Crowds welcome Hokulea home to Oahu

[tweez]

quote:

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Originally posted by Eric1600

Hokulea will be coming to Hilo too. Oahu sort of stole Big Island's thunder as the Crew and Captain felt that Hilo was their true departure point and they wanted to return here first, but you know, Oahu and all....

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Does anyone know when Hokulea is coming to Hilo? Sorry if I missed it in any of the links.

[Eric1600]

There is a pendulum swing that the anti-TMT people are exploiting. Many Hawaiians disagree with them but at the same time are enjoying the cultural resurgence. Very few want to step out in public and be the "party pooper", but believe me they are not as well supported as it appears on the surface.

As for the island tour, no specific dates have been set:

Hokule'a will be heading around the state this fall, with at least 30 stops at different ports visiting 100 different communities over the next year as a mahalo to all those who have supported her journey around the world.
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/35721...er-to-home

[kalakoa]

they are not as well supported as it appears

Irrelevant; they're "winning", because State is giving them all the "support" they need.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

a steady diet of anti-TMT drivel disguised in an overly enthusiastic celebration of all things Hawaiian
...
I have also found my enthusiasm for Hokulea dampened by the TMT debacle.

When I read the history behind the Hokulea, for example the incident when crew members tried to burn the ship in protest over sailing to Tahiti, it only strengthened my support for both the Hokulea, it's sister ships, and the TMT.

Time has shown us that a few hot heads and loud mouths will be relegated to little more than a footnote in history. If the dissenting crew on that first voyage had won the day, nothing more would have been achieved other than a short victory lap around the island chain, an excursion which any small sailboat can accomplish. That would have been followed up by some chest beating and bravado as they sailed into port, and a Kodak Instamatic snapshot to save inside a shoe box at the back of the closet. Instead, the Hokulea proved the Hawaiian people were more than shoreline sailors, who in one improbable journey “went from being castaways to being children of the world’s greatest navigators.”

I'm hoping others make that connection, and look ahead to something far more important than simple bragging rights. If the TMT can be seen as an extension of Hokulea's legacy, an even larger majority of Native Hawaiians may soon realize astronomy has always been a part of their history, and can be their destiny as well.

[tweez]

Mahalo Eric!

[Guest]

For those of you who don't want another TMT thread, here is an interesting article about Wayfinding that Nainoa Thompson wrote.

http://www.pbs.org/wayfinders/wayfinding2.html

Stars and much more are used to navigate the vast oceans.

[Eric1600]

I'm hoping others make that connection, and look ahead to something far more important than simple bragging rights. If the TMT can be seen as an extension of Hokulea's legacy, an even larger majority of Native Hawaiians may soon realize astronomy has always been a part of their history, and can be their destiny as well.

I went to Imiloa where Honoka'a High School students shared their experiences observing the stars at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. This was part of the Maunakea Scholars program run by Doug Simons and Mary Beth Laychak. The students are tasked to write actual research papers and propose a study that uses about an hour or less of telescope time (several observatories donated time to the Scholars program). The kids compete to win telescope time and it's serious business. Winning papers included looking at dark nebulas in various spectrum and the other was involved in globular clusters. The kids had no idea what those things were but they researched, asked questions and were guided by UH mentors until they decided on their own research ideas. They were given complete freedom to research whatever they wanted. The only restriction was available telescope time and the proposal couldn't span multiple years of observations for obvious reasons.

One of the students data was incorporated in to a much larger study and will be cited as a reference for a long time. The other students were so motivated by the experience that one girl had trouble articulating that after struggling in school and not finding anything exciting she had found her purpose in life and was going to become an astronomer and "let nothing get in the way".

Hawaii's people should be the leaders, the astronomers, the mathematicians, the engineers, the builders of new telescopes. It would be a much better direction for everyone.

[Guest]

Eric1600, mahalo for sharing such an inspirational story.

Mauna Kea has been the astronomy capital of the world for years if not decades. How has this Astronomy capital on Mauna Kea helped the Kanaka Maoli race up to this point in time?

This gentleman by the name of Jerry Nelson recently past away so the astronomy capital will be getting some new blood. Maybe the next mentor of scientists and engineers will find room for a couple Hawaiians within the astronomy capital on Mauna Kea.

http://bigislandnow.com/2017/06/13/astro...cope-dies/

[PaulW]

These people who are so obsessed with race, it's unbelievable.

[kalakoa]

How has this Astronomy capital on Mauna Kea helped the Kanaka Maoli race up to this point in time?

A healthy tax base helps welfare recipients of all races.