Cook Islands’ renowned voyager and navigator Peia Patai has been named one of the recipients of the prestigious National Geographic Society 2025 Wayfinder Award, presented by Kia.

On Thursday, the National Geographic Society announced 15 recipients, among them a traditional navigator training the next generation in ancestral wayfinding in the Cook Islands, a South African geologist uncovering ancient clues to human evolution and a Colombian conservationist protecting the critically endangered brown spider monkey.

According to National Geographic, these awardees exemplify bold thinking and boundary-pushing action that aligns with the Society’s mission to illuminate and protect the wonder of our world.

Patai, who was on his way to the United States yesterday, told Cook Islands News, “It’s an honour to be recognised and at the same time it was a surprise.”

He will be attending the National Geographic Society’s Explorers Festival in Washington, D.C. which is scheduled to take place from June 9-12, 2025.

Patai is the chairman of Te Puna Marama Voyaging Foundation that was founded in January 2022 by himself and trustee Cecile Marten.

The Foundation aims to teach traditional navigation and sailing, using the vaka as a vessel to carry this cultural heritage into the future and ensure these traditions are never lost again in the Cook Islands.

Since 2021, Patai has taught more than 75 Cook Islanders through the Foundation’s programmes on their 50-foot traditional vaka Paikea.

Patai was first introduced to traditional voyaging in 1991. Chosen by the people of Mauke, Patai was taught by Hawaiian Nainoa Thompson, along with Pwo Grand Master Navigator, Mau Piailug, the Micronesian seafarer who is credited for sparking the Pacific voyaging renaissance after successfully sailing the maiden voyage of Hawaiian canoe, Hokulea, in 1976.

Under their guidance, he trained in wayfinding, the ancient art of navigating the open-ocean using only the stars, clouds, wind, waves and other patterns of nature, a sacred practice which had been lost for centuries throughout Polynesia.  In 2011, Patai put his wayfinding skills to the test and captained the Cook Islands traditional canoe Marumaru Atua during the Okeanos Foundation-sponsored Te Mana o Te Moana voyage – a two-year voyage where sailors completed a journey of hundreds of thousands of nautical miles around the Pacific.

Patai was bestowed the title of Pwo Navigator in July 2011, and in July 2019, was bestowed the title of Grand Master.

National Geographic stated that the recipients of the Wayfinder Award receive a monetary award to support their work and join its global community of National Geographic Explorers.

They will be celebrated at the Society’s annual Explorers Festival in Washington, D.C., and are eligible to apply for further project funding through the Society’s Wayfinder Program, in addition to leadership development, speaking opportunities and a collaborative platform to connect across disciplines.

It further says that the award is about honouring a new cohort of National Geographic Explorers who are redefining what it means to lead in science, conservation, education, technology and storytelling. 

> National Geographic / LL