Elizabeth Kapu'uwailani Lindsey
Quick Facts
Biography
Elizabeth Kapu’uwailani Lindsey is the first Polynesian explorer and the first female Fellow of the National Geographic Society.
Her work recognizes Pius "Mau" Piailug (Mau Piailug) of Micronesia, her mentor with whom she studied ethnonavigation. It also includes the documentation of Moken, a tribe of Southeast Asian sea nomads, New Zealand's Māori elders, Q'ero priests of Peru, and qi kung masters in China's temple caves.
Lindsey directed and produced Then There Were None, a 1996 documentary film that chronicles the plight of native Hawaiians. It received the CINE Golden Eagle Award. Lindsey is a filmmaker and anthropologist. She works to 'preserve and spread' the knowledge and traditions of indigenous community.
Lindsey is a co-founder of HairPrint Technology.
Acting
Lindsey is also an actor, with roles in Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Byrds of Paradise, Magnum, P.I., and a number of other television shows and movies.
Awards and recognition
- Miss Hawaii (1978)
- CINE Golden Eagle Award (1996) (for Then There Were None)
- "Woman of the Year" for The Big Island of Hawai'i (2004)
- National Geographic Fellow (2008)
- United Nations Visionary Award (2010)
Personal life
Lindsey was married to John W. A. "Doc" Buyers, former chairman and chief executive officer of C. Brewer & Co., from 1999 until his death in 2006.
Lindsey married George D. Crowley, III in 2018.