The University of Guam Island Wisdom Council supported a crew of traditional navigators who recently sailed out of Guam on a long-voyaging canoe and traversed over hundreds of miles of open ocean, in line with the university’s ongoing efforts to maintain cultural traditions and advance communities.

The event, titled “Voyaging for Peace: Ta’hita Marianas,” was a traditional canoe voyage meant to celebrate shared cultural heritage of the region and enhance communal ties between sister islands. 

Navigators left April 22, 2025, and returned April 30, 2025. The crew sailed to Saipan as part of the 44th Annual Flame Tree Arts Festival.

“Voyaging for Peace: Ta’hita Marianas places value on strengthening regional ties,” said Pairourou Melissa Taitano, Ph.D., a UOG professor and the first CHamoru woman ordained through the initiation ceremony for navigators, called Pwo. 

Pairourou is a title of a navigator who has gone through the Pwo ceremony.

The long-voyaging canoe, called the Ininan Ilawol, was led by Taitano. Pairourou H. Larry Raigetal and Pairourou Baskas Mark supported the voyage. 

It was crewed by Pam Kerr, Annie Fay Camacho, and Weriyeng School of Navigation navigators from the community organization Waa’gey and the islands of Polowat, Lamotrek, and Hawaii. 

“I was moved by the reception we received and the hospitality accorded to us by the people and the government of the CNMI, especially Gov. Arnold I. Palacios, the Saipan canoe house Guma’ Higai led by Juan ‘Mames’ Castro, 500 Sails, and the CNMI Indigenous Affairs Office and the CNMI Women’s Affairs Office, respectively,” Taitano added.

“This was a great accomplishment for all of us,” said Mario “Sakman” Borja, master canoe builder in the Northern Mariana Islands.

Micronesian seafaring embodies a vital cultural legacy shared among all Micronesian island peoples. 

This enduring practice has historically facilitated the settlement of the Marianas and extends throughout the region. As both a method and a repository of knowledge, seafaring is inherently linked to our regional cultural identities. 

The voyage is a collaborative effort of the University of Guam, UOG’s Island Wisdom Council and the Micronesian Area Research Center in partnership with the Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Guam and the Hon. Lt. Gov. Joshua Tenorio; the Office of the Mayor of Piti and the Hon. Piti Mayor Jesse L.G. Alig; 500 Sails Inc.; and the Chamorro-Carolinian canoe house from Saipan.