Send message to Author

Paper short abstract

Daily colonial friction in Māòhi Nui (French Polynesia) unifies two divergent independence visions—one policy-driven, the other ancestral and experience-based— via 'collective dreaming' into a unified goal of political independence.

Paper long abstract

This paper examines how the daily experience of colonial friction in Māòhi Nui (French Polynesia) unifies divergent pro-independence visions through a 'collective dreaming' of sovereignty. Māòhi Nui has navigated a unique colonial trajectory since European contact, currently existing as an autonomous territory where key regalian powers remain tethered to the French Republic, including the military, justice, foreign policy, and education systems. This paper investigates the tension between two visions shared among pro-independence supporters today: a pragmatic, economic-centred approach and a land-based philosophy that views the soil as the spiritual and material foundation of sovereignty. Drawing on interviews with a diverse range of pro-independence supporters, I explore how these seemingly divergent paths—one policy-driven, the other ancestral and experience-based—converge through the shared experience of colonial daily life. These experiences include the decline of Indigenous languages, shrinking domestic agriculture, increasing health problems, and French law enforcement restricting Indigenous customs. This paper argues that these daily colonial encounters act as a catalyst for a 'collective dreaming' of sovereignty with diverse visions. Ultimately, this paper argues that the independence movement is held together not by a single policy roadmap, but by a collective dreaming fuelled by shared colonial fatigue and hope for an Indigenous future. In Māòhi Nui, sovereignty is reimagined as a communal dream escaping from the daily weight of the administration, allowing disparate groups to find unity in the imaginative act of reclaiming their future.