Kekuewa Kikiloi

Reconnecting with Ancestral Islands

A Guide to Papahānaumokuākea
(the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands)

The manu o kū bird (literally “bird of Kū” or white tern; Cygis alba roths­
childi) flew overhead and the wind rushed against my face as the traditional
double-­hulled voyaging canoe Hōkūle‘a was nearing the island of Ni‘ihau,
making its way back ­toward our home. As the canoe moved with amazing
speed, I could feel the rise and fall of its weight riding the crests of the waves
as it traveled across the open ocean. We had a sense of empowerment and
achievement: we had just spent the past few days at sea traveling to a dis-
tant island called Nihoa, in the northwest, past our main chain. Nihoa is part
of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and is the first of ten smaller islands
that extend past the main Hawaiian chain and have been largely forgotten
over the past ­century. This 2003 voyage marked a new age of exploration
for us, rediscovering the extents of our homeland. Stretching roughly 1,200
miles, the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands is a vast oceanic region with open
blue ­waters and sky as far as the eye can see. We ­were full of pride ­because
this was the first time Native Hawaiians had voyaged to ­these islands using
traditional noninstrumental navigation in the past hundred years. We had
reengaged our ancestors through traditional ceremonies on ­these islands
and began the pro­cess of spiritual reconnection. ­These actions would shape
the trajectory of the Hawaiian movement, solidifying Native interest in re-
claiming this part of our homeland and securing long-­term protection of the
resources of this magnificent place.
Hōkūle‘a, a traditional double-­hulled Hawaiian voyaging canoe created
in the 1970s, has been a symbol of hope and cultural revitalization for our
­people. It has had many achievements over the past two de­cades, voyaging

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 successfully to all the vari­ous corners of the Pacific and making impor­tant
connections with our oceanic cousins. This trip into the Northwestern Ha-
waiians Islands, however, allowed us to understand our home and a greater
aspect of ourselves as Native Hawaiians as we reconnected with a region as-
sociated with the spirits of our ancient gods and ancestors. Halealoha Ayau,
a Hawaiian cultural practitioner, or­ga­nized the voyage, traveled on the canoe,
and conducted traditional ceremonies on the island. While in transit back
home to O‘ahu, he reflected, “I was totally humbled to watch them navigate
at night, and totally blown away to wake up the next morning and see Nihoa
without the use of any instruments. I mean, talk about ancestral connection
when you are using the moon . . . ​the stars . . . ​when you are keenly ob-
servant of every­thing—­the wind, the motion of the waves, every­thing that is
happening. To me that is ancestral connection, ­because ­those are our ances-
tors.” This voyage was a catalyst for community activism that would fight for
the protection of this region.
We grew up in Hawai‘i, and the roots of our miseducation can be linked
to normalization of Western worldviews in American colonial schools that
taught us that our own homeland was an island chain ­limited only to the
eight main Hawaiian Islands. This idea of “eight main islands” is strikingly
peculiar when one considers that our “main” chain actually comprises eleven
islands (some of which are smaller islets, like Molokini, Lehua, and Ka‘ula,
but are still culturally significant and substantial enough to not be ignored).
Also, when you geo­graph­i­cally expand past ­these “main” islands and include
all the atolls, shoals, banks, and coral reefs that extend to the northwest, this
total number climbs to twenty-­one main islands that make up our homeland.
The entire Hawaiian archipelago represents the longest and oldest chain of
islands on Earth. Existing over 70 million years, it represents the full range
of geological stages of an island’s life cycle, from birth to death, each island
being created one by one on a relatively fixed hotspot under­lying a tectonic
plate slowly moving northwest.
The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are made up of ten landforms along
this linear trail that are much smaller; they are known by the names Nihoa,
Necker (Mokumanamana or Haena), French Frigate Shoals (Lalo), Gardner
Pinnacles (Onu-­nui and Onu-­iki), Laysan Island (Kamole), Lisianski Island
(Kapou), Maro Reef (Ka Moku o Kamohoali‘i), Pearl and Hermes (Manawai),
Midway Atoll (Kuaihelani), and Kure Atoll (Holani-ku). ­These islands repre-
sent the latter half of the geological life stages, as they are subsiding and
eroding, changing from high volcanic island fragments that are rocky with

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 180° 175°W 170°W
N
or
th
w
es
Pearl & te
rn
Unnamed Hermes Atoll Ha
Seamount wa
Ladd
Seamount iia
Kure Lisianski
Atoll Island
Midway Laysan
Atoll Salmon Island G
Bank P
Raita Bank
Neva Shoal
North Hampton
Seamounts Mo
Maro St. Rogatien &
T R O P I C
Reef Brooks Banks
O F C A N C E R

French
Sho
Papahānaumokuākea Marine
National Monument Boundary
0 100 200
Kilometers
Miles 0 100 200

Map of the Hawaiian Islands and the location of the Northwestern Hawaiian
Islands (Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument). Courtesy of the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

poor soil development to low-­lying, sandy atolls with complex mazes of reefs
and banks.
Together, the islands in this section alone span about 1,200 miles, and
their surrounding nearshore, offshore, and open ­waters comprise an enor-
mous 350 million acres of ocean that is teeming with marine and avian
wildlife; high rates of endemism; and an underwater world comprising sub-
merged reefs, sunken islands, banks, and over 215 seamounts. This region
is entirely wild, with birds, fish, and other marine life that have had ­little
or no interaction with ­humans or the impacts associated with us. With the

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 165°W 160°W 155°W

30°N
Map
Area
wa
iia
n I
sla Hawaiian
nd P a c i f i c Islands
tor
s Equa
Oc e a n
Gardner
k Pinnacles

25°N
Mokumanamana Nihoa
Rogatien &
ooks Banks
Middle
Bank Kaua‘i
French Frigate Twin Banks
Shoals O‘ahu
Lehua Rock Moloka‘i
Ka‘ula Ni‘ihau L˜ na‘i Maui
Kaho‘olawe 20°N

Hawai‘i

Northwestern Hawaiian Islands encompassing such a vast area and having

such rich natu­ral resources, how could our community forget it?
Culturally, this region was significant ­because it was tied to Hawaiian ori-
gins and cosmological stories of creation. The region was considered sacred
and a place of primordial darkness from which all life sprang and to which
all spirits return ­after death. The Hawaiian archipelago was understood to be
made up of two realms: pō, a place reserved for the ancestral gods and spir-
its of the deceased (the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands); and ao, the realm
of the living (the main Hawaiian Islands). Two of the islands centrally located
in the ­middle of the archipelago—­Nihoa and Mokumanamana—­were in a
unique position as the axis between the worlds of the super­natural and the
living.

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 Mokumanamana. Photo­graph by Kekuewa Kikiloi.

­These two islands worked together, with Mokumanamana primarily used

as a religious site at which to petition the gods. Its landscape is dominated
by thirty-­four individual heiau (­temples) and ­were used for ritual purposes.
Nihoa served as an annex where elites could rest and gain provisions. Our
ancient chiefs would access this region as a rite of passage to commemorate
the source of origins and mana (power), and of authority as derived by the
ancestral gods. The occupation and use of ­these islands represent one of the
earliest signs of Hawaiian religious activity. For over four hundred years (ca.
ad 1400–1815) the islands ­were used as a ritual center of power supported
by an extensive voyaging interaction sphere that supported long-­term settle-
ment of the islands.
From the time of Western contact, several falsehoods have been cre-
ated, perpetuated, and ingrained in our consciousness over time. One of the
most damaging is the portrayal of this region in the context of mystery and
abandonment. This myth began early as soon as Eu­ro­pean ships traveled
through this region on transit between continents. They assumed that the
Northwestern Hawaiian Islands ­were abandoned before Western contact, as
they saw physical evidence of ­human settlement, such as cultural sites and
remains, but the islands appeared to be void of ­people. ­These concepts are

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 dangerous ­because they imply that this area was just empty space for the
taking or that we had somehow relinquished claim to it or do not belong to
it anymore. Throughout the post-­contact period (­after ad 1793), the Hawai-
ian Islands emerged as a nation-­state, forming into the Kingdom of Hawai‘i.
Several of the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands ­were formally claimed
as territory and annexed. In 1893, however, the Kingdom of Hawai‘i was over-
thrown by the provisional government, which ­later consolidated title of the
archipelago and then ceded it to the United States without a formalized
treaty of annexation.
Through the early 1900s, ­these myths became even more prevalent within
anthropology and archaeology as researchers from local museums did re-
search on the region, furthering this idea of mystery. When looking at the ma-
terial rec­ord left ­behind by the past, they began to cast doubt on ­whether the
historic remains even belonged to Native Hawaiians. They often speculated
on ­whether they could have originated from early mi­grant Pacific Islanders
from the Society Islands or the Marquesas Islands. In 1928, Kenneth P. Emory,
widely regarded as the forefather of modern Pacific Archaeology, once said,
“[It was] insufficient to determine who ­these early occupants ­were or why
they ­were ­there except that some early culture, differing remarkably in some
re­spects from the known Hawaiian culture, was represented.”1 Statements
like ­these further alienated our ­people from their cultural past and solidified
our dispossession.
Throughout the 1900s, the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands became a site
for U.S. military expansion and resource extraction. For Native ­people whose
identity is tied to the land, sky, and sea, ­these activities only added to the emo-
tional stress and trauma associated with dispossession. Over time, the slow
transformation of the landscape started to erode any recollection of the past
and any sense of identity for this region. ­After enactment of the 1900 Organic
Act that formed the Territory of Hawai‘i, ­these islands underwent heavy con-
struction. Midway Atoll was built up and transformed almost entirely into a
military base, known widely as the famous location of the ­Battle of Midway
in World War II. Another two U.S. Coast Guard loran stations ­were built, one
on French Frigate Shoals and another on Kure Atoll.2 Historically, from the
late 1800s into the 1900s, the islands’ resources ­were heavi­ly exploited as
seal hunters, ­whalers, feather hunters, pearl divers, and guano miners all had
their turn stripping the islands and ­waters of their resources, often resulting
in environmental damage from which they have never fully recovered. During
this period, very few Native Hawaiians accessed this remote region.

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 The voyaging canoe Hōkūle‘a passing Nihoa Island. Photo­graph by Na‘alehu Anthony.

In the 2000s, a cultural revival began in the Northwestern Hawaiian Is-

lands as Native Hawaiians became interested in and wanted to or­ga­nize and
sail traditional voyaging canoes or use modern vessels to rediscover ­these
islands. During 2003–5, the Hōkūle‘a took three main trips to Nihoa, to Mo-
kumanamana, and up the entire chain to Kure and back.
It was through the acts of voyaging and visiting ­these islands, and sailing
­these seas, that we began to recover an active memory of our past. Cultural
research efforts in historical archival work, archaeology, and ethnography si­
mul­ta­neously began to inform this reconnection pro­cess. The revival of ritual
practice was at the forefront of ­these spiritual quests, as ceremonies ­were
held on the islands in a similar manner as the ancient chiefs did in the past.
As an offshoot of ­these cultural efforts, the Native Hawaiian commu-
nity started to or­ga­nize and play a key leadership role in driving the public
pro­cess to design, establish, and properly manage this region. In 2001, the
Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Ecosystem Reserve was established ­under
Executive ­Orders 13178 and 13196 in response to Native Hawaiian fishers and
cultural prac­ti­tion­ers seeing the need for greater protective mea­sures. Led
by esteemed kupuna (elder) ­Uncle Buzzy Agard, along with other Hawaiian

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 leaders such as Vicky Holt-­Takamine, William Aila, Isaac Harp, and Tammy
Harp, this group went to Washington, D.C., to lobby for more resources,
thereby creating one of the largest marine conservation areas in the world
at that time. Soon ­after, the state of Hawai‘i also recognized the region’s cul-
tural significance when it established the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
State Marine Refuge in 2005. In 2006, the islands reached an impor­tant mile-
stone when they became a Marine National Monument. Throughout this pro­
cess, the Native Hawaiian community self-­organized and formulated the Na-
tive Hawaiian Cultural Working Group. This body comprised Native Hawaiian
cultural prac­ti­tion­ers, scholars, educators, activists, and kūpuna who have
strong historical ties to the region, ensuring that Native Hawaiian input is
incorporated into all management actions.
Culture became strongly linked to the monument soon ­after its establish-
ment, and the name “Papahānaumokuākea” was given to the region through
a naming pro­cess. This pro­cess was led by the Native Hawaiian Cultural
Working Group and drew inspiration from ancient Hawaiian traditions and
original islands names documented by early Native elders. The name rep-
resented the ­union of the names “Papahānaumoku” and “[W]ākea,” who are
known in Hawaiian traditions as “Earth ­Mother” and “Sky ­Father.” The merg-
ing of ­these names acknowledged the importance of our ancestral past and
the ­union of ­these two ­people in symbolically “birthing” the archipelago, as
told in our ancient stories, and creating us as a ­people. Naming the monu-
ment Papahānaumokuākea has helped to sustain a Hawaiian identity for this
region and has reemphasized the importance of the genealogical connection
between ­people and nature as the foundation of our culture.
In 2010, Papahānaumokuākea received global recognition as a unesco
World Heritage site ­because of its outstanding natu­ral and cultural universal
value. It became the world’s first cultural seascape owing to its continuing
connection to living Indigenous ­people. As with ­every other protection ef-
fort, Native Hawaiians ­were directly engaged throughout this nomination
pro­cess, the monument’s design, and in advocacy. Fi­nally, in 2016, Native
Hawaiians helped lead the Expand Papahānaumokuākea Co­ali­tion, a diverse
community-­driven effort that included kūpuna, fishers, educators, cultural
prac­ti­tion­ers,  scientists, conservation organ­izations, veterans, and other
community groups that pushed for the monument’s expansion in order to
reestablish it as one of the largest conservation areas in the world. Expan-
sion was achieved, allowing for the broadest regional and holistic protection
of an entire seascape against any extractive, commercial, or industrial activi-
ties that are incompatible with a Hawaiian cultural worldview.

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 The National Wildlife Refuge at Nihoa Island. Photo­graph by Kekuewa Kikiloi.

Over the years, Papahānaumokuākea has become a model for conserva-

tion around the world through its integration of culture into its operations
and management. Its foundation is built on Native Hawaiian values and inte-
grates culture into five dimensions: education, access, research, policy, and
management. The innovations in management have had far-­reaching effects
on marine conservation worldwide, serving as a model for other manage-
ment areas. Since its establishment, more than ten nations have created
large-­scale marine protected areas and many have integrated knowledge
and cultural values into their frameworks.
Through this pro­cess of reconnection, impor­tant steps have been taken
to position ourselves as Native ­people in order to help shape the direction
of the management and stewardship of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
Early cultural efforts to go on spiritual quests and voyaging considerable dis-
tances in traditional canoes to conduct ceremonies helped to build a sense
of community for the region and ­were a catalyst for po­liti­cal organ­izing and
collective action. Since the establishment of ­these protections, access to the
region has opened for our ­people; at least eight ongoing cultural activities

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 have occurred on twenty-­seven separate expeditions to this remote region.
The management structure and rules allow for Native cultural practices to
effectively thrive while all exploitative activities and impacts are ­limited.
Other impor­tant achievements are how culture has been integrated into
the management and operations of the monument and repre­sen­ta­tion has
been solidified through dedicated seats on the Reserve Advisory Council and
through the Native Hawaiian Cultural Working Group. In addition, through
the expansion pro­cess, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs is now a co-­trustee
with the state of Hawai‘i, the Department of the Interior, and the Depart-
ment of Commerce, affording us some level of decision making, control, and
empowerment.
As we ­were on the canoe coming back from the historic voyage to Nihoa Is-
land, I started to realize the importance of reconnecting to ­these ancestral is-
lands. An entire second half of the Hawaiian archipelago had historically been
taken away from us and erased from our memory. Now we ­were reclaiming it.
Recovering a sense of homeland is essential to recovering identity, health,
and well-­being for Native ­people. It was now our kuleana to return home and
let our Hawaiian communities know of the importance of this region.

Notes

1 Kenneth P. Emory, The Archaeology of Nihoa and Necker Islands. (Honolulu: Bishop
Museum Press, 1928), 3.
2 M. Rauzon, Isles of Refuge: Wildlife and History of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
(Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2002).

Resources

Kerr, Joni, Paul DeSalles, Sylvia A. Earle, Kekuewa Kikiloi, Rick MacPherson, Sara M.
Maxwell, Robert Richmond, Callum M. Roberts, Narissa P. Spies, U. Rashid Sumaila,
and Angelo Villagomez. Puʻuhonua: A Place of Sanctuary—­The Cultural and Biological
Significance of the proposed expansion for the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National
Monument. June 2016. Accessed February 25, 2019. http://­expandpmnm​.­com​/­wp​
-­content​/­uploads​/P
­ MNM06142016​.­pdf.
Kikiloi, Kekuewa. “Rebirth of an Archipelago: Sustaining a Hawaiian Cultural Identity for
­People and Homeland.” Hūlili: Multidisciplinary Research on Hawaiian Well-­being 7,
no. 1 (2010): 73–115.
Kikiloi, Kekuewa, Alan M. Friedlander, ‘Aulani Wilhelm, Nai‘a Lewis, Kalani Quiocho,
­William ‘Āila Jr., and Sol Kaho‘ohalahala. “Papahānaumokuākea: Integrating Culture in
the Design and Management of One of the World’s Largest Marine Protected Areas.”
Coastal Management 45, no. 6 (2016): 436–51.

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 MacKenzie, Melody Kapilialoha, and B. Kaiama. Native Hawaiian Claims to the Lands
and Natu­ral Resources of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Report to the Office of
Hawaiian Affairs, Honolulu, 2003.
Yamase, Dennis K. “State-­Federal Jurisdictional Conflict over the Internal ­Waters and
Submerged Lands of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.” University of Hawai‘i Law
Review 4 (1982): 139–80.

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