Hokule's offshore Waikiki, Oahu, January 1987. Photo: Monte Costa

Polynesian Voyaging Society

"Closing the Triangle: a Quest for Rapa Nui" is an expedition sponsored by the Polynesian Voyaging Society. The six-months-long canoe journey completes a 25-year odyssey that began with the launching of Hokule'a. In January 2000 when the canoe reached Rapa Nui, a small, isolated island in the New Zealand cluster, the Society completed sails over all the major migration routes of Polynesia. Without navigational instruments and using only ancient Polynesian way-finding arts, the crew faced its most difficult challenge yet due to the remote location of Rapa Nui, which lies over a thousand miles from the nearest inhabited islands. The project includes two videotapes, color photographs and slides; a report on the history and significance of the Society, some of the educational materials produced by the society for distribution through the schools, a compact disc sound recording of the group Pai'ea, and promotional materials. The binder holding the print materials is covered in hand-made batik fabric, in itself an Hawaiian legacy.

Originally submitted by: Daniel K. Inouye, Senator Daniel K. Akaka, Senator Neil Abercrombie, Representative (1st District) & Patsy T. Mink,Representative (2nd District).

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