Back to All Events

Seeking Samoa: A Taupou’s Voyage Home

Tuloutele Celeste Manuia Ha’o

6:30pm-8:30pm | Wednesday, May 28, 2025

Location: Gardner Commons, 260 S. Central Campus Dr, Room 1900, Salt Lake City, UT 84112

Journey with Tuloutele Celeste Manuia Haʻo as she shares an ancestral and personal voyage across ocean and identity—weaving together wayfinding, cultural revitalization, and the sacred responsibilities of a taupou living in diaspora into a powerful story of return, resilience, and renewal.

Tuloutele Celeste Manuia Haʻo is a Hawaiian-Sāmoan wayfinder, educator, designer, and storyteller from Hilo, Hawaiʻi. She trained under the late Pwo Navigator Kālepa Baybayan and co-navigated Hōkūleʻa on a historical journey that fulfilled her grandfather’s prophecy—returning to their village of Faleapuna, Sāmoa, “by way of sea and stars.”

Venue Update: Please note that the event has moved to Gardner Commons on the University of Utah campus. While the venue has changed, the event is still in the same area as originally planned. We apologize for any inconvenience and look forward to seeing you there!

Gardner Commons Address

260 S. Central Campus Dr, Room 1900

Salt Lake City, UT 84112

Parking

The closest paid parking lot is on the east side of the building; there is another lot by the Marriott Library, but note that this one is a bit of a walk with stairs. Parking at the University Campus is $3.00/hr and free after 8pm. Scroll to the bottom for a map and directions.

MEET THE KEYNOTE

Tuloutele Celeste Manuia Haʻo

A Hawaiian-Sāmoan wayfinder, educator, designer, and storyteller from Hilo, Hawaiʻi, Tuloutele Celeste trained under the late Pwo Navigator Kālepa Baybayan and co-navigated Hōkūleʻa on a historic journey that fulfilled her grandfather’s prophecy—returning to their village of Faleapuna, Sāmoa, “by way of sea and stars.”

At 17, Celeste was named Tuloutele, the Taupou of Faleapuna. Instead of remaining in the village, her grandfather directed her to return to Hawaiʻi, learn all she could, and one day teach their people. That calling guides her work today—blending ancestral intelligence with bold innovation to design learning experiences that reconnect ʻōiwi communities with identity, language, and place.

PARKING INSTRUCTIONS

The closest paid parking lot is on the east side of the building; there is another lot by the Marriott Library, but note that this one is a bit of a walk with stairs. Parking at the University Campus is $3.00/hr and free after 8pm. Scroll to the bottom for a map and directions.

E momoli atu ai le agaga fa’afetai i ‘āiga, uō, ma pa’aga sa lagolagoina mālosi le tātou fa’amoemoe.

We express our heartfelt gratitude to our families, friends, colleagues and sponsors for their role in making our first Wayfinding Week a success.

Mālō lava le agalelei ma le a’ao foa’i.

Previous
Previous
May 27

Voyaging by Land and Sea: Utah Roots and Oceanic Routes

Next
Next
May 29

An Evening Beneath Ancestral Skies: Tōloa Rising at Clark Planetarium