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In October on Lifou, a ancient-style canoe was set afloat in the turquoise waters – a seemingly minor event that signified a profoundly important moment.

It was the inaugural voyage of a traditional canoe on Lifou in many decades, an occasion that brought together the island’s main family lineages in a uncommon display of togetherness.

Activist and sailor Aile Tikoure was the driving force behind the launch. For the last 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 Indigenous Kanak people with their maritime heritage. Tikoure explains the boats also facilitate the “opening of discussions” around ocean rights and conservation measures.

International Advocacy

This past July, he visited France and conferred with President Emmanuel Macron, calling for marine policies created in consultation with and by local tribes that honor their connection to the ocean.

“Our ancestors always navigated the ocean. We lost that for a time,” Tikoure says. “Today we’re reclaiming it again.”

Heritage boats hold significant historical meaning in New Caledonia. They once represented mobility, interaction and clan alliances across islands, but those practices diminished under colonisation and missionary influences.

Cultural Reclamation

His journey 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 government and following a two-year period the vessel restoration program – known as the Kenu Waan initiative – was born.

“The hardest part didn’t involve harvesting timber, it was gaining local support,” he notes.

Program Successes

The program aimed to restore ancestral sailing methods, mentor apprentice constructors and use vessel construction to strengthen traditional heritage and island partnerships.

Up to now, the organization has created a display, released a publication and facilitated the creation or repair of around 30 canoes – from the southern region to the northern shoreline.

Natural Resources

Unlike many other oceanic nations where deforestation has diminished lumber availability, New Caledonia still has proper lumber for constructing major boats.

“There, they often work with marine plywood. Locally, we can still work with whole trees,” he says. “This creates all the difference.”

The vessels built under the initiative combine traditional boat forms with local sailing systems.

Academic Integration

Beginning this year, Tikoure has also been educating students in maritime travel and traditional construction history at the educational institution.

“This marks the initial occasion these topics are included at graduate studies. It goes beyond textbooks – this is knowledge I’ve personally undertaken. I’ve navigated major waters on traditional boats. I’ve felt overwhelming happiness during these journeys.”

Regional Collaboration

Tikoure sailed with the team of the Fijian vessel, the heritage craft that traveled to Tonga for the regional gathering in 2024.

“Throughout the region, from Fiji to here, we’re part of a collective initiative,” he says. “We’re taking back the ocean together.”

Political Engagement

This past July, Tikoure travelled to Nice, France to present a “Indigenous perspective of the sea” when he conferred with Macron and government representatives.

In front of government and overseas representatives, he argued for collaborative ocean management based on local practices and community involvement.

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

Modern Adaptation

Now, when mariners from throughout the region – from Fiji, the Micronesian region and Aotearoa – visit Lifou, they study canoes in cooperation, refine the construction and finally navigate in unison.

“It’s not about duplicating the ancient designs, we make them evolve.”

Holistic Approach

For Tikoure, instructing mariners and supporting ecological regulations are linked.

“It’s all about how we involve people: who is entitled to travel ocean waters, and who decides what happens on it? Traditional vessels function as a means to initiate that discussion.”