The Voice of the Ocean | Te Reo O Moana

Pacific indigenous cultures recognize the ocean as a sacred place of creation, an ancestor, a provider and partner.

This is in counterpoint to western concepts of exploitation, and the United Nations Law of the Sea which views the ocean as a resource to be managed.

In the face of climate change and related environmental and cultural crises, a growing international movement has recognized the rights of natural entities such as rivers and mountains as one way to protect the world we live in.

We propose to do the same for the Pacific Ocean, guided by the indigenous cultures that have made their homes on Pacific Islands and shorelines for millennia.

Mission

The mission of Voice of the Ocean is to work with indigenous communities to gain recognition of the Pacific Ocean as a natural entity that has its own legal rights. We will develop the argument that, to protect the ocean, what is needed is a global paradigm shift to recognize the intrinsic rights of the ocean to exist in a healthy natural state.

Declaration:

We affirm that the ocean is our home. The vast and sacred expanse lies before us. Our responsibility as keepers, as voyagers embarking on a journey of reclaiming and healing our moana. Our mana is found in the unity and strength of our ancestors. Our commitment to the ocean transcends time and place. The waa of our forefathers continues today on shared efforts and mutual support ensuring no one is left behind.
We affirm our commitment to restore our rich culture and heritage to combat the erosion of our identity as ocean people. We as custodians of the Blue Continent continue to hoi, weave and sing songs while we navigate the convergences of principles.
We are the Ocean, in its preservation, we are preserved!

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Partners

Currently, we are partnering with the Polynesian Voyaging Society and Maui Nui Makai Network (MNMN) to gather indigenous leaders and bring the message to communities around the Pacific. In June of this year, we participated in a workshop with MNMN which brought together 36 indigenous leaders from across the Pacific to begin work on a joint vision of the future of the Pacific. The Polynesian Voyaging Society’s Moananuiakea Voyage around the Pacific lends itself perfectly to communicating this vision and developing consensus across the Pacific for a Rights of the Ocean movement. Through program building like this, the plan will evolve and grow and become inclusive of a broad segment of people who respect and depend on the Pacific Ocean.

Our Call for the Rights of the Pacific Ocean is a commitment to work in partnership to develop a plan to recognize the rights of the Pacific Ocean. This plan should be rooted in the traditional knowledge of Pacific’s indigenous cultures, but also provide legal pathways for representation.

The plan will be carried by the Hokulea and Hikanilia on their Moananuiākea Voyage around the Pacific Rim and be a focus for discussions with indigenous cultures along the way. In this way the plan will evolve and grow and become inclusive of all who respect and depend on the Pacific Ocean.