Pacific Islander
[1] As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas[1]—of any of the three major subregions of Oceania (Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia) or any other island located in the Pacific Ocean.
"[3] This came as result of a steady stream of immigration from Polynesian countries such as Samoa, Tonga, the Cook Islands, Niue, and French Polynesia in the 20th and 21st centuries.
[7] In some common uses, the term refers to the islands of the Pacific Ocean once colonized by the Portuguese, Spaniards, Dutch, British, French, Germans, Americans, Japanese, and Chinese.
[9] In an often geopolitical context, the term has been extended even further to include the large South Pacific landmass of Australia.
[14][15] All of these islands (excluding Clipperton) were annexed by Latin American nations a few hundred years after their discoveries, and initially were sometimes used as prisons for convicts.
[16] Today only a small number of them are inhabited, mainly by Spanish-speaking mainlanders of mestizo or White Latin American origin.
[10][11] In a broad sense, they could still possibly be seen as encompassing a small Spanish-speaking segment of Oceania, along with the Easter Island inhabitants, who were eventually colonized by Chileans.
Most Pacific insular possessions of Latin American nations are either unpopulated or used as military outposts, staffed by natives of the mainland.
"[17] Debate exists over whether or not the Philippines should be categorized with Pacific Islands of shared Austronesian origin or with the mainland nations of Asia.
In July 2019, at the inaugural Indonesian Exposition held in Auckland, Indonesia launched its 'Pacific Elevation' program, which would encompass a new era of elevated engagement with the region, with the country also using the event to lay claim that Indonesia is culturally and ethnically linked to the Pacific islands.
Australia's Indigenous population are loosely related to Melanesians and the United States Census categorize them under the Pacific Islander American umbrella.
[35][36][37] In Island Realm: A Pacific Panorama (1974), Ian Todd states that, "New Zealand is uniquely gifted in its role as a Polynesian associate.
Beyond her own sphere of association, New Zealand's trading influence is prominent in Tonga, Fiji and other areas of the Pacific with Commonwealth affiliations."
Melanesia is the great arc of islands located north and east of Australia and south of the Equator.
East Timor, while considered to be geographically Southeast Asian, is still generally accepted as being ethnoculturally part of Melanesia.
The Torres Strait Islands are politically part of nearby Queensland, Australia, although the inhabitants are considered to be Melanesians rather than Indigenous Australians.
[39] The remote island is still sometimes considered to be in Melanesia, as it is close to the region, and has archeological evidence of prehistoric inhabitation.
The islands were under the influence of colonial powers such as Germany, Spain and Japan from the 16th century up until the end of World War II.
Easter Island is located in a remote part of the Pacific which is thousands of kilometers removed from both Polynesia and the South American continent.
It was annexed by Chile in 1888, and Spanish is now commonly spoken in a bilingual manner, with some having race-mixed with Mestizo Chilean settlers.
[38] Melanesians constitute over three quarters of the total indigenous population of the Pacific Islands; Polynesians account for more than one-sixth; and Micronesians make up about one-twentieth.
[46]Despite this, Pacific Islanders were generally held in a much higher regard than Indigenous Australians were during the early 20th century.
Two of the major ones are Polyfest, which showcases performances of the secondary school cultural groups in the region,[54] and Pasifika, a festival that celebrates Pacific island heritage through traditional food, music, dance, and entertainment.
