PI CASC-funded graduate students Shania Tamagyongfal and Jerolynn Myazoe are looking to the past to prepare for the future. The University of Hawai’i students recently had the opportunity to present their theses research on oral histories of Marshallese and Yapese voyaging at a four-day ancient seafaring workshop at Stanford University. Shania and Jerolynn are studying the oral histories of Pacific sea voyages to better understand human behavior and behavioral evolution, including how ancient seafarers responded to disruptive environmental changes. Researching Pacific voyaging and navigation has led them to explore the restoration of canoes and other historical voyaging methods as an Indigenous climate adaptation strategy in the Pacific Islands region that would reduce fossil fuel dependence and decarbonize. Their work provides context and knowledge to engage communities in climate adaptation planning and the development of sustainable sea transport.  

This work is supported by the PI CASC project, “Using Oral Histories of Marshallese and Yapese Voyagers to Support the Development of Community Engagement for Sustainable Sea Transport”.