Dr. Elizabeth Kapu’uwailani Lindsey is the first Polynesian explorer and female fellow in the history of the National Geographic Society. With a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology, specializing in ethnonavigation, Elizabeth shares the distinction of National Geographic Female Explorer with only twenty-eight other women in the world.
An internationally recognized expert in the field of cultural intelligence, Dr. Lindsey is an advisor to world leaders and global institutions, serving on such boards as The Tibet Fund for His Holiness the Dali Lama and Islands First with United Nations Ambassadors.
In 2010, she received the Visionary Award from the United Nations for her contributions to intercultural engagement and understanding.
A former Miss Hawai’i who was named “Woman of the Year” for Hawai’i Island in 2004, Elizabeth has established scholarships for children in Hawaii and India. Her documentary, Then There Were None, which chronicles the near extinction of native Hawaiians, has received numerous international awards including the prestigious CINE Eagle.
She credits her passionate commitment of safeguarding the world’s vanishing cultures to her native Hawaiian elders and mentor Micronesian Master Navigator Pius “Mau” Piailug, who, until his death, was considered the greatest wayfinder in the world.
Some of the images in this video were provided by Lisa Kristine who uses photography to expose deeply human stories and to inspire change. For more than twenty-five years, Lisa has explored the globe, looking for the peoples, cultures and places that time forgot, creating indelible and unforgettable images. She brings the distant and the ancient and the rare into clearer focus. www.lisakristine.com