'Iorana,

It has come to my attention that in "Easter Island" (Rapa Nui) indigenous Rapa Nui people have attempted to exercise their human rights to self-determination through a series of demonstrations during the last week. They have peacefully occupied colonial Chilean government buildings and segments of the island the colonial government has denied them against their will for over a century. The unarmed Rapa Nui people engaged in this struggle for the basic human rights all peoples struggle for are currently being threatened by the military force of the Chilean marines. I believe those struggling for their right to be a self-determining people are authentic voices of Rapa Nui. I heard these voices daily from youth, adults, and elders as I lived with Rapa Nui for a year and a half from 2007-2008 to learn about political conflict in Rapa Nui for my doctoral dissertation at the University of Hawai'i, Manoa. I would like to share a voice with a translation from a smaller protest in 2008 by an elder currently involved in the occupations and protests that I believe expresses some of the sentiment of those protesting today. The elder had this to say in response to why they were marching on the Chilean government in 2008:

Ki he te roa o te Tire i ruŋa o te mātou kaiŋa? Me’e ra’e. Ho’e tautini va’u hanere va’u ahuru ma va’u i toke ai e te Tire i te kuhane o te Rapa Nui tā’atoa. Ko rohirohi ‘ana te taŋata tā’atoa o te hau nei o Pito o Te Henua i te reoreo o te hau nei he Tire. Toke te mana’u; toke te mana o te tupuna ata ki aŋarina. Etahi nō mana’u o te taure’are’a, o te korohu’a, o te ru’au, o te ŋa vi’e peinei e. Ka e’a te Tire mai ruŋa i te rāua motu. Ka hakare te rāua kaiŋa ki te mana’u. Peinei e. ‘Ina ‘a katahi me’e tano i va’ai mai e te Tire ki te henua nei. Ka ho’e hanere piti ahuru matahiti ki aŋarina, ina ‘a he me’e nehenehe ra’e i hakatikea mai e te hau nei he Tire. He tu’u mai, he toke tahi i te henua o te Rapa Nui. Ka e’a koe, tu’u taŋata, tu’u rakerake, tu’u reva. Ka hoki ki tu’u kaiŋa ko Tire.
How long has Chile resided upon our land? That is the first thing. Since 1888 the spirit of all Rapa Nui has been stolen by Chile. All of the people of the government of Rapa Nui are exhausted by the lies of this Chilean government. Our mind is stolen. The spiritual power of the ancestors is stolen to this day. There is one thought of the youth, of the men, the elders, and the women. Chile: get out from upon their land! Leave their land and their mind alone. Not one righteous thing has been given by Chile to this land. One hundred twenty years to this day, not one beautiful thing has been shown by this Chilean government. They arrived here; they stole all the land of the Rapa Nui.Leave! Your people, your evil, your flag… return to your land: Chile.

Sincerely,
Forrest Young
PhD Student Anthropology (ABD)
MA Student Political Science (Indigenous Politics Program), MA Anthropology, MA Philosophy