The Kula Ring Hunters of the South Seas

There are people on our planet

who are more at home in water than on land.

CHILDREN HOLLER

In a distant corner of the western Pacific lies the Coral Triangle.

These waters are the richest on Earth,

and the people here have adapted to ocean life like nowhere else.

My name is Will Millard.

Buena.

I'm a writer and for much of the last eight years,

I've been working and exploring in this remote region.

God! This place is a minefield!

I want to understand the unique bond these people

have with the ocean, at a time of great change.

I've never met a shark-finner before.

Now I'm heading off on an expedition across the open sea...

Here comes the rain.

..in search of a trade route called the Kula Ring,

which has linked remote islands for centuries.

It's not just about this village or even just about this island,

it's about placing yourself in the whole Kula Ring.

But as a new form of trade emerges,

can these ancient connections survive in the 21st century?

-How much are they? 20?

-Yeah.

ALL CHANT

I want to find out what the future holds

for these last hunters of the South Seas.

In my travels around the Coral Triangle,

I've always been curious about its remotest regions.

The cultures here have found extraordinary ways

to thrive, in spite of their isolation.

So, I'm heading further east than I have ever been into Melanesia,

where a different people, with their own language,

live on a tiny outcrop called the Trobriand Islands.

The Trobriand Islands are found 150 miles

off the east coast of Papua New Guinea.

They are famous because of a unique system of trade called Kula

that links these tiny islands to many others

in a great circle called the Kula Ring.

To explore this ring, I'm beginning on Kiriwina,

the largest island, home to the only airport in the region.

This is my first time in the Trobriand Islands.

What's "good" in the Trobriand language?

-Sena buena.

-Sena buena. Very good!

I already know two words and we've only just begun. Sena buena!

This place feels so remote,

but there are few places on the planet

that have been studied quite as much as this place.

For decades, it's welcomed anthropologists,

linguists, academics.

And they've all come here

and they've discovered a culture that is like no other.

For almost a century, European academics and explorers

have flocked here,

attracted to a culture so radically different to their own.

At its heart lay Kula.

As recently as the 1990s, film-makers still captured

hundreds of islanders setting out in carved canoes,

sailing across the sea on dramatic Kula expeditions.

Kula is a complex network of gift-giving and trade

that has been vital to the survival of these remote communities.

The currency of Kula is elaborate armbands

and necklaces made from shells,

which are exchanged between different islands.

But for the last 20 years, little has been heard of Kula,

with rumours that money has now taken over on Kiriwina.

I want to see what remains of this unique network

and find where it is still important in the Kula Ring.

Thanks, guys. All the best.

Buena. Buena.

Hello.

My host is Edric Kasaipwalova, the island's only fixer and translator.

So, this is the village.

It's really beautiful.

Edric has arranged for me to stay in his local village.

-Everyone here is, one way or another, related to us.

-Right.

All our uncles live here.

ERIC SPEAKS IN HIS NATIVE TONGUE

-Will, this is Nagiya.

-I'm William. Nagiya?

-Nagiya.

-Nagiya?

Nice to meet you. Your village is very beautiful.

Yes. ALL LAUGH

Nagiya is my dad's cousin's brother.

So, he and his family live here.

OK, great. Which one's your house, Nagiya? Where do you live?

-Right here?

-Yeah, that's his house.

-Fantastic!

Oh, thank you, Nagiya. Buena.

Well, shall we go and have a look at my new house?

OK.

THEY SPEAK IN THEIR NATIVE TONGUE

Oh, superb! This is my home. This is it.

This is where I'm going to be. Oh, look!

Perfect! Nagiya, how did you know?

WILL LAUGHS

There we go.

Nagiya lives in the middle of the island

in one of the most traditional villages.

-Pappa this one.

-OK.

-Mamma this one.

-Right.

Where's Pappa?

-Wake up!

-LAUGHTER

Everybody in Nagiya's family is a farmer.

Yams are the staple crop of these islands

and today is planting day.

Just leaving my village behind.

It's just through there, round the corner.

The first thing that strikes me here is...

this place is seriously, seriously cultivated.

There's sweet potatoes, bananas, taro.

There's everything you need.

Then...right in front of me here,

you've got the start of all of the yam gardens.

SINGING

OK.

So, I'll start digging?

Yeah? OK.

It's very dry. Yams are much more than food for Nagiya's family,

they're integral to all Kula expeditions.

We have a saying - if you're a man, you must have a yam garden.

-Really?

-If you can't have a yam garden,

you don't have a yam garden, you are not considered to be a man. Why?

Because yams form the basis of wealth for men,

because everybody uses yams for all the festivities,

basically, any big ceremonies.

Yams are treated much like money,

with people such as Nagiya

stockpiling them in yam houses, like a bank.

These houses also show off the owner's wealth.

Yeah.

Kula, it seems, begins on the land, rather than the sea.

ULULATING

In the last three, four months,

I've been travelling around these tiny communities

where the sea is everything, surrounded by ocean every day,

and yet here, it feels like everything is centred on the earth.

That's not to say that the sea's not important,

but everything has to start with the yam.

So, you have got to put the dirt under your fingernails

before you take to the sea.

After a day's work, we relax Trobriand style,

chewing betel nut.

Watch this.

Like it, huh?

Betel nut is a mild stimulant that also dyes your teeth black.

LAUGHTER

Mmm. It's warm. I can feel it burning.

LAUGHTER

It's like I've been punched in the mouth.

LAUGHTER

-I can feel in my head a bit...

-Dizzy?

-Yeah, dizzy.

LAUGHTER

In some ways Nagiya's life

seems remarkably unchanged from the old films.

But this village is unusual.

In the surrounding areas, many other yam houses lie half built or empty,

much to Nagiya's disappointment.

What's the impact on a traditional community celebration like Kula?

Despite his enthusiasm,

Nagiya hasn't been on a Kula expedition for nearly 20 years.

COCK CROWS

Goodness me! There's a lot of people, yeah?

The next morning outside of Nagiya's village,

thousands of people are heading to the northern shore five miles away.

This is the village of Koibola and if couldn't feel more different.

It's not even six o'clock in the morning

and there's already hundreds of people here.

This is the new economy in action.

Oh, my God!

An enormous passenger ferry looming on the horizon.

That is...quite extraordinary!

The Trobriand Islands are now on the cruise-ship circuit

and 2,000 islanders are gathered to meet the boat.

GRUNTING

I don't know whether it's just me, but...that is absolutely insane.

It looks like it is going to come

straight into the island and swallow it whole.

ULULATING

ALL CHANT

WHISTLING

I don't really know how to feel about this.

It is...quite bizarre.

WHISTLING

I don't want to, sort of, start sniping at...my own people,

because, you know, essentially I'm a tourist, I'm a dim-dim.

ALL CHANT

I can't really figure out who's exploiting who?

'Passing through our information desk.'

This cruise ship will dock for only eight hours.

How much for all of us?

It's a brief window for passengers

to explore the local culture and pick up souvenirs.

How much are they? 20?

-Yes.

-20 Kina?

-You want Kina?

-Yes, please.

-Imagine the effort put into this, eh?

-Yeah, right.

He told us that big bowl that my partner just bought

-took him about a week, so five days to make.

-Five days just to make that.

And that's to put the shells and everything in it.

That's extraordinary.

-And he paid 100 Kina for it.

-Really?

-So, that's 50 Australia.

50 Australian. So are you pleased with that?

-Oh, yes.

-Definitely! Yeah.

P&O have paid the village £2,000 to put on this event,

and hired traditional Kula canoes from a neighbouring island

to do trips round the bay.

There's six Kula canoes out there.

It's the first time I've seen them.

There's one here just going past this P&O ferry.

A tiny, tiny little Kula canoe just drifting around the back.

That's quite a strong metaphor probably

for what's going on here today.

WHISTLING

This mass tourism has created a new culture of Trobriand carving.

They're carving objects and shapes

that they've never seen before in their life.

When was the last time that you saw an elephant on Kiriwina?

This culture is not about carvings, it's about...agriculture,

it's about people going on Kula expeditions,

it's about everything that we are.

-How much are they?

-This is all very, very foreign.

With cash in their pockets,

few of these people now have need for the Kula Ring.

It's clear that, to see Kula in action,

we'll have to travel to the other islands.

20 years ago, it was Kula canoes, not cruise ships,

that were regularly leaving these shores.

Instead of cash, the valuables they carried

were shell armbands called "mwali".

These mwali armbands were given as gifts

to Kula partners on different islands,

creating a debt of obligation which had to be repaid.

The relationships between Kula partners

opened the way for other commerce.

But at its heart, Kula was about power...

and the network that was created

as these mwali armbands moved around the Kula Ring.

For over a generation, one chief called Nalebutau

dominated the region.

He controlled the most prestigious armbands

and led many Kula expeditions.

This man was Edric's great-uncle.

Edric's privileged upbringing took him to university in Australia

and a career in marketing.

He returned last year to an island very different to his childhood.

Edric moved to a hut outside his village.

The time has passed.

I went away for 11 years and I came back as a total stranger.

And I felt... totally, totally uncomfortable.

What I was taught when I was a child cannot be applied,

cos the world has changed so much.

I know the emotions attached with Kula,

I know the techniques attached with Kula.

I have never practised Kula myself,

so I've got no idea about what the nature of the game is.

In so many ways, it is like a missing jigsaw puzzle.

It's almost like... there is a vacuum somewhere,

there is a vacuum that needs to be filled.

It's been an odd day.

The arrival of a cash economy

seems to be slowly suffocating traditional forms of wealth,

but the cruise ship also brings thousands of people together,

even drawing in Kula canoes from other islands.

And, in a strange twist, these new arrivals can bring

more exciting news from around the Kula Ring.

-KNOCK AT DOOR

-Hello?

Nagiya! What's going on?!

WILL LAUGHS

-Right!

-Yeah.

Oh, my God! OK.

OK, Nagiya, I'm coming.

Let me just get my T-shirt on.

I have no idea what's going on.

WILL SPEAKS IN THE NATIVE TONGUE

-Yeah?

-WILL LAUGHS

Oh, man, everybody's here.

Morning, everyone.

It's a big moment, Will.

All the mwali, apparently, have landed on Iwa

and Nagiya's getting really excited!

-Can we go and get 'em?

-Yeah, it's possible.

There are some canoes that came from Katava.

-Yeah?

-For the...tourist vessel.

-We could always...

-You've got to be kidding me!

No, we could always ask them

if we can get a lift with them and go across to Kitava.

-Sena buena!

-ALL:

-Sena buena!

LAUGHTER

Nagiya has heard that, on the remote island of Iwa,

a Kula expedition has just returned home,

bringing with it dozens of mwali armbands.

These armbands can be Nagiya and Edric's entry point

into the Kula network,

if they can persuade the Iwa Islanders to part with them.

THEY SPEAK IN NATIVE TONGUE

By hitching on the tourist canoes,

we have our best shot at forging this new Kula partnership.

That was an unforgettable morning.

It's not your traditional Kula expedition,

but that clearly doesn't matter to Nagiya,

because he has dropped about 25 years today.

I've never seen him so animated, laughing.

He's absolutely full of life. I can't believe how lucky we've been.

And, to be honest with you, God bless tourism.

MAN SINGS IN NATIVE TONGUE

Nagiya wants to leave the next day,

which gives us one afternoon for packing and preparation.

Rice? How much rice?

10 kilos? 20 kilos? 50 kilos?

Four Gentles, please.

-This is the local tobacco?

-This is a block.

-OK.

This is going to get us a lot of favours.

We leave the following morning,

heading to the village where the canoes have beached.

BIRDSONG

Wow!

This is the most southerly point on Kiriwina.

It feels like the ends of the earth.

Thatched huts, white sand.

Hello.

WILL LAUGHS

That's awesome.

What an incredible ship.

Goodness me!

I'm so pleased to see these canoes, I can't tell you.

Our journey will take us 12 miles east from Kiriwina

to the island of Kitava, where we can pick up supplies

before heading on to Iwa, where the mwali armbands are to be found.

Ohh! Up!

Hiya!

ALL WHOOP

The sail is absolutely enormous!

It's loads of pieces of tarpaulin patched together.

But that'll do.

We're off, Nagiya!

-Buena! Beuna!

-LAUGHTER

The sail is up.

Now we've just got to get between...

the space between these two islands without getting completely soaked.

MAN SPEAKS IN NATIVE TONGUE WILL LAUGHS

These extraordinary canoes have made this journey for centuries.

Each one is individually named and decorated,

and specially built for Kula expeditions

There's three guys in the middle here...bailing.

The other guy, in charge of the rigging at the back,

is in charge of the sail.

And then, of course, there's me and Edric.

And I think our primary role on this boat

has been to try and block some of this water coming in over the sides,

because it's been relentless.

Here comes the rain.

After a very wet morning, Kitava finally comes into view.

This is it. Kitava.

Absolutely flying in.

The sail's coming down.

Hey-hey, hello!

MAN SHOUTS

Nagiya, we made it.

Brilliant.

Kitava is Kiriwina's smaller neighbour,

where Edric and Nagiya have strong clan connections.

But upon arrival here, Edric receives some upsetting news.

We just learnt, here in Kitava,

part of our clan has passed away,

and I have to trim my hair.

When somebody dies, that is the mark of a mourning period.

Very, very sad news for Edric,

and what it means in terms of Kula, is that all Kula activities

have to be suspended out of respect for the deceased,

and there should be an all-day funeral feast today

that we are going to attend.

Funerals are big public events in the Trobriands,

and Edric is very well known.

Half our rice supply is taken as a gift.

This is the only truck on the island and it's come to pick up Edric.

I think, um...

he's feeling the pressure today.

This is the first time he has ever gone to a funeral feast on Kitava.

You know, he's having to walk in the footsteps of the great Chief Nalebutau.

As our car travels across the island, we pick up fellow mourners.

Everybody recognises Edric's family name.

His father is a well-known person here, on Kitava Island.

-Edric carries his reputation with him.

-Yes.

Do you feel the pressure, Edric?

Yes, all of a sudden I feel that pressure, I didn't expect that.

His forefathers' reputation will follow Edric wherever he goes,

so he must behave accordingly.

The man died of old age

and is buried in the centre of the village.

Over 200 people are already here,

and with each new arrival, more food is brought.

People are arriving in streams, carrying piles of sticks

and baskets filled with yams.

And then they're erecting these little turrets

which they're filling to the top

with as many yams as they can fit in,

placing the biggest ones on the very, very summit.

This is a gift for the deceased's family.

Just like the Kula yam houses,

the wealthier the man, the taller his pile.

The women are set back from the village.

Just stood outside the widow's hut

and it's like nothing I've ever seen before.

She's sat just in a darkened corner.

Her friends just cutting her hair, as is customary.

Everybody around her is crying in this most rhythmical tone.

WAILING

It's the role of these women to publicly mourn,

and with every new arrival, a fresh chorus can be heard.

WAILING

What's astonishing about today is that this is actually

the death of a man in a village numbering no more than maybe 40,

and yet it's still so, so important to come here and show that you care.

What it all ties in to me is just how great

the sense of kinship and networking is amongst these people.

That it's not just about this village,

it's not even just about this island,

it's about placing yourself in the whole Kula Ring.

At midday, the feast is ready.

Edric's contribution of rice is given a very public showing.

His gift is fitting for his status,

and it will benefit Edric more than anybody else.

I never knew the deceased.

It doesn't really matter,

there is still a traditional obligation in place.

You still need to show face, but the consequences of that

strengthens many other links,

and also with Kula.

The relatives of the deceased, in one way, shape or form,

they will have to repay.

For Edric, today is no longer about saying goodbye to an old man,

it is about asserting his family name

and making sure that the deceased's family is indebted to him.

I've been watching him, and he has been squirreling his way

between every single one of the houses round here.

And in fact, at lunch-time he leant into me and said, you know...

.."It's quite something for a man of my standing

"to come to this funeral.

"These people aren't quite in the same league as my past."

Essentially, if these guys receive any Mwali any time soon,

it won't even be up for discussion, it has to come my way now,

they are obligated, because I have come here to show my face.

The funeral feast today was just an incredible experience.

Edric said from the start,

today is not about Kula, there's not going to be any exchanges today,

but it really WAS about Kula,

I could see him networking, I could see him making new relationships.

I think I'm beginning to realise that Kula is much more than

just the trading of shells.

It is travelling to different islands

and saying, "You are important, you are important to me.

"And the reason you are important is

"because we have a family history and we have a connection."

Well, it's another beautiful day today,

but there's virtually no wind.

The wind that there is, I can see is blowing in the wrong direction.

So what we are going to do is take the crew dinghy.

Maybe it's not as beautiful, but it's going to get us there at least.

We have been told there's over 100 Mwali on Iwa.

The journey there takes four hours

and Edric spends most of it in silence.

After a 25-year wait,

he is now very close to making his first Kula connections.

'As we get closer to the destination,

'there's a lot of anxious moments, I guess.'

Trying to figure out what is there for you,

what exactly are you going to say to your Kula partner?

'What is their expectation? What is my expectation?

'How should I be greeted?'

What is my game plan?

And what will be my Kula partner's game plan?

Wow, there it is, Iwa!

That is an extraordinary shape.

It's like a big, green table top in the middle of the sea.

Oh, right, we're here!

Good grief, well done, guys.

Iwa is one of the remotest islands in the region.

Flanked by 40-metre-high cliffs, its two villages lie at the summit.

Edric and Nagiya immediately begin changing into Kula dress.

They will work separately on Iwa,

each trying to find somebody to get them a Mwali arm band.

For Edric, failure would bring shame on his family's reputation.

My great-uncle has been here before so many times.

And everyone of the older generation on Iwa know about him.

I suppose I am the first one to come back here,

so it's a fair bit of pressure of expectation.

You do feel almost the weight of history

watching the guys sticking on the Kula ornaments.

You can't help to think about who else has been down here in the past.

Who's got ready in that cave?

And I'm beginning to see two very different sides to Edric and Nagiya.

I have to be honest, I feel quite sorry for Edric.

Everywhere he goes, people talk about his dad, Chief John and Nalebutau.

And I think he feels...

..immense stress to try and live up

to their expectations to be that man.

Nagiya, on the other hand, is having the time of his life.

Securing a new Mwali arm band

will begin a new Kula partnership for Edric and Nagiya,

strengthening connections between these two distant islands.

Nagiya is on an absolute mission.

This guy is twice my age.

Gone up this cliff face in no time.

These arm bands aren't given away easily.

They must persuade possible Kula partners

that they are worthy of such a gift

and can repay this kindness in the future.

When he was younger, Nagiya had a reputation

for being an exceptionally smooth talker.

It looks like Nagiya is on the charm offensive.

The betelnut and tobacco have just come out.

But that Mwali is staying firmly on the wall so far.

As Kula has declined on Kiriwina,

and their expeditions ceased,

people on Iwa have found new Kula networks.

Nagiya is repeatedly shunned by his old partners.

It seems, for Nagiya, that he just doesn't have the influence any more,

after a 25-year absence, to own most of these pieces,

or they've already been promised to other people.

And it's a great shame really.

It's quite difficult following him around and...

seeing him get kicked back every time he knocks on somebody's door.

Shut out by his old Kula network,

Nagiya can only wander between the houses.

On the other side of the village,

Edric is facing a very different problem.

I don't know what's wrong with Edric, something's not right.

He's not really making eye contact and he's not talking to anybody.

Something is definitely up with him.

I feel scared, I feel nervous.

In fact, I feel petrified. Um...

..I have no idea how to manoeuvre or manage this Kula network,

but I carry a name, and therefore the people's expectation here

is that we have to live up to that level.

Because of the family Edric comes from,

he cannot do Kula with just anybody.

He can only mix with the island's aristocracy.

But what the people of Iwa don't know

is that Edric lives in a shack in the woods without a yam garden.

I just recently moved back, from the city,

and I am trying to get myself established.

Nothing is ready, nothing is ready at the moment.

My position back in the village, my village,

is one of just building up.

Um...definitely nowhere near

the capacity to be able to host

any Kula partners that may come from Iwa or from Kitava.

The whole Kula...

it's a lot easier to give than it is to receive.

Because when you receive, you also receive an obligation

and responsibility that comes with it.

I think Edric is having this realisation

that actually...

..for all of his going away, leaving this area,

going to university, taking jobs in the big city,

that actually all boils down to nothing over here.

He hasn't got a yam garden.

He's not really part of a village...

..and I think he's finding himself quite alone.

At the end of their first day,

neither Edric nor Nagiya have any Mwali.

The next day, Edric and Nagiya are up early.

They have decided to try the island's other village.

The reception immediately seems more welcoming.

People keep emerging out of houses and out of fields.

Just holding Nagiya's hand, or shaking hands with him.

He clearly knows people here.

Word has travelled overnight

and one of Nagiya's old partners has remembered him.

After 25 years, we've literally just arrived,

and they're already laying on a massive feast for Nagiya.

There's two tables here...

filled with goods.

Just inside, three Mwali hang on the wall.

It feels really strange for me, being present at this ceremony,

it's something that I've thought about so much

since we arrived here in Papua New Guinea.

The moment when I see the first Kula exchange.

I've seen during my travels just how much it means.

It's about...keeping and binding people to each other

from all of these different islands.

You have to provide food, you have to provide lodgings,

you have to be ready to receive your Kula partners

and you have to try and keep the link going

for as long as you possibly can.

This is symbolic of all of that.

Well done, Nagiya, well done. Very good, very good.

Good day, Nagiya.

LAUGHS

Great stuff!

Emboldened by Nagiya's success,

Edric sets off to look for Mwali.

In this solo situation, where you get thrown in a dip,

you have two choices.

You either swim or you sink.

This is the first time Edric has ever tried

to negotiate for a Kula piece.

This feels like a really significant moment.

Not only could this potentially be his first ever Mwali,

it could also be his first ever Kula connection.

If this does happen now, this could be an amazing chance for Edric

to step out of the shadow of his father and great-uncle.

Edric, what just happened?

Well, I just got given...

one Mwali.

-This is for you?

-Yeah, this is for me.

Wow! How do you feel?

Er...excited.

Um...I suppose I wasn't really expecting that.

-Oh, I'm so pleased!

-Yeah.

-I heard you saying...

What was amazing for me is I could hear you saying, basically,

"Yeah, you know, I haven't actually got anything to offer,

"I have no real networks." You know, you were completely honest

and it looks like you got a serious reward, as well, so...

I'm quite glad that they've actually shown an act of faith.

-That faith, yeah.

-Yeah, now...

You need to go and plant some yams.

BOTH LAUGH

Now the real obligations begin.

Yeah, right!

A lot of responsibilities...

MUSIC PLAYS

The start of a new Kula connection transforms everybody's mood.

HE SINGS

LAUGHTER

He's such a big kid.

It's nice to see him happy again.

You can't keep an old man down.

HORN BLOWS

That evening, Nagiya's new Kula partner calls a feast.

With the whole village attending,

I begin to understand why Kula is so important to an island like Iwa.

This is Kula hospitality.

What would happen here if there was no Kula?

I guess Kula is not about the physical exchange of Mwali.

That is the end symbol,

but Kula is everything else underneath.

It's a little bit like the ocean.

You have the waves that you can see, that you can feel.

What you do not see and what you do not feel

is the vast underwater current that moves.

Kula is about storytelling, conversations

and spending time with people.

Time is the item that is being traded.

We leave the next day, carefully loading the Mwali into the dinghy.

Edric and Nagiya bid farewell to their new Kula partners

with the promise of returning their hospitality.

Any Kula expedition that goes out, it's a challenge.

The biggest challenge is to prove to yourself

that you have what it takes to make the journey.

And when you come back, whatever you come back with, you come back

a lot more mature, a lot wiser

and a lot more responsible.

You'll be surprised that you are a very different man.

Work starts again now, boys!

Back to the gardens tomorrow.

We've been here less than two minutes

and Nagiya is already sat down on his porch

and has started recounting tales from his trip.

And for somebody as old as Nagiya,

that could well be the last time he ever goes on a Kula journey,

so it's his job now to inspire the next generation.

You can't help but feel that as these different islands

start going in their own different directions,

that it's moments like this that are so, so important

to somehow keeping them rooted to their traditions

and keeping the idea of Kula going.

'For Edric, who also need yams for his Kula partner,

'it's time to combine ancient tradition

'with 21st-century technology.'

This is a very Edric solution to a very old problem.

His Kula partners are coming in three months, so what's he done?

He's gone and got his laptop out,

he's set up a little cinema in his village

and he's charging one yam seed per seat.

I think we have to get started.

These people are getting a little impatient.

'But it's not to be Edric's night.'

Oh, no! The projector's on fire.

I think the fuse has blown, in the projector.

Back to the drawing board, Edric?

Well, obviously, things haven't gone to plan, but Edric assures me

that he will be back tomorrow, and he is going to try again.

And if I have learned anything about Kula,

it's that it is all about the journey.

'My own journey in the Coral Triangle has also come to an end.'

Oh, mate, thank you so much.

Thanks for everything.

'Within these waters, extraordinary communities continue to survive.

'I've been fortunate to witness their incredible skills.

'I have felt their warmth.

'And seen their resilience.

'Their futures will be shaped

'not only by the new forces that have arrived...'

That tanker is about

200, 300 times our size.

'..but by the choices the next generation make...'

Stand up!

'..as they adapt to this changing world.'

Stand up. Sit down.

As the planet becomes increasingly connected

and our cultures bleed into one another,

the survival of these people and their unique way of life

seems more important than ever.