Traditional leaders from across the Pacific are uniting to create the Oceania Traditional Leaders Forum, a dedicated space for ongoing dialogue and collaboration among Pacific nations.
Leaders from Aotearoa, Fiji, the Marshall Islands, Chuuk and Hawaiʻi signed a declaration to amplify their collective voice while extending an invitation to other nations to add their signatures.
A little over a dozen traditional leaders — aliʻi, sovereign leaders, ministers, and government officials — from across the Pacific gathered at ʻIolani Palace in Honolulu for the signing of the Tuurama Ariki Declaration. “Tuurama” refers to the light or radiant wisdom of one’s ancestors.
Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board Chair Carmen Hulu Lindsey was one of three representatives from Hawaiʻi, including Prince David Kawānanakoa and state Sen. Jarrett Keohokālole.
“Our collective strength and political alliance formed the very breath that will propel us toward meaningful action and positive change,” Lindsey said. “The signing of the declaration today within the historic walls of ʻIolani Palace serves as both a testament to our unwavering commitment and a symbolic step toward restoring justice and honoring our past.”
Other signatories to the declaration include Chief Vunivalu of Bau in Fiji, Chief Lanny Kabua of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Chief Peter Aten of Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia. Kiingitanga Chief of Staff Ngira Simmonds represented the Māori King Tūheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII at the signing.
“It’s an exciting and bold step for us, the Māori people and for the Kiingitanga of Aotearoa. Our history of colonization and suppression is one that continues to hurt and be a pain among our people to this day,” Simmonds said. “In signing this declaration, Kiingi Tūheitia strives for unity with other leaders and ‘mana motuhake,’ which is our word for Indigenous sovereignty.”
The declaration comes as Indigenous communities across the Pacific Islands wrestle with governments rolling back their rights.
In New Zealand, authorities are cracking down on the use of the Māori language in the public sector. The government also plans to review the Treaty of Waitangi, an important document laying out many of the rights and protections for the Māori people.
In New Caledonia, a French territory in the South Pacific, the French government attempted to impose controversial electoral reforms to extend voting rights to French settlers. The move sparked civil unrest and forced the New Caledonia delegation to pull out of FestPAC.
Hulali Mohi, the wife of Tarahoʻi Mohi Raʻatira of Maupiti of French Polynesia, said the traditional leaders group is prepared to send their support to the Indigenous Kanak, or Kanaky, of New Caledonia.
“We are working on sending a letter of support,” Mohi said. “But it was important for us to finish one step which was the unification of all of the aliʻi so that we could send as one voice our support for New Caledonia.”
Traditional leaders have been meeting in conjunction with this year’s FestPAC through a handful of “talanoa,” or talk stories, aimed at exchanging experiences and collaborating on solutions to issues that impact the entire region.
This forum builds on a history of diplomacy among Pacific nations dating back to the reign of King David Kalākaua. In 1887, Kalākaua sent a diplomatic envoy to Apia, where Samoan King Malietoa Laupepa signed a Treaty of Confederacy with Hawaiʻi. That same year, a group of white settlers in Honolulu organized a coup that resulted in the forced signing of the Bayonet Constitution. Kalākaua’s diplomatic mission was recalled.
Back in April, traditional leaders from Hawaiʻi, Aotearoa, Fiji, and Sāmoa held a “talanoa” in Fiji to plan their FestPAC gathering. Festival organizer Aaron Salā said the declaration is a high point for the Pacific Islander gathering.
“I think it’s a powerful win on the part of the festival, if I’m speaking selfishly but also on behalf of the work Kalākaua set forth in the late 1800s. This was never realized in Kalākaua’s time. So the fact that we’ve done this in the Throne Room at ʻIolani — that’s something to really behold.”
The Oceania Traditional Leaders Forum plans to meet regularly bringing together traditional leaders to engage in open and constructive dialogue.
