Chefferie, Bétail et Politique : Un notable kanak contre la revendication d'indépendance en Nouvelle-Calédonie

Abstract

This paper provides an ethnography of indigenous
activism against independence in New Caledonia, through the
case of Auguste Poadja, a Kanak "loyalist" leader from the
rural municipal district of Koné. Beyond classical explanations
in terms of "alienation," his political commitment was related
in practical terms to a strategy of local domination, based on
collaboration with both the French State and the white settlers.
In this perspective, his hostility to decolonization reflected
his refusal to have the rules of the "colonial game"—which he
had been playing both as a "grand chef" and a "stockman"—
changed. While analysing local stakes and conflicts articulated
to the wider debate on independence, this historical ethno
graphy of Kanak political "loyalism" eventually underlines the
complexity of colonial dynamics when seen "from below."