There are many Pacific Islander books to understand our islands’ politics. Below are eight books we recommend. If you would like to add other books by Pacific Islander authors to this list, please comment below. Links lead to the website of the book’s publisher.

1. Decolonisation and the Pacific: Indigenous Globisation and the Ends of Empire by Tracey Banivanua-Mar (Lauan)

   
   

   “The individual stories told here shed new light on the forces that shaped twentieth-century global history, and reconfigure the history of decolonisation, presenting it not as an historic event, but as a fragile, contingent and ongoing process continuing well into the postcolonial era.”

   

   
   

2. Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples by Linda Tuhiwai Smith (Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Porou)

   
   

   “This essential volume explores intersections of imperialism and research - specifically, the ways in which imperialism is embedded in disciplines of knowledge and tradition as 'regimes of truth.' Concepts such as 'discovery' and 'claiming' are discussed and an argument presented that the decolonization of research methods will help to reclaim control over indigenous ways of knowing and being.”

   

   
   

3. From a Native Daughter: Colonialism and Sovereignty in Hawai’i by Haunani-Kay Trask (Kanaka Maoli)

   
   

   “Since its publication in 1993, From a Native Daughter, a provocative, well-reasoned attack against the rampant abuse of Native Hawaiian rights, institutional racism, and gender discrimination, has generated heated debates in Hawai'i and throughout the world.”

   

   
   

4. Inside Out: Literature, Cultural Politics, and Identity in the New Pacific edited by Vilsoni Hereniko (Rotuman) and Rob Wilson

   
   

   “With its dynamic combination of important position papers, polemics, and decolonizing critiques by noted authors and of analysis by new and established post-colonial scholars, this volume exposes 'the maze and mix of literatures and cultural identities breaking down and building up across the Pacific Ocean.'”

   

   
   

5. La Présence Kanak/Kanaky by Jean-Marie Tjibaou (Kanak)

   
   

   “Réimpression à l'identique de l’ouvrage paru aux éditions Odile Jacob en 1996. Ce livre, regroupant des interviews accordées par Jean-Marie Tjibaou à travers le monde, nous présente une pensée ouverte sur l’Universel. Plus de vingt ans après, « La Présence kanak » reste un ouvrage de référence et d’actualité. Édition établie et présentée par Alban Bensa et Éric Wittersheim.”

   
   

   “Published in French in 1996, La Présence Kanak is an edited collection of interviews with and essays by the charismatic Kanak leader Jean-Marie Tjibaou (1936-1989). This English translation reveals the remarkable scope of Tjibaou's political career, his rhetorical power, his passionately held beliefs, and his persuasive ideology of Kanak unity and independence.”

   

   
   

   

   
   

6. No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies by Julian Aguon (Chamorro)

   
   

   “Part memoir, part manifesto, Chamorro climate activist Julian Aguon’s No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies is a collection of essays on resistance, resilience, and collective power in the age of climate disaster; and a call for justice—for everyone, but in particular, for Indigenous peoples.”

   

   
   

7. Sweat and Salt Water by Teresia Kiera Teaiwa (Banaban, I-Kiribati)

   
   

   “This volume features a selection of Teaiwa’s scholarly and creative contributions captured in print over a professional career cut short at the height of her productivity. The collection honors her legacy in various scholarly fields, including Pacific studies, Indigenous studies, literary studies, security studies, and gender studies, and on topics ranging from militarism and tourism to politics and pedagogy.”

   

   
   

8. We Are the Ocean by Epeli Hau’ofa (Tongan, Fijian)

   
   

   “We Are the Ocean is a collection of essays, fiction, and poetry by Epeli Hau‘ofa, whose writing over the past three decades has consistently challenged prevailing notions about Oceania and prescriptions for its development. He highlights major problems confronted by the region and suggests alternative perspectives and ways in which its people might reorganize to relate effectively to the changing world.”