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During the autumn month of October on Lifou, a ancient-style canoe was pushed into the lagoon – a simple gesture that signified a highly meaningful moment.

It was the first launch of a ancestral vessel on Lifou in living memory, an gathering that assembled the island’s primary tribal groups in a uncommon display of togetherness.

Seafarer and campaigner Aile Tikoure was behind the launch. For the past eight years, he has spearheaded a program that seeks to restore heritage canoe building in New Caledonia.

Numerous traditional boats have been built in an effort intended to reunite Indigenous Kanak people with their oceanic traditions. Tikoure explains the boats also promote the “opening of discussions” around ocean rights and environmental policies.

Global Outreach

In July, he journeyed to France and conferred with President Emmanuel Macron, calling for marine policies created in consultation with and by Indigenous communities that acknowledge their relationship with the sea.

“Our ancestors always navigated the ocean. We forgot that knowledge for a while,” Tikoure explains. “Now we’re finding it again.”

Traditional vessels hold deep cultural importance in New Caledonia. They once represented mobility, trade and family cooperations across islands, but those traditions diminished under colonial rule and outside cultural pressures.

Heritage Restoration

The initiative began in 2016, when the New Caledonia government’s culture department was considering how to reintroduce traditional canoe-building skills. Tikoure collaborated with the administration and two years later the canoe construction project – known as Kenu Waan project – was born.

“The most difficult aspect wasn’t wood collection, it was convincing people,” he notes.

Project Achievements

The initiative worked to bring back ancestral sailing methods, mentor apprentice constructors and use vessel construction to strengthen community pride and island partnerships.

Up to now, the team has created a display, released a publication and enabled the construction or restoration of nearly three dozen boats – from the far south to Ponerihouen.

Resource Benefits

In contrast to many other island territories where forest clearing has reduced lumber availability, New Caledonia still has appropriate timber for crafting substantial vessels.

“Elsewhere, they often use modern composites. Here, we can still carve solid logs,” he states. “That represents a crucial distinction.”

The boats built under the initiative integrate Polynesian hull design with local sailing systems.

Academic Integration

Starting recently, Tikoure has also been teaching navigation and ancestral craft methods at the local university.

“It’s the first time this knowledge are included at master’s level. It goes beyond textbooks – it’s something I’ve experienced. I’ve crossed oceans on traditional boats. I’ve felt overwhelming happiness doing it.”

Pacific Partnerships

Tikoure sailed with the crew of the Uto ni Yalo, the heritage craft that sailed to Tonga for the Pacific Islands Forum in 2024.

“From Hawaii to Rapa Nui, from Fiji to here, it’s the same movement,” he states. “We’re restoring the ocean together.”

Political Engagement

In July, Tikoure visited the French city to share a “Kanak vision of the marine environment” when he had discussions with Macron and other leaders.

In front of government and international delegates, he advocated for shared maritime governance based on Indigenous traditions and community involvement.

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

Modern Adaptation

Currently, when sailors from throughout the region – from Fiji, the Micronesian region and New Zealand – arrive in Lifou, they study canoes together, modify the design and ultimately sail side by side.

“We’re not simply replicating the old models, we make them evolve.”

Comprehensive Vision

In his view, teaching navigation and advocating environmental policy are linked.

“It’s all about how we involve people: who is entitled to move across the sea, and who decides what occurs in these waters? Heritage boats function as a means to start that conversation.”