Since 1978, Saipan has been a commonwealth of the U.S. The islands have been inhabited by humans for thousands of years. Now, new life is being breathed into an ancient tradition.

Saipan

Saipan, located in the Northern Mariana Islands, has been a commonwealth of the United States since 1978. The islands have a history of human habitation spanning over 4,000 years, primarily by the indigenous Chamorro people. In recent years, there has been a movement to revive the Chamorro tradition of building and sailing sacmen canoes.

The group 500 Sails, led by June Coleman, is focused on restoring traditional maritime culture to strengthen the community's cultural identity. The sacmen canoes, once prevalent across the region, were first encountered by Europeans in the 1500s and were notable for their speed and design. However, Spanish colonisation in the following centuries led to the destruction of many canoes and a significant decline in Chamorro culture and population.

The loss of traditional seafaring was not unique to Saipan; similar declines occurred across the Pacific, including in Hawaii. A revival began in the 1970s when Hawaiians reconstructed the Hokulea canoe and completed a significant voyage using traditional navigation methods. This regional resurgence inspired renewed interest in ancient maritime practices.

In Saipan, regular sailing lessons led by Coleman and other community members focus on traditional Chamorro navigation and seamanship. Organisers believe that reconnecting with cultural practices can promote physical activity and address public health concerns, such as high rates of obesity and poor cardiovascular health among residents. 

The movement is still in its early stages but aims to grow, involving more young people and potentially building 500 canoes once again. Experienced sailors, such as Mario Benito, are passing down navigation knowledge to future generations, emphasising the importance of cultural preservation.



Saipan has been a commonwealth of the U.S. for decades

One, two, three. In the far western corner of America, in Saipan, on the northern Mariana Islands, the native population is rediscovering an ancient tradition. The indigenous islanders, the Chamorro, are taking to the water in their distinctive canoes, called sacmen. We're an organization committed to reviving our traditional maritime culture. June Coleman is the organizer of the group 500 Sails. We feel that it's important to strengthen our cultural identity. It makes us better caretakers of this special place that we live. 500 sacmen canoes greeted the Spanish as they made contact with the Chamorro in the 1500s. They were the first outrigger canoes Europeans saw in the Pacific, and the Spanish were stunned by their speed, agility, and design. But for the next hundred years, the Spanish and Chamorros were embroiled in a series of bloody battles. The Spanish destroyed and banned canoes, and eventually conquered the islands. The Chamorro people were here for over 4,000 years. This is about reviving the culture. What happened? The Spanish, when they came here, they were pretty ruthless, and they systematically destroyed our cultural treasure, which was the sailing canoes. By the late 1600s, the Chamorro population was decimated by war and disease, and with it, their culture was nearly wiped out. And so they weren't in these waters for over 275 years. Across the Pacific, knowledge of traditional sailing began to fade, including in Hawaii, where ancient sailing practices were nearly lost. Light as a bird, Hokulea enters her natural element. But in the 1970s, Hawaiians rediscovered their Polynesian ocean voyaging routes when the Hokulea outrigger canoe was built and sailed 2,600 miles to Tahiti using only traditional navigation techniques, no fuel, no GPS, only the wind and the stars. That set in motion a revival of seafaring traditions throughout the Pacific. The canoe is a living cultural treasure in the sense that we use them to travel between islands. That's how they first arrived to the islands. These traditional canoes began the settlement of some of the most remote islands on planet Earth. So here, hold with your right hand here, because you actually want to be looking at where the wind's coming from. Every Saturday, Coleman hosts sailing lessons, focusing on traditional Chamorro seafaring practices. She's helping to steer us, basically. We joined Coleman and Liana Lynn Muna, who helped navigate our way through the bay. You gotta be real in tune, and she's doing great. She's taking my entire body. Coleman says this revival is encouraging participants to become more physically active. All we need is the wind to help us. What I always say, the wind is the gas, and the sail is the engine. Huh, that really puts you in tune with the elements. While 500 Sails is growing in popularity, it has only reached a fraction of the population of the northern Mariana Islands. Residents here experience some of the highest rates of obesity and the poorest cardiovascular health in the US. We need to use canoe sailing and our culture to reestablish healthier lifestyle. So the canoe is helping bring everything back in balance. Coleman says the Sackman Revival is in its infancy, but has hoped young people like Liana Lynn Muna and others will take the lead, and eventually recruit enough people to build 500 sailing canoes once again. Wait, next time. At the end of our visit to Saipan, we spoke with Mario Benito, who's passing along traditional sailing techniques to his son, Lolo Bayong. I had to step in and try and make that change because from my dad's side, he taught me I should be the one to teach, you know, the future generation about how important our culture is, how it must be kept alive till this time, because who knows, maybe 50 years, 100 years from now, people won't even speak our native tongue, and it's gonna be hard to watch. The stars are like your best friends. If you know them well, they'll be better than your best friends because they'll never lie to you. Same stars that our ancestors used are the same stars we still have to this day. For CBS Saturday Morning, Adam Yamaguchi, the Northern Mariana Islands.

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