Sikaiana (formerly called the Stewart Islands) is a small atoll 212 kilometres (132 miles) NE of Malaita in Solomon Islands in the south Pacific Ocean. It is almost 14 kilometres (8.7 miles) in length and its lagoon, known as Te Moana, is totally enclosed by the coral reef. Its total land surface is only 2 square kilometres (0.77 square miles). There is no safe anchorage close to this atoll, which makes it often inaccessible to outsiders.
Sikaiana is a remote tropical coral atoll located at latitude and longitude 8°25′0″S 162°52′0″E, over 200 kilometres (125 miles) from any other islands. The main island at Sikaiana atoll, located at the easternmost corner, is called Sikaiana. The three small islands in the west of the atoll are Tehaolei (north), Matuiloto (west), and Matuavi (south). There are also two artificial islands on the reef, Te Palena and Hakatai'atata.
Some residents of the Stewart Islands in the Solomon Islands group ... claim that they are native Hawaiians and U.S. citizens.... They base their claim on the assertion that the Stewart Islands were ceded to King Kamehameha IV and accepted by him as part of the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1856 and, thus, were part of the Republic of Hawaii (which was declared in 1893) when it was annexed to the United States by law in 1898. The 1898 law identifies the islands being annexed only as the “Hawaiian Islands and their dependencies.” However, the annexation was based on the report of the Hawaiian Commission which did not include the Stewart Islands among the islands it identified as part of the Republic of Hawaii. Report of the Hawaiian Commission, S. Doc. No. 16, 55th Cong., at 4 (3d Sess. 1898). In 1996, some Stewart Islands residents applied to register to vote in a plebiscite limited to Native Hawaiians. Their requests for ballots, however, were rejected by the Hawaiian Sovereignty Election Council.[1]
In 1893, the United Kingdom established the British Solomon Islands Protectorate over most of what is now Solomon Islands excluding Sikaiana. This was done to further British colonial interests in the region and to regulate the practice of ‘blackbirding’, the labour recruitment of Solomon Islanders to work on labour plantations in the then-colony of Queensland, later the state of Queensland. On 21 June 1897 this protectorate was extended to include Sikaiana, Rennell, and Bellona Islands.[2][3]
^GAO/OGC-98-5 : U.S. INSULAR AREAS; Application of the U.S. Constitution (PDF) (Report). United States General Accounting Office. November 1997. p. 39 (note 4).
^"Sikaiana : A Contemporary Polynesian Society". Expedition. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. 26 (4).
^National Archives Doc ref. DO 118/94 Description: BRITISH SOLOMON ISLANDS PROTECTORATE (STEWART ATOLL) Proclamation declaring a protectorate over Stewart Atoll Sikaiana
Referencesedit
Portions of the Book of Common Prayer in Sikaiana, 1932 Anglican liturgical document in Sikaiana.
sikaiana, insect, genus, planthopper, stewart, islands, redirects, here, zealand, island, stewart, island, stewart, islandsnasa, picture, atollgeographylocationpacific, oceanarchipelagosolomon, islandsarea2, administration, solomon, islandsprovince, malaitadem. For the insect genus see Sikaiana planthopper Stewart Islands redirects here For the New Zealand island see Stewart Island 8 24 S 162 54 E 8 400 S 162 900 E 8 400 162 900 SikaianaStewart IslandsNASA picture of Sikaiana AtollSikaianaGeographyLocationPacific OceanArchipelagoSolomon IslandsArea2 km2 0 77 sq mi Administration Solomon IslandsProvince MalaitaDemographicsPopulation249 2009 Sikaianaclass notpageimage Location of Sikaiana Atoll in the Pacific Ocean Sikaiana formerly called the Stewart Islands is a small atoll 212 kilometres 132 miles NE of Malaita in Solomon Islands in the south Pacific Ocean It is almost 14 kilometres 8 7 miles in length and its lagoon known as Te Moana is totally enclosed by the coral reef Its total land surface is only 2 square kilometres 0 77 square miles There is no safe anchorage close to this atoll which makes it often inaccessible to outsiders Contents 1 Geography 2 History 3 See also 4 Notes and references 4 1 Notes 4 2 References 5 External linksGeography editSikaiana is a remote tropical coral atoll located at latitude and longitude 8 25 0 S 162 52 0 E over 200 kilometres 125 miles from any other islands The main island at Sikaiana atoll located at the easternmost corner is called Sikaiana The three small islands in the west of the atoll are Tehaolei north Matuiloto west and Matuavi south There are also two artificial islands on the reef Te Palena and Hakatai atata History editAdministratively Sikaiana is governed as an outlying region of Malaita Province in Solomon Islands Sikaiana s population is approximately 300 people of Polynesian descent not of the Melanesian descent prevalent in the main Solomon Islands It is considered by anthropologists to be a Polynesian outlier A 1998 GAO report stated Some residents of the Stewart Islands in the Solomon Islands group claim that they are native Hawaiians and U S citizens They base their claim on the assertion that the Stewart Islands were ceded to King Kamehameha IV and accepted by him as part of the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1856 and thus were part of the Republic of Hawaii which was declared in 1893 when it was annexed to the United States by law in 1898 The 1898 law identifies the islands being annexed only as the Hawaiian Islands and their dependencies However the annexation was based on the report of the Hawaiian Commission which did not include the Stewart Islands among the islands it identified as part of the Republic of Hawaii Report of the Hawaiian Commission S Doc No 16 55th Cong at 4 3d Sess 1898 In 1996 some Stewart Islands residents applied to register to vote in a plebiscite limited to Native Hawaiians Their requests for ballots however were rejected by the Hawaiian Sovereignty Election Council 1 In 1893 the United Kingdom established the British Solomon Islands Protectorate over most of what is now Solomon Islands excluding Sikaiana This was done to further British colonial interests in the region and to regulate the practice of blackbirding the labour recruitment of Solomon Islanders to work on labour plantations in the then colony of Queensland later the state of Queensland On 21 June 1897 this protectorate was extended to include Sikaiana Rennell and Bellona Islands 2 3 In religious terms Sikaiana is part of the Anglican Church of Melanesia Diocese of Malaita and the majority of its inhabitants are Anglicans See also editSikaiana languageNotes and references editNotes edit GAO OGC 98 5 U S INSULAR AREAS Application of the U S Constitution PDF Report United States General Accounting Office November 1997 p 39 note 4 Sikaiana A Contemporary Polynesian Society Expedition University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology 26 4 National Archives Doc ref DO 118 94 Description BRITISH SOLOMON ISLANDS PROTECTORATE STEWART ATOLL Proclamation declaring a protectorate over Stewart Atoll Sikaiana References edit Portions of the Book of Common Prayer in Sikaiana 1932 Anglican liturgical document in Sikaiana Oceandots at the Wayback Machine archived December 23 2010 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sikaiana Sikaiana Anglican History nbsp This Solomon Islands location article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sikaiana amp oldid 1106654389, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
