🔗 Share this article

During the autumn month of October on the island of Lifou, a double-hulled canoe was pushed into the turquoise waters – a seemingly minor event that signified a deeply symbolic moment.

It was the inaugural voyage of a heritage boat on Lifou in generations, an event that assembled the island’s three chiefly clans in a rare show of unity.

Mariner and advocate Aile Tikoure was the driving force behind the launch. For the past eight years, he has led a initiative that seeks to restore heritage canoe building in New Caledonia.

Numerous traditional boats have been built in an project aimed at reconnecting native Kanak communities with their oceanic traditions. Tikoure says the boats also promote the “opening of discussions” around maritime entitlements and environmental policies.

International Advocacy

In July, he visited France and conferred with President Emmanuel Macron, pushing for marine policies created in consultation with and by native populations that recognise their maritime heritage.

“Previous generations always crossed the sea. We forgot that knowledge for a period,” Tikoure says. “Currently we’re rediscovering it again.”

Canoes hold deep cultural importance in New Caledonia. They once symbolised mobility, interaction and clan alliances across islands, but those traditions diminished under colonial rule and missionary influences.

Cultural Reclamation

The initiative started in 2016, when the New Caledonia cultural authorities was looking at how to reintroduce traditional canoe-building skills. Tikoure collaborated with the administration and two years later the vessel restoration program – known as the Kenu Waan initiative – was established.

“The hardest part didn’t involve wood collection, it was gaining local support,” he explains.

Program Successes

The initiative aimed to restore heritage voyaging practices, mentor apprentice constructors and use canoe-making to reinforce cultural identity and regional collaboration.

Up to now, the team has produced an exhibition, released a publication and supported the creation or repair of approximately thirty vessels – from the far south to Ponerihouen.

Natural Resources

Different from many other Pacific islands where deforestation has diminished lumber availability, New Caledonia still has appropriate timber for carving large hulls.

“In other places, they often employ marine plywood. In our location, we can still carve solid logs,” he says. “It makes a crucial distinction.”

The canoes created under the Kenu Waan Project combine Polynesian hull design with regional navigation methods.

Educational Expansion

Since 2024, Tikoure has also been instructing navigation and traditional construction history at the local university.

“It’s the first time these subjects are offered at graduate studies. This isn’t academic – it’s something I’ve lived. I’ve navigated major waters on traditional boats. I’ve experienced profound emotion during these journeys.”

Island Cooperation

He voyaged with the crew of the traditional boat, the heritage craft that traveled to Tonga for the Pacific Islands Forum in 2024.

“Across the Pacific, including our location, this represents a unified effort,” he states. “We’re taking back the ocean together.”

Political Engagement

During the summer, Tikoure visited the French city to share a “Kanak vision of the sea” when he conferred with Macron and additional officials.

Addressing official and overseas representatives, he pushed for shared maritime governance based on Indigenous traditions and community involvement.

“It’s essential to include these communities – particularly fishing communities.”

Current Development

Now, when navigators from various island nations – from Fiji, the Micronesian region and New Zealand – come to Lifou, they analyze boats in cooperation, adjust the structure and finally navigate in unison.

“It’s not about duplicating the ancient designs, we make them evolve.”

Holistic Approach

For Tikoure, instructing mariners and advocating environmental policy are interrelated.

“The core concept concerns how we involve people: who is entitled to move across the sea, and what authority governs which activities take place on it? Heritage boats function as a means to start that conversation.”