Reclaiming the waves: Pacific surfers challenge Hawaiian erasure and commercial whitewash

Long before it became a billion-dollar industry or a lifestyle trend, surfing was a sacred practice across the Pacific. But that history has long been overshadowed. Commercialised, colonised, and repackaged for the masses, surfing's true origins have often been left out of the story.Now, a movement is growing to reclaim the waves. Hawai'ian historian and academic vice-president of Brigham Young University, Dr Isaiah Helekunihi Walker, takes us back to surfing's birthplace. In Hawai'i, it's called He'e Nalu, and it's always been a way of life that connected people to the ocean, community and land. ABC Radio Australia's Culture Compass host Afamasaga Seiluli Salamasina von Reiche dives into the true roots of surfing and the growing movement to reclaim it as a vital part of Pacific culture.Culture Compass was produced by Deadset Studios for ABC Radio Australia.