Hawaiian language activist Larry Kimura led the charge in the 1970s in getting Hawaii's Department of Education to sanction Hawaiian-language immersion schools. The state, however, did not offer any support or curriculum, Kimura said. So they did it on their own — starting with preschool — where kids could absorb the language from the start. Shereen Marisol Meraji hide caption

The Hokule'a, a voyaging canoe built to revive the centuries-old tradition of Polynesian exploration, makes its way up the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Sailed by a crew of 12 who use only celestial navigation and observation of nature, the canoe is two-thirds of the way through a four-year trip around the world. Bryson Hoe/Courtesy of 'Oiwi TV and Polynesian Voyaging Society hide caption