Easter Island is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean,at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its nearly 1,000 extant monumental statues,called moai,which were created by the early Rapa Nui people. In 1995,UNESCO named Easter Island a World Heritage Site,with much of the island protected within Rapa Nui National Park.
Hanga Roa is the main town,harbour and seat of Easter Island,a municipality of Chile. It is located in the southern part of the island's west coast,in the lowlands between the extinct volcanoes of Terevaka and Rano Kau.
The Rapa Nui are the indigenous Polynesian peoples of Easter Island. The easternmost Polynesian culture,the descendants of the original people of Easter Island make up about 60% of the current Easter Island population and have a significant portion of their population residing in mainland Chile. They speak both the traditional Rapa Nui language and the primary language of Chile,Spanish. At the 2017 census there were 7,750 island inhabitants—almost all living in the village of Hanga Roa on the sheltered west coast.
Rapa Nui National Park is a national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site located on Easter Island,Chile. Rapa Nui is the Polynesian name of Easter Island;its Spanish name is Isla de Pascua. The island is located in the southeastern Pacific Ocean,at the southeastern extremity of the Polynesian Triangle. The island was taken over by Chile in 1888. Its fame and World Heritage status arise from the 887 extant stone statues known by the name "moai",whose creation is attributed to the early Rapa Nui people who inhabited the island starting between 300 and 1200 AD. Much of the island has been declared as Rapa Nui National Park which,on 22 March 1996,UNESCO designated a World Heritage Site under cultural criteria (i),(iii),&(v). Rapa Nui National Park is now under the administrative control of the Ma´u Henua Polynesian Indigenous Community,which is the first autonomous institute on the island. The indigenous Rapa Nui people have regained authority over their ancestral lands and are in charge of the management,preservation and protection of their patrimony. On the first of December 2017,the ex-President Michelle Bachelet returned ancestral lands in the form of the Rapa Nui National Park to the indigenous people. For the first time in history,the revenue generated by the National Park is invested in the island and used to conserve the natural heritage.
Melania Carolina Hotu Hey is a Rapa Nui Chilean politician. She has served as the provincial governor of Easter Island,in Chilean Polynesia,in the first and second governments of Michelle Bachelet.
The flag of Easter Island is the flag of Easter Island,a special territory of Chile. It was first flown in public alongside the national flag on 9 May 2006.
Father Sebastian Englert OFM Cap.,was a Capuchin Franciscan friar,Roman Catholic priest,missionary,linguist and ethnologist from Germany. He is known for his pioneering work on Easter Island,where the Father Sebastian Englert Anthropological Museum is named after him.
Juan Edmunds Rapahango was a Rapa Nui politician,the former Mayor of Hanga Roa,the municipality of Rapa Nui,in Chilean Polynesia. He is the son of Henry Percy Edmunds,director of the Williamson-Balfour Company,and Victoria Rapahango,an important native respondent for early ethnologists visiting the island. He is the father of the former mayor Pedro Pablo Edmunds Paoa. As mayor,Edmunds Rapahango promoted tourism to the island and helped to develop the island's infrastructure. He collaborated closely with William Mulloy and supported the American archaeologist's restoration projects. Edmunds Rapahango saw that Rapa Nui archaeology would play an important role the future of the island's economy.
Carmen Cardinali Paoa is a Rapa Nui Chilean professor. She served as the governor of Easter Island in the government of president Sebastián Piñera,between 2010 and 2014.
Insular Chile,also called Las islas Esporádicas,or "the Sporadic Islands",is a scattered group of oceanic islands of volcanic origin located in the South Pacific,and which are under the sovereignty of Chile. The islands lie on the Nazca Plate,separate from the South American continental plate.
Juan Tepano Rano ʻa Veri ʻAmo was a Rapa Nui leader of Easter Island. He served as an informant for Euro-American scholars on the culture and history of the island.
Lynn Jaime Rapu Tuki is a Chilean promoter of the arts and traditions of the Rapa Nui People and head-teacher and founder of the Ma'aranui Cultural Academy and the Cultural Ballet Kari Kari. He is Cultural Ambassador of Asia-Pacific and has been Head of the Liaison Office of the National Council of Culture and the Arts.
Jacobo Hey Paoa is the first Rapa Nui male to earn a law degree and become an attorney.
Laura Tarita Rapu Alarcón is a Rapa Nui Chilean politician who served as governor of Easter Island from 2018 until her resignation in April 2021.
Luz del Carmen Zasso Paoa is a Chilean engineer and politician of Rapa Nui descent,serving as the mayor of Easter Island between 2008 and 2012.
Moisés Jacob Tu‘u Hereveri was elected ‘ariki (king) of Rapa Nui from 1901 until 1902. He was the last Rapa Nui to claim the traditional kingship in the early 20th-century. However,he is not remembered as the last king instead his predecessor Riro Kāinga is generally regarded as the last king,although neither held much power. Variation of his family name included Hereveri,Here Veri,Veri-Veri,Beri-Beri,Tueri-Beri,Tueriveri,or Tueriveri.
Enrique Ika a Tuʻu Hati was elected ‘ariki (king) of Rapa Nui in 1900 and led a failed rebellion. He was one of the last Rapa Nui to claim the traditional kingship in the early 20th-century. However,he is not remembered as the last king instead his predecessor Riro Kāinga is generally regarded as the last king,although neither held much power.
The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the Chilean island and special territory of Easter Island in March 2020.
Tiare Maeva Carolina Aguilera Hey is a Rapa Nui attorney and politician. In 2021,she was elected to represent the Rapa Nui people in the Chilean Constitutional Convention.
Isla de Pascua is a Chilean commune with a special regime,located within Isla de Pascua Province in Valparaíso Region. It is the only commune in Isla de Pascua Province,comprising Easter Island and Isla Salas y Gómez. Its capital is Hanga Roa,located in the southwestern area of the main island,where most of the local population resides.
