The living canoe

Our story takes place on our island, called Mitiaro or traditionally known as Nukuroa.
Mitiaro is one of the fifteen islands in the Cook Islands.
The people on our island are very proud of our heritage and we love our fishing.
Our ancestors lived on this island long, long ago. They fished in the ocean for tuna, mackerel and many other fish.

They travelled to neighbouring islands to visit families there and bring back news.
They fished in our big lake, called Te Roto for freshwater eels.
All these things, they were able to do because they had the paiere, the canoe.
The Nukuroa paiere is a dugout outrigger canoe made from a log of wood.

Our story is about how our school community built a canoe and the amazing learning journey the students experienced.

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This Living Heritage story was created as part of the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO Pacific Islands' Living Heritage Pilot in the Cook Islands.