Olohega or Swains Island Part 3 of 3 Tagata Pasifika

Olohega. A small, idyllic Pacific island north of Samoa and just south of Tokelau. Bought for a bottle of gin and 15 shillings an acre. Annexed to the United States. Its former inhabitants were evicted almost sixty years ago from their island and long to return.

[@tngi08]

great sad story..I'm Tongan and i understood everything the elder said without subT. Hope future is brighter for the people and Island

[@jeffratu7567]

I'm a Cook Islander, but I felt for the people that are going thru this suffering. Land has always been an issue since the beginning of the world. We have a long history of land issues even we fight for it to gain possessions. In the beginning the bible mentioned about the land. And man suppose to be looking after it. To manage, to cultivate and to rule over the birds, the fish, the trees and every creeping living thing on the Earth. I hear many times about this saying, that man will pass this life. But land will still be here. Just a word of encouragement to the people of Olohenga, don't give up fighting. You believe that the land is rightfully yours past on to you by your ancestors, you should not let anyone take them away from you. If your serious about this. You need God with you, in you, around you why, because Originally, He owns Everything. The most powerful thing that you and your people can do is Pray for your Land to be returned to you. I will also pray with you. The bible says if one or two believe and agree. I am in the mids of them. God Bless you all Olohenga People. I like those songs that was composed for this purpose.

[@greylynn-snakevenom113glc7]

Malo Jeff, nice encouragement..

[@taulapapananiseni533]

GREYLYNN - SNAKEVENOM113% Fire morning tomorrow come home

[@W0nd3rw0m4n]

Just shows what greed and money can do to a people! I hope the Olohega people get their land back!! Yes I am American but I see this too much in history its just stupid, heartless, and disrespectful...

[@angus1004]

Thanks for this story. I didn't know about it. I'm tweeting about it now

[@polynesiandove]

I Love this story i've enjoyed watching it .

[@angus1004]

What can be done to help? felt so sad watching the elderly man talking about missing his homeland. I would love to see that elderly man return to Olohega.

[@_MP004]

...Fakafetai (thanks) to Marama Papau for giving us a voice! "...he tofi o tatou...ni ivi, ni kakano na tofi mai ai tatou tupuna..." beautiful Tokelau Poetry!

[@ttoma5757]

This is so very sad. How can people be so heartless as to evict people of the island as if they don't belong there .. all i can say is ' Karma is a bitch' #that is all

[@cafalava1]

Watching this was very heart wrentching! I pray that Olohega is returned back to it's people.

[@continentalappliancesf995]

The Lord said to me that justice is coming to Olohenga ...He commanded me to be to be part of His plan for this Island according to His will. Glory be to God!!!

[@joshtovo7636]

@@continentalappliancesf995 Did Lord talk to you in ur dream or just face to face? I think I'm the one's dreaming of reading ur comment 🤔???

[@uaeaiasona5717]

Wow papa I miss you and hope one day I can see my father's birthplace and walk where u once walked miss u papa

[@wallacethompson4361]

Uaea Iasona you were born in Fakaofu.

[@MrPerennial]

The bloke said "I walk and breath and sleep Tokelau." What's stopping you from moving to Nukunonu?

[@ajulutu]

kalofa e!! my heart goes out to our olohega aiga!!

[@Hyaneleh]

Why dont these people just go back to olohega and stay there! Thats what that Jennings guy did! He just went over there and told every to get of the island?! These days if some one did that, he get a tuki ki te gutu or a kiki ki ona polo!

[@lungee08]

beautiful yet sad story - we can only pray that things will continue to happen in order for the people to get their land back, thanks for beginning to turn the wheel!

[@Kylieleon]

The Tokelauan language is so close to Tongan. Wow...I couldn’t believe it!!!

[@jamiehaveka1770]

No it sounds closer to Samoan and Tuvaluan. I am Samoan and I can understand it more than Tongan

[@lifes_abeach6040]

Bro also sounds a lil bit like Maori I'm Maori 👌🤙

[@nebulanesian369]

We're all connected, hence the similarities between our different languages. I am Tokelauan/Tuvaluan.

[@leont5096]

Heck yea I could understand most of what they were saying. Samoan hard to understand too much corruption in samoan language with how they pronounce their T and using K and G instead of T and N

[@p6dro]

EVERYTIME I come back to this video my heart breaks. We lost a island that was ours and it’s time to take it back. My heart goes out to you 🫶🏽🙌🏽

[@poikaa3]

Hope your island is returned soon!

[@peacetoday]

It seems to me that the Jennings family today, carry on the injustices towards Tokelau peoples that begun with their ancestor Eli Jennings. For all the questions asked of him, the Jennings representative in American Samoa legislature gave a perfect politicians reply - that is he did not answer anything at all. Hopefully we will not have to wait another 100+ years for Olohega to be recognised internationally as one of FOUR Tokelau atolls.

[@polynesiandove]

Hey thats the same performance they did at my aunties wedding :) love it :) x.

[@BigSeks75]

Is fa'afo'i le moku o Olohega

[@greylynn-snakevenom113glc7]

Not too sure on the background of this tragic story. Why was it sold, and who/person(s)/group(s) ever allowed to give such consent to sell this land? It is as obvious as when 'Love' is absent in all that vibrates. You can hear and feel it from the Vaivai when he says his bones/flesh longs and aches for what is rightfully his. Fakafoki ee Fonua ki hono kakai totonu..

[@tavitamuelu8610]

This is heart broken bcoz their faces is my face, their skin is mine too and yes it's a crime when doing this kind of thing in the 21st century. I'm very sad and upset but is there anyone to take up their case to UN

[@elchasai]

The Jennings family today is about 95% percent Samoan they are not "white", they are descendant of a single white man named Eli Jennings from the mid-19th century. The employees evicted in 1953 were not the ancient Fakafaoans of Tokelau they were hired workers who nonetheless did have legitimate grievances in regard to the manner in which they were treated, there was a murky admixture of feudalism, employment and citizenship occurring under a quasi matai (Samoan chiefdom) system that was not at that point in the island's history a legally or customarily appropriate system of governance, the government of American Samoa took appropriate measures at this time to set up a village council and police system for the residents of the island and representation for the citizens' of the property excluding the landlord or proprietor of record in the AS house of representatives. The population of Swains Island declined dramatically not at that time but into the 1970's as the economic viability of copra production itself declined and as the residents of the island themselves felt a desire to own property or enter other fields of work. This island is not gigantic, it is essentially the size of a commercial farm and the Jennings family is mostly Samoan and they may be the only family to have continuously lived there since the 1850s, most resident families did not continuously inhabit the island as far as I can tell, even still it did create a strangely untenable feudalism such as was the case on the UK channel island of Sark until very recently.

[@22LEKI]

elchasai where did you get this information from?

[@teokotaiandrew8214]

i aue olohenga

[@BE__HOLY]

Kana'e ofi atu a tonga ki olohenga osi ma'u ia e Tonga

[@tioniioasa3119]

Ofi atu ke tatipi mai kotou peli.ngakau.

[@DoubleMrE]

Unfortunately, Olohega and the rest of Tokelau will be underwater in the lifetimes of those currently living, so it won't really matter who owns it.

[@elzlez4837]

Kaitae,nali fanatu au gagau to gakau😃it does matter to me