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« Indigenous Struggles and Water Policies in New Caledonia » | Benoît Trépied - 13 juin 2012

An article by Benoît Trépied entitled « Indigenous Struggles and Water Policies in New Caledonia », has been published in the journal Social Identities Journal for the Study of Race, Nation and Culture - volume 18, N° 4, in a special issued coordinated by Natacha Gagné and Marie Salaün, entitled : Indigeneity in Oceania Today : A Conceptual Tool, a Battle Cry and an Experience.

The introduction to the journal, “Appeals to Indigeneity : insights from Oceania", is available online here.

Abstract :

Following the struggles of the 1980s, the Matignon and Nouméa Agreements profoundly transformed the issue of decolonization in New Caledonia. Although most decision-making powers will be controlled by the collegial local Government in 2014, there is no guarantee that the ‘Republic of Kanaky’ will become a tangible reality after the referendum. However, the principle of Kanak sovereignty has already been asserted in the Nouméa Agreement, through recognition of Kanak identity within a broader Caledonian citizenship – which may become full nationality after 2014. In this context, as New Caledonia engaged in this progressive decolonization process, two distinct political Kanak strategies have emerged in recent years. The paper addresses the cleavages that have emerged between pro-independence and ‘indigenous’ Kanak activists, through an ethnographic description of this phenomenon on a local scale, namely a political conflict concerning a water conveyance project in the Northern Province.

Reference :

Benoît Trépied (2012), « Indigenous Struggles and Water Policies in New Caledonia », Social Identities : Journal for the Study of Race, Nation and Culture, Volume 18, Issue 4.

Table of contents :

• “Appeals to Indigeneity : insights from Oceania"-Natacha Gagné & Marie Salaün
• “Sovereignty, Indigeneity, Identities : Perspectives from Hawai’i”-Judith Schachter & Albrecht Funk
• “ Indigeneity as process : Maori claims and neoliberalism”-Fiona McCormack
• “Expressions of Maori Multiplicity in (Re) Connection to Nga Taonga Tuku Iho”-Lily George
• “The Negotiation of Takapuneke : conflicting notions of value of a tapu site”-Chad Huddleston
• "Indigenous Struggles and Water Policies in New Caledonia" - Benoît Trépied
• “Ethnicity, Nationality, and the Rights of Indigeneity : The Case of Rotumans in Fiji”-Alan Howard & Jan Rensel

Source : Taylor & Francis online