Political Reviews

Micronesia in Review: Issues and Events, 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2015 michael bevacqua, monica c labriola, kelly g marsh, clement yow mulalap, tyrone j taitano

Polynesia in Review: Issues and Events, 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2015 mary tuti baker, lorenz gonschor, margaret mutu, christina newport, forrest wade young

171 Polynesia in Review: Issues and Events, 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2015

Reviews of American Sāmoa, Niue, year. In order to form a government, a Sāmoa, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, and political party needs 12 of the 24 par- Wallis and Futuna are not included in liamentary seats. The general election this issue. saw fifty-four candidates, including seven women, contest the twenty-four Cook Islands constituencies. The preliminary results On the eve of celebrating half a cen- had the Democratic Party ahead with tury of constitutional self-governing in 11 seats, the Cook Islands Party with the Cook Islands, the period in review 10 seats, and the One Cook Islands was dominated by the aftermath of Party with 2 seats. The Tamarua seat the July 2014 general election. This of the island of Mangaia was tied. included nine court petitions, two Counting of special and postal by-elections, and one defection. The votes saw the final results swing to results saw the Cook Islands Party give the Cook Islands Party 13 seats. return to power with a one-seat major- The Democratic Party losses included ity to lead the country for the remain- the defeat of their leader, Wilkie Ras- der of the four-year parliamentary mussen from the island of Penrhyn. term. Public voices were raised and The Mitiaro Island seat was also tied. rallied during the year under review. A Of course, matters did not end key area of concern included marine there, with nine petitions lodged in resource management and purse-seine court. Three petitions were with- fishing. Along with preparations for drawn, with the remaining heard by the celebrations of fifty years of inde- the court. Petition dismissals saw pendence, the relationship of the Cook Nandi Glassie and first-timer Rose Islands with New Zealand came under Toki Brown survive petitions alleging scrutiny. Eyebrows were raised over bribery. They took up office as Cook the Cook Islands’ interest in pursuing Islands Party representatives for the United Nations (UN) membership. Island of Atiu (cin, 18 Sept 2014). The The portability of the New Zealand petition concerning the Manihiki seat Superannuation for Cook Islander held by Prime Minister Henry Puna residents in New Zealand also stirred was also dismissed following claims interest. Both of the latter issues of bribery and unqualified voters highlighted the fact that the Cook (cin, 10 Sept 2015). The Tamarua seat Islands can certainly be heard but not petition based on voter ineligibility necessarily heeded in the domestic was proved. This enabled the seat to and international policy spaces of its be secured by Tetangi Matapo as the sovereign partner and colonial master, third female Member of Parliament New Zealand. for the Democratic Party, following a Electoral uncertainty pervaded the recount.

204 political reviews • polynesia 205

By this stage of the proceedings, Party candidate Kete Ioane. In the Finance Minister Mark Brown called midst of his campaign for the Vaipae- for electoral reforms, as a number of Tautu by-election, Ioane, age sixty- petitions were based on voter ineligi- four, died in New Zealand following bility. He advocated the “establish- a short illness. He was known as a ment of a fulltime electoral office and quiet achiever and humble man whose chief registrar” (Pacific Scoop, 28 Sept organizational skills brought many 2014). By October 2014, the Cook projects to fruition. He was consid- Islands Party held a one-seat majority ered a man of the people and for the as it awaited the outcome of the court people. His career as a Member of action to decide on the Mitiaro draw Parliament began in 1999. His port and a Vaipae-Tautu petition. folios included Environment, National The tied Mitiaro result of 50 votes Heritage, House of Ariki, Parliamen- each saw the Democratic Party first tary Services, and the Outer Islands lodging in court a petition claiming (cin, 16 Feb 2015). bribery and treating in the run-up to As many mourned Ioane’s passing, the election and then withdrawing the a new date for the by-election was set petition. In November, this late with- for 31 March 2015. Previously the drawal was successfully appealed by Democratic Party–One Cook Islands the Cook Islands Party. On hearing the Party coalition had Teina Bishop matter, Chief Justice Thomas Weston acting as Ioane’s campaign manager. deemed one voter ineligible. The However, instead of supporting Kete subsequent recount saw long-serving Ioane’s replacement, the One Cook Democratic Party member Tangata Islands Party named retired school Vavia receive 50 votes, just ahead of principal Amiria Davey as its candi- Tuakeu Tangatapoto’s 49 votes. In date. Davey had originally been in December, High Court Judge Hugh the running to be the new Democratic Williams dismissed the Cook Islands Party candidate (cin, 4 March 2015). Party challenge over the eligibility of In honor of her husband, Teinakore three voters, thereby upholding the Ioane was named the Democratic recent recount results. Not content Party candidate to stand against Davey to let this result lie, the Cook Islands and the Cook Islands Party candidate, Party unsuccessfully took the mat- Mona Ioane. This inclusion of a third ter to the Court of Appeal in New candidate gave an inkling that all was Zealand, as one voter had chosen to not well in the Democratic Party camp leave Mitiaro for medical reasons (cin, or in its coalition with the One Cook 18 Feb 2015). Once all petitions had Islands Party. been heard in December, the Cook Unfortunately the Democratic Party Islands Party had 11 seats, the Demo- suffered yet another loss. Despite his cratic Party had 10, One Cook Islands win as a Democratic Party candidate Party had 2 seats, and a by-election for the Avatiu-Ruatonga-Palmerston was ordered for the Aitutaki electorate electorate, first time Member of Par- of Vaipae-Tautu. liament Albert Nicholas then crossed Sadly, February 2015 saw the the floor to join the Cook Islands unexpected passing of Democratic Party. This one seat shift took the 206 the contemporary pacific • 28:1 (2016)

Cook Islands Party numbers from 11 general election, former policeman to 12, giving it enough to form a gov- and lawyer Mona Ioane was accused ernment. Enticed by a seat in cabinet, of bribery in December 2014. The Nicholas now held portfolios includ- matter was referred to the police com- ing Internal Affairs, Ombudsman, missioner for investigation, and the Youth and Sports, and the govern- election result was declared void. At ment-managed marketplace in Avatiu, the time, Ioane had been appointed the Punanga Nui. as the cabinet minister for Educa- Nicholas’s party hop had been two tion, Justice, and Marine Resources; months in the planning. He considered however, Prime Minister Puna consid- this move as representing a coalition ered it improper to bestow a cabinet between his constituency commit- seat on Ioane while the case was under tee, the Cook Islands Party, and the police investigation (cin, 27 April people of his constituency. In addition 2015). By the end of the period under to being an arrangement that would review, no charges had been laid. If benefit the constituency, he believed charged and then found guilty, Ioane that he was “doing this in the hope would have to vacate his seat and a that it gives political certainty to our by-election would have to be held. country” (cin, 25 March 2015). This A second police investigation of sentiment was shared by Prime Min- a political leader also remains unre- ister Puna. Of course this was not the solved. The corruption investigation view of the Democratic Party, which of Aitutaki Member of Parliament condemned Nicholas for his actions. Teina Bishop continues to linger Under the anti–party hopping provi- into its second year. Since July 2013, sion of the 2004 Electoral Act, Mem- investigators have continued to look bers of Parliament who switch parties into allegations of bribery and cor- cannot vote on matters of appro- ruption leveled against Bishop when priation or confidence in the prime he was minister of Marine Resources. minister. This effectively means that if Included in the investigation are Nicholas votes to support the govern- his relations with Huanan Fishery ment on such matters, his seat can be (Cook Islands) Company, a subsidiary declared vacant, forcing yet another of Luen Thai Fishing Venture. No by-election (cin, 16 March 2015). charges have been filed in connection However, no such opportunities with the long-running investigation, arose. Days after Nicholas’s move, the and Bishop has frequently expressed Aitutaki by-election saw Cook Islands his exasperation at the delays in Party candidate Mona Ioane voted bringing the matter to a close (cin, back in. The remaining votes were 16 March 2015). As with Ioane, if he split between Davey and Teinakore is charged and then found guilty, he Ioane. The win gave the Cook Islands will also have to vacate his seat and Party a thirteen-seat majority and the another by-election must be held. ability to govern unencumbered. Overall, the results have shown that Despite the win, all is not settled all has not gone well for the Demo- for the troubled seat of Vaipae-Tautu. cratic Party, despite its retaining the After initially winning the seat in the confidence of the majority of Cook political reviews • polynesia 207

Islands voters. In departing from his ernment and its development partners seat and role as party leader, Wilkie to consider the country’s progress and Rasmussen called for a new gover- commitments to the country’ develop- nance model that better suits our type ment agenda. This included making of small island state, like the democ- “island sense” of development with racy in Jersey, United Kingdom, where increased use of national systems in members are independent with no addressing the ongoing challenges of political parties, the queen is head of depopulation, a fragile environment, state, and the government is split with and limited economic base. Also dur- 12 senators, 12 constables, and 29 ing February, the University of the deputies. Rightsizing Parliament with South Pacific and the Office of the seats based on quality and merit rather Prime Minister convened a series of than quantity was also advanced (cin, climate-change fora aimed at building 24 Jan 2015). With William “Smiley” awareness about its potential impacts. Heather appointed as the Democratic Well supported by local individuals Party leader and Ngatangiia rookie and organizations, the fora drew on Member of Parliament Tama Tuavera the substantial knowledge and experi- named deputy leader, there has been ence of Cook Islands experts. no indication that such a transforma- During the year, government attention has found favor with the new- tion continued to focus on climate look party or with the Cook Islands finance as a potential resource for the Party as it gets on with serving out Cook Islands development agenda. the remainder of its four-year term in Over the medium term, the Cook power. Islands as a middle-income country Besides electoral politics, the year will no longer be eligible for develop- under review also saw attention ment assistance from the Organisation focused on the fiftieth anniversary of of Economic Cooperation and Devel- independence. All kinds of events have opment. Officials have set their sights been planned for a year of consti- on accessing potential climate finance tutional celebrations. A New Year’s through global funds such as the Day music festival was already held Adaptation Fund and the new Global but much is centered on the annual Climate Fund with us$10 billion in constitutional anniversary, to be held pledges. Globally, the Adaptation on 4 August 2015. This will include Fund has over us$265 million dollars the participation of each island at allocated for forty-four countries to national cultural and sporting events increase climate resilience. However, as well as commemorative services to of the seventeen national implement- be attended by local and international ing agencies already accredited, none supporters of the country. are from the Pacific. In order to be The annual Development Partners accredited, the Cook Islands Ministry meeting held in February 2015 and of Finance and Economic Manage- themed “Journey to Development” ment made an application to the was attended by a number of interna- Adaptation Fund board to become tional partners. The weeklong meeting a National Implementing Entity. provided an opportunity for the gov- According to ministry official Lavinia 208 the contemporary pacific • 28:1 (2016)

Tama, if successful, the Cook Islands The nature of Cook Islands sover- will be able to move funds directly eignty was also highlighted this year into government systems. This will in its ability to present its views on do away with the middleman and the New Zealand domestic policy issues ticket clipping that currently happens that cross international borders. One with funds managed by third-party such issue was the eligibility and organizations (cin, 15 Dec 2014). portability of superannuation pay- The Cook Islands–style sovereignty ments from Cook Islanders back of free association with New Zealand to the Cook Islands on their retire- also came into focus this year. While ment. Prime Minister Puna presented it was reported that the New Zealand the Cook Islands case to the Social government was not looking to change Services Select Committee on the the existing relationship, media claims Social Assistance bill. Currently Cook surfaced that the Cook Islands “was Islanders are required to live in New pushing for independence from New Zealand for five years after the age Zealand at the cost of losing New of fifty to be qualifying residents for Zealand citizenship” (cin, 10 June Superannuation. The Cook Islands, 2015). However, it would seem that along with Niue, sought the removal the interest was actually in obtaining of this requirement. The Cook Islands a seat as a member state of the United submitted that an amendment would Nations, without necessarily losing enable the earlier return of Cook New Zealand citizenship. Islanders as well as prevent the Over the last fifty years, the Cook negative impacts experienced by some Islands has shown its ability to act like Cook Islanders having to return to an independent state. It has estab- New Zealand to qualify. lished diplomatic relations with forty- Noting the issue of depopulation three states and is a member of over (Cook Islands Government 2011), forty-two organizations, including high levels of human mobility, and the United Nations specialized agencies. It changing demographics of the Cook has also signed more than two hun- Islands population, such a submission dred multilateral and bilateral treaties can be seen as addressing ongoing (Cook Islands Ministry of Foreign challenges associated with the econo- Affairs and Immigration 2015). UN mies of “large ocean-states” (Stone membership was considered by the 2012). Furthermore, the Cook Islands prime minister’s chief advisor, Trevor submission highlighted the Cook Pitt, to be a natural progression for a Islands’ place in the “realm” of New maturing country and to have more Zealand (whereby the Cook Islands, to do with diplomatic competency to with its agreement with New Zealand, participate in international affairs than shares the queen of the British Com- with obtaining aid (cin, 30 June 2015; monwealth as head of state) and the Stuff, 31 May 2015). The current existing principle whereby foreigners government, like previous ones, has are able to qualify for New Zealand yet to apply for UN membership, so citizenship by maintaining five years’ the Cook Islands’ eligibility remains residency in the Cook Islands. As unresolved (Igarashi 2001). such, this principle could be applied political reviews • polynesia 209 to the New Zealand Superannuation seining campaign saw a petition initi- with the five-year requirement also ated. Four thousand signatures were fulfilling the qualifying requirements collected from across the country. As (cin, 23 Feb 2015). The Cook Islands a first for Te Ipukarea Society, the call to amend the social assistance bill petition has gained a lot of support, gained support from New Zealand although this was not the case on the Parliamentarians such as Winston island of Aitutaki. The Island Council Peters and Cook Islands descendant there would not allow the petition Poto Williams, Labour Member of to be placed in major stores on the Parliament for Christchurch East (cin, island, thereby limiting opportuni- 2 May 2015). In the end, the New ties; and only 20 percent of the voting Zealand Parliament passed the bill public’s signatures were gathered without the changes. (cin, 9 June 2015). The petition was Civic actions were stirred with presented to Parliament during the public opposition to the issue of June 2015 sitting, which was the first overfishing. Purse-seine fishing and since October 2014 when Parliament fish-aggregation devices are believed passed the budget. Democratic Party to have resulted in the reduced access Member of Parliament for Murienua to fish stocks for subsistence fish- James Beer undertook to table the ers and game-charter fisheries (cin, petition and ensure that the concerns 16 April 2015). In April 2015, more of the campaign were dealt with in than one hundred protestors took to Parliament. the main street of Avarua, Rarotonga, The long-awaited family law calling for a total ban on purse-seine reforms took one step closer to fishing in Cook Islands waters. In becoming reality. The Family Law Bill May, a long-awaited meeting was held has inched through the lawmaking with the prime minister and Secretary processes with its second hearing. A of the Ministry of Marine Resources select committee chaired by Member Ben Ponia and representatives of Te of Parliament Mona Ioane has been Ipukarea Society (tis). In representing established. The legislation intends the environmental group leading the to modernize laws related to divorce, lobby for fishery reforms, tis Presi- child support, parenting arrangements, dent Ian Karika and technical direc- domestic violence, and the care and tor Kelvin Passfield were able to put protection of children (cin, 29 June their side of the debate to the prime 2015). However, its progress is seen as minister. However, any possibility of frustratingly slow by those who tire- a ban must contend with Secretary lessly advocate against family violence Ponia’s view that “we are dealing with and provide support to victims of a regional fishery and if we wish for it domestic violence (cin, 29 May 2015). to be managed responsibly, our chal- Let’s hope the public outcries afforded lenge is to engage with industry and political, economic, and environmen- other Pacific Islands and not simply tal concerns can be equally invoked disengage and demonise fishing” (cin, when it comes time to make public 27 April 2015). submissions to the select committee. Further action in the anti–purse- Overall, the Cook Islands has 210 the contemporary pacific • 28:1 (2016)

managed to get through its election- Scoop, 28 September. http://pacific.scoop year controversies despite two by-elec- .co.nz/2014/09/minister-calls-for-electoral tions still possibly in the cards. With -changes-after-cook-islands-turmoil/ the fifty-year sovereignty celebrations [accessed 9 June 2015] now underway, it is likely that further political disruptions will be pushed to the backburner until all celebrations French Polynesia have been completed. christina newport Politics in French Polynesia during the year under review was dominated by a profound leadership struggle between References veteran politician Gaston Flosse, who lost his position as president of the cin, Cook Islands News. Rarotonga. Daily. country, and his successor and former son-in-law Edouard Fritch, who suc- Cook Islands Government. 2011. National Sustainable Development Plan, 2011– cessfully freed himself from his former 2015: The Cook Islands, Te Kaveinga Nui. mentor’s overbearing influence. Yet it Rarotonga: Office of the Prime Minister. came at the price of breaking up the solid majority arising from the 2013 Cook Islands Ministry of Foreign Affairs election and throwing the country into and Immigration. 2015. The Cook Islands and Free Association: Understanding the a new period of political instability. Nature and Practice of the Special Rela- It all started in July 2014, when the tionship with New Zealand. http://www French justice system finally started .mfai.gov.ck/attachments/article/233/ catching up with Flosse’s various cases Summary%20Sheet%20NZ%20and% of corruption after decades of ineffec- 20CKI.pdf [accessed 10 Aug 2015] tive handling. On 23 July, the Paris Igarashi, Masahiro. 2001. Associated Court of Cassation, a court that exam- Statehood in International Law. Boston: ines prior cases for procedural errors, Kluwer Law International. confirmed a previous criminal conviction that Flosse had first appealed, to Small, Vernon, and Simon Day. 2015. Cook Islands Push for Independence from no avail, and then re-appealed. While NZ. Stuff, 31 May. http://www.stuff.co the court suspended Flosse’s jail sen- .nz/world/south-pacific/68986939/cook tence, it confirmed a fine of 125,000 -islands-push-for-independence-from-nz euros (us$138,000) as well as a depri- [accessed 5 June 2015] vation of his civil rights. The president Stone, Gregory. 2012. Opinion: Pacific was thus legally barred from voting or Nations Lead Sea-Change in Ocean Con- serving in an elected office for a period servation. cnn, 3 September. http://www of three years (ti, 23 July 2014). .cnn.com/2012/09/03/opinion/eco The substance of the charges was -solutions-pacific-ocean-opinion the so-called fictional employment [accessed 6 Nov 2015] affair, going back to the late 1990s Underbjerg, Lasse. 2014. Minister Calls and early 2000s, when various politi- for Electoral Changes after Cook Islands cians and trade union leaders had Turmoil. Interview with Cook Islands been given paid jobs at the presidential Finance Minister Mark Brown. Pacific office without ever working there, a political reviews • polynesia 211 scheme of corruption popular among Beffre’s behavior undermined the rule French politicians. of law, stating that with this prec- Under normal circumstances, Flosse edent, all convicted criminals could would immediately have been noti- now refuse to accept their sentences by fied of the final sentence and removed asking Hollande for a presidential par- from office. However, his lawyers don (ti, 29 July 2014). Similarly, Teva tried to use any and every means to Rohfritsch of the small pro-French evade the sentence, first by asking opposition party A Tia Porinetia (atp) yet another court to reexamine the expressed being “shocked” at what sentence; second by filing a complaint he perceived as a plot by the French with the European Human Rights government to protect Flosse (rnzi, Court (if either court would rule in 6 Aug 2014). Flosse’s favor, it would lead to a sus- While still acting as though the pension of his sentence); and finally by confirmed conviction did not exist, petitioning French President François Flosse undertook at least one positive Hollande for a presidential pardon (ti, step when he dismissed the controver- 23 July 2014). sial former French overseas minister, As a matter of procedure, French Brigitte Girardin, from her position as High Commissioner Lionel Beffre was the country’s “special representative notified of the sentence and tasked in Paris,” admitting that the post was with enforcing it by formally declar- superfluous (ti, 6 Aug 2014)—a fact ing Flosse ineligible and therefore that had been pointed out numerous removed from office. However, Beffre times before by the opposition and by first refused to do so, arguing, on independent observers. shaky legal grounds, that the demand Later in August, President Hol- for a presidential pardon had to be lande commented on the pardon heard first. This was interpreted as petition, stating ambiguously that an indication that Flosse’s protective “the decisions of the Judiciary should network was still operational. It was be applied” (ti, 23 Aug 2014). Beffre indeed unheard of that a convicted interpreted this as a refusal of Flosse’s criminal, whose conviction has been demand and at last initiated Flosse’s confirmed for a third time, could removal from office. On 6 Septem- evade his sentence simply by asking ber, the president was thus declared for a presidential pardon. The more removed by decree of the high com- usual procedure would be that a par- missioner and prohibited from holding don would be pronounced afterward any political office for the next three and might, for instance, lead to an years (dt, 6 Sept 2014). early release from jail or, in Flosse’s With Flosse’s party Tahoeraa case, might reinstate his civil rights Huiraatira holding a two-thirds earlier than originally intended. majority in the Assembly of French The high commissioner’s stalling Polynesia, there were initially no tactics scandalized the local opposi- surprises in managing Flosse’s succes- tion. Opposition Union Pour La sion. Following Flosse’s directions, his Démocratie (upld) leader and former former son-in-law, Assembly Speaker President Oscar Temaru argued that Edouard Fritch, was elected to the 212 the contemporary pacific • 28:1 (2016) country’s presidency on 12 September tember—which is done indirectly by (tpm, Oct 2014). Unlike Flosse the an electoral college of 714, consisting year before, Fritch was able to gather of the territory’s three French national an ultra-majority of 46 votes (out of assembly members, the 57 members a total of 57 assembly members) since of the assembly of French Polynesia, the atp caucus supported the new and delegates from all 48 municipal president. This seemingly confirmed councils—was won as anticipated by rumors already spread during the the Tahoeraa ticket consisting of Iriti 2013 elections that, despite its opposi- Teura and Vincent Dubois, the latter tion rhetoric, atp was nothing but a being another son-in-law of Flosse. “fifth column” of Tahoeraa. Fritch’s Since several Tahoeraa electors had new cabinet remained for the most worn their party colors during the part identical to that of his predeces- vote, which is prohibited under French sor, with Nuihau Laurey continuing as law, upld filed a complaint demand- vice president. Former cabinet minister ing an annulment of the election and Flosse confidant Marcel Tuihani results (tpm, Oct 2014). succeeded Fritch as assembly Speaker Senator Richard Tuheiava of upld, (ti, 15 Sept, 16 Sept 2014). who had been elected as Flosse’s ticket Having thus barely been removed mate when Tahoeraa and upld were from local politics, Flosse reentered allied in 2008, missed being reelected. it a few weeks later through the back The pro-independence opposition thus door when on 26 September the lost an important voice in Paris, as Tahoeraa assembly caucus hired him Tuheiava had been a very active advo- as “special consultant” and placed a cate of the territory’s decolonization, luxury office in the assembly building both nationally and internationally, at his disposal using a legal loophole, and it was mainly thanks to his efforts since his conviction forbade the hold- that the country won reinscription as ing of an elected office but not a job as a non–self-governing territory by con- an employee of a political institution sensual decision of the United Nations (ti, 26 Sept 2014). As Flosse appar- General Assembly in 2013. In various ently continued to exercise significant follow-up meetings of the decoloniza- influence over the government, many tion committee and other UN agen- people asked the question, reiter- cies, Tuheiava had always been present ated on the October cover of Tahiti- to represent the pro-independence sec- Pacifique Magazine next to a picture tion of the country’s population, often of Flosse and Fritch, “Who is the real in tandem with ex-President Temaru. president?” (tpm, Oct 2014). In early July, Tuheiava had first As a consequence of the confirmed attended the UN Decolonization Com- conviction, Flosse also lost his seat in mittee meeting in New York, where the French senate, which he had held he testified, together with Temaru, since 1998. This was rather a formal- in favor of more UN scrutiny over ity, however, since the term expired at France’s administration of the territory the end of September and Flosse had (otr, 1 July, 2 July 2014); he then not planned to run for another term. represented the territory at a meeting The senatorial election of 28 Sep- of the Parliamentarians for Nuclear political reviews • polynesia 213

Non-Proliferation and Disarmament 22 Oct 2014). Partly influenced by in Switzerland, where he delivered a their testimony, the General Assembly speech calling for the nuclear powers passed another resolution on French to take up their responsibilities for the Polynesia on 5 December, in which it people victimized by their thousands once more denounced France’s lack of of atomic weapons tests, including cooperation with UN decolonization France in French Polynesia between agencies —including Paris’s continu- 1966 and 1996 (otr, 20 July 2014). ing refusal to submit information on Shortly thereafter, on 25 July, the the territory as is obligatory under UN secretary-general released the article 73e of the UN Charter—and long-awaited report on the effects of reaffirmed its call for the French and nuclear testing in French Polynesia territorial governments to collaborate that had been announced in a previ- with UN agencies in educating the ous General Assembly resolution people of the country about their right of December 2013. The report was to self-determination (United Nations rather a disappointment, as it did not 2014a). contain any new research but instead Meanwhile, at home, the ongo- only summarized old reports on the ing UN debate on decolonization topic, including one by the Interna- and nuclear testing effects was hav- tional Atomic Energy Agency from ing unforeseen and profound impacts 1998 that is heavily biased toward the on local politics. Once locked out of then official French position that the the presidency, Gaston Flosse, who tests were “entirely harmless” and a as recently as June 2014 had insulted more recent one by the Office of the significant sections of the population United Nations High Commissioner by ordering the removal of the monu- for Human Rights that is gener- ment commemorating the nuclear-test ally critical of nuclear weapons and victims from a prominent position admits heavy health impacts deriving in a Papeete seafront park, suddenly from test explosions (United Nations rediscovered his anticolonialism. Fol- 2014b). References to the detailed lowing Hollande’s refusal to grant him reports produced by French Polynesia a pardon, Flosse first publicly pro- government agencies during Temaru’s claimed that he felt entitled to such a five presidencies were not included. pardon because he had served French Despite this disappointment, the fact national interests by supporting the alone that negative health impacts of nuclear-testing program. Then, to nuclear testing are now part of the protest against the way he was treated, official UN record pertaining to the he returned his Legion of Honor territory should be seen as a step in medal (the highest order of merit of the right direction. the French Republic) in an open letter Losing his senate seat did not dis- to Hollande, whom he blamed person- courage Tuheiava from continuing his ally for his removal from office (tpm, UN decolonization work, as he and Oct 2014). From then on, Flosse’s Temaru once more went to New York discourse turned increasingly hostile to address the General Assembly’s toward the French government, to the Fourth Committee in October (otr, point of rhetorically outdoing upld. 214 the contemporary pacific • 28:1 (2016)

The release of the UN report, as the environmental damage caused by weak as it was in substance, helped the tests, in addition to the yearly lease to put the plight of former test work- plus interest for the land on which ers suffering from radiation-caused the testing facilities were built, which illnesses back in the headlines. The France had never paid. In total, the so-called Morin Act of 2010 that resolution asked for 90.4 billion cfp provides compensation for health francs (us$900 million). Unrealistic damages caused by nuclear testing as the demands were in substance, has been largely ineffective, since Flosse’s political goal was to intro- only fourteen individuals have as yet duce a resolution in line with upld’s received compensation under its terms. anticolonial rhetoric that would be A new version of the law that suppos- too tempting for Temaru and his sup- edly facilitates compensation claims porters not to vote for, while his own was passed in 2013 but was only Tahoeraa members would be forced enacted by decree of French Prime to vote for it out of loyalty. The plan Minister Manuel Valls on 15 Septem- worked; on 27 November the reso- ber 2014, and nuclear-testing victims’ lution was adopted with a majority association Moruroa e Tatou spokes- composed of 25 Tahoeraa members as person Roland Oldham stated that he well as the entire upld caucus, while was doubtful whether the new version 11 Tahoeraa members (those loyal would be any more effective than its to Fritch) and members of atp voted predecessor (ti, 17 Sept 2014). against. To increase pressure on Paris, Meanwhile, Flosse, through his Senator Iriti Teura, another Flosse protégé Tuihani, had discovered the loyalist within Tahoeraa, introduced nuclear issue as a new warhorse. In a written question to the French mid-October, President Fritch trav- government that was identical to the eled to Paris on his own and met with assembly resolution. High Commis- French government officials to obtain sioner Beffre called the resolution new funds for the permanently bank- an “unfriendly gesture” toward the rupt territorial government without French state (tpm, Dec 2014). coordinating these efforts with Flosse Flosse had thus reached his first beforehand (tpm, Nov 2014). Flosse goal of severely annoying Paris in a felt bypassed, and the display of good spirit of revenge for his dismissal. His relations with Paris by his successor second goal—to create a new major- added insult to injury. By November, ity out of his Tahoeraa loyalists and tensions among Flosse, Tuihani, and upld based on a common anticolo- the majority of Tahoeraa assembly nial rhetoric (as he had already done members on one hand and Fritch and in 2007–2008) in order to topple his cabinet on the other, had reached Fritch—was more difficult to reach, as such heights that Flosse was ready to Temaru was not ready to commit to topple his successor and break up the such an alliance. party. In late December, Flosse was On 21 November, Tuihani thus offered another opportunity to sideline introduced a resolution asking France Fritch when a pay raise for the presi- to pay the territory compensation for dent came up in the assembly’s finance political reviews • polynesia 215 committee. In 2013, Flosse had his more than enough even if the presiden- presidential salary cut in half due to a tial salary had been kept at the lower new French law limiting the salary a level. Lastly, the fact that upld, as a senator could receive for local political supposedly anticolonial party working offices held concurrently. This had the toward establishing a sovereign coun- effect of having the president paid only try not dependent on French subsidies, 380,100 cfp francs (about us$3,500) evidently supports extravagant elite per month, while his cabinet ministers salaries that the country could never were paid 680,580 cfp francs (about afford if it were independent sheds a us$6,300). Not being paid a senator’s bad light on the party’s credibility. salary concurrently, Fritch considered That Flosse was by no means more this situation unjust. While the Taho- principled and insisted on auster- eraa majority in the committee, likely ity in this case only in order to score on Flosse’s directives, voted against off Fritch became clear when the the pay raise, upld refused to vote ex-president and his partner Pascale with them, arguing that Fritch was Haiti were arrested and detained on justified in being paid the same as his 12 December on charges of theft of ministers (ti, 18 Dec, 19 Dec 2014). public goods after being accused of The fact that upld supported the having taken custom-made china and president against Flosse was the first silverware from the presidential palace indication that Flosse’s plan to forge to their private home (rnzi, 12 Dec an alliance with upld was indeed not 2014). Apparently, since Flosse was working. Barely two months later, unable to ally with Temaru to over- the assembly’s permanent commit- throw Fritch, he could at least humili- tee voted unanimously to adjust the ate him by blocking his pay raise and president’s salary as originally planned leaving him without the luxury presi- (ti, 5 Feb 2014). dential dishes and silverware, while While at first glance the salary symbolically maintaining a “presiden- adjustment appears a just cause, it was tial” lifestyle for himself. in fact symptomatic of the country’s For a few months, the situation political elite living in a luxury world remained calm, but on 29 January, completely disconnected from the Tuihani introduced a proposal to common people. Instead of “adjust- amend the organic law of French ing” Fritch’s salary to that of his Polynesia, including an increase in ministers, it would have been far more the country government’s preroga- useful to “adjust” their salaries to the tives as well as a passage allowing 2013 level of the president’s salary, a nonmember of the assembly to be which is clearly no small amount. Fur- elected president. This was clearly thermore, the argument that, unlike meant to enable Flosse to regain the Flosse before, Fritch had to survive on presidency while his rights to vote or the “meager” presidential salary alone run for office remained suspended, was also flawed, since Fritch, while and it led to severe criticism not only not a senator, still concurrently holds by the opposition parties but also by a second salaried office as mayor of pro-Fritch members of Tahoeraa (ti, Pirae and would thus have earned 29 Jan, 30 Jan 2015). 216 the contemporary pacific • 28:1 (2016)

Tensions between Flosse and a strict application of Tahoeraa’s by- Fritch further increased when, on laws, an extraordinary meeting of the 6 February, the French Constitutional steering committee expelled Laurey Council ruled in favor of the opposi- and Tetuanui from the party because tion’s complaints from September they refused to comply with orders and declared the senatorial election to withdraw from the senatorial race invalid. As a consequence, Senators and were thus considered running Teura and Dubois were removed from on an opposing ticket. This was later office and a by-election was called for formally confirmed by the party lead- May (dt, 6 Feb 2015). Flosse immedi- ership (tpm, May 2015). ately assembled the Tahoeraa steering In early May, the split between committee to have Teura and Dubois the two factions of Tahoeraa became reconfirmed as senatorial candidates, finalized. At the senatorial by-election while Fritch, seeing the upcoming of 3 May, the Laurey-Tetuanui ticket election as a chance to increase his won a clear majority in the first round, own power, suggested Vice President as not only electors of the Fritch wing Laurey and assembly member Lana of Tahoeraa but also many atp and Tetuanui as candidates. A meeting even some upld electors voted for on 20 February between Flosse and them (ti, 3 May 2015). Fritch, who had not personally com- Strengthened by this clear verdict, municated since September, was held Fritch and his supporters formed a only to put a good face on the matter new assembly caucus named Tapura and did nothing to ease their steadily Huiraatira (“People’s List”) on deteriorating relationship (ti, 20 Feb 5 May. Fifteen assembly members 2015; tpm, March 2015). joined the new group, while twenty- The assembly session of 2 April three remained loyal to Tahoeraa. In became another test for the chang- coordination with the two opposition ing political majorities. The assembly caucuses, the members of the vari- voted to accept a convention signed ous assembly committees were newly between Fritch and the French govern- constituted and filled proportionally ment at the end of the previous year, (ti, 7 May 2015). Of Flosse’s loyalists, under which the French state would only Assembly Speaker Tuihani was financially contribute to the social able to hold on to his position, since solidarity scheme provided by the the Organic Law of French Polynesia country government. upld voted with provides for the election of a new atp and 16 Fritch supporters for the Speaker in between terms only in the resolution, giving it a strong majority case of the incumbent’s resignation. of 35 votes (ti, 2 April 2015). Once Of the five parliamentarians represent- again Flosse’s strategy to use upld to ing the country in Paris, only National form an antigovernment majority with Assembly member Jonas Tahuaitu his Tahoeraa loyalists had failed. remained loyal to Flosse, while, During the next few weeks, Flosse besides the two new senators, the two attempted to strengthen his influence other National Assembly members, by using a heavy-handed approach Maina Sage and Jean-Paul Tuaiva, toward party discipline. Insisting on were also supporters of Fritch. political reviews • polynesia 217

A few days later, the Tahoeraa increasingly unlikely, upld has thus steering committee expelled all found- become a courted party that tips the ing members of the new caucus. Presi- scale, forming ad hoc alliances with dent Fritch, on the other hand, was a either the Tapura-atp government more complicated case because he was or the opposition Tahoeraa remnant last elected deputy leader of the party depending on the circumstances. by a convention in 2014, an election According to a local journalist, upld that according to Tahoeraa’s by-laws is thus enabled to play a “subtle game can only be nullified by another party of liar’s poker” (ti, 3 July 2015). convention (ti, 12 May 2015). While While another switch in majori- Flosse repeatedly called on Fritch to ties cannot be ruled out for the near resign, he refused to do so. future, Flosse’s plan to woo upld After a short period of stability of with anticolonial rhetoric into a approximately two years, the country permanent coalition and overthrow thus descended back into a political Fritch in a no-confidence motion has chaos without clear majorities. Instead not worked out so far. Considering of the two-thirds majority stemming the political culture of the country and from the May 2013 assembly elec- its dynamics, it appears a far more tions, the president now only held a likely scenario that further Tahoeraa minority of fifteen members. Refer- members will cross the floor if offered ring to the constant changes made ministerial portfolios or other offices in the electoral system in order to by Fritch. This already happened in create stable majorities, to no avail, early June, when another Tahoeraa an observer commented sarcastically member crossed over to join Tapura, that “no matter what the French do to increasing its strength to sixteen (ti, create stability, our politicians manage 9 June 2015). to turn it into instability” (anony- Fritch—who like the other histori- mous, pers comm, 25 June 2015). cal Flosse-dissident presidents, Alexan- With Fritch thus being a president dre Léontieff and Gaston Tong Sang, without a majority, it came as little is not as charismatic a leader as either surprise that on 27 May he formed a Flosse or Temaru—clearly entered the coalition government with atp, whose presidency only by particular circum- pro-French, anti-Flosse platform is stances, and whether he will be able to almost identical with his own, and atp maintain himself in the face of pos- leader Teva Rohfritsch joined the cabi- sible intrigues by others is far from net as minister for economic affairs sure. Whether Flosse, now 83 years (ti, 27 May 2015). old, will ever regain the presidency The coalition with atp gave Fritch remains to be seen, but his longevity, eight additional assembly members, both physically and politically, should but with twenty-three members total it not be underestimated, as so far he has is still a minority coalition and would returned in full force each and every need the support of either upld or time the end of his political career Flosse’s “rump-Tahoeraa” to pass seemed imminent. laws and resolutions. As a reconcilia- With the most able political leader tion between Fritch and Flosse seems a notoriously corrupt figure like Flosse 218 the contemporary pacific • 28:1 (2016) and with few emerging politicians with overall population of 270,000 for the leadership qualities yet in sight, French entire country) and 14 deaths (pir, Polynesia finds itself in a deep-seated 9 Jan 2015). leadership crisis. This can be observed The deaths included famed singer not only in politics but in other fields Barthélémy Arakino, who passed as well, such as sports, where one of away on 16 February at the age of the saddest failures of leadership has 59 from Chikungunya-derived com- occurred. Féderation Internationale plications (tpm, March 2015). Also du Football Association (fifa) official among those who joined the ancestors Reynald Temarii, former professional during the review period were veteran football player and then minister pro-independence leader Tetua Mai for sports and youth under Flosse in of Huahine, who died at the age of the early 2000s, became one of the 76 (tpm, June 2015), as well as Papa few Tahitians ascending to a high- Mape of Moorea (age 82) and Coco profile international role when he was Elacott of Bora Bora (age 64), two appointed fifa vice president a decade prominent experts of Polynesian tradi- ago. However, being a true prod- tion and ancestral knowledge, which, uct of the political system of French unfortunately, is less frequently passed Polynesia, as an international sports down to younger generations as time official Temarii has done nothing goes on (tpm, Dec 2014, Jan 2015). but be involved in corruption affairs. What exactly the future will hold In the latest fifa scandal about the for the country seems less clear than bribes that attended the awarding of ever, but the French colonial “moth- the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, Temarii erland” is so crisis affected itself that was once more summoned and inter- it appears increasingly unable to rogated as a major suspect and ended contribute to the territory’s economic up being suspended from any associa- development. If anything promising tion football activities for eight years can be seen on the horizon in that by the fifa ethics commission (ti, 13 sense, it will most likely be intensify- May, 30 May 2015; tpm, June 2015). ing economic relations with China. In Leadership failures also became early June, President Fritch, after hav- evident in the virtual inaction of gov- ing consolidated his power base for ernment institutions in the face of the the time being, visited various parts Chikungunya epidemic that ravaged of China to negotiate investments the country during the review period. in tourism and other industries (ti, Imported from Africa via other French 4 June, 6 June 2015). overseas territories, the mosquito- Meanwhile, two big projects borne disease was already affecting financed with Chinese capital are over 11,000 people in November (ti, already underway in the country. The 21 Nov 2014). Efforts to curb the first is the “Tahiti Nui Ocean Foods” epidemic by eradicating the invasive complex on Hao Atoll in the Tuamotu mosquito species responsible for its Archipelago, a gigantic aquaculture spread were done only perfunctorily. farm to be funded through an invest- By the end of the year, there were ment contract of 150 billion cfp more than 130,000 cases (out of an francs (us$1.5 billion) over fifteen political reviews • polynesia 219 years by Chinese company Tian dent in French Polynesia as well. With Rui International Investments, with its weakened economy, France itself construction officially inaugurated on is unlikely to remain an important 6 May (tpm, June 2015). player in the region. While a few years Second, Flosse’s last big pet project, ago there were unconfirmed rumors a large-scale tourism development about the United States building a also to be funded from China named military installation on Mangareva “Mahana Beach” in Punaauia, is in in the east of the country (ti, 12 July its planning stages. The envisioned 2013), a recent move of the Teva I Uta mega-complex of hotels and resorts municipality on Tahiti’s south coast is meant to imitate that of Waikīkī in to twin itself with the Russian town Hawai‘i, and the construction design of Kronstadt appears quite interesting was awarded to the Honolulu-based from a geopolitical perspective (ti, architectural firm Group 70 Inter- 24 June). national. As it would surpass every- lorenz gonschor thing ever built on Tahiti before and include for the first time high-rises and a casino (both currently illegal References under local laws), tpm editor Alex Du Prel called it a “pharaonic project” dt, La Depêche de Tahiti. Daily. Tahiti. http://www.ladepeche.pf (tpm, Aug 2014). upld denounced the project as being too costly as well otr, Overseas Territories Review. as discriminatory to the local popula- http://overseasreview.blogspot.com tion, as it is planned to suspend the pir, Pacific Islands Report. Daily Internet local minimum wage on the construc- news. Honolulu. http://pidp.eastwestcenter tion site and bar local residents from .org/pireport visiting the casino (ti, 12 Sept 2014). Also, the profitability of the project rnzi, Radio New Zealand International. Daily radio and Internet news. Wellington. is still doubtful, since the tourism http://www.rnzi.com industry in the country has been gen- erally failing due to cheaper and more ti, Tahiti Infos. Daily Internet news. efficient competition on the part of Tahiti. http://www.tahiti-infos.com other Pacific destinations such as Fiji, tpm, Tahiti-Pacifique Magazine. Monthly. the Cook Islands, and Sāmoa, and as Tahiti. http://www.tahiti-pacifique.com a consequence, dozens of hotels have United Nations. 2014a. Question of closed in French Polynesia during the French Polynesia. Resolution adopted past few years. by the General Assembly on 5 December. In any case, the geopolitical reori- UN General Assembly, 69th session. entation of the Pacific Islands from the a/res/69/103. http://www.un.org/ga/ colonial and neocolonial West to East search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A%2FRES Asia and other emerging or reemerg- %2F69%2F103&Submit=Search&Lang=E ing non-Western powers such as India [accessed 9 Aug 2015] and Russia, as is most visibly articu- ______. 2014b. Report of the Secretary- lated by Fiji and its neighbors in the General: The Environmental, Ecological, southwestern Pacific, is becoming evi- Health and Other Impacts of the 30-year 220 the contemporary pacific • 28:1 (2016)

Period of Nuclear Testing in French Poly- each other. In neglecting our kuleana nesia. UN General Assembly, 69th session, to mālama this ‘āina [our responsibil- 25 July. a/69/189. http://www.un.org/ga/ ity to care for this land], we ultimately search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A%2F69 neglect our kuleana to the future %2F189&Submit=Search&Lang=E generations of our lāhui [our nation]” [accessed 9 Aug 2015] (Peralto 2014, 241). Ku‘uipo and No‘eau are but two of the next generation of Native Hawaiian Issues Hawaiians raised in aloha ‘āina and well schooled in contemporary poli- This year has been a milestone for tics and traditional values. They arise Native Hawaiians. New voices are out of a legacy of Native Hawaiian emerging in the community, and the activism that was the Hawaiian cul- debate is no longer whether there will tural and political renaissance of the be a Hawaiian nation; the struggle latter half of the twentieth century. now is over what form it will take. These children and grandchildren Key events included protests against of the first aloha ‘āina warriors are the construction of new telescopes on showing up at rallies for Hawaiian Mauna Kea and Haleakalā, sev- independence, making impassioned eral important new publications by pleas to the trustees of the Office of Kanaka Maoli authors, and contro Hawaiian Affairs (oha) to stand with versial efforts toward nation building them in the struggle to regain control and federal recognition. of Hawaiian lands, and, under the On day 68 of the ongoing vigil to watchful eye of their kūpuna (elders), protect Mauna Kea, Ku‘uipo Freitas, these young people are leading the a student in the master’s program movement to prevent construction of at Ka Haka ‘Ula O Ke‘elikōlani (the a thirty-meter telescope on Mauna College of Hawaiian Language) at the Kea as well as the Daniel K Inouye University of Hawai‘i–Hilo and one of Solar Telescope on Haleakalā. This the young leaders of the vigil, wrote: review focuses on the resistance on “There’s a difference between protest- Mauna Kea, but it must be noted that ing (western perspective) and aloha similar arguments are being made ‘āina (Hawaiian perspective). We love on both mountains concerning state our ‘āina [land], our language, our stewardship of resources. (For more culture, our keiki [children] and we on the Haleakalā telescope project, will do whatever it takes to protect see Associated Press 2015; Cocke our future” (Freitas 2015). 2013). No‘eau Peralto is a scholar engaged Much of the work of Native in kuleana-based research and activ- Hawaiian activism over the past ism in Hāmākua on the island of sixty-five years is documented in Hawai‘i, his kulāiwi (homeland). “We A Nation Rising: Hawaiian Move- are the Mauna,” he proclaimed, “and ments for Life, Land, and Sovereignty our treatment of it reflects a deeply (Goodyear-Ka‘ōpua, Hussey, and ingrained notion of the ways in which Wright 2014). This book is one of we now view and treat ourselves and a number of groundbreaking works political reviews • polynesia 221 by Native Hawaiian scholars pub- ian Kingdom Crown and Government lished in 2014, including volumes by Lands. Kamanamaikalani Beamer, Katrina- Many years ago, traditional naviga- Ann Kapā Oliveira, Aiko Yamashiro tor and former University of Hawai‘i and Noelani Goodyear-Ka‘opua, and Regent Nainoa Thompson made the Iokepa Casumbal-Salazar. Collectively connection between Mauna Kea and these works contribute to the growing this larger issue of land and sover- body of scholarly works grounded in eignty: “Mauna Kea is the center of Native Hawaiian knowledge systems our spirituality. For it to be the place and beliefs. we debate this issue is not by chance,” Through essays and photographs, he said in a Los Angeles Times article A Nation Rising paints a vibrant and (McFarling 2001). dynamic picture of the emergence The movement to protect Mauna and growth of the Hawaiian indepen- Kea is arguably the Hawaiian issue dence movement. One of the major that has garnered the most attention themes in the book is Native Hawai- locally, nationally, and internationally ian political activism to regain control in the past year. Although the dispute of the Hawaiian Kingdom Crown and has reached a critical juncture this Government Lands, also known as the year, the presence of telescopes on the ceded lands. The contested sacred site, mauna has been contested for decades. Mauna Kea, is included in this inven- The 2005 video Mauna Kea: Temple tory of lands. Under Siege documents early efforts to Another Native Hawaiian issue rein in development on the mountain that has heated up this year is the (Lander and Puhipau 2005). In this realpolitik of building a Hawai- film, defenders of Mauna Kea, includ- ian nation. The US Department of ing a wide range of Native Hawai- the Interior (doi) and the State of ians and allies, speak out against Hawai‘i, including the legislature, the desecration and environmental the governor’s office, and the semi- degradation of the mountain, mak- autonomous state agency oha, have ing cogent arguments about religious attempted to address the mechanics freedom and the responsibility to of nation building. oha, in conjunc- protect a fragile ecosystem. In the end, tion with the state, stepped up efforts though, these voices were powerless to create a roll of Native Hawaiians against the economic and scientific and to organize a structure for Native interests that control land use on the Hawaiian governance. Meanwhile, the mountain. The video ends with these doi took initial steps toward federal words: “In 2004, for the first time recognition for Native Hawaiians in thirty-five years, nasa completed through executive order. Hawaiian a study on cumulative impacts of independence advocates are contest- astronomy development on Mauna ing both these efforts, arguing that Kea and found that the impact was neither addresses a critical element of significant and adverse. nasa and the self-determination: control of one’s University of Hawai‘i continue with own lands and resources—for Native plans for more astronomy develop- Hawaiians, that would be the Hawai- ment” (Lander and Puhipau 2006; see 222 the contemporary pacific • 28:1 (2016) also Hawaii State Auditor 1998, 2005; community is not fulfilling its kuleana Ho 2003; McFarling 2001). to protect sacred sites and fragile habi- In following years, the defenders of tats (Casumbal-Salazar 2014; Lander the mountain did thwart the expan- and Puhipau 2005). sion of one telescope array on the In 2014, contention between oppo- mauna. In 2007, a group of petition- nents and supporters of tmt heated ers successfully sued to overturn a up when tmt scheduled a ground- Board of Land and Natural Resources breaking ceremony for the site despite (blnr) permit for additional tele- ongoing litigation (Caron 2014). scopes at the W M Keck Observatory. Native Hawaiians disrupted the cer- The judge’s ruling stated that the proj- emony, putting tmt, the University of ect did not have an adequate manage- Hawai‘i, and the blnr on notice that ment plan in place. In 2011, this same they would not allow the telescope group of petitioners entered into a project to move forward. In April and contested case proceeding to challenge June 2015, operating under a strict a Conservation District Use Permit discipline of kapu aloha (respectful, granted to the University of Hawai‘i– ritual restraint), demonstrators put Hilo to build a thirty-meter telescope their bodies in front of construction on Mauna Kea (Hawaii Independent equipment on the mountain. Staff 2011; Casumbal-Salazar 2014, Political debate on the development xxxi). The plaintiffs have taken this on Mauna Kea is closely tied to the contested case to the Hawai‘i Supreme question of control of lands and the Court, and oral arguments are sched- shared sense that a grave injustice was uled for 27 August 2015. perpetrated on the Hawaiian people tmt Observatory Corporation in the aftermath of the 1893 coup that (tmt), an international consortium deposed Queen Lili‘uokalani. Many based in Pasadena, California, pro- agree with former Governor John poses to build and operate the thirty- Waihe‘e’s observation: “I know very meter telescope within the Mauna few Native Hawaiians who aren’t Kea Science Reserve. Advocates in moved by the fact that the United the scientific community argue that States illegally took over Hawaii” this telescope is “an essential tool (Bussewitz 2015). This fact of his- to address questions in astronomy tory, as Waihe‘e referred to the illegal ranging from understanding star and taking of Hawai‘i, has generated many planet formation to unraveling the possible ways to move forward as a history of galaxies and the develop- Hawaiian nation. ment of large-scale structure in the Hawai‘i’s congressional delega- universe” (Thirty Meter Telescope tion, led by US Senator Daniel Akaka, website 2015). Local supporters of the attempted to resolve the issue by project argue that astronomy brings means of federal legislation to rec- needed economic stimulus to West ognize a Native Hawaiian governing Hawai‘i Island (Ramones 2014). For entity. The Native Hawaiian Govern- Native Hawaiians, Mauna Kea is a ment Reorganization Act, also known wahi pana (storied place) and a sacred as the Akaka Bill, would create a place. They argue that the astronomy nation-to-nation relationship between political reviews • polynesia 223 the United States and the Native held a series of meetings across the Hawaiian governing entity similar to state and in Indian Country (Native that of Native American governing American communities throughout entities (Kauanui 2014, 313). Propo- the continental United States) for the nents of the legislation argued that expressed purpose to “solicit com- it would protect Native Hawaiian ments that could help determine entitlement programs and foreclose whether the Department develops a the possibility of future lawsuits claim- formal, administrative procedure for ing that these programs are race-based reestablishing an official government- and therefore illegal. When it became to-government relationship with the clear that the US Congress would Native Hawaiian community and if not enact the Akaka Bill, the State of so, what that procedure should be.” Hawai‘i and the administration of US According to the doi, the purpose President Barack Obama embarked of such a relationship would be “to on different paths for recognition of more effectively implement the special Hawaiians as Native peoples within political and trust relationship” that the United States. J Kēhaulani Kau- currently exists between the federal anui has pointed out the limitations of government and the Native Hawaiian either a state or a federal process for community (doi 2014a). creating a Native Hawaiian govern- To the surprise of both establishing entity. First, these processes would ment and radical Hawaiian political “undercut the restoration of the leaders, thousands of Native Hawai- Hawaiian nation under international ians attended the hearings. Entire law” (Kauanui 2014, 312). The Native families testified, sharing cross-genera- Hawaiian governing entity created tional stories of loss and of hope. The under either of these frameworks, hearings were, it seemed, an opportu- Kauanui also argued, would represent nity for the Hawaiian nation to speak “a collective acquiescence [by Native to itself. Digital technology allowed Hawaiians] to the US government or the hearings to be streamed over the its subsidiaries” (2014, 314). Internet via public-access community The advantages and drawbacks of media organizations. Social networks federal recognition (also referred to lit up with conversations about what as a nation-within-a-nation, domestic federal recognition or independence dependency, or a tribal model) have would mean for Hawaiians. The pre- been debated in the Native Hawai- ponderance of oral testimony opposed ian independence movement since its federal recognition. The doi stated at early days (Ka‘iama 2014; Kauanui the hearings that it will not pursue the 2014; Bussewitz 2015). The summer rule-making process if the majority of of 2014, though, opened up the debate both oral and written comments are on these important issues of land and opposed to the process. Transcripts of self-determination to a broader Native the hearings are available at the doi Hawaiian public. At the request of website (doi 2014b). Hawai‘i’s congressional delegation as In August 2015, the doi press well as state politicians and leaders secretary had confirmed “that in in the Hawaiian community, the doi response to an extensive public com- 224 the contemporary pacific • 28:1 (2016) ment period with public meetings, as health, education, and welfare” you are aware, in Hawaii and also (Hawaii Revised Statutes 2011). In Indian country in the continental her essay in A Nation Rising, Kaua United States and requests from con- nui provided a cogent summary of the gressional states and Native Hawaiian rationales that led up to this legisla- community leaders, the Department of tion. She pointed out the inherent Interior will propose a rule that estab- limitations of the state and federal lishes an administrative procedure that structures for nation building and the secretary would use if the Native documented the arguments against the Hawaiian community forms a unified process of recognition outlined in Act government that seeks a formal gov- 195. She recounted the day when the ernment-to-government relationship legislation was signed into law: “In with the United States” (Blair 2015). many ways, that historical moment On 29 September 2015, the doi marked the depressed culmination of a made public its proposed rules that decade of resistance to the Akaka Bill would govern a relationship between and state co-optation of the Hawai- the federal government and a Native ian sovereignty struggle” (Kauanui Hawaiian governing entity (Hawaii 2014, 313). These efforts to fold News Now 2015). Events surrounding Native Hawaiian sovereignty into the nation building and federal recogni- state and federal governments have tion are continually unfolding and galvanized Native Hawaiians around will most certainly be reported in next Hawaiian nationhood. What form year’s update. that nationhood will take has yet to be The chairman of the Native Hawai- determined. ian Roll Commission, former Gover- oha has taken the lead in orga- nor Waihe‘e, was reported as saying nizing the process by which Native that “the effort [of the Department Hawaiians on the Native Hawaiian of the Interior] syncs nicely with the Roll will establish a Native Hawaiian nation-building process overseen governing unit. In March 2014, oha by the Native Hawaiian Roll Com- announced that it would facilitate the mission” (Perez 2014). In 2011, the nation-building process but refrain Hawai‘i State Legislature created from advocating a specific model. Act 195, the Native Hawaiian Roll Trustee Haunani Apoliona, chair of an Commission, the purpose of which is ad hoc governance committee, said, “to provide for and to implement the “We will remain neutral and ensure recognition of the Native Hawaiian that the people can provide meaning- people by means and methods that ful input on the process and that the will facilitate their self-governance, outcomes reflect the will of the Native including the establishment of, or the Hawaiian people. Simply put, our amendment to, programs, entities, and commitment is to provide support by other matters pursuant to law that letting Native Hawaiians determine relate, or affect ownership, possession, the desired outcome” (Essoyan 2014). or use of lands by the Native Hawai- oha has contracted with Na‘i ian people, and by further promoting Aupuni to move forward with efforts their culture, heritage, entitlements, to convene a constitutional convention political reviews • polynesia 225 that would create a Native Hawaiian This timeline calls for convening governing entity. According to its web- an ‘aha (meeting or assembly) on site, Na‘i Aupuni is an independent O‘ahu between February and April organization made up of a volunteer 2016. The ‘aha is, according to the board of directors from the Hawaiian Na‘i Aupuni website, “a gathering community. The organization “exists of elected delegates who will come solely to help establish a path for together to decide whether or not to Hawaiian self-determination.” Na‘i create a document or constitution Aupuni will facilitate three stages of for a nation and its governance. Any nation building: electing delegates to document, constitution or structure a constitutional convention, building developed at the ‘Aha may be voted a constitution at the convention of upon in a referendum by registered delegates, and ratifying the constitu- Hawaiian voters.” The work of forty tion (Na‘i Aupuni website 2015). delegates will be completed over the This process is not without contro- course of eight consecutive weeks versy. Native Hawaiians are asking (forty work days, Monday through whether the constitutional conven- Friday). If delegates recommend a tion will adequately address these form of Hawaiian government, a fundamental questions circulating ratification vote will be held among all in the Native Hawaiian community: certified Native Hawaiian voters two Is Hawai‘i a legally constituted state months after the ‘aha concludes (Na‘i of the United States or an occupied Aupuni website 2015). independent nation? (Sai 2011) and This is a time of great turmoil and How do we protect Native Hawaiian great promise for Native Hawai- entitlement programs at the state and ians. A process for establishing a federal level? (Apo 2014). These issues Native Hawaiian governing entity are too complex to be addressed in is moving forward. The protectors the abbreviated process outlined by of Mauna Kea continue their vigil Na‘i Aupuni. As Goodyear-Ka‘ōpua on the mountain, and the situation pointed out, “the scope and complex- remains unresolved. The struggle over ity of the issues require ‘Ōiwi [Native control of this sacred site, though, Hawaiians] and settlers to continu- has strengthened the commitment of ously and constructively engage in Native Hawaiian nationals to work conversations and decision-making toward Native Hawaiian control not processes because the problems cannot only of Mauna Kea but also of all the be solved or swept under the rug even Hawaiian Crown and Government if full sovereignty, pseudo–sovereign Lands. government reorganization, or some mary tuti baker other state-initiated settlement is achieved. Like breathing, the work of ea [sovereignty] will continue on and References on” (Goodyear-Ka‘ōpua 2014, 30). Apo, Peter. 2014. “Nation within a Nevertheless, Na‘i Aupuni con- Nation” Is Best Outcome for Hawaii’s tinues on its timeline for an election, People. Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 20 convention, and ratification process. November. http://www.staradvertiser.com/ 226 the contemporary pacific • 28:1 (2016) editorialspremium/20141120__Nation -ruling-could-halt-construction-of _within_a_nation_is_best_outcome_for -haleakala-telescope [accessed 7 Aug 2015] _Hawaiis_people.html?id=283301741 doi, US Department of the Interior. [accessed 7 Aug 2015] 2014a. Advance Notice of Proposed Rule Associated Press. 2015. Protesters Making. http://www.doi.gov/ohr/reorg/ Stop Transport of Haleakala Telescope index.cfm [accessed 29 July 2015] Materials. West Hawaii Today, online ———. 2014b. Interior Considers edition, 29 June. http://westhawaiitoday Procedures to Reestablish a Government- .com/news/state-wire/protesters-stop- to-Government Relationship with the transport-haleakala-telescope-materials Native Hawaiian Community. Press [accessed Aug ] 7 2015 release, 18 June. http://www.doi.gov/ Beamer, Kamanamaikalani. 2014. No news/pressreleases/interior-considers Mākou Ka Mana: Liberating the Nation. -procedures-to-reestablish-a-government Honolulu: Kamehameha Publishing. -to-government-relationship-with-the -native-hawaiian-community.cfm Blair, Chad. . US Interior to Propose 2015 [accessed 19 July 2015] Rule for Dealing with a Native Hawaiian Government. Honolulu Civil Beat, Essoyan, Susan. 2014. oha Plans Hands- 14 August. http://www.civilbeat.com/2015/ Off Help in Nation-Building. Honolulu 08/us-interior-to-propose-rule-for-native Star-Advertiser, 7 March. http://www -hawaiian-government/ [accessed 15 .staradvertiser.com/newspremium/ October 2015] 20140307_OHA_plans_handsoff_help _in_nationbuilding.html?id=248956351 Bussewitz, Cathy. 2015. Native Hawaiians [accessed 5 Aug 2015] Debate Best Path to Sovereignty. Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 16 January. http://www Freitas, Ku‘uipo. 2015. Instagram post. .staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/ https://instagram.com/p/3ZU7hokO6H/ 20150116_native_hawaiians_debate_best [accessed 16 July 2015] _path_to_sovereignty.html?id=288827201 Goodyear-Ka‘ōpua, Noelani. 2014. Intro- [accessed 5 Aug 2015] duction. In Goodyear-Ka‘ōpua, Hussey, Caron, Will. 2014. KAHEA: Restricting and Wright 2014, 1–33. Access to Mauna Kea Is a First Amend- Goodyear-Ka‘ōpua, Noelani, Ikaika ment Violation. Hawaii Independent, Hussey, and Erin Kahunawaika‘ala 3 October. http://hawaiiindependent.net/ Wright, editors. 2014. A Nation Rising: story/kahea-restricting-access-to-mauna Hawaiian Movements for Life, Land, and -kea-is-a-first-amendment-violation Sovereignty. Durham, nc: Duke University [accessed 5 Aug 2015] Press. Casumbal-Salazar, Iokepa. 2014. Multi Hawaii Independent Staff. 2011. Grass- cultural Settler Colonialism and Indig- roots Hui Coordinates Defense of the enous Struggle in Hawai‘i: The Politics Mauna Kea Conservation District. 4 July. of Astronomy on Mauna a Wakea. PhD http://kahea.org/press-room/press-clips/ dissertation, Political Science Department, grassroots-hui-coordinates-defense-of-the University of Hawai‘i–Mānoa. -mauna-kea-conservation-district [accessed 5 Aug 2015] Cocke, Sophie. 2013. Supreme Court Ruling Could Halt Construction of Hale- Hawaii News Now. 2015. Federal Govern- akala Telescope. Honolulu Civil Beat, ment Proposes New Path to Sovereignty. 14 December. http://www.civilbeat.com/ 29 September. http://www.hawaiinewsnow articles/2013/12/14/20681-supreme-court .com/story/30144090/federal-government political reviews • polynesia 227

-proposes-new-path-to-sovereignty keola Nākoa. 2014. Ancestral Places: [accessed 15 October 2015] Understanding Kanaka Geographies. Corvalis: Oregon State University Press. Hawaii Revised Statutes. 2011. Chapter 10h: Native Hawaiian Recognition. Peralto, Leon No‘eau. 2014. Portrait. Section 10h-2: Purpose. http://www Mauna a Wākea: Hānau Ka Mauna, the .capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol01 Piko of Our Ea. In Goodyear-Ka‘ōpua, _Ch0001-0042F/HRS0010H/HRS_0010H Hussey, and Wright 2014, 230–243. -0002.htm [accessed 5 Aug 2015] Perez, Rob. 2014. Consensus from Hawai- Hawaii State Auditor. 1998. Audit of ians Would End U.S. Effort. Honolulu the Management of Mauna Kea and the Star-Advertiser, 13 July. http://www Mauna Kea Science Reserve: A Report to .staradvertiser.com/newspremium/ the Governor and the Legislature of the 20140713__consensus_would_end_us State of Hawai‘i. Report 98-6, February. _effort.html [accessed 19 July 2015] Available via http://auditor.hawaii.gov/ Ramones, Ikaika. 2014. oha Backs reports/ [accessed 5 Aug 2015] Down from Contesting the tmt Sublease. ———. 2005. Follow-Up Audit of the Hawaii Independent, 17 July. http:// Management of Mauna Kea and the hawaiiindependent.net/story/oha-backs Mauna Kea Science Reserve: A Report to -down-from-contesting-the-tmt-sublease the Governor and the Legislature of the [accessed 18 July 2015] State of Hawai‘i. Report 05-13, December. Sai, David Keanu. 2011. Ua Mau Ka Ea: Available via http://auditor.hawaii.gov/ Sovereignty Endures; An Overview of the reports/ [accessed 5 Aug 2015] Political and Legal History of the Hawai- Ho, Sterling Kini. 2003. nasa Will Do ian Islands. Honolulu: Pū‘ā Foundation. Impact Study on Mauna Kea. Ka Wai Ola Thirty Meter Telescope website. 2015. o OHA 20:5, 15. Science with a 30-Meter Telescope. Ka‘iama, Manu. 2014. Kū i ka Pono. In http://tmt.org/science-case [accessed Goodyear-Ka‘ōpua, Hussey, and Wright 18 July 2015] 2014, 98–114. Yamashiro, Aiko, and Noelani Goodyear- Kauanui, J Kēhaulani. 2014. Resisting the Ka‘opua, editors. 2014. The Value of Akaka Bill. In Goodyear-Ka‘ōpua, Hussey, Hawai‘i 2: Ancestral Roots, Oceanic and Wright 2014, 312–330. Visions. A Biography Monograph. Honolulu: Published for the Biographical Lander, Joan, and Puhipau, directors. Research Center, University of Hawai‘i, 2005. Mauna Kea: Temple Under Siege. by the University of Hawai‘i Press. Video, 57 minutes. Produced and distrib- uted by Nā Maka o ka ‘Āina, Nā‘ālehu, Hawai‘i. McFarling, Usha Lee. 2001. Science, Culture Clash Over Sacred Mountain. Māori Issues Los Angeles Times, 18 March, Sunday We lost a number of well-known Report section. http://www.moolelo.com/ Māori leaders in the past year. Henare maunakea-latimes.html [accessed 5 Aug Rakiihia (Rik) Tau, a Ngāi Tahu 2015] leader, passed away at the end of June Na‘i Aupuni website. 2015. http:// 2014. He filed the Ngāi Tahu claim naiaupuni.org/ [accessed 28 July 2015] against the Crown in 1986 and was Oliveira, Katrina-Ann R Kapā‘anaokalāo the driving power behind the success- 228 the contemporary pacific • 28:1 (2016) ful hearings of the claims and their government on Māori law and culture eventual settlement. Amster Reedy, and served as the Rotorua Lakes a Ngāti Porou leader, passed away Council’s director on Māori mat- in September. He was an expert in ters. We bade each of them a peaceful ancient Māori rituals and was called journey as they traveled to rejoin their on as the kaumātua (expert elder) ancestors in far-off Hawaiki. and cultural advisor to New Zealand Leaders of the caliber of these peo- teams for four Olympic games. In ple—who spend a great deal of their October, Jonathan Mane-Wheoki, of lives in the service of their whānau Ngāpuhi, Te Aupōuri, and Ngāti Kurī (extended family), hapū (grouping of descent, passed away. He was a profes- whānau), and iwi (grouping of hapū, sor of fine arts and one of New Zea- nation) as well as the wider commu- land’s leading art historians. Rāhera nity—are greatly sought after. Most Barrett-Douglas, Ngāti Maniapoto, often in the Māori world they are also passed away in October. She identified at a young age and trained led her iwi (nation) as the chair of by their elders to take over the mantle the Ngāti Maniapoto Trust Board in of leadership at an appropriate time. the 1990s. In November, it was Eru Whakapapa (genealogical) links are Thompson, a Tainui leader. He was an very important. The English words acknowledged and respected historian lead and leader are considered inad- and traditional expert whose knowl- equate descriptors for the role and the edge and wisdom were sought after people we refer to as our rangatira. throughout Tāmaki Makaurau (Auck- This word provides some insight into land). In February 2015, both Apirana the role: ranga is a shoal of fish that Mahuika, Ngāti Porou, and Tama swims in unison; tira is a group of Huata, Ngāti Kahungunu, joined their people. The derivation raranga is to ancestors. Apirana Mahuika led his weave. Rangatira are those who weave iwi as chair of Te Rūnanga o Ngāti the people together so that they move Porou from its establishment in 1987 in unison (Mutu 1992, 60). Their until his death. Tama Huata was an role has nothing to do with either the outstanding leader in Māori perform- assertion of power by one (or some) ing arts; he founded the Kahurangi over others or notions of hierarchy, Māori Dance Theatre and the Waiata superiority, and dominance (Mikaere Māori Music Awards. In May 2015, 2010)—meanings that are inherent there was the sudden passing of Erima in the English word leader. Rangatira Henare, a Ngāti Hine leader. He was require attributes of integrity, generos- an acknowledged expert and authority ity, and humility, the abilities to listen on Māori language, history, traditions, to and take the people with them, to genealogies, and laws, particularly in keep their word, and to enhance the Te Tai Tokerau (the North); he was mana (power and authority derived also the chair of the Māori Language from the gods) of the people (Dia- Commission. Mauriora Kingi, Te mond 2003). Māori societal values Arawa, passed away suddenly a including mana, tapu (spiritual power month later. He was a respected and or protective force), tikanga (correct influential advisor of local and central way of doing things, law), whanau political reviews • polynesia 229 ngatanga (kinship), and rangatira visitors’ directives (Mutu 2012b, 103), tanga (exercise of mana) determine and demonized those who put the how rangatira conduct themselves and well-being of their people ahead of carry out their roles. the desires of the foreigners (Henare True rangatira these days are the 1989). Since the mid-nineteenth cen- heads of their whānau and hapū. tury, the British tried either to recruit Sometimes iwi leaders are rangatira, young Māori leaders to retrain them but the imposition of Pākehā (Euro- or to train young Māori and then pean) legal structures on iwi bodies declare them to be Māori leaders. as part of the treaty claims settlement These attitudes and behaviors carry on process makes it difficult for them to to this day. adhere to Māori values that define the From the outset of the current drive role of a rangatira. Processes imposed to extinguish all Māori claims against by these structures for appoint- the British Crown, governments have ing the organizational leaders favor tried to impose their preferred nego- those who have experience in Pākehā tiators on iwi entering negotiations organizations, particularly government (Mutu 2005, 201) in an attempt to departments. Those who are able to marginalize the rangatira mandated by get around the assimilationist aims of those iwi as negotiators. Where this these structures are the ones who put failed, they began incentivizing Māori their people’s needs ahead of Pākehā government servants to take over the demands, who know and understand leadership and control of their own their people and their whakapapa, iwi’s negotiations with the Crown their customs and traditions, their and to drive them through to govern- lands and resources, their relation- ment-determined settlements (Mutu ships and obligations to neighboring and others in preparation). Despite and related whānau, hapū, and iwi; protests from those iwi about conflicts how to settle disputes; and how to of interest, corruption, and the major represent their people with pride and upheavals that these divide-and-rule dignity. They work for little or no tactics always cause, the practice has financial reward, their hours of work become increasingly common (Mutu are endless, and most are only known and others in preparation). One of within the Māori world (Knox 2003; the incentives provided to govern- H Mead and others 2006; A Mead ment servants and collaborators is 1994). the awarding of Queen’s Honours Part of the colonizing agenda of the to those who achieve settlements—a British was to replace Māori society token of the government’s gratitude and culture with their own and in at having been delivered an escape doing so to assimilate and redefine route from the astronomical liabilities Māori leadership. British histories arising from past and ongoing govern- written about early European encoun- ment atrocities against Māori. In the ters with Māori denied the role of past two years, no fewer than six such women as rangatira (Mikaere 2010), awards have been made to iwi negotia- inflated the status of those rangatira tors, several of whom are or have been who were willing to accede to the government servants (Department of 230 the contemporary pacific • 28:1 (2016) the Prime Minister and Cabinet 2015; worked with the forum since 2008 at Waatea News 2014). the behest of their coalition partner, Government-appointed Māori the Māori Party. Government attempts leaders often have a high media and to attribute the representation of all public profile, but they are most often Māori to the forum have been firmly “leaders of non-Māori organisations rejected. There is no body that holds in the non-Māori world” (Knox 2003, such a mandate. The government’s 2). They adopt a style of leadership aspiration has always been to control that eschews traditional Māori values, the forum, but the forum has been res- imposes hierarchical notions of supe- olute in maintaining its independence riority and dominance, and mimics from the government. Government British societal values of the right persistence, however, has necessitated of individuals to personal security, repeated reminders of the need for personal liberty, and private property. vigilance in this respect. This prioritizes the pursuit of mon- A significant number of the mem- etary and material gain and political bers of the forum can be classified power. The government has been at as true rangatira: people who have pains to emphasize the monetary value worked selflessly for the whānau, of settlements it achieves with Māori hapū, and iwi, fighting government and the opportunity of increased oppression and denial of their rights, political influence for Māori that may often for many decades, and who result from them (Stone 2012, 140). have been appointed by their people It is careful to avoid any discussion as their leaders and spokespersons in on the legislative extinguishment of accordance with traditional tikanga Māori sovereignty, ownership, and (correct ways of doing things; law). human rights that settlements deliver Countering that are members who for governments and that many claim- have achieved their positions as iwi ants are far more concerned about chairpersons through government- (Mutu 2012a). imposed structures using processes The composition and work of the derived from British culture. There is National Iwi Chairs’ Forum is an widespread criticism of many of these example of the dynamics involved structures, especially from the hapū when true rangatira and government- whom they disempower. This criticism favored leaders attempt to work has carried over into the forum (Sykes together. The forum is an informal 2010). At least several iwi chairper- but highly organized group of the sons are government loyalists, and a chairpersons of sixty-seven organiza- significant number of these are or have tions from around the country, each been government servants. mandated to represent their iwi in The National Iwi Chairs’ Forum some capacity (National Iwi Chairs has a number of working groups that Forum 2015). Almost all its members carry out work in particular areas are men. It was established in 2005 such as constitutional transforma- and, while the Labour government tion (Mutu 2015, 276); fresh water; refused to recognize the group, the climate change; foreshore and seabed National Party–led government has conservation; the recovery of lands political reviews • polynesia 231 and resources including oil and miner- within Ngāpuhi have been seriously als; housing; and economic develop- damaged by the mandating process . . . ment. One or more iwi chairpersons the Crown has pre-determined the lead each group. A number of tech- outcome by ‘picking a winner’ and nicians and experts in the various backing the winner through fund- fields (working largely voluntarily or ing. . . . This has resulted in a ‘win- funded by iwi organizations) carry ner and loser’ dynamic which has led out research, ascertain the views of to the break-down of relationships whānau and hapū throughout the within Ngāpuhi” (Jones 2014b, 41). country, and draft reports for presen- Problems with the settlement tation at the quarterly forum meetings. process were reported in a number Chairpersons with government-servant of areas. These included reports of backgrounds tend to target the groups disenfranchised claimants trying that allow them to interact with to stop settlements for Te Atiawa, government ministers and officials. Ngāruahine, Rangitāne ki Manawatū, Their work is then seriously compro- Tūhoe, Te Hiku o Te Ika, and Te mised when, for example, they seek Aitanga a Māhaki. In Taranaki, there ministerial approval for their reports was protest at the exclusion of the prior to delivering them to the forum Pekapeka block in Waitara from Te (National Iwi Chairs’ Forum 2014). Atiawa’s settlement, and the Arau- The prime minister and a number of kuku hapū unsuccessfully sought ministers of Parliament are occasion- an urgent hearing in the Waitangi ally invited to quarterly meetings of Tribunal to prevent their claim from the forum but only to answer specific being extinguished in the Ngāruahine questions. Unresolved problems within settlement (Waitangi Tribunal 2015). and between iwi sometimes surface In Manawatū, there was protest over in forum meetings, although tikanga the mandate of the body settling the has prevailed with responsibility for Rangitāne ki Manawatū claims. In the problem being returned to the iwi the central North Island, the Tūhoe concerned. It is the traditional ranga settlement was hailed as remarkable tira who lead discussion and steer the in many ways. Its removal of Crown forum. ownership and national park status Unresolved problems within from the extensive Te Urewera hill the country’s largest iwi, Ngāpuhi, country was described as ground- continued to attract media attention breaking (Jones 2014a). However, it throughout the reporting period. fell short of recognizing Tūhoe owner- Government support for its preferred ship. Several hapū whose claims are leader and negotiating body and its extinguished by the settlement without attempts to bulldoze through a settle- being addressed sought to stop its pas- ment while the Waitangi Tribunal was sage through Parliament (Māori Tele- still hearing the claims (Mutu 2015, vision 2014). In the Far North, Ngāti 279) resulted in the Waitangi Tribunal Kahu told the Māori Affairs Select granting an urgent hearing concerning Committee to stop the passage of the the mandating process. In its decision Te Hiku Claims Settlement Bill, which to do so, it noted “that relationships excludes them from large areas of 232 the contemporary pacific • 28:1 (2016) their lands by vesting them exclusively nz$20 million for 8,500 hectares of in the neighboring iwi (Radio New land “being returned by the Crown Zealand 2015a). In the same hearing, who stole it long ago” (McLean four of the five Ngāi Takoto marae 2015b). protested about being excluded from In the face of widespread dissatis- the Ngāi Takoto settlement (Te Hiku faction and protest against the settle- Media 2015). On the East Coast, ments, the government has remained Mangatū Incorporation was successful resolute in its drive to extinguish in its application to the High Court to all treaty claims. It is determined to quash the Waitangi Tribunal decision legislate away the serious flaws the not to give them binding recommenda- Waitangi Tribunal has identified in the tions over the Mangatū blocks. The assumptions it makes about its own government wanted to use these lands power and authority. This includes to settle Te Aitanga a Māhaki’s claim the false claims it makes to the lands (High Court of New Zealand 2015). and resources of whānau and hapū Ngāti Kahu took a similar case and throughout the country in order to are awaiting the court’s decision. It is deliver privilege and prosperity to inevitable that the government, which those who came and settled here as is desperate to retain its stranglehold a result of the 1840 treaty, Te Tiriti on the settlement process, will appeal o Waitangi, mainly from England. In any decision that could lead to the 2014, it passed legislation extinguish- tribunal making binding recommenda- ing all the historical claims of Tūhoe tions that order it to return lands it in the Central North Island, Ngāti has stolen from Māori. Hauā and Ngāti Koroki Kahukura of Meanwhile, problems were also Waikato-Tainui, and the shared inter- being reported for iwi who have ests of the Tāmaki Makaurau Collec- settled but are having difficulty hold- tive of the Auckland region. ing the government to the terms of In the same year the tribunal issued their settlements. Ngāi Tahu reported a report confirming that Māori did having their rights of first refusal to not cede their sovereignty in 1840 Crown land breached many times (Waitangi Tribunal 2014). Pākehā (Sherman 2015). Tainui and Ngāti have always asserted that our Māori Whātua are heading to the High ancestors ceded our sovereignty to Court over the government’s denial the British when we signed Te Tiriti of their rights of first refusal to land o Waitangi in 1840. We have always in Auckland (Radio New Zealand said they didn’t. English settlers relied 2015b). Despite this, the government on this falsehood to provide the justi- continues to maximize its revenues fication for their claim to power and from the settlement process, as iwi use control over this country through their income generated from the settlements parliamentary and judicial system. In along with funds borrowed, usually doing so they wove a complex tapestry from overseas, to purchase lands the of myths about Māori and about their government stole from them. In June own supremacy, which the tribunal 2015, Ngāti Tūwharetoa announced carefully unraveled in its report. that they were paying the government Government reaction was instan- political reviews • polynesia 233 taneous; they dismissed the report, twenty-six members of Parliament of baldly asserting that “the Crown has Māori descent are now in the House, sovereignty in New Zealand” (Chap- with all but two spread across the four man 2014). However, the report main parties: National, Labour, the was widely reported nationally and Greens and New Zealand First. These internationally. The Telegraph in members owe allegiance to their par- London referred to it as “the histori- ties first, not to Māori. There are only cal bombshell” (Chapman 2014). The seven members (in a 120-seat Parlia- Māori world was ecstatic. Shock ment) who are specifically mandated waves spread through the Pākehā to represent Māori in Parliament. settler community. A number of hui However, even they must put their (gatherings) have been held since the party’s wishes ahead of the needs of publication of the report to discuss its their constituents. Six of the seven implications. For many, it gave even Māori seats contested in the election greater urgency to the work of the went to Labour, with the seventh group of constitutional specialists, going to the Māori Party, which also Matike Mai Aotearoa, who have been gained a list member of Parliament. drawing up models for a constitu- Once again the Māori Party joined the tion for the country based on tikanga National Party–led coalition govern- (Māori law) and the two documents ment. Experience has shown that, that were the subject of the Tribu- while this allows them a place in the nal’s inquiry, He Whakaputanga o Te cabinet, it does severely constrain their Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni (the 1835 ability to be an independent voice declaration of Māori sovereignty and for Māori in Parliament. The Mana independence) and Te Tiriti o Waitangi Party’s one member was not returned, (the Māori-language treaty between so there are now no independent Māori and the queen of England) Māori voices in the House. Māori (Mutu 2015, 276). voter turnout of 67 percent (65% in As the myth of the supreme and the Māori seats) continued to be much indivisible sovereignty of Parliament lower than the overall turnout of 77 unravels, expectations of parliamen- percent (Electoral Commission 2014). tary members of Māori descent are One area in which the Māori Party becoming more realistic. Some may did manage to achieve some gains enter the Pākehā Parliament as ranga was its Whānau Ora (well families) tira, but that role is quickly under- initiative. It aims to revolutionize mined by the demands of an institu- the way government social services tion established to service the needs are delivered to Māori by having all of Pākehā. That frequently involves services focus on the needs of whānau passing legislation that removes the (extended family) rather than the rights of Māori, such as the legisla- needs of multiple uncoordinated tion related to the foreshore and government agencies. Its goal is to seabed and treaty claims settlements empower whānau to take control of or extinguishments (Mutu 2011). their own well-being (Turia 2011) The September 2014 general election and to deliberately move away from results indicated that no fewer than the deficit model, problem-focused 234 the contemporary pacific • 28:1 (2016) approach used unsuccessfully on from the public service has been an Māori by government agencies for innovation that many Māori commu- many decades. In doing so, Whānau nities have welcomed. Ora aims to remove the industrial- While Māori representation at ized misery under which Māori suffer the national level is provided for in and from which many Pākehā social Parliament, in local and regional welfare providers prosper and instead government it is left to the discretion empower Māori to direct and control of the council. Some councils have our own welfare systems. permitted Māori to participate, but The initiative had a number of others have rejected repeated requests teething problems caused mainly by to do so. Pākehā determination to government departments withholding exclude Māori from decision-making resources and refusing to relinquish roles turned ugly in New Plymouth, control. As a result, the Māori Party Rotorua, Papakura, Tauranga, and moved the initiative out of the govern- the Far North. In New Plymouth, the ment and set up three community- district council voted to allow Māori based commissioning agencies whose representation, but the response from role is to allocate resources to Māori the majority Pākehā population was and Pacific Island–based providers vicious. They campaigned vigorously who deliver directly to whānau. A against Māori inclusion and eventually report by Auditor-General Lyn Provost forced a referendum, which over- released in May 2015 concluded turned the council’s decision (Tuuta that Whānau Ora had been a success 2015). In Rotorua, an equally deter- for many families despite the small mined attempt to keep Māori out of amount the government has spent on the Rotorua Lakes Council was not as it (Provost 2015, 4). However, she successful, with councillors accepting was very critical of the government an arrangement that was described by departments involved in delivery of a Te Arawa spokesperson as a start the program, noting that nearly a third but far from perfect (Maoate-Cox of the total spending was on admin- 2015). In Papakura, Tauranga, and istration when it should have gone to the Far North, superficial attempts to whānau and their providers (Provost consider Māori representation resulted 2015, 4–5). Provost also noted a reluc- in each proposal being rejected. tance in government agencies to even Battles to protect Māori natural consider moving away from models resources continued around the coun- that have failed in the past in order to try throughout the year. Both the New implement the Whānau Ora initiative Zealand Māori Council and National (2015, 5). Entrenched racism in the Iwi Chairs Forum are continuing to public service means that Māori initia- fight to have the government recog- tives often fail because they are sabo- nize and acknowledge Māori owner- taged by bureaucrats. The auditor- ship of water. Protests against mining general concluded that “an innovative licenses issued for oil drilling off the idea should not be abandoned just south Taranaki bight and off both the because of implementation problems” east and the west coasts are ongo- (Provost 2015, 5), and moving it away ing. A delegation from iwi of the Far political reviews • polynesia 235

North visited the Sami Parliament The author has been a member of in Norway and attended the annual the National Iwi Chairs’ Forum since general meeting of the offending oil its inception in 2005. Her comments company, Statoil, in a bid to stop them on the forum in this review are based desecrating an area sacred to those on her observations of its operations iwi (Mike Smith, pers comm, 25 May over the past decade. 2015). Following strong objections from Māori, the New Zealand Envi- ronmental Protection Agency refused References to give consents for sand mining in Balvert, Luke. 2014. Carrington Up for south Taranaki and for phosphate Paddling Award. Sunlive, 10 December. mining on the Chatham Rise. The http://www.sunlive.co.nz/news/88828 battle continued to force the owners -carrington-up-paddling-award.html to remove the ship Rena, which was [accessed 18 Aug 2015] wrecked on Ōtaiti (Astrolabe Reef) Chapman, Paul. 2014. New Zealand’s off Mōtītī island in the Bay of Plenty Maori “Did Not Cede Sovereignty to in 2011 (Mutu 2013, 168), with the Britain.” The Telegraph (London), owners offering financial inducements 14 November. for Māori to withdraw their objec- Department of the Prime Minister and tions (McLean 2015a). And in North- Cabinet. 2015. New Zealand Honours land, Ngāti Manu were appalled at a List. http://www.dpmc.govt.nz/honours/ decision to grant a consent to expand lists [accessed 2 Aug 2015] the marina in the picturesque Bay of Diamond, Paul. 2003. A Fire in Your Islands. The existing Ōpua marina Belly: Māori Leaders Speak. Wellington: has already severely polluted Ngāti Huia Publishers. Manu’s Taumārere River (Nathan 2014). Electoral Commission. 2014. 2014 On a brighter note, the Māori films General Election Voter Turnout Statistics. http://www.elections.org.nz/events/2014 The Dead Lands, The Dark Horse, -general-election/election-results-and and What We Do in the Shadows -reporting/2014-general-election-voter have been doing well in international -turnout [accessed 3 Aug 2015] film festivals. The Dark Horse won an award for Best Film at the Seattle Henare, Sir James. 1989. Waka Huia documentary series broadcast by Tele International Film Festival, with Cliff vision New Zealand, 14 May. Curtis (Te Arawa) named Best Actor (Māori Television 2015). And Lisa High Court of New Zealand. 2015. Carrington (Te Aitanga a Māhaki, Haronga v The Waitangi Tribunal, Ngāti Porou), paddler extraordinaire, civ-2014-416-24 [2015] nzhc 1115: won her fifth World Cup gold medal Judgment 22 May 2015. in as many races. Lisa has dominated Jones, Carwyn. 2014a. The Tūhoe-Crown world championships and the Olym- Settlement: Editorial. mlr October: 1–3. pics in flat-water canoeing since 2014 ———. 2014b. Urgent Waitangi Tribunal (Balvert 2014). Inquiries: Ngāpuhi Mandate and Whanga margaret mutu nui River Applications. mlr November: 35–45. 236 the contemporary pacific • 28:1 (2016)

Knox, Colin. 2003. Maori Leadership Mikaere, Ani. 2010. Māori Critic and in Te Ao Maori. Manuscript, 8 October. Conscience in a Colonising Context. http://www.anewnz.org.nz/attachments/ Conference paper delivered at the 27th docs/nz-leadership-challenge-maori-colin Annual Conference of the Law and Society -knox.doc [accessed 2 Aug 2015] Association of Australia and New Zea- land, Victoria University of Wellington, Maoate-Cox, Daniela. 2015. Rotorua 10 December. http://whaaingawahine Council Partnership “an Improvement.” .blogspot.co.nz/2010/12/maori-critic-and Radio New Zealand, 2 June. http:// -conscience-in.html [accessed 9 Aug 2015] www.radionz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/ 275187/rotorua-council-partnership-‘an mlr, Māori Law Review: A Monthly -improvement’ [accessed 16 Aug 2015] Review of Law Affecting Māori. Māori Television. 2014. Third Reading of Mutu, Margaret. 1992. Cultural Misun- Tūhoe Claims Settlement and Te Urewera derstanding or Deliberate Mistranslation? Bill. 24 July. http://www.maoritelevision Te Reo, Journal of the Linguistics Society .com/search/all/Third%20Reading% of New Zealand 35:57–104. 20Tūhoe [accessed 2 Aug 2015] ———. 2005. Recovering Fagin’s Ill- ———. 2015. “The Dark Horse” Recog- Gotten Gains: Settling Ngāti Kahu’s Treaty nised at International Film Festival. of Waitangi Claims against the Crown. 8 June. http://www.maoritelevision.com/ In Waitangi Revisited: Perspectives on news/national/dark-horse-recognised the Treaty of Waitangi, edited by Michael -international-film-festival [accessed Belgrave, Merata Kawharu, and David 18 Aug 2015] Williams, 187–209. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. McLean, Mere. 2015a. Leaders Upset after Iwi Withdraw Opposition to the Removal ———. 2011. The State of Māori Rights. of Rena. Māori Television, 22 June. Wellington: Huia. http://www.maoritelevision.com/news/ ———. 2012a. Ceding Mana, Rangati- regional/leaders-upset-after-iwi-withdraw ratanga and Sovereignty to the Crown. In -opposition-removal-rena [accessed Northland Age, Kaitāia, 6 to 27 March. 18 Aug 2015] ———. 2012b. Custom Law and the ———. b. Tūwharetoa Purchase 2015 Advent of New Pākehā Settlers. In Huia , Hectares of Land from Crown. 8 500 Histories of Māori, edited by Danny Māori Television, 30 June. http://www Keenan, 93–108. Wellington: Huia. .maoritelevision.com/news/national/ tuwharetoa-purchase-8500-hectares-land ———. 2013. Polynesia in Review: Issues -crown [accessed 2 Aug 2015] and Events, 1 July 2011 to 30 June 2012: Māori Issues. The Contemporary Pacific Mead, Aroha. 1994. Maori Leadership. 25:165–172. Conference paper delivered at Māori Development Conference, 10–11 August, ______. 2015. Polynesia in Review: Issues Massey University, Palmerston North. and Events, 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014: Māori Issues. The Contemporary Pacific Mead, Hirini, Shaan Stevens, John Third, 27:273–281. Brad Jackson, and Dale Pfeifer. 2006. Traditional Principles of Maori Leader- Mutu, Margaret, Lloyd Pōpata, Te Kani ship. In Maori Leadership in Governance: Williams, Reremoana Rēnata, JudyAnne Scoping Paper, 4–11. Wellington: Centre Cooze, Anahera Herbert-Graves, Bardia for Study of Leadership, Victoria Univer- Matiui, Bernadette Arapere, Te Ikanui sity of Wellington. Kingi-Waiaua, and Zarrah Pineaha. In political reviews • polynesia 237 preparation. Ngāti Kahu: Portrait of a https://tehiku.nz/te-hiku-radio/live-stream Sovereign Nation. Wellington: Huia. -of-maori-affairs-select-committee/ [accessed 2 Aug 2015] Nathan, Dean. 2014. Ngāti Manu March for Taumārere River. Māori Television, Turia, Tariana. 2011. Whānau Ora: The 4 November. http://www.maoritelevision Theory and the Practice. Best Practice .com/news/regional/ngati-manu-march Journal 37 (August): 10–17. http://www -taumarere-river [accessed 18 Aug 2015] .bpac.org.nz/BPJ/2011/august/docs/bpj _37_whanau_ora_pages_10-17.pdf National Iwi Chairs’ Forum. . 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Lower Hutt, nz: Legislation www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/276365/ Direct. http://www.justice.govt.nz/ auckland-housing-land-already-offered-to tribunals/waitangi-tribunal/Reports/he -iwi [accessed 2 Aug 2015] -whakaputanga-me-te-tiriti-the -declaration-and-the-treaty-the-report Sherman, Maiki. 2015. Ngāi Tahu Says -on-stage-1-of-the-te-paparahi-o-te-raki Their Right of First Refusal Too Has Been -inquiry [accessed 4 Aug 2015] Breached Many Times. Māori Television, ———. . Decision of the Honorable 4 June. http://www.maoritelevision.com/ 2015 news/national/ngai-tahu-says-their-right Sir Douglas Kidd. 7 May (Wai 552, #2.35). -first-refusal-too-has-been-breached-many http://assets.maorilawreview.co.nz/Wai - - . .pdf [accessed Sept ] -times [accessed 2 Aug 2015] 552 2 35 7 2015 Stone, Damian. 2012. Financial and Commercial Dimensions of Settlements. In Treaty of Waitangi Settlements, edited by Nicola R Wheen and Janine Hayward, Rapa Nui . Wellington: Bridget Williams 138–148 Rapa Nui politics during the review Books. period centered on the reclamation Sykes, Annette. 2010. The 2010 Bruce of ancestral territories that Chile had Jesson Lecture. http://www.converge.org developed into a national park in .nz/pma/as051110.pdf [accessed 9 Aug 1935 without notifying or consult- 2015] ing Rapa Nui. A 2003 national truth Te Hiku Media. 2015. Live Stream commission on Chile’s indigenous of Māori Affairs Select Committee. peoples had recommended return of 238 the contemporary pacific • 28:1 (2016) the “park lands” to Rapa Nui along and mismanagement, marine resource with all island territory (Gobierno de destruction, and a range of energy Chile 2008, 570), but this was never failures (Campbell 2006). While recent realized under the subsequent neolib- government statistics registered over eral presidency of Sebastián Piñera. 92,000 tourist visits to the island in The reclamation efforts reflect an 2013 (El Correo Del Moai, Oct 2014), intensification of Rapa Nui pursuit of during the review period the Chilean their international indigenous human state continued to pursue develop- rights to self-determination in the face ment projects that will expand tourism of statecraft that continues to fore- even further beyond the 2003 unesco ground the development of economic recommendations of di Castri. growth threatening Rapa Nui culture, Three development proposals are island ecology, and livelihood. Under most noteworthy. During October the guidance of Ariki Valentino Riro 2014, Chilean President Michelle Kainga (appointed king of Rapa Nui Bachelet announced an approximately in 2011 and descendant of the last us$160 million plan for infrastruc- Rapa Nui king, Riro), the leadership tural changes to the island airport of Parlamento Rapa Nui President (including a second runway), docking, Leviante Araki and Vice President Eriti irrigation, power, and sewage systems Teave is distinguished in this review of to begin in 2015 and be completed by the conflict and the broader context of 2020 (gi, 20 Oct 2014). In strong sup- the events of the year. port, island Mayor Petero Edmunds As expansion of the tourism indus- emphasized that the projects were try in Rapa Nui has intensified annu- necessary for maintaining the island ally since the turn of the millennium, like a “Rolls Royce”—a goal he con- questions of sustainability have been ceived as having immeasurable value constant. The late unesco assistant for Chile’s “image” (lt, 17 Oct 2014). director general, Francesco di Castri, In December, Edmunds announced worried about the sustainability of an additional plan to build a shop- tourism at the beginning of the new ping mall on the island. The project millennium, when he estimated 20,000 proposes to develop a four-hectare visitors as the maximum carrying plot of land containing some of the capacity of the island (di Castri 2003, world-famous moai statues within 45). He noted that this number had the municipality of Hanga Roa into a already been exceeded in 1990 when mall with multiple retail stores. The visitors climbed to 21,000 and by mayor called for a partnership with 2005 had reached 45,000 (Gonschor billionaire German-Chilean entrepre- 2007, 244). Australian ecologist Petra neur Horst Paulmann, chief executive Campbell echoed di Castri’s concerns officer and chairman of the Cencosud with a 2004 study that projected Corporation, reportedly “one of the current tourist development as likely largest and most prestigious retail to result in an “environmental catas- conglomerates in Latin America” trophe” that would involve future (Cencosud 2015). While the project aquifer contamination, continued land would require the displacement of degradation from long-term erosion some of the moai for mall construc- political reviews • polynesia 239 tion, Edmunds promised coordination In the context of acts of resistance of moai movement by the Chilean by leaders of the Rapa Nui nation National Monument Council, utiliz- during the land reclamations of 2015, ing the most advanced technology in as well as three other significant the world (ec, 28 Dec 2014). Rather events, state development plans for than address projected aquifer con- transformation of the island infra- tamination, in June 2015 the Chilean structure and Rapa Nui subjectivi- National Corporation of Forestry ties for the production of economic (conaf) announced a plan to build growth and a “Rolls Royce” Chilean a desalinization plant for agricultural image appear entangled in a “battle- development. Carolina Cuevas (who order” (Foucault 1980, 16). The 9th is, ironically, the head of a Chilean of September is the annual day of sustainability foundation) emphasized recognition of the 1888 signing of the that the new desalinization technology “Acuerdo de Voluntades” (Agreement will provide more water to help local of Wills) between Chile and Rapa Nui. farmers realize new economic oppor- While the state used to honor that tunities (Parque Nacional Rapa Nui, day with ceremonies and parades on 25 June 2015). the island, Rapa Nui demonstrations State plans to restructure the island and marches have become an island ecology, infrastructure, and material norm since state violence against Rapa culture to intensify economic growth Nui movements for self-determination are being coordinated with programs began in 2010 (see Young 2012a, to develop Rapa Nui subjectivity 2012b). In 2014 the 9th of September in terms of the principles of “homo was “dis-honored” by three differ- oeconomicus” that are increasingly ent events organized by the Rapa Nui dominant in the era of global neo- leadership: a march down main street liberal rationality (Brown 2015, 33). with Rapa Nui national flags and As part of Chile’s broader tourism banners protesting the state; a politi- investment plan, the state has begun cal demonstration at the King Riro to develop Rapa Nui chapters of Plaza Civic Center—the site of the national programs for the training of prior state celebrations; and another entrepreneurs (gi, 19 Nov 2014). The political demonstration in front of the plan is designed to encourage Rapa Hotel Hangaroa Eco Village and Spa Nui youth to start their own busi- (ec, 9 Sept 2014). In general, the orga- nesses under the Solidarity and Social nizers emphasized that all the issues Investment Fund (fosis) programs related to their demands for self-deter- that Director Marcelo Aguilar hopes mination in 2010 remain “valid given will establish a “permanent presence” the lack of response of successive gov- on the island (gi, 30 Sept 2014). ernments” (Cooperativa, 9 Sept 2014). Apparently anticipating conflict, the In addition, demonstrators emphasized development projects and programs that they marched in protest of state have been accompanied by indigenous development policies that are seen as conflict-resolution classes for state destroying the island. Petero Cardinali, workers in various government offices supporting full political independence and institutions (gi, 4 Nov 2014). of Rapa Nui, emphasized that Chilean 240 the contemporary pacific • 28:1 (2016) policies are unsustainable and “filling against a newly created state Ministry the island with garbage,” while Wilo of Indigenous Affairs, which leaders Teao expressed fear that Rapa Nui claimed was constructed without their would become “extinct” as a result of consultation, in violation of ilo Con- “uncontrolled development” destroy- vention 169 (ec, 27 Jan 2015). Petero ing the island (La Colmena, 13 Sept Fati, a Rapa Nui lawyer and part of 2014). At the hotel demonstration, the political organization against the Rapa Nui children held banners with ministry, stressed that the state’s hand- slogans like “la gran estafa” (the picked representatives reflected an great hoax), with images of the hotel operational pattern of “fraudulence” presented in black covered with red by the Chilean government in island blood–stained moai statues (ec, 9 Sept indigenous affairs (Mapu Express, 2014), and Hitorangi family members 1 Feb 2015). installed black flags around the front In late March 2015, dialogues of the hotel in defiance of armed Chil- between leaders of Te Hau Maori ean police, who stand guard twenty- Rapa Nui and representatives of the four hours a day against new occupa- state of Chile collapsed. Consequently, tions of the hotel by the Hitorangi representatives of the Rapa Nui nation family (Cooperativa, 9 Sept 2014). shut down the Chilean-administered As 2014 ended and the New national park of Easter Island on Year emerged, two additional events 26 March (Save Rapa Nui, 28 March illuminated deepening resistance to 2015). The major access roads to the the state’s expansion plans. In late park were blocked by felled trees and November 2014, Rapa Nui national Rapa Nui bodies, organized in part identification cards premiered on through the leadership of Leviante the island with the support of Rafael Araki and Erity Teave of Parlamento “Rinko” Tuki, the leading Rapa Nui Rapa Nui; approximately thirty Rapa representative of the Chilean National Nui people were posted at three major Corporation for the Development of tourist access points (lt, 29 March Indigenous Peoples. The cards code 2015). Signs re-territorialized the park personal information in the Rapa Nui tourist sites as “propiedad ances- language, and at the top of the cards tral” (ancestral property) (Biobio, is a national identification of “Hau” 15 April 2015). In response to the (nation) Maori Rapa Nui. Rinko arrival of state riot police as well as Tuki emphasized that the cards are new dialogues with Chilean govern- intended as an expression of Rapa Nui ment authorities, roadblocks were “territorial sovereignty and the right reduced and tourist access to the to self-determination” in accordance ancestral properties increased between with instruments of international law 29 March and 1 April, and tourists such as International Labor Orga- were granted access after registering nization (ilo) Convention 169 and with the Parlamento Rapa Nui central United Nations General Assembly office or with on-site coordinators. Resolutions 1514 and 1541 (ec, 8 Jan However, guides and tour operators 2015). On 26 January 2015, lead- who were not of Rapa Nui ancestry, ers of the Rapa Nui nation organized or with no marital ties to Rapa Nui political reviews • polynesia 241 people, were denied access (Easter the University of Chile, foregrounding Island blog, 6 April 2015). the reclamations as strongly supported Weeks of constant marches, pro- by the overwhelming majority of the tests, and ten-hour-long dialogues Rapa Nui people, highlighted their between Rapa Nui leaders and validity in terms of the aforementioned representatives of political offices, 1888 Agreement of Wills between councils, and ministries determined by Rapa Nui and Chilean representatives. the Chilean government—including He conceived of current actions of the Chilean Ministry of Defense— Rapa Nui leadership as being con- followed the land reclamations (lt, sistent with over a century of Rapa 14 April 2015). Chilean officials and Nui resistance to a Chilean order media stressed concern about the in violation of the agreement and impact of the reclamations on the unsustainably threatening the future tourism industry (Noticias Terra, of Rapa Nui culture, ecology, lan- 28 March 2015) and tended to rep- guage, and people (University of Chile resent the reclamations as responding website, 13 April 2015). Focused more to state failures to establish laws for on recent history, Anakena Manu- controlling Chilean migration to Rapa tomatoma, a member of the state- Nui as well as disagreements over based Rapa Nui development council, the proper management of the park the Commission for the Development (lt, 14 April 2015). Mayor Edmunds of Easter Island (codeipa), framed blamed state failures to finalize migra- the reclamations as a continuation of tion laws on the Chilean Ministry of the Rapa Nui political “awakening” Interior (lt, 29 March 2015), but he that she traced to 2010 when the state felt that the disputes over the manage- “shot people” (lt, 14 April 2015). ment of the park were tractable with Emphasizing that the state “contin- additional meetings and “streamlin- ues to act as colonizers,” Eriti Teave ing” of the government (Noticias stressed that the reclamations should Terra, 29 March 2015). The state thus be understood as an exercise of their portrayed the conflict as a technical “inalienable rights” as an indigenous problem that could be resolved with people (lt, 15 April 2015). Similarly, moderate reform and management of Santi Hitorangi, Parlamento Rapa the current system of Chilean gover- Nui member and regular leader of nance on the island under the terms of the Rapa Nui nation at the United new Chilean laws. Nations (see Young 2015a), consis- Rapa Nui national leaders agreed tently represented the event as first that the reclamations were in part and foremost an exercise of Rapa a response to state failures to final- Nui rights to self-determination (Save ize laws to restrict Chilean migration Rapa Nui, 12 April 2015). to the island (lt, 14 April 2015); Analysis of the language of the however, the reclamations were also re-territorialized signs illustrates that articulated in terms of a more robust the reclamations are not motivated historical, political, and spiritual by strictly economic and political sensibility. Christian Moreno Pakarati, considerations. Local Rapa Nui–deter- an indigenous Rapa Nui historian at mined media refer to the territory 242 the contemporary pacific • 28:1 (2016) reclaimed not in terms of state tour- spiritual ecology that grounds Rapa ist discourse that calls it a national Nui epistemological and ontological park, but in Rapa Nui language life in their own ancestral heritage and terms such as “Hauha‘a Tupuna” worldview. Hence, for Leviante Araki, and “Kainga Ariki” of “Te Pito o Te the reclamations are first and foremost Henua” (ec, 21 May 2015). The last about a desire to “protect our ances- term, “Te Pito o Te Henua,” is an tral property and ancestral lands” and alternative name for the island itself, initiate a process that will enable their and, importantly, contains the word governance to “pass into the hands henua, that is roughly translated as of our people” (El Mercurio Online, “island” yet retains the Rapa Nui 19 April 2015). concept of placenta, derived from On 15 April, an agreement was the ancient Proto-Polynesian term reached regarding the ancestral terri- fanua (Kirch and Green 2001, 103). tory reclaimed by leaders of the Rapa The second term, “Kainga Ariki” Nui nation and representatives of the can be roughly translated as “chiefly Chilean government. There are twelve lands,” but the word kainga retains signatories to the document, including the Rapa Nui worldview of womb or three representatives of the Chilean uterus (Huki 1988, 10), which con- government and nine representatives founds English translation as merely from six different indigenous institu “land.” The first term, “Hauha‘a tions in support of the Rapa Nui Tupuna,” can be roughly translated as nation. Four points of agreement were “ancestral valuables,” which include distinguished in the document: (1) that the world-famous moai statues. Yet administration of the territory of the from a Rapa Nui perspective, moai “Rapa Nui National Park,” includ- are not simply aesthetically enchant- ing rights to all ceremonial sites and ing monuments, as tourists may see ancestral usage, would be transferred them. Each Rapa Nui family member to an autonomous body of the Rapa traces their ancestry to specific ahu Nui people; (2) that contemporary (ceremonial centers) where moai are care of the park would remain in the placed. Moai honor deceased chiefs of hands of the Rapa Nui people while family lineages; in other words, Rapa the transfer was in process; (3) that Nui consider moai to be “spiritual Parlamento Rapa Nui would respect tombstones” that “protect the land the free movement of people within and the blood matrix to which each the park during the transfer; and clan belongs” (Hitorangi 2013). These (4) that a formal proposal for admin- conceptualizations are not simply istration of the park would be con- cultural memories but are enacted in structed within the framework of ilo contemporary spiritual ceremonies 169 within sixty days. and everyday Rapa Nui discursive As the period in review came to practices (see Young 2015b). Thus, a close, a formal proposal had not while Rapa Nui do emphasize the materialized, and the meaning of the more technical issues of migration in conflict, the initial resolution, and the discussing the conflict, ultimately the ultimate goals remain disputed and indigenous politics articulate with a circumscribed by political tension political reviews • polynesia 243

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