Hikianalia Update | Oct 10, 2018: Channel Islands Arrival

Posted on 10 Oct 2018
In Hikianalia Updates, News, Newsletter, Photo Galleries, Teachers, Video Update

Channel Islands Video Update by Captain Mark Ellis

Hawaiian performances and celebrations mark several days of community events

Hikianalia and her crew arrived into port this afternoon at 4 p.m. at the Channel Islands Maritime Museum in Oxnard, California. The canoe and crew were escorted into port by a fleet of outrigger canoes, as well as paddle boards, kayaks, and a water salute from the Channel Islands Harbor Patrol.

Awaiting our arrival on the dock was our dear friends from Ventura Harbor, Julie Tumamait and members of the Chumash nation, as well as our dear friends of Hula Hālau O Puananihaʻaheo and Ka Hale Hula O Pilialohakalani O Hilo.

We also had the pleasure of being welcomed by Hula Hālau Kahi ʻUhane from Santa Barbara, and Alan Salazer, a Chumash practitioner of traditional canoes, or Tomol, that had also welcomed Hōkūleʻa to California in 1995. After a fierce dance from Hula Hālau Kahi ʻUhane and traditional dances from the Chumash, Salazar welcomed the crew, gifting us with sacred white sage and song, and speaking life into the bonds that connect us across the pacific; our canoes, our ties to the sea, and our struggle and journey to reclaim these things.

He spoke of how Hawaiʻi’s canoe voyaging, our journeys and stories and reclamation have not only ignited our own canoe culture, but inspired theirs as well. As crew, we all know that we carry the kuleana of Hōkūleʻa and her descendant waʻa throughout the pacific, but in this moment, I think we all felt the power and impact of our beloved waʻa and their legacy. This ceremony, and all of the songs, chants, stories, and prayers shared will echo in our collective memories of the Alahula Kai o Maleka Voyage and beyond.

Continue Reading About Channel Island Events

While at the Channel Islands Maritime Museum, the crew will conduct a presentation this Friday and hold public community canoe tours and outreach stations this Saturday.

After spending nearly a week in Channel Islands Harbor, Hikianalia is scheduled to spend a few days at Limuw (Santa Cruz Island), and then depart for Redondo Beach. Below is a tentative port schedule for the California Voyage. Please check www.hokulea.com, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates: