Navigating the future with Hōkūleʻa and Ke Kula ʻo Kamehameha

March 6, 2025

On March 8, Hōkūleʻa turns 50. The canoe that was originally built for just one voyage has since become a symbol of cultural resurgence, environmental stewardship and Indigenous excellence. For decades, Hōkūleʻa has inspired generations to reconnect with Hawaiian wayfinding and identity. At the heart of this movement is the longstanding relationship between Kamehameha Schools and the Polynesian Voyaging Society.

What started as a means to support Hōkūleʻa’s early voyages has transformed into an educational powerhouse, weaving voyaging into the classroom and shaping the next generation of leaders through Hawaiian culture-based education.

Chris Blake KSK’91, who works on special voyaging projects under Kapālama’s Teaching & Learning Innovations hui, is a longtime PVS crew member and has been instrumental in strengthening this bridge.

“In 2011, we started a tri-campus K-12 engagement program to bring ‘ike Hawaiʻi into everyday learning,” Blake said. “It started with English, and then in 2012, our science department, which evolved into a broader effort tied to the worldwide voyage.”

That impact is personal for Kaʻiwi Hamakua-Makue KSK’11, a PVS crew member and senior instructional designer alongside Blake, whose first experience with the vessel was as a KS Kapālama fourth grader on a field trip.

“I remember stepping onto the canoe and this big Hawaiian guy told me, ‘This could be you one day,’” Hamakua-Makue said. “That moment stuck with me.”

In his work managing waʻa curriculum, Holomoana, voyaging goes beyond just sailing.

“Along the way, I realized that what I dreamed about as a kid is happening for me,” Hamakua-Makue said. “Giving the kids the opportunity to have the same spark takes me right back to when I was a student.”

In haumāna, it’s cultivating leadership, connections and kuleana.

“The canoe teaches you how to work with people, mālama yourself and each other,” Hamakua-Makue said. “It’s an opportunity for our keiki to understand what it means to be Hawaiian on a very intimate level on ʻāina and moana.”

Blake agrees, noting that these experiences change the lives of haumāna like the 2011 grad’s huakaʻi did for him.

“Education is gonna be one of our greatest tools for moving forward, not only with Hōkūleʻa but in any organization,” Blake said. “If we can equip students with this knowledge, they will have all they need to be the changemakers in their communities.”

That philosophy is shaping KS Kapālama’s latest project: building its own voyaging canoe. Supported by the Nakupuna Foundation and the Pauahi Foundation, the campus on the hill is developing a 48-foot canoe designed for cross-channel sailing.

“Being able to actually experience it helps to deepen students’ connection and better understand what they’re doing, so it’s not just learning for classrooms’ sake,” Blake said. “It’s the application of the things they learn that they appreciate most.”

As Hōkūleʻa turns 50, the upcoming celebration at Kualoa Regional Park will honor its legacy and inspire the next wave of navigators. Kapālama students will be participating in protocol, greeting the visiting waʻa with mele and hula alongside Hamakua-Makue and leadership from Kaʻiwakīloumoku Pacific Indigenous Institute.

“Hōkūleʻa should inspire us to keep growing and continue to go on voyages in our own life and on the waʻa as it connects us across Moananuiākea,” Hamakua-Makue said. “There are still adventures to go on. There is still wind, a canoe and a crew that wants to go with you, even into the next 50 years.”

From the canoe to classrooms and back again, the partnership between KS and PVS is shaping the wayfinders of tomorrow, ensuring that the knowledge of the past continues to guide Hawaiʻi’s future.

Kaʻiwi Hamakua-Makue KSK’11 (far right) talks to Kamehameha Schools preschoolers aboard Hōkūleʻa.