For various reasons, this story cannot be proven. But that does not matter to me because in my Aboriginal way of being and knowing, stories like my uncle’s do not need modern scientific proof to have validity — the role of story in Indigenous community is key to all aspects of our culture.

Victor Briggs’ slim volume, Seafaring: Canoeing Ancient Songlines, explores the idea that Indigenous Australians sailed to Hawaii in canoes, on the trade winds. The distance from Australia to Hawaii (some 20,000 nautical miles) makes this seemingly impossible, however, Briggs presents evidence to suggest otherwise. Continue reading →