Sam Low stands in awe of his ancestors — and he isn’t alone. “They possessed ships that were capable of traveling the world,” says Low, an anthropologist, filmmaker, photographer, and lifelong sailor.

The first Native Hawai’ian woman to earn a PhD in science, Isabella Aiona Abbott was one of the world’s foremost authorities on limu, or the more than 70 edible varieties of seaweed. Her work won Abbott the accolade “First Lady of Limu.” Also considered the foremost expert on central-Pacific algae, Abbott navigated an ocean of “firsts” for indigenous people through her 90 years (1919–2010).