 Front page of the Tenth Edition of Te Vakai | |
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| Country | Tokelau |
| Free online archives | Website |
Te Vakai is a Tokelauan newsletter published in the English language.
| Front page of the Tenth Edition of Te Vakai | |
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| Country | Tokelau |
| Free online archives | Website |
Te Vakai is a Tokelauan newsletter published in the English language.
Initially published under the name Te Vakai Tokelau by New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1976, the newsletter was initially a quarterly, bilingual publication, offering articles in both Tokelauan and English. [1] Publication was later taken over by the Office of Tokelauan Affairs, [1] and was eventually stopped entirely.
In September 2010, the decision was made to start publishing Te Vakai again. On this topic, Tokelau's General Manager, Joe Suveinakama, has stated "Communication and the dissemination of information is a big issue for any administration. That is why I am quite happy that Te Vakai is rolling again." [2]
Starting from the September 2010 issue, editions of Te Vakai have been available on from the Tokelauan government's website, however new editions have not been uploaded since 2012. [3]
Te Vakai also has a Facebook account which is used for advertising its stories. [4]
Tokelau is a dependent territory of New Zealand in the southern Pacific Ocean. It consists of three tropical coral atolls: Atafu, Nukunonu, and Fakaofo. They have a combined land area of 10 km2 (4 sq mi). The capital rotates yearly among the three atolls. In addition to these three, Swains Island, which forms part of the same archipelago, is the subject of an ongoing territorial dispute; it is currently administered by the United States as part of American Samoa. Tokelau lies north of the Samoan Islands, east of Tuvalu, south of the Phoenix Islands, southwest of the more distant Line Islands, and northwest of the Cook Islands.
Tuvaluan, often called Tuvalu, is a Polynesian language closely related to the Ellicean group spoken in Tuvalu. It is more or less distantly related to all other Polynesian languages, such as Hawaiian, Māori, Tahitian, Samoan, Tokelauan and Tongan, and most closely related to the languages spoken on the Polynesian Outliers in Micronesia and Northern and Central Melanesia. Tuvaluan has borrowed considerably from Samoan, the language of Christian missionaries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Tokelauan is a Polynesian language spoken in Tokelau and on Swains Island in American Samoa. It is closely related to Tuvaluan and is related to Samoan and other Polynesian languages. Tokelauan has a co-official status with English in Tokelau. There are approximately 4,260 speakers of Tokelauan, of whom 2,100 live in New Zealand, 1,400 in Tokelau, and 17 in Swains Island. "Tokelau" means "north-northeast".
Atafu, formerly known as the Duke of York Group, is a group of 52 coral islets within Tokelau in the south Pacific Ocean, 500 kilometres north of Samoa. With a land area of 2.5 square kilometres, it is the smallest of the three islands that constitute Tokelau. It is an atoll and surrounds a central lagoon, which covers some 15 km2 (5.8 sq mi). The atoll lies 800 kilometres south of the equator at 8° 35' South, 172° 30' West.
The politics of Tokelau takes place within a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic dependency. The head of state of Tokelau is King Charles III in right of his Realm of New Zealand, who is represented by an Administrator. The monarch is hereditary, the Administrator is appointed by the New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Swains Island is a remote coral atoll in the Tokelau Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. The island is the subject of an ongoing territorial dispute between Tokelau and the United States, which has administered it as part of American Samoa since 1925. Privately owned by the family of Eli Hutchinson Jennings since 1856, Swains Island was used as a copra plantation until 1967. It has not been permanently inhabited since 2008 but has often been visited by members of the Jennings family, scientific researchers, and amateur radio operators.
The Tokelau self-determination referendum of 2006, supervised by the United Nations, was held from February 11 to February 15, 2006. The defeated proposal would have changed Tokelau's status from an unincorporated New Zealand territory to a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand, akin to the Cook Islands and Niue.
A referendum on self-determination was held in Tokelau on 20 October and on 22–24 October 2007, with the result being that self-governance was rejected. Had it been successful, the referendum would have changed Tokelau's status from an unincorporated New Zealand territory to a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand, akin to the Cook Islands and Niue. However, the referendum required a two-thirds positive vote to pass, and the "yes" side fell short of the required total by 16 votes.
The national badge of Tokelau depicts a tuluma, which is a traditional Tokelauan carved wooden “tackle box” used by local fishermen. A white cross in the centre of the tuluma and the inscription below Tokelau mo te Atua reflect the strong influence of Christianity in Tokelau.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Tokelau:
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Tokelau face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity are legal in Tokelau, but same-sex couples and households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex married couples.
Foua Toloa was a Tokelauan politician who served as the Head of the Government of Tokelau, or Ulu, from 21 February 2009, to 21 February 2010. He was a member of the Council for the Ongoing Government of Tokelau, and was a faipule on Fakaofo. As the office of Ulu rotates on an annual basis, Toloa resumed office on 21 February 2011. For a time in 2011-2012, he was also Tokelau's minister for Finance, Telecommunication, Energy and Transport. He died in California in 2015.
Tokelau has two official languages: Tokelauan and English. Over 90% of the population speaks Tokelauan, and just under 60% speak English. Also, 45.8% of the population speak Samoan, and small percentages of the population speak Tuvaluan and Kiribati.
The following is an alphabetical list of articles related to Tokelau.
The Treaty of Tokehega, officially titled the Treaty between the United States of America and New Zealand on the Delimitation of the Maritime Boundary between Tokelau and the United States of America, is a 1980 treaty between New Zealand and the United States that settles disputed claims and delineates the maritime boundary between Tokelau and American Samoa. The treaty's short name is a portmanteau of Tokelau and Olohega, which the boundary separates.
Aliki Kelihiano Kalolo is a Tokelauan politician who currently serves as Head of the Government of Tokelau, or Ulu since 13 March 2013. He previously served in the same position from February 2012 to March 2013, again from 12 March 2019 to 9 March 2020, and again from 8 March 2021. He is a member of the Council for the Ongoing Government of Tokelau, serving as Minister for Foreign Affairs, Education, Economic Development, Natural Resources and the Environment, prior to and then simultaneously to his leadership of the government. The office of Ulu rotates on an annual basis between the faipule of each of the country's three atolls; Kalolo, as faipule of Atafu, took office as Ulu for the first time in 2012.
In 2011, the Tokelauan Census for the first time asked a series of questions about reading and writing skills.
Smoking in Tokelau is prevalent, with ethnic Tokelauans having the highest smoking prevalence of all Pacific ethnicities. In the 2011 Tokelau Census, 47.8% of people aged over 15 were found to be regular cigarette smokers.
Susana Tetane Lemisio is a community organiser and educator from Tokelau.
Tokelauan people are a Polynesian ethnic group native to Tokelau, a Polynesian archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, who share the Tokelauan Polynesian culture, history and language.