Uncle Bobby Puakea, photo by Dana Edmunds
The current issue has a feature on Uncle Bobby in the “Native Intelligence” section. We hope you have a chance to read it – either online or while flying on Hawaiian Air! Mahalo to Hawaiian for sharing Uncle Bobby with your readers.
Follow Hawaiian Air on Twitter @HawaiianAir.
Follow the writer, Adrienne LaFrance, on Twitter: @AdrienneLaF.
Please visit photographer Dana Edmunds’ website.
A week ago someone(s) broke into the container at Heʻeia Park where Uncle Bobby stores the tools he uses to repair Hawaiian canoes and give workshops to both keiki and adults in the arts of woodworking and Polynesian canoe culture. We are very grateful to the Star Advertiser who featured this story on the home page of their online edition!
The support is rolling in and we wanted to let all of you know how grateful we are to each and everyone of you! We will be updating this page as more news comes in. Please take a moment to join our email list (at right) so we can include you in our ocean and canoe-loving ʻohana! We have a “Make Your Own Paddle” workshop coming soon in March, 2011 too.
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This past November, the “Hawaii Island News”:http://www.hawaiiislandjournal.com/2007/1110a.html featured a cover story on Uncle Bobby, Uncle John Kekua, and Gary Puniwai. This article is about the canoe-building activities of the three men and their contributions to preserving Polynesian culture.
Here is an excerpt from the article:
A koa tree takes the better part of a century to grow to the height required by a canoe maker. A tree’s life doesn’t end once it is cut down, though. “A canoe is a living thing,” Kekua said. “A tree is a living thing. You make it into a canoe, it’s still living.”
There’s a lot more to what Kekua, Puakea and Puniwai are doing than simply building the vessels. Trees are given new life as gorgeous canoes. The sport of canoe racing gets a boost. And in teaching the craft to the next generation, another one of the world’s great traditions is being preserved. As Puakea notes, “It’s part of our heritage, and part of our culture. We love what we do. Bottom line.”