Canoes from Southeast and the Hokulea at the 2023 Moananuiākea Global Launch in Juneau.

In June, Southeast Alaska was honored to welcomed Hawaiian relatives from the Polynesian Voyaging Society (PVS) to the traditional lands of the A’akw and Taku Kwáan people for their latest expedition: Moananuiākea, a voyage for earth. The voyage aims to inspire a new generation of navigators to face the coming storms, hoping to foster within them the resilience needed to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing world.

We were thrilled to greet our relatives from across the Pacific in a tribal welcome ceremony. The community of Juneau embraced the Hōkūleʻa and its crew as they returned from the voyage’s initial heritage sail around Southeast Alaska, gathering for a tribal welcome and global launch ceremony hosted on the traditional lands of the A’akw and Taku Kwáan people.

In the third chapter of this series, we celebrate Moananuiākea, a voyage for Earth, marked by a week of ceremony, connection and cultural exchange in Juneau, Alaska.