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During the autumn month of October on Lifou island, a double-hulled canoe was launched into the lagoon – a small act that represented a deeply symbolic moment.

It was the inaugural voyage of a heritage boat on Lifou in living memory, an gathering that brought together the island’s primary tribal groups in a uncommon display of togetherness.

Activist and sailor Aile Tikoure was instrumental in the launch. For the previous eight-year period, he has overseen a program that works to resurrect ancestral vessel construction in New Caledonia.

Numerous traditional boats have been constructed in an project intended to reunite Indigenous Kanak people with their seafaring legacy. Tikoure explains the boats also facilitate the “beginning of dialogue” around ocean rights and ecological regulations.

Diplomatic Efforts

In July, he travelled to France and had discussions with President Emmanuel Macron, advocating for marine policies developed alongside and by native populations that acknowledge their maritime heritage.

“Previous generations always crossed the sea. We lost that for a period,” Tikoure explains. “Today we’re reclaiming it again.”

Canoes hold deep cultural meaning in New Caledonia. They once stood for movement, trade and family cooperations across islands, but those traditions diminished under colonisation and religious conversion efforts.

Heritage Restoration

His journey started in 2016, when the New Caledonia cultural authorities was exploring how to bring back traditional canoe-building skills. Tikoure collaborated with the authorities and two years later the boat building initiative – known as the Kenu Waan initiative – was established.

“The hardest part was not wood collection, it was gaining local support,” he notes.

Initiative Accomplishments

The initiative sought to revive ancestral sailing methods, mentor apprentice constructors and use canoe-making to strengthen cultural identity and inter-island cooperation.

To date, the group has created a display, issued a volume and facilitated the creation or repair of approximately thirty vessels – from the southern region to Ponerihouen.

Natural Resources

Different from many other island territories where deforestation has reduced timber supplies, New Caledonia still has proper lumber for constructing major boats.

“There, they often use marine plywood. In our location, we can still carve solid logs,” he explains. “This creates a crucial distinction.”

The boats created under the initiative merge Polynesian hull design with regional navigation methods.

Teaching Development

Beginning this year, Tikoure has also been educating students in navigation and ancestral craft methods at the educational institution.

“For the first time ever these topics are offered at graduate studies. It goes beyond textbooks – these are experiences I’ve lived. I’ve sailed vast distances on these vessels. I’ve cried tears of joy during these journeys.”

Island Cooperation

He traveled with the team of the Fijian vessel, the Fijian canoe that journeyed to Tonga for the regional gathering in 2024.

“Throughout the region, from Fiji to here, this represents a unified effort,” he explains. “We’re restoring the maritime heritage as a community.”

Political Engagement

This past July, Tikoure travelled to the French city to share a “Traditional understanding of the ocean” when he conferred with Macron and government representatives.

In front of government and overseas representatives, he pushed for shared maritime governance based on Indigenous traditions and local engagement.

“It’s essential to include these communities – most importantly people dependent on marine resources.”

Contemporary Evolution

Today, when navigators from throughout the region – from Fiji, the Micronesian region and New Zealand – visit Lifou, they study canoes collectively, refine the construction and ultimately sail side by side.

“It’s not about duplicating the old models, we enable their progression.”

Holistic Approach

For Tikoure, teaching navigation and supporting ecological regulations are linked.

“The fundamental issue involves community participation: what permissions exist to move across the sea, and who decides what happens on it? The canoe function as a means to start that conversation.”