Elizabeth Lindsey

Biography

Elizabeth Kapuʻuwailani Lindsey is a cultural anthropologist and Polynesian Explorer, known for being the first Fellow of the National Geographic Society from Polynesian descent. She holds a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology, focusing on ethnonavigation, and was crowned Miss Hawaiʻi in 1978. Lindsey studied traditional Pacific navigation techniques with master navigator Mau Piailug as part of her doctoral fieldwork, beginning in 1997.