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

It was the inaugural voyage of a ancestral vessel on Lifou in many decades, an event that united the island’s main family lineages in a rare show of unity.

Activist and sailor Aile Tikoure was behind the launch. For the past eight years, he has overseen a project that works to resurrect traditional boat making in New Caledonia.

Dozens of canoes have been crafted in an initiative designed to reconnect native Kanak communities with their oceanic traditions. Tikoure explains the boats also facilitate the “beginning of dialogue” around sea access rights and environmental policies.

Diplomatic Efforts

This past July, he journeyed to France and had discussions with President Emmanuel Macron, pushing for ocean governance shaped with and by local tribes that acknowledge their relationship with the sea.

“Forefathers always traveled by water. We lost that for a while,” Tikoure explains. “Now we’re finding it again.”

Canoes hold significant historical importance in New Caledonia. They once symbolised mobility, interaction and tribal partnerships across islands, but those traditions faded under foreign occupation and missionary influences.

Cultural Reclamation

This mission commenced in 2016, when the New Caledonia government’s culture department was looking at how to restore traditional canoe-building skills. Tikoure partnered with the administration and two years later the boat building initiative – known as the Kenu Waan initiative – was launched.

“The most difficult aspect wasn’t harvesting timber, it was gaining local support,” he explains.

Initiative Accomplishments

The program sought to revive traditional navigation techniques, educate new craftspeople and use canoe-making to strengthen cultural identity and inter-island cooperation.

So far, the team has created a display, published a book and facilitated the construction or restoration of approximately thirty vessels – from the far south to the northeastern coast.

Natural Resources

Unlike many other oceanic nations where forest clearing has diminished lumber availability, New Caledonia still has suitable wood for constructing major boats.

“In other places, they often work with modern composites. Locally, we can still craft from natural timber,” he says. “This creates a crucial distinction.”

The boats created under the initiative integrate oceanic vessel shapes with local sailing systems.

Academic Integration

Starting recently, Tikoure has also been instructing maritime travel and ancestral craft methods at the University of New Caledonia.

“For the first time ever these subjects are taught at graduate studies. It goes beyond textbooks – this is knowledge I’ve experienced. I’ve sailed vast distances on these canoes. I’ve felt overwhelming happiness doing it.”

Island Cooperation

He traveled with the team of the traditional boat, the heritage craft that traveled to Tonga for the oceanic conference in 2024.

“Throughout the region, through various islands, it’s the same movement,” he states. “We’re taking back the sea as a community.”

Policy Advocacy

During the summer, Tikoure journeyed to the French city to share a “Indigenous perspective of the sea” when he met with Macron and government representatives.

Addressing official and foreign officials, he pushed for collaborative ocean management based on Indigenous traditions and local engagement.

“You have to involve local populations – most importantly people dependent on marine resources.”

Modern Adaptation

Currently, when sailors from various island nations – from Fiji, the Micronesian region and Aotearoa – come to Lifou, they study canoes collectively, modify the design and ultimately navigate in unison.

“We’re not simply replicating the traditional forms, we make them evolve.”

Holistic Approach

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

“The core concept concerns community participation: who is entitled to move across the sea, and who determines what occurs there? Heritage boats serve as a method to start that conversation.”