The Kanaks (French spelling until 1984: Canaque) are the indigenous Melanesian inhabitants of New Caledonia, an overseas collectivity of France in the southwest Pacific.

The word Kanak (originally spelled Canaque in French) is derived from kanaka maoli, a Hawaiian phrase meaning 'ordinary person' which was at one time applied indiscriminately by European colonisers, traders and missionaries in Oceania to any non-European Pacific islander.

[15] The earliest history of Europeans arriving on these islands is when Captain James Cook of the Kingdom of Great Britain landed in 1774 at a time when there were reportedly 70,000 Kanaks living in the archipelago.

[4][5] Fifty years later, the Protestants of London Missionary Society came to New Caledonia, which was followed by entry of the French Catholics to the island, in 1843.

[16][17] During the colonial period, in the 19th century, Kanaks were employed as forced labour, to perform work in places such as Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the U.S. state of California, Canada, Chile, Fiji and South Africa.

[20] This situation arose consequent to induction of 20,000 convicts by the French government between 1864 and 1897, most of whom settled permanently in the country, and who were employed to extract nickel (beginning with 1864) and copper from 1875 onwards.

[21] After World War II, the Kanak independence movement again picked up momentum when the United Nations placed New Caledonia on its Decolonisation List of Non-Self-Governing Territories in 1946.

A major progression occurred when Kanaks and French settlers in the country obtained voting rights in 1951, shortly before it became an overseas territory of France in 1956.

This forum refused to participate in elections to the Territorial Assembly and even declared its own Provincial Government; it met with opposition by the French.

[16] FLNKS "organized a boycott of the territorial elections in New Caledonia, smashing ballot boxes and setting up roadblocks to prevent people from voting.

[16] The FLNKS, backed in their campaign for a referendum by regional organizations such as the "Groupe du fer de lance mélanesien" (the Melanesian Spearhead Group), the Pacific Forum, and the Nonaligned Countries Movement, were successful in getting the UN Resolution 41-41 A of 2 December 1986 passed; it re-inscribed New Caledonia on the Decolonisation List of Non-Self-Governing Territories.

[22] But this resolution did not mitigate the violence as what ensued was more confrontations with the authorities: the "Ouvéa cave hostage taking" resulted in 21 deaths including 19 Kanaks.

A subsequent agreement, the "Nouméa Accord", was signed between the FLNKS President and the French Government on 5 May 1998,[28] allowing for a degree of autonomy to New Caledonia over a transition period of up to 20 years.

[16][22] In a speech made before the Fourth Commission of the United Nations on 10 October 2005, the FLNKS Vice President, Léopold Jorédié, urged the UN "to establish a monitoring and follow-up system for the previous contracts signed between multinationals and municipalities, by drawing on the initiatives of Global Witness and asking the UN to put in place an ad hoc commission in order to protect the wealth of New Caledonia, following the example of what was done for Congo.

"[22] The Caledonian Union, one of the political parties within the pro-independence FLNKS group had, in 2010, appealed for a national committee to evaluate progress and prepare New Caledonia for the change in leadership before the planned referendum in 2014.

According to the traditional beliefs of the Kanak people, the sea is sacred as it provides them with "fish for food",[45] so they treat it with great reverence.

According to a rapid assessment survey conducted with help from the Kanaks, 42 coral reefs have been identified for protection near Nord's Mont Pani Province.

[47] Pork, chicken or seafood may be used in the filling which is then wrapped in poingo banana leaves before being cooked over hot stones in an earthen oven.

[51] Wood sculpture represents the spirit of Kanak culture of which the Flèche faîtière, which resembles a small totem pole with symbolic shapes, is the most common.

[52][53] As it represented the power of the chiefs over their subjects, it was adopted as flag of the Kanaks by the organization leading the independent movement in New Caledonia.

[52] Stone carvings made of jade or serpentinite are in the form of ceremonial axe representing clan's strength and power.

[54] Tapa is a bark cloth made into small pieces, often from banyan trees used to wrap up Kanak ancient bead money.

[55] Kanaks living on the islands made canoes out of hollowed–out trunks and large double–hulled outriggers with triangular sails, known as pirogues, traditionally used for fishing.

Dance is performed in the form of a message or a legend, often related to their daily activities or important events such as birth, marriage, circumcision, the death of a chief and so forth.

[56] Wooden masks made of local materials such as bark, feathers and leaves adorn them representing a physical link with the invisible world.

The pilou-pilou dance form of the Kanaks, now almost extinct, was so named by the early French missionaries of New Caledonia and involved stomping with bamboo tubes and beating of bark-clappers accompanied by singing in duets with shrieks and whistles of hundreds of dancers.

Rhythm instruments used include Bwanjep, used during ceremonies by a group of men; Jew's harp, (wadohnu in the Nengone language where it originated) made of dried piece of coconut palm leaf held between the teeth and an attached segment of soft nerve leaf; coconut-leaf whizzer, a piece of coconut leaf attached to a string and twirled that produces a noise like a humming bee; oboe, made of hollow grass stems or bamboo; end-blown flute, made of 50 cm long hollowed pawpaw leaf stem; bamboo stamping tubes that are struck vertically against the ground and played at major events; percussion instruments (hitting sticks, palm sheaths); rattles that are worn on the legs made of coconut leaves, shells and certain fruits.

Children's oral history is provided by parents and other relatives who also use tickling and onomatopoeic noise to hold the child's attention.

As a result of this movement the first festival of Melanesian arts, "Melanesia 2000", was held in Nouméa in September 1975, supported by Jean-Marie Tjibaou.

The first exhibition of modern-day wood sculptors and painters was held at Ko i Neva, which was also published as contemporary Kanak arts.