Moana's Dreams (Part 1)

​Eight year old Kendra Miluu Leidich was born and raised on the picturesque tropical island of Palau, located in the remote Western edge of Micronesia.   Born of an American father and Palauan mother, she's grown up with two languages and a pair of contrasting cultural values.   Her earliest memories include snorkeling from the safety of her father's back while peering over his side in search of sea horses, turtles, and multi-colored tropical fish.  A typical weekend for this Palauan youth may include building sand castles on pristine beaches and searching for dolphins on the front of the family boat.  Her Palauan family customs, also held over weekends, may include traditional first birth ceremonies or house warming parties.

Despite this idyllic Micronesian upbringing, many of the influences surrounding little Miluu have been Western.  From the television to the radio and even her school text books, English is becoming the dominant language.  Western materialism has subtly shifted the Micronesian society's priorities away from clan cohesion and in the direction of more individual pursuits.  The dreams of the Western world have found their way into the hearts and minds of even the most remote islands of Oceania.

And then, one Disney movie swung the pendulum back in the direction of island pride and traditional values.   Moana, from a remote fictional island in Polynesia is faced with a crisis effecting her island and people.  She must set sail over the horizon in a traditional canoe to help save her people.  The impact on Miluu was immediate.  Inspired by a new role model, Miluu started asking a new set of questions:  Can Palauans still make sailing canoes?  What materials do "my people" use to make sails, paddles, & outriggers?  How many friends could I fit on a sailing canoe?
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The moment of opportunity was not lost on Miluu's American father.  Tragically, the art of building traditional sailing canoes has not been practiced in Palau since before WWII.  Palau is however quite fortunate to have a group of islanders in their midst which still rely on the breadfruit hull of a canoe and the woven Pandanus sails for their survival.  These are the atoll dwellers.  Scattered amongst the high islands of Oceania are the coral cays or atolls, characterized by a low lying sandy islands enclosing a shallow water lagoon.  For the last three thousand years, brave Polynesian and Micronesian navigators have located and colonized these remote island outposts.  Despite the tropical beauty of these tranquil environments, living on a sandy beach comes with risks.  The vulnerability of typhoons and the stress of food shortages have necessitated a unique cultural adaptation among the atoll dwellers:  mobility.  And thus the traditional canoe to this day continues to be a source of pride and dire necessity.

​Miluu's dream of a sailing canoe came to the attention of a group of atoll dwellers residing in Palau.  To the South West of Palau are the inhabited island groups of Sonsorol and Hatohobei.  Between Yap and Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia can be found Ulithi, Woolei, Ifalik, and Satawal.  Despite the great distances separating these people, they are bound by one language, loosely described as "Carolinean."  And these warm hearted islanders agreed to turn Miluu's dream into a reality....