It is a voyage of 43,000 miles encompassing the Pacific Ocean, and it begins in Southeast.
The Hawaiian canoe Hōkūleʻa and its crew will set sail from Juneau in June to circumnavigate the vast, blue body of water over the course of four years. On its way south, it will stop in Wrangell for a few days.
The double-hulled plywood, fiberglass and resin canoe, which was built in 1975 and made its first voyage the following year, was lifted out of the waters of Honolulu Harbor and was scheduled to be delivered to Tacoma, Washington, last Friday. From there, it will be transported to Seattle and then taken to Juneau to be placed back in the water on June 10.
After a week in Juneau for cultural and educational exchanges, the Hōkūleʻa will travel through Southeast, making a stop in Wrangell on June 25-28, tentatively, for more cultural and educational exchange.
“We’re still in the planning process of what that’s going to look like,” Esther Aaltséen Reese, Wrangell Cooperative Association tribal administrator, told the school board on April 17. Reese is a member of the school board. “It’s more than likely going to be a traditional welcome where we meet them in our canoes, and they bring their canoe. It most likely will be at Chief Shakes House with a request to be on the land, then give them an opportunity to a cultural share and exchange.”
The Hōkūleʻa is crewed by 12 members of the Polynesian Voyaging Society. It will be joined by the canoe Hikianalia. The vessels will visit “36 countries and archipelagoes, nearly 100 indigenous territories and 345 ports,” according to the society’s website.
From Southeast, the canoes will travel south through British Columbia and into Seattle in September. From September until November, they will sail down the U.S. West Coast.
From the beginning of 2024 they will make their way through Central and South America, over to Rapa Nui, about 2,400 miles of the coast of Chile; Taputapuatea, near French Polynesia in the South Pacific; and Aotearoa (the Indigenous name for New Zealand); visiting multiple islands along the way. The plan is to head north to land in Japan in September of 2026. The vessels will be shipped back to Los Angeles, and will sail back home to Hawai’i from there.
A third canoe, the Waʻa Honua (Canoe for the Earth), is being added. However, this canoe is big enough to take anybody along for the journey — it’s a virtual vessel with an educational purpose.
According to the hokulea.com website, “This virtual global hub will be powered by storytelling and education: videos, blogging, educational resources and virtual reality, connecting people around Indigenous values and shared humanity. PVS (Polynesian Voyaging Society) educational partners are developing learning modules and lessons that will be targeted to specific teachers and students of various ages and grade levels. The goal is for Waʻa Honua to reach and inspire learners of all ages from every part of the globe to become future navigators for the earth.”
Originally, the Hōkūleʻa was supposed to be in Wrangell over the July 4 holiday, Reese said. There were canoe races that had been considered, which could still be a possibility during the June visit.
“The canoe races would be phenomenal with them,” she said.
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