The Kanak Awakening: The Rise of Nationalism in New Caledonia

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The Kanak Awakening Pacific Islands Monograph Series 27 The Kanak Awakening The Rise of Nationalism in New Caledonia David Chappell Center for Pacific Islands Studies School of Pacific and Asian Studies 8QLYHUVLW\RI+DZDL¨L0îQRD University of Hawai‘i Press • Honolulu © 2014 University of Hawai‘i Press All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America 19 18 17 16 15 14 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Chappell, David A., [date] author. The Kanak awakening : the rise of nationalism in New Caledonia / David Chappell. pages cm. — (Pacific islands monograph series ; 27) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8248-3818-8 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. New Caledonia—History—Autonomy and independence movements. 2. Nationalism —New Caledonia. 3. Kanaka (New Caledonian people)—Politics and government . I. Title. II. Series: Pacific islands monograph series ; no. 27. DU720.75.C47 2013 320.54099597—dc23 2013016765 Maps by Manoa Mapworks, Inc., and Cartographic Services, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University. University of Hawai‘i Press books are printed on acid-free paper and meet the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Council on Library Resources. Design by University of Hawai‘i Press Design & Production Department Printed by Sheridan Books, Inc. To Atelemo Moleana, whose warm friendship and sage insight will be greatly missed. CENTER FOR PACIFIC ISLANDS STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I Terence Wesley-Smith, Director PACIFIC ISLANDS MONOGRAPH SERIES Tarcisius Kabutaulaka, General Editor Jan Rensel, Managing Editor EDITORIAL BOARD Hokulani Aikau Lola Quan Bautista Alex Golub David Hanlon Robert C Kiste Jane Freeman Moulin Puakea Nogelmeier 7\.îZLND7HQJDQ The Pacific Islands Monograph Series is a joint effort of the University of Hawai‘i Press and the Center for Pacific Islands Studies, University of Hawai‘i. The series includes works in the humanities and social sciences that focus on the insular Pacific. A list of other volumes in the series follows the index. vii Editor’s Note As an undergraduate student at the University of the South Pacific (USP) in the late 1980s, I was actively involved in the student movement for the decolonization of New Caledonia. Like most of the other student activists, I was largely motivated by the perception that colonialism was “evil” and decolonization was the ideal. The USP Students Association (USPSA) made it one of its missions to champion the decolonization of Pacific Island territories still under colonial rule. I was also a member of USP’s Wantok Students Association, with members from Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, and New Caledonia (wantok, from the English phrase “one talk,” can refer to people who speak the same language or who share a set of Melanesian cultural values). The Wantok Students Association was particularly interested in pushing for the independence of New Caledonia. The Kanak were, after all, our Melanesian wantoks. At that time I did not fully appreciate the complexities of decolonization , especially how the histories and experiences of colonial powers and territories were so intertwined that shaking off the shackles of colonialism was not a simple matter. Also, I did not fully grasp the daunting task of creating national identities in multicultural and multiethnic societies. This is often compounded, as in the case of New Caledonia, by the existence of settler populations. In Kanak Awakening: The Rise of Nationalism in New Caledonia, David Chappell examines these issues. He provides a comprehensive narrative of the rise of Kanak nationalism in the period after World War II. Although the book focuses on the 1960s and 1970s, it tells a broader story about how the rise of Kanak nationalism is connected to a long history of anticolonial movement that is rooted in Kanak cultures. It was also influenced by movements and discourses outside of New Caledonia, especially in metropolitan France. The author locates the New Caledonian experience within broader discussions of colonialism, decolonization, nationalism, and nation building. Drawing from careful and detailed research, Chappell tells a complex story of the interactions between the French and the Kanak, between the Kanak and caldoches (white settlers), and among Kanak of different gen- viii Editor’s Note erations and from different parts of New Caledonia. The book tells of the interconnections between politics and culture and how that influenced contemporary...