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During the autumn month of October on Lifou, a double-hulled canoe was launched into the turquoise waters – a small act that signified a profoundly important moment.

It was the maiden journey of a traditional canoe on Lifou in many decades, an event that assembled the island’s primary tribal groups in a uncommon display of togetherness.

Mariner and advocate Aile Tikoure was instrumental in the launch. For the previous eight-year period, he has overseen a initiative that works to resurrect heritage canoe building in New Caledonia.

Numerous traditional boats have been built in an project intended to reunite Indigenous Kanak people with their seafaring legacy. Tikoure says the boats also promote the “opening of discussions” around ocean rights and ecological regulations.

Global Outreach

During the summer month of July, he travelled to France and had discussions with President Emmanuel Macron, advocating for maritime regulations developed alongside and by Indigenous communities that honor their relationship with the sea.

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

Traditional vessels hold significant historical meaning in New Caledonia. They once represented mobility, trade and clan alliances across islands, but those traditions faded under foreign occupation and outside cultural pressures.

Heritage Restoration

The initiative commenced in 2016, when the New Caledonia cultural authorities was considering how to bring back heritage vessel construction methods. Tikoure worked with the government and two years later the vessel restoration program – known as the Kenu Waan initiative – was launched.

“The biggest challenge was not wood collection, it was gaining local support,” he says.

Initiative Accomplishments

The initiative aimed to restore ancestral sailing methods, educate new craftspeople and use vessel construction to enhance community pride and island partnerships.

Up to now, the team has organized a showcase, issued a volume and supported the construction or restoration of approximately thirty vessels – from the southern region to Ponerihouen.

Natural Resources

Different from many other Pacific islands where tree loss has reduced wood resources, New Caledonia still has appropriate timber for constructing major boats.

“Elsewhere, they often work with modern composites. Here, we can still work with whole trees,” he says. “It makes a significant advantage.”

The boats created under the program integrate oceanic vessel shapes with regional navigation methods.

Educational Expansion

Beginning this year, Tikoure has also been teaching maritime travel and ancestral craft methods at the local university.

“It’s the first time this knowledge are taught at advanced education. It goes beyond textbooks – this is knowledge I’ve personally undertaken. I’ve crossed oceans on these canoes. I’ve experienced profound emotion doing it.”

Island Cooperation

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

“Across the Pacific, from Fiji to here, it’s the same movement,” he says. “We’re taking back the maritime heritage as a community.”

Policy Advocacy

In July, Tikoure travelled to the European location to present a “Indigenous perspective of the ocean” when he had discussions with Macron and additional officials.

Before state and foreign officials, he pushed for shared maritime governance based on Kanak custom and participation.

“You have to involve local populations – particularly those who live from fishing.”

Modern Adaptation

Today, when mariners from across the Pacific – from the Fijian islands, Micronesia and Aotearoa – arrive in Lifou, they examine vessels collectively, modify the design and eventually sail side by side.

“It’s not about duplicating the ancient designs, we enable their progression.”

Comprehensive Vision

According to Tikoure, instructing mariners and promoting conservation measures are interrelated.

“It’s all about community participation: who has the right to move across the sea, and who determines what occurs on it? The canoe is a way to start that conversation.”