Jun. 7, 2023

Later this month, a global launch will be held in Juneau, Alaska, for the Polynesian Voyaging Society’s Moananuiākea: A Voyage for Earth. The four-year journey will cover 43,000 nautical miles, circumnavigating the Pacific, including 36 countries and archipelagos and nearly 100 indigenous territories.

One of the most rewarding aspects of voyaging is the opportunity to learn and connect with people and places around the world; the Moananuiākea voyage affords us the opportunity to connect with our ancestral Pacific homeland and a region of global influence. The Midkiff Learning Center on our Kapālama Campus has created new comprehensive resources for the voyage that are available to everyone, which include new library guides and a new exhibit on Moananuiākea that will follow Hōkūleʻa and Hikianalia’s journey.

The Alaska Library Guide includes content that focuses on Southeastern Alaska and the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian peoples and their languages and arts. Haumāna from kahu puke (librarian) Laʻakea Cumberlander’s Library Service class used the guide to learn about the Alaska Native peoples. They created posters based on Alaska’s environment and historical connections with Native Hawaiians. Inspiration for the project came from Cumberlander’s participation in a Moananuiākea Professional Cultural Development Program, and her travel to Juneau, Alaska, as part of the first cohort this past spring.

The Alaska display will be featured at Midkiff through the summer. The Moananuiākea exhibit will continue at Midkiff through the next school year and will follow Hōkūleʻa and Hikianalia.  The library guides will be updated to reflect the epic journey of our waʻa across Moananuiākea.  

To access Midkiff’s new digital resource on Alaska, click here, and check back throughout the Moananuiākea Voyage!

Students from Laʻakea Cumberlander’s Library Service Class stand with the posters they designed for the Midkiff Learning Center on the Kapālama campus.

Books and other reference materials relating to the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian peoples are available to view and check out at Midkiff Learning Center.

The posters created by Library Service students include information on the languages and art of the peoples of Southeast Alaska. A haumāna holds a painting gifted to Kamehameha Kapālama’s High School from students and teachers at Juneau-Douglas High School in Alaska.