Over six Kanak protestors have been killed by French in Kanaky, or French-occupied New Caledonia.

Protests were ignited last month by Kanak civilians, the Indigenous Melanesian people of Kanaky, after France passed a bill that would allow newly arrived French settlers to vote in local elections.

The bill was opposed by Kanaks, who said it would dilute their own voting representation, harming their goal of self-determination. Over 80,000 Kanaks marched in the streets, blocking roads, targeting settler-owned businesses, and closing the airport in protest.

Kanaks have been under French occupation for nearly 200 years, and have been actively resisting the French empire since the mid 20th century. The Indigenous Kanak population makes up just 41 percent of the population due to the influx of European settlers.

French colonization of Kanaky began in 1853, when France annexed the island archipelago and began dispossessing Kanaks of their land, forcing them onto reservations similar to the experience of Native Americans.

The French killed over one-third of the Indigenous Kanak population through European diseases, making it easier to expropriate Kanak land as the population dwindled.

In 1894, France declared New Caledonia a “free” settlement colony, offering the best land to French settlers known as Caldoches. Their wealth was derived from plundering the resources and land of the Kanaks, as the Caldoches formed into an elite upper class that dominated the local economy.

By the 20th century, the French government had expropriated nearly 300,000 hectares of land on the island. As of 1901, Kanaks occupied only 13 percent of their homeland.

Kanaks struggled to survive on the allotted reserves as their population continued to grow and they lacked the space for traditional agricultural practices.

France initially used the land as a penal colony, banishing Algerian liberation fighters –– who were also fighting against French colonialism –– and other political prisoners to Kanaky.

In the modern era, Kanaky is crucial to France because of its nickel reserves. Kanak land contains around 25% of the entire global nickel supply, which France has been exploiting since the 1880s.

Nickel mines constitute around 14% of the total employment on-island; a majority of the workers in these mines are Indigenous Kanaks that rely on the job because their land was stolen.

In opposition to French colonialism, Kanaky is currently experiencing a wave of protests that have not been seen since the 1980s, during the height of the Kanak liberation movement.

The French government has responded to Kanak independence protests with severe violence, killing multiple and arresting over 200 protestors after sending in 500 additional French troops.

An alliance of over two dozen Pacific Island NGO's have condemned France's new legislation and its militarized response to protesters. Instead of listening to Kanak voices, the French government brutalized Kanaks, banned TikTok –– most likely so that videos of colonial violence could not be broadcast online –– and declared a state of emergency, evacuating European and Australian settlers.

French colonization is often framed as something of the past. By switching from the language of "colony" to "territory," the French and other Euro-American empires sought to obscure their possession of colonies.

The theft of Indigenous land never ended, however, and Kanaky is one of many remaining colonies across the Pacific.

Mainstream media is now reporting on Kanak protests, calling them riots and using phrases such as, "out of control," "terror," and "violent."

By framing Kanak protests as "riots," the media is effectively aiding French colonialism by painting Kanak resistance as terror, rather than freedom fighting. Decolonization will always be portrayed as a violent process by the colonizer, who seeks to criminalize Indigenous people that fight for their survival and their land.

The real violence in this situation comes from French occupation, which has stolen Kanak land and resources, denied Kanaks of their sovereignty and self-governance, and sent hundreds of additional police officers to brutally repress their quest for freedom.

Gabriel Attal, the Prime Minister of France, said in response to the protests that "violence will not be tolerated," but he has chosen to ignore the violence his nation has inflicted on Indigenous Pacific peoples through land theft, labor exploitation in nickel reserves, and the imposition of settlers and French governance.

Kanaky is 16,811 km away from France, and it was independent for thousands of years before French settlers arrived. There is no reason why France should be allowed to occupy a Pacific archipelago with its own cultural heritage, religious practices, and identity.

As Kanaks continue to fight for their independence and decolonization, it is our role as Pacific Islanders to learn about and advance their struggle.

All eight members of Vanuatu's Tafea Province Parliament, for example, have condemned French violence against the Kanaks.

In a signed statement recently put forth by the Parliament, it read: “As Melanesians to call for greater solidarity and bring to the spotlight the despicable acts of France as a colonial power that still colonises the island nations and maritime boundaries of our nations."

Participants at the recent 2024 FestPac celebration honored the Kanak delegates that were not able to make it due to French violence.

Many Pacific Islander creatives erected banners proclaiming solidarity with the Kanak independence movement, while others made art and held ceremonies to honor the Kanaks.

In an article for truthout, Victoria Leon Guerrero, an Indigenous CHamoru activist, author and educator, proclaimed, "I dedicate this reading to the people in Kanaky and Palestine. We are not free until all peoples are free."

Indigenous islanders across the Pacific have grieved and protested against the horrors of western imperialism across the world, finding hope in solidarity with other colonized peoples.

As Leon Guerrero said, "Guamanians (CHamorus) are the longest colonized people in the Pacific. The people of Guam are still colonized by the U.S., just as the people in Kanaky are colonized by the French. With Kanaky's absence at the festival, we must stand in solidarity with the Kanak people."

We cannot celebrate our cultures at events like FestPac without celebrating our resistance. Respect for our islands and ancestors must fuel our struggle against colonialism, our fight for sovereignty, and our potential to generate new forms of being outside of western capitalism.

Pacific Islanders must continue to educate themselves on the ongoing processes of colonialism that continue to harm our communities.

From Kanaky to Hawaiʻi, we must fight to deoccupy and demilitarize Indigenous land.