Articulating Rapa Nui

"In this groundbreaking study, Riet Delsing narrates the colonization of the Pacific Island of Rapa Nui and its indigenous inhabitants. The annexation of the island by Chile, in the heydays of world imperialsim, places the small Latin American country in a unique position in the history of global colonialism. The analysis of this ongoing colonization process constitutes a "missing link" in Pacific Islands studies and facilitates future comparisons with other colonial adventures in the Pacific by the United States (Hawai'i, American Samoa), France (Tahiti), and New Zealand (Maori and Cook Islands). The first part of the book surveys the history of the Chili-Rapa Nui relationship from its beginning in the 1880s until the present. Delsing delineates the Rapanui people's indigenous agency along with their cultural logic, showing their resilience and will to remain Rapanui—indigenous Pacific Islanders rather than an ethnic minority forcefully integrated into the Chilean nation-state. In the second part, the author describes the Rapanui's contemporary emphasis on the revitalization of their language, traditional concepts about land tenure, a unique corpus of material and performative culture, renewed contact with other Pacific island cultures, and creative acts of resistance against Chilean colonialism. Emergent in her analysis is the effect of Rapa Nui's vibrant tourist industry — commodification of Rapanui difference is creating the possiblity to loosen economic and political ties with Chile."--Jacket flap.