyclical nature of learning, the
influence of Indigenous knowledge, and the values that influenced Moana came full circle,
through her actions.
Learning and teaching. The voyage influenced Moana’s approach to teaching and
learning. High standards and a demand for excellence were instilled through her training with
Makaliʻi. Therefore, when it was time for her floating classroom to be built, she made sure to
obtain her captain’s license. Although not a requirement, she created a standard of excellence
for herself and the organization with which she worked. In doing so, she aligned with her
training, and incorporated the same level of excellence in her work. She shared her thoughts on
this:
I wanted to make sure that I had the license, even though it’s not required, because we
wanted to keep that level of professionalism. Yeah, nobody told us that. It was just a
rule that I made up. A standard. That was a standard that I made up.
This was an example of how her voyaging training encouraged high expectations, and it was
important because it influenced her decisions to create high standards in her work. Prior to the
voyage, she valued structure and had high expectations in her school environment, but the
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voyage significantly increased her expectation for excellence. Her self-imposed standard
modeled an expectation to work hard and commit to the profession, and was in alignment with
her perspective that everything needed to be excellent.
The approach Moana took toward teaching voyaging skills to others also ensured the
continuity and maintenance of knowledge when the transferal of knowledge took place. She
shared that when teaching others about voyaging, she shared the stories of her teachers, and she
tried to conduct her lessons similar to how she herself learned. This reflects the cyclical nature
of the learning process. She shared her thoughts on her approach to teaching:
Sharing the canoe, sharing the knowledge…things we learned. I try to keep it as close to
the way we learned with Makaliʻi or with Mau. So we always teach the…mostly always
teach the Micronesian star compass first. We acknowledge where we come from…share
stories.
This is evidence of the influence of the Indigenous learning process she experienced. Moana
shared voyaging knowledge by keeping it as close to how it was taught to her. She maintained
the purity of the knowledge she passed on, and in doing so, and tried to replicate her voyaging
experiences to provide similar experiences for others to learn and make their own connections.
The cyclical nature of Indigenous learning emphasized continuity in the transference of
knowledge, and as Meyer (2001) explained, the passing of knowledge was intergenerational, and
it was important to keep the knowledge in tack to ensure that across time, place, and generation.
Community
The voyage influenced Moana’s sense of kuleana, and her desire to “give back” to the
people who taught her by teaching others and maintaining the knowledge of voyaging. She
engaged with the Micronesian community, specifically, Mau’s son who resided in Hawaiʻi at the
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time of the study. In partnering with community members, they built a traditional Micronesian
canoe—traditionally, by hand with the use of natural materials. The voyage significantly
deepened her understanding of the value of kuleana (responsibility), and it was evident in her
actions described below:
We provide educational opportunities for people of all ages, to experience the
waʻa…learn about the canoe, learn about the culture, learn about navigation, learn about
Mau. Even to most recently, our new canoe…waʻa. And I guess, our efforts to…like we
talked about earlier…but that sense of kuleana and mālama. Kuleana to the dream that
Cap started for everybody, and having a direct physical connection to that…to keeping
the dream alive, through Makaliʻi, and now Kānehūnāmoku…but also trying to take care
of Mau’s family. Through our little programs that we do, and most recently, working
with [Mau’s] son. Providing opportunities for his ʻohana that live here in Hawaiʻi, to
now practice their culture…in Hawaiʻi.
Moana’s voyaging experience influenced her desire to “give back” to her teachers, and to Mau,
by incorporating a way to care for Mau’s family as well. Her actions of connecting with Mau’s
son, and the community, resulted in the building of single-hull sailing canoe. In doing so,
voyaging knowledge was transferred in the process, and more people were provided
opportunities to connect with cultural practices and Indigenous learning environments.
Voyaging influenced her life passions, her motivation, her actions, and her perspective,
building on these things that were being developed prior to her participation on the voyage. She
explained how she wanted to give others in the community, connections and experiences similar
to the ones she experienced while voyaging. She found value in the canoe, and the potential it
had to positively influence others. She explained:
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In the sense of giving back. And then two, like the potential. There’s so much potential
in it…in the canoe…in the image of the canoe. And because I love it. I just wanna sail, I
wanna teach sailing, I want to be on the water. Hopefully influence young people to
work in the industry, so they can do something that they love, and also, something that
will pay their bills so that they can live in Hawaiʻi.
This quotation is an example of the love and commitment she had to voyaging, and the desire she
had to positively influence future voyagers. She looked toward the future, and how she could
play a role in providing opportunities for young people to continue to thrive in Hawaiʻi.
Conclusion
The voyage strongly influenced her connections, her perspective, and ultimately, the
actions and decisions she made in regards to passing the knowledge forward. It influenced the
decisions she made for her family, the choices she made for her career, and the actions she
carried out with the community. In some ways, her voyage experience was an extension of who
she was pre-voyage, and in some ways, her perspective and actions were a direct result of her
voyage experience. Voyaging was her passion and her kuleana (responsibility), and became her
life’s work.
RQ#3: How did the approach E Mau took to preparing them for the voyage shape how
and what they learned?
The approach used to prepare for the E Mau voyage included the three phases of
Indigenous learning in a voyaging context, as evidenced in Low (2013): observation and
acquisition, practice and application, and demonstration and evaluation. Moana learned through
observation, practice, and showed her mastery of skills by teaching others. Her teachers
modeled high expectations and she aligned with the structure and level of intensity included in
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training and preparing. This was reflective of her alignment with structure during her school
years, as she was drawn to teachers who were specific and structured, as she felt it was easy
because expectations were clear. Her voyage preparation included connecting with the natural
environment, often learning on-site at places relevant to voyaging. She also internalized a value
system integrated with voyaging concepts, and related it to the responsibility she carried in her
role as a teacher long after the voyage. This section examines the data as it related to how and
what Moana learned while preparing for the E Mau voyage. The two themes that emerged from
the data are labeled as the learning process, and learning outcomes.
Learning Process
Preparations and training for the E Mau voyage were consistent with Indigenous learning,
in that it involved observation, practice, and showing what was learned by doing it, applying it to
real life, or by teaching others. Moana’s learning process was categorized into three themes:
learning phases—related to how she learned, influences and perspectives—related to individuals
who influenced how she learned, and the environment—related to where she learned, and the
connection to place as part of the learning process.
Learning phases. Moana learned voyaging skills and concepts mainly by observing her
teachers or older crewmembers, then practicing and applying what was learned, and eventually,
showing mastery of skills through functional application or through teaching others. Meyer
(2001) would agree that knowledge that had value was passed on. Skills acquired were
respected, maintained, and cared for by ensuring the knowledge itself got passed forward. She
experienced the responsibility of teaching others as it was expected during her college years as
she developed connections with her Hawaiian identity, and the voyage reinforced those same
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expectations to learn, apply, and pass on by teaching others as part of the process. Moana
commented on those values and the three phases of learning in the following quotation:
Most of it was watching the older crewmembers...and explaining it. Or watching them do
it, and then us doing it. And then them letting us younger ones, or new ones…you
know…repeat it after them or whatever. We used to do lots of drills right there on the
dock. We also learned by having to teach others…so there as you know, thousands of
school kids that came through the program…through Makaliʻi from 1995 until we left on
the voyage. And so, if you were down there that day, then you were basically, teaching.
You would end up teaching them.
Her experience reflects Low’s (2013) articulation of Indigenous learning in that she engaged in
each of the three phases, observation, application, and evaluation.
The data revealed the importance of observation as a critical element in the learning
process. Through observation, one can learn skills, mannerisms, values, and incorporate that into
their approach and transfer those elements into other parts of life, as Meyer (2001) supports the
importance of increased awareness in knowledge transference. Moana shared how she observed
Mau, and what types of behaviors she considered as learning by watching him:
It was like, just watching him do…like even the little things…like he would sit in his
hole, and he would just um, you know…like organize his things…he would make fishing
lure. He had like a straw hat that had puka, so he would just sit patiently in there and sew
it back together. Just watching him, how he ate, and how he drank…just really
small…like take time…like nothing is rushed.
Through observation, the learning process for Moana was constant, as her teachers taught by
example, by their actions, by their demeanor and their approach to everything around them. She
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recognized that Mau was “very purposeful” in his actions. The learning process to prepare for
the voyage was purposeful and the phases of learning—observe, practice, and show—were
evident, and was an extension of prior life experiences.
Influences and perspectives. The voyage preparation involved high expectations and a
demand for excellence as instilled by Cap. Along with high standards in the acquisition and
execution of sailing skills, Moana learned that more knowledge was received when more
initiative was taken to learn. She aligned with Cap’s intense demeanor, and his influence and
perspective on learning carried over into Moana’s understanding, and was consistent with who
she was prior to the voyage. She shared how the voyage preparation shaped her desire to take
more initiative, so that she would acquire more knowledge and thus, be given more
responsibility, which she viewed as a privilege:
The more initiative…the more potential you show I guess…the more you’re gonna get.
Like even from Uncle Shorty, it was the same way. Like, he not going just talk to
anybody. So with Cap, it’s like, because he was so intense, everyone was scared…we
were all kind of scared of him to an extent, right. But the more that you pleased him…I
don’t know if that’s the right…you know what I mean. It’s like the more you were able
to give, the more you got. And then you just you know…and then it just kind of kept
going like that. Yeah, you just got more. More recognition, more opportunity, more
responsibility…you know, you just got more.
This is evidence that she believed that when one showed initiative, one received more
knowledge. With that, also came more responsibility. Moana’s training increased her desire to
want to learn more, and she was given opportunities to learn more and do more as a result of her
own initiative, a trait she already had prior to the voyage. She learned more than sailing skills.
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Cap taught her how to be prepared. He helped to shape how and what she learned by his
intensity and expectations of the crew. She described Cap’s influence on her learning:
It was like…where’s your knife? Where’s your flashlight? Could be the middle of the
fricken day…he’s like where’s your flashlight? And if you didn’t have it…he would
scowl and like waddle away.
This quotation shows the importance of establishing expectations as a teacher. Her teachers
modeled their expectations. They expected purpose and excellence. She understood,
internalized, aligned with those expectations, and all of that influenced and shaped her learning.
Environment. The voyage preparation included places and connections to the natural
environment. Learning was functional and applicable. Learning did not take place in a typical
classroom. Moana learned voyaging knowledge through physically going to important places
that served a purpose. For example, the crew would visit Pololū to “watch the sunrise,” and
observe the colors of the sky to learn about weather and its relationship to voyaging. They
gathered at Māhukona, where their crew house was located, and also home to a navigational
heiau (place of worship/shrine). They spent much time on Makaliʻi herself, and at the harbor at
Kawaihae to practice drills and prepare for the voyage. The connection between the learning
environment and voyaging meant strengthening one’s understanding of the importance between
people and place. This type of learning was supportive of Meyer’s (2003) Hawaiian
epistemology concepts related to the belief that knowledge needed to be experienced with
environment, not separate from it. Also, Meyer’s (2001) contention of utility and knowledge—
that value was placed on knowledge when it had function and purpose.

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Learning Outcomes
Learning outcomes identified in this section are those specific examples of what Moana
learned while preparing for the voyage. Her experience during voyage preparation expanded her
understanding of the importance of relationships, respect, trust, and her role to mālama (care
for/maintain) the knowledge she learned, and her kuleana (responsibility) in passing that
knowledge forward to future generations. Moana’s preparation for the E Mau voyage shaped
what she learned, resulting in learning outcomes, shown through the data presented below.
Moana learned the importance of mastering skills, and the cause and effect that one’s
actions could have on others. Learning was immediate and one’s skill level had positive or
negative consequences:
…if you don’t learn something to mastery, then the affects can be very dire. So it’s real
world learning. It’s like your ability to do something correct…the other fifteen people
with you…can affect them either, obviously in a good way, or it can be in a very bad,
negative way. So, your performance has an immediate cause and effect.
This is evidence that Moana believed that knowledge she learned was functional and applicable
to real world situations. The importance of mastering skills and accurately executing them was
directly tied to survival. Learning was not simply the acquisition of knowledge, but rather,
knowledge possessed value when it had function.
Moana continued to develop the values of hōʻihi (respect), mālama (to care for), and
hilinaʻi (trust), which she learned more about as she connected with her Native Hawaiian
identity, as well as at home and school while she was growing up. She learned to respect the
knowledge itself, and to take care of the canoe. She also learned to care for the knowledge itself
so that it would be maintained and passed forward. She learned the importance of trust, and the
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relationship between fellow crew and captains, as trust was a core component. The value that
was most strengthened by the voyage experience was Moana’s sense of kuleana (responsibility,
privilege). She felt a huge responsibility to “give back” and to acknowledge those who had gone
before her in regards to voyaging knowledge and history. She recognized that her participation
in the E Mau voyage shaped her belief and strengthened her connection with the value of kuleana
(responsibility/privilege). Although she had complete gratitude to her past teachers during her
childhood and college years, she especially felt a responsibility to give back to Mau and her
voyaging teachers. She shared her thoughts:
You gotta give back. Right. So that sense of giving back, like you said, I think was
always part of what we…we…that’s what we were brought up. We were brought up in
that part of the history…where giving back was what we did. We did that, right. Cause
when we sailed Mau home in ʻ99, that was the first time, over 20 years, almost 25 years,
that this man had shared, and basically saved us as Hawaiians…to be honored in his own
ʻāina…in front of his own people. So we were raised in that time of being a part of that.
So I don’t know…that just seems that’s what we supposed to do.
This is evidence of her internalization of the value of kuleana (responsibility). It was a natural
continuum for her to carry on what was started. Moana carried the responsibility to teach
voyaging to others. Her learning experiences gave her a strong foundation in voyaging, and she
had a strong desire to replicate her experiences and give others the opportunity to have similar
experiences. She saw herself as a teacher, and said, “cause now, I’m in charge of creating the
space, right, in my work.” She acknowledged her teachers—Cap, Shorty, Chadd, Mau—as the
ones who created the “space” for her to absorb the concepts, skills, and values in which she made
connections which further deepened her understanding of her role in life and influenced her
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career path. To summarize what she learned during her voyage preparation, the following
quotation culminated her learning outcomes, as she described the space that she was able to
create for others as part of her kuleana (responsibility) to give others opportunities to experience
what she did:
It’s all of that. The intensity…well, in the space, it’s a variety of things, right. It’s that
intensity to be prepared. You’re in the natural environment. You’re at the mercy of the
sea. We are just these little, you know, little people on this big ocean. In order for us all
to survive and make it…get home…we have to work together. So that’s like, in a
physical sense, right. Like we just have to physically get this waʻa, or this ship, from
where we going to where we going, and back. So it’s the physical-ness of it. Which
means, you gotta do your job, you gotta steer straight, you gotta go check the engine, or
whatever, clean the toilet, cook the food, do the dishes…it’s the same thing. So that’s the
physical side. And then, on the spiritual side, we creating that space to allow
opportunities for people to connect to the environment, to connect to the kūpuna, to
connect to the ancestors…I mean, sounds hokey, but you know, to connect to the akua.
So we create that space yeah. And then we create the emotional space where
transformation can take place on an individual level. Where people can become
leaders…well…emotional, like they can get in touch with their feelings…be able to
express themselves. Go through the ups and downs of a voyage. Of being extremely
uncomfortable, to being super stoked and happy, so exhausted you can barely
function…you know, all those highs and lows that happen in voyages, you know…tired,
you like give up, you piss off at the guy next to you cause they’re slacking. To go
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through all of that…be able to process through all those emotions that happen. And so
that’s the space that I try and create.
Here Moana explored the layers of connections she was able to make as a result of her learning
and voyaging experiences. She was able to articulate clear connections of how voyaging related
to physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of one’s being. She found value in what she learned,
and felt it was applicable and worth continuing.
Conclusion
The voyage shaped how Moana learned by allowing her to experience people and places
specific to the acquisition of voyaging knowledge. She experienced the Indigenous learning
phases, and learned the importance of mastering skills and how they related to real life survival.
She enhanced her understanding of the values of kuleana (responsibility) and mālama (to care
for/maintain), and her teachers modeled high expectations and affirmed a sense of respect in her.
She learned that strong relationships between self and others, environment, and spirituality were
needed and she had a strong desire to carry the kuleana (responsibility) of perpetuating voyaging
knowledge to future generations.
Cross Case Analysis
This section will holistically compare and contrast the three cases in this study, using the
conceptual framework as a lens to guide the analysis. The three women in this study had a
shared experience of training for and participating in the E Mau voyage, but their life profiles,
connections, and experiences were unique to each person. The study revealed the importance
and power of their pre-voyage experiences as their formative years truly created a foundation in
which they were able to build upon. How they experienced the voyage and what happened in
their lives after the voyage was strongly tied to their foundational that was instilled in them
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during their upbringing, which included emotional, psychological, and socio-economic factors.
The data revealed the following themes that emerged across the three cases:
• Connections to home and school environments
• Connections to Hawaiian culture and identity
• Values, learning and teaching
The following will present how these themes were compared and contrasted between Kalei,
Pūlama, and Moana, according to the data provided in the study. None of the three women
actively sought out the canoe. Rather, they were led to, or arrived at the canoe because they felt
obligated, were taken there by a friend, or was just at the right place and time. The canoe
became part of all three women’s lives in an important way and affected them somehow. At the
time of the study, Kalei, Pūlama, and Moana all balanced motherhood and careers, and worked
to provide for their families.
Connections to Home and School Environments
Pūlama and Moana’s experiences and connections with home and school were very
similar. They both attended private school for grades K-12, and felt very supported at home and
school. Their families were very involved with their school environments, and they had a
positive connection and solid relationship with home and school. In contrast, Kalei attended
public school for grades K-12, and felt disconnected from her school environment for most of
her upbringing, and she felt neglected at home. She lacked a strong connection to her home and
school environments. Although the voyage gave all three women the opportunity to connect to
the crew and canoe as family, the voyage provided Kalei with connections and relationships with
others that she did not solidify at home and school, and filled an emotional and psychological
need to connect with others. She readily accepted the familial relationships that the canoe
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experience provided her and it filled the void and gave her a strong connection to others. It gave
her a temporary remedy to her need for quality connections with the people in her environment.
Pūlama and Moana had stable relationships with others prior to their voyaging experience, and
therefore, were able to build on that and use the strength of their prior relationships to strengthen
their identities further, as the voyage was an extension of who they were becoming already.
They were both able to find empowerment through the strong female network they connected
with on Makaliʻi, and they found support and encouragement from the other women. The
women’s connection or lack of connection to their family unit is an important factor that greatly
influenced their pre- and post-voyage profiles. Pūlama and Moana had healthy attachments and
felt connected to their families, which gave them support and security and created a foundation
for them to extend beyond in their adult life. Therefore, these two women were already on a
certain trajectory when they became involved with the canoe, and had the support from their
families to pursue and develop their interests further. It was more challenging for Kalei, as she
did not have the same type of support during her upbringing, and needed others to feel that
security in order to thrive. The voyage experience provided that for her.
Connections to Hawaiian Culture and Identity
The voyage experience provided an opportunity for the three women to increase their
connection to Hawaiian culture as well as their own identity as a Native Hawaiian. Kalei was
raised with high exposure to Hawaiian culture. Although she said she was proud to be Hawaiian,
data revealed that she felt ashamed and embarrassed and did not align with or want to participate
in her culture. She had many opportunities to participate in cultural practices and protocols with
her family. Yet, she was disconnected from the way her family behaved in relation to Hawaiian
culture and identity, which limited her own Native identity development while she was growing
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up. Pūlama had some exposure to Hawaiian culture and was proud to be Native Hawaiian.
Hawaiian music and the Hawaiian language revitalization movement were her main cultural
exposures while growing up. With the support of her family, she was able to strengthen her
cultural connection as she grew and she became more involved over time during her college
years, which helped to develop her Native Hawaiian identity. Moana was totally disconnected
from Hawaiian culture and identity during her upbringing. Also in conjunction with her family,
she developed a connection with Hawaiian culture slowly and increased participation and
understanding through her college years proved to shape her Native Hawaiian identity.
The three cases showed varying degrees of cultural connection and identity development.
The voyage gave all three women an opportunity to strengthen epistemological beliefs,
especially their connections to spirituality and their ancestors. Kalei’s case proved to be a re-
connection for her, and she became accepting of her culture and came to understand and
appreciate her cultural connections. Pūluma and Moana’s cultural connections continued to
increase and develop over time and grounded them in their Native Hawaiian identity, which was
distinctly different than Kalei’s experience. Therefore, while Kalei’s voyaging experience gave
her an opportunity to accept, appreciate, and re-connect with her Hawaiian culture and identity, it
actually strengthened and solidified Pūlama’s and Moana’s cultural connections and Native
Hawaiian identity. Kalei had the most exposure to her culture while growing up, and had the
least amount of growth related to cultural connection. Moana, who had complete disconnect
from culture and identity, had the most growth over time to her Hawaiian identity. The voyage
was an experience that re-opened the cultural connection for Kalei, while it created a solid
foundation and allowed for Pūlama and Moana to further grow and develop their connections, as
it was an extension of the journey they two were already on prior to the voyage.
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Values, Learning, and Teaching
Data showed that Pūlama and Moana experienced home and school environments that
valued education, and they were both expected to perform well and succeed. They both achieved
long-term educational goals, and their families instilled an expectation to succeed in school.
Kalei felt that she did not have any expectations placed on her by her parents and questioned if
she had any expectations from her school environment. Her last year of high school gave her a
glimpse of higher education goals, and she aligned with that at the time. All three women
experienced passive learning environments for most of their elementary and high school years,
with Moana and Pūlama’s high school and college years providing them with more student-
teacher interactions and learning environments. All three cases showed their learning
environments with Makaliʻi were reflective of Indigenous learning, where student observed,
practiced, and taught others as part of the learning process. No matter what their prior
educational experience, they all aligned with that approach to learning and found value and
application in what they learned on the canoe. And in different ways, all three women had some
Indigenous learning experiences prior to going on the voyage. Kalei distanced herself from her
cultural learning experiences as she dealt with feelings of rejection and neglect from her family,
while Pūlama and Moana embraced the Indigenous learning experiences and often times sought
them out, which further developed their cultural connections.
Kalei connected with the value of laulima (to work together) during her voyage
experience, which reflected the nature of the experience for her—one that connected her to
others and filled a void she felt during her upbringing. On the other hand, Pūlama and Moana
deepened their understanding of the values of kuleana (responsibility) and mālama (to care
for/maintain) that were established in their pre-voyage life and their belief that they must pass on
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the knowledge they learned on the canoe to others. They saw their role as a teacher, or one who
was responsible for maintaining the knowledge, as they built on their pre-voyage foundation and
understanding of their individual roles. In contrast, Kalei’s voyage experience was a highlight in
her life, but she did not assume the same type of value in the knowledge she gained. She did not
view herself as a teacher or take responsibility to pass on what she learned to others in the same
way that Moana and Pūlama did. She found value in the lessons learned on the canoe, and she
wanted her own children to be able to experience that, but she looked to others to give them
those experiences. Moana and Pūlama saw themselves as the ones to give those opportunities to
others in their family and communities. Therefore, the values and learning experiences they had
together, were reflected quite differently post voyage in their perspectives and their actions.
At the time of the study, Kalei found it important to incorporate the value of laulima (to
work together) in her work setting, where she was a manager in the hotel industry. She shared
stories of her voyaging experiences with others and enjoyed teaching others about her culture
mostly through verbal interactions with others. Pūlama took an active role in the value of
mālama (to care for/maintain) and established a non-profit organization committed to teach
community how to be healthy through returning to a Hawaiian food staple. The values of
mālama (to care for) and kuleana (responsibility) were evidenced in her belief that she had a role
in uplifting the health and wellbeing of the Hawaiian community. Moana felt a deep sense of
kuleana (responsibilit) and she believed in the lessons of the canoe so much that she wanted to
replicate her experiences for others so they would benefit from the learning environment that the
canoe provided. Additionally, Moana showed a profound respect and deep commitment to her
voyaging mentors, which added to her sense of responsibility to carry forth the voyaging
knowledge and traditions.
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Pūlama and Moana both acknowledged that the more one takes initiative to learn, the
more knowledge one is given, thus more responsibility as well. The length of time the three
women spent on the voyage were different. Kalei participated in the first leg only. Therefore,
she experienced approximately three weeks of actual voyage time. Pūlama experienced the
entire voyage, approximately three months, but alternated between the canoe and escort boat.
Moana, was able to experience the entire three month voyage on board Makaliʻi. The varying
factors surrounding their upbringing, connections to home, school, and culture, also must be
recognized as part of their development in relation to values, learning, and teaching. The length
of time they spent on the voyage may also have played a role in how the women engaged in
teaching and their perspectives on maintaining voyaging knowledge and culture for future
generations. The data showed there was a connection between who they were growing up, and
how they were influenced by the voyage experience, resulting in actions and perceptions they
continued to have.
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CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION
This study explored how contemporary female voyagers of Native Hawaiian descent
experienced and acquired voyaging knowledge through the process of preparing for, and
participating in, the E Mau voyage. The study sought to answer the following three research
questions:
1. How did the E Mau voyage influence the lives of the women crewmembers?
2. How did the E Mau voyage influence what they do with their lives?
3. How did the approach E Mau took to preparing them for the voyage shape how and
what they learned?
The study used a qualitative multiple case study approach to data collection, and one unit of
analysis was one female voyager, born in the 1970s, who sailed on the E Mau voyage as a
crewmember. The study sought to examine how the women made cultural connections, and also
examined their learning process and life choices they made as a result of their voyaging
experience.
A cross-case analysis of the three case studies showed that strong connections to family
and school that were established early in life, allowed for stronger cultural connections and
identity formation to occur and develop well past the voyaging experience. All three women felt
empowered and capable post-voyage, but the women who had strong connections to their family
and school environments when they were young were heavily influenced by the voyaging
experience as adults, which resulted in their internalization of values, perspectives, and teaching
styles related to voyaging. They all deepened their cultural understandings, made connections
with the environment and spirituality, and they all believed in the value of the knowledge they
learned, and the need for it to be passed on to future generations, but did so in different ways.
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This Dissertation’s Contribution
Native Hawaiians have been historically marginalized and disconnected from their
culture, and continue to be oppressed due to colonization and the values of a Western-dominant
society. This dissertation provided qualitative data that supported and validated traditional
learning environments and Indigenous knowledge systems related to Oceanic voyaging. It
explicitly showed evidence of a non-Western approach to learning, which the women valued in
their experiences prior to the voyage, and the influence it had on the life choices and perspectives
of Native Hawaiian women voyagers. It demystified voyaging knowledge and provided
examples of lived student-teacher interactions. The dissertation shared the voices of Native
Hawaiian women who lived in contemporary times, who were influenced and connected to
Hawaiian and Western identities, and experienced blended learning environments. The
contribution this study made to the larger body of Indigenous knowledge is valuable, as it
provided an avenue in which the women’s narratives could be shared with the greater
community. It is important for Indigenous people to tell their own stories, as native voices often
go unheard in research, academia, and society (Smith, 2012).
The findings of the study showed how voyaging knowledge was embedded in values and
learning had function, application, and connection to past, present, and future generations. The
learning process was grounded in spirituality, and ensued a relationship between the natural
environment and one’s mind, body, and spirit. Teacher-student relationships had a reciprocal
element, and there was a demand for excellence and accuracy in learning. These findings
affirmed the value of Indigenous knowledge in a voyaging context, and clarified the perspective
and expectations associated with Indigenous learning environments.
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The findings of this study have potential to improve learning environments for
Indigenous student populations. It also revealed the importance of forming healthy connections
and attachments to home and school environments as a child, and the implications it has on
future growth and development of one’s identity and life choices. It presented psychological,
emotional, and socio-economic factors that emerged as being influential in the women’s stories,
and showed some of the effects of those factors on their lives. The following section will
provide implications and recommendations for educational practice, policy, and future research.
Educational Practice
The value of voyaging knowledge was exposed in this study, and provided evidence of
the holistic nature of the learning environment. It was clearly shown that Indigenous learning
fostered the relationship one had to the natural environment, and provided a space in which one
could use multiple sensors to acquire knowledge and skills. I recommend that teachers, schools,
organizations that work with Indigenous students impart pedagogy that “creates the space,” as
detailed in Moana’s case findings. This would allow students to learn skills in an environment
that would foster physical, spiritual, emotional, and intellectual growth. The inclusion of
spirituality in the learning environment offers students an opportunity to connect to ancestors,
akua (gods), and place. The use of stories as a teaching tool, as well as physical places that have
connection to what students are learning, provide an alternative approach to teaching, and allow
for increased use of multiple senses.
The study found three phases embedded in the Indigenous learning process that are often
in stark contrast to formal Western educational settings. It is not always the case that Western
settings do not have similar learning approaches, but the experiences of the women in the study
showed that their formal Western school environments lacked this type of learning process. The
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three learning phases which were identified included observation, application, and evaluation
through showing skills in real life situations. It also showed how blended learning environments
could also be advantageous, and the approach to teaching and learning instilled values. I
recommend that teachers, schools, and those who work with Indigenous students, which would
also be beneficial to all students, incorporate the three phases of learning that have been
identified, and use blended approaches and teaching tools when it would aid student learning.
The learning process should also include a reciprocal relationship between teacher and student,
and the responsibility of the student to maintain the knowledge by allowing them to pass it on
and become teachers themselves.
The study found value in Indigenous knowledge and learning. The prominent finding in
Pūlama’s case, was that she internalized the idea of “he waʻa he moku (an island is a canoe),”
which illustrated a mindset and understanding of working together for the good of all, and to
ensure sustainability and efficient use of resources. The importance of working together towards
a common goal is the main implication, and should be the driving force behind all organizations
that work with Indigenous students. Administrators and leaders of schools that serve Indigenous
populations should find value in Indigenous knowledge and learning processes in order to fully
support the needs of their students. They should also provide faculty and staff with professional
development experiences that would build their understanding of Indigenous learning
approaches, so that they would in turn, be able to empower their students to develop their own
identities and improve learning environments for students.
A main concept that emerged from the study was the need to feel connections and to have
healthy attachments. In an ideal setting, students would come from healthy family units,
providing them with the support system necessary to advance and succeed in school and life.
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For those who lack such connections, the school environment is the place to provide a support
system that would serve as a surrogate to the family unit. Counselors, teachers, school support
staff and others who work in school environments should design a support system for all students
to be able to connect to a family unit reflective of a crew on a canoe. In doing so, behaviors and
expectations along with values could be instilled and students would have opportunities to form
healthy connections to a larger collective group, giving them a sense of family.
Educational Policy
In order for schools to have the opportunity to create learning environments conducive
for Indigenous students, the barriers and parameters that exist need to be removed to allow the
necessary changes in the school settings. The confines of the school classroom are limited, and
the exclusion of spiritual connections is counteractive to Indigenous learning environments.
Policies must be implemented to allow educational settings the means and ability to create
connections with the natural environment that include spiritual connections as part of learning.
Evaluation methods in the Indigenous learning process involve real life application of
skills, and relate to a bigger purpose. The evaluation methods imparted on Indigenous students
often contradict this, and policy makers continue to treat Indigenous populations as inferior to
dominant Western constructs in educational settings. I recommend lawmakers create policies
that support and validate Indigenous knowledge so that it is inclusive of Indigenous methods of
evaluation. Standardized tests continue to be the dominant form of measurement and evaluation
of student progress and are problematic for students, and tends to de-value Indigenous
knowledge.
Students would benefit if support systems were in place at schools to foster a sense of
family and accountability. Every student must have their basic needs met before they can
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achieve in school. I recommend that policy makers create policies that would create supportive
social-emotional environments at schools, including but not limited to providing resources for
outreach counselors, and team building staff, and other needs that would provide schools with
the tools necessary to create solid foundations for students.
Future Research
This study had a narrow focus, as it was specific to Oceanic voyaging knowledge, and
was isolated to one voyage in particular. It would be beneficial to expand future studies to
include other voyages, and other forms of Indigenous knowledge transference, in order to be able
to make generalizations related to some of the findings of this study. Also, the sample size of
this study was limited to three individuals. Further study could expand the sample size to
include all the women participants, as well as the men who participated.
In the findings, the women’s connection with others were identified as a possible source
of stability and potential factor in life outcomes. It would be beneficial to conduct further
research that linked psychological factors of being connected to others, and the impact it had on
future life perspectives and connectivity with self and others. This study did not isolate the many
layers and complexities that were possible influencers on the women’s lives. Future studies
could disaggregate those factors to better link influencers and life outcomes.
Conclusion
This study explored a traditional knowledge system through the lived experiences of
Native Hawaiian female voyagers. Their learning experiences gave insight into the Indigenous
learning process, and provided findings that showed the importance of values, connections, and
relationships with the environment. The implications of the study result in a need to ground
educators in awareness and understanding of the value of Indigenous knowledge and learning
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process, so that Indigenous student populations can be supported and thrive in their learning
environments. Recommendations for educational practice, policy, and future research were
given, and asserted that Indigenous knowledge had value in contemporary educational settings.

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Appendix A
Individual Interview Protocol

Name of Person Interviewed: ______________________________ Date: ________________
Current Role/Position/Job: ______________________________________________________
Current Age: _____ Date of Birth: _______________ Age during E Mau: ______________
Time Started: ______________Time Completed: ___________Total Time: _________
Researcher: _____________________________________________________________

Pre-voyage:
1. Tell me a little bit about who you are and where you are from.
a. Tell me about your role in the family.

2. Tell me about your exposure to Hawaiian culture growing up, if at all. (Note: ask for concrete
examples, specific instances as respondent shares)
a. In what ways did your family connect to your Hawaiian heritage (traditions, customs)?
Can you give specific examples?
b. Describe your beliefs about Hawaiian culture while you were growing up.
c. Did your ʻohana emphasize things that were important to do, or specific expectations
on how to be? Did you know why those things or ways of being were important?
d. How did you feel about being Native Hawaiian? Were you even aware of your
Hawaiian identity at the time? If so, what made you aware?
e. How did you feel about being a Native Hawaiian girl? Give me an example of why
you felt that way.

3. How do you describe your schooling growing up?
a. Tell me about your schools. Did you like school? Did you connect with your school
environment? What were you asked to learn about?
b. Tell me about your teachers. How did you interact with your teachers? Can you tell
me about any teacher that had a direct impact on you?
c. Describe what it was like to be a girl at your school? Do you remember a time when
you were treated a certain way because you were a girl?
d. Describe what it was like to be Native Hawaiian. Were the other students mostly
Hawaiian too? Did you feel any different because you were Hawaiian?
e. What role did your ʻohana play in your schooling? Did your ʻohana have a
relationship to the school?

4. When you reflect on your learning experiences growing up, describe your perceptions on
what was valued.
a. Describe the role of the teacher. Is there one teacher who really stands out in your
mind as embodying these qualities? Talk a little bit about this teacher, what stands out in
DAUGHTERS OF MAU

256

your mind about how this teacher taught.
b. Describe the role of the student. Talk a little bit about what you think was expected of
you as a student.
c. Describe the learning environment. Tell me about the interactions between teachers
and students. What were you asked to do? Did you memorize things, take notes, or
discuss things verbally? How did it make you feel?

5. Prior to your involvement with the canoe, tell me about any (Hawaiian) experiences you had
(either in school, or outside of school), that taught you about, or connected you with your
Hawaiian culture or identity. (For example, hula, holoholo, loʻi, ʻōlelo, mea ʻai)
a. What were those experiences like? How did it come about that you were able to have
those experiences?
b. How did it make you feel?
c. Do you have any items or photographs that you can share?

6. What knowledge did you have about oceanic voyaging prior to you becoming actively
involved with the canoe?

7. How did you learn about voyaging?
a. Tell me about the first time you met or boarded a voyaging canoe.
b. How did you end up on Makaliʻi?
c. Describe meeting/boarding Makaliʻi for the first time.

8. How did you end up on the E Mau voyage?
a. Tell me about what was happening in your life professionally and personally at that
time.
b. In what ways were you connected to your Hawaiian heritage during the time you were
chosen/chose to participate in the voyage?
c. What were your perceptions of your role as a Native Hawaiian during that time?
d. Describe what was important to you during that time and why.
e. Why did you want to be part of the voyage?

Voyage Experience:
9. What was it like learning and preparing for the voyage?
a. Tell me about your teachers.
b. Describe where you learned.
c. Describe how you learned.
d. Tell me about what you learned.

10. What was it like to sail with Papa Mau?
a. Do you have any examples of when you learned something from him? What did you
learn? How did he teach you?
b. When you reflect on the voyage, who do you remember most, and why?

11. Describe what it was like to be a crewmember?
a. How did it feel to be a woman crewmember?
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257

b. How did Papa Mau treat you? How did that make you feel?

12. Describe your relationship with the other crew members and captains.
a. What things or behaviors were important or valued?
b. In what ways did your relationship with the crew align with or differ from your
experiences growing up?

13. Describe your relationship with the canoe.
a. How do you interact with the canoe? What did you experience, see, hear, or feel?
b. Can you give some examples of how feel or what you think of the canoe itself?

14. Describe your relationship with your environment.
a. What type of things did you see? What did you feel?
b. In what ways did were you able to make connections to your own beliefs about what
was important to you at the time?

15. Tell me about the values you associate with voyaging.
a. Describe what kuleana means to you. Is there something you might point to, an
experience, a feeling, that you think exemplifies this value or how this value was
expressed?
b. Describe what mālama means to you. Can you give an example of what this looked
like or how it was expressed on the canoe?
c. Describe what hōʻihi means to you. Can you share of a time when you saw this value
being expressed, or you experienced it yourself?

16. Tell me about your experience on Satawal.
a. What it was like to be a woman on Satawal? Were you conscious of the
fact that you were a woman? What caused you to have this consciousness?
b. How did others treat you? How did that make you feel?
c. In what ways did you make connections to your own cultural values and beliefs while
you were there? Can you describe an experience that you think typifies the kinds of
connections you made while you were there?
**If respondent did not go to Satawal: How did you feel that you were not able to visit Satawal?
Did you feel that you missed out on anything?

17. Tell me about what the voyaging experience meant to you?
a. Describe your reflections. What did you “take-away”?
b. Describe yourself before the voyage. Describe yourself after the voyage.
c. How did your perspective change, if at all?

18. Are there any items, photos, journal entries related to the voyage that you want to look at
and tell me about?

19. How would you describe yourself as a student when you were a child, through college, and
during the voyage?
a. How were your values, beliefs, or cultural connections influenced?
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258

b. Can you compare what and how you learned growing up with what and how you
learned during the voyage experience? Were your experiences similar or different?

Post-voyage:
20. What was it like for you immediately after the voyage ended?
a. How did you feel when you returned home?
b. Did you feel like the same person you were prior to the voyage? Did anything change
for you? If so, what examples can you share of how or what changed?

21. It’s been 15 years since the voyage. Can you describe what you do now? (family, work,
community life, cultural connections)?

22. I wonder if you see ways in which the voyage experience shows up in your life now?
a. How has it influenced your perspective?
b. How has your experience influenced you as a woman?
c. How has your experience influenced you as a Native Hawaiian?

23. How do you connect your voyaging experience with different facets of your life now, if at
all?
a. Did what you learned actively influence your choices in relation to work/career,
family, self?

24. In what ways do you share voyaging knowledge, values, or beliefs, with others, if at all?
a. Tell me about the approach that you take.
b. How do you share and connect with others?
c. In what ways are values and beliefs important?
d. Why is voyaging knowledge important?

25. Is there anything else that you would like to add about voyaging, cultural beliefs, values,
learning experiences, or being a Native Hawaiian woman?

Abstract (if available)

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Asset Metadata

Creator Enos, Shannon Mae Kēhaulani (author)

Core Title Daughters of Mau: contemporary women voyagers

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education (Leadership)

Publication Date 07/02/2015

Defense Date 06/05/2015

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag indigenous knowledge,indigenous learning,Native Hawaiian women,OAI-PMH Harvest,traditional education,voyaging

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Slayton, Julie M. (committee chair), Higa, Puanani (committee member), Samkian, Artineh (committee member)

Creator Email kehauenos@gmail.com,smahelon@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c3-585780

Unique identifier UC11300178

Identifier etd-EnosShanno-3537.pdf (filename),usctheses-c3-585780 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-EnosShanno-3537.pdf

Dmrecord 585780

Document Type Dissertation

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Enos, Shannon Mae Kēhaulani; Enos, Shannon Mae Kehaulani

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA