“Our Vaka” is the first part of a two-part documentary called “We, the Voyagers: Lata’s Children.” In this film, Polynesian voyagers of Taumako, Solomon Islands, share their history, motivations, and skills through story-telling, canoe building and wayfinding. Using only the designs, materials and methods of Lata, the Polynesian culture-hero who built the first voyaging canoe and navigated across the Pacific, the voyagers recall their ancestors, who made the greatest of human migrations. “We the Voyagers” began in 1996 when Paramount Chief Kaveia, an experienced navigator, began training new generations to plant gardens, feed workers, make rope from plants, weave and sew sails, protect the island’s trees, adze parts for voyaging canoes, and lash them together. After years of filming, Lata’s children are ready to share their story, and the lessons Lata has taught them, with the world.
Length: 60 mins.
Country: USA
Language: English
Director: Marianne "Mimi" George
Distributor: Pacific Traditions Society