NLM Lecture Salutes Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Thompson in sunglasses holds out hand in front of his double-hulled canoe

Nainoa Thompson, president of the Polynesian Voyaging Society and master navigator

On Monday, May 23 at 11 a.m. in Lister Hill Auditorium, Bldg. 38A, NLM will host a special presentation by Nainoa Thompson, president of the Polynesian Voyaging Society and master navigator—He Lani Ko Luna, A Sky Above: In Losing the Sight of Land, You Discover the Stars.

Thompson will describe the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage and its iconic double-hulled canoe, Hōkūle’a, currently on a 47,000-nautical-mile journey around the world, stopping at 85 ports in 26 countries, including Old Town Alexandria on May 15. He will discuss the rich history of deep sea voyaging, exploration and oceanic wayfinding, the indigenous system of orientation and navigation at sea and the efforts to use these experiences to revitalize a once dynamic maritime culture of the Native Hawaiians. He will explain the symbiotic relationships between land, sea, sky and people and their cultural, ecological and personal health.

Hōkūle’a was part of the NLM exhibit Native Voices: Native Peoples’ Concepts of Health and Illness.