After arriving in Hawaii in the early 1960s as a labor missionary from Tonga, who primarily operated heavy equipment and worked with cement, Tui’one Pulotu was “drawn” to Hawaiian tikis and eventually taught himself to carve not only the distinctive wooden Hawaiian statues but all kinds of Polynesian creations and cultural items. In 2001, for example, he was one of the master carvers for the Iosepa sailing canoe which is on display in the Hawaiian Village.