Sikaiana
Encyclopedia
Atoll
An atoll is a coral island that encircles a lagoon partially or completely.- Usage :The word atoll comes from the Dhivehi word atholhu OED...
212 km NE of Malaita
Malaita
Malaita is the largest island of the Malaita Province in the Solomon Islands. A tropical and mountainous island, Malaita's pristine river systems and tropical forests have not been exploited. Malaita is the most populous island of the Solomon Islands, with 140,000 people or more than a third of the...
. It is almost 14 km in length and its lagoon, known as Te Moana, is totally enclosed by the coral reef. Its total land surface is only 2 km2. There is no safe anchorage close to this atoll, which makes it often inaccessible.
Geography
Sikaiana is located Latitude: 8° 25' 0 South and Longitude: 162° 52' 0 East. The main island, located at the easternmost corner, is called Sikaiana. The three small islands in the west of the atoll are Tehaolei, Matuiloto and Matuavi. There are also two artificial islands on the reef, Te Palena and Hakatai'atata.History
Administratively Sikaiana is an outlying region of Malaita ProvinceMalaita Province
Malaita Province is one of the largest provinces of the Solomon Islands. It is named for its largest island, Malaita . Other islands include South Malaita Island , Sikaiana Island, and Ontong Java Atoll. The provincial capital and largest urban center is Auki, located on Big Malaita...
in the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
. Sikaiana's population is approximately 300 people of Polynesian
Polynesians
The Polynesian peoples is a grouping of various ethnic groups that speak Polynesian languages, a branch of the Oceanic languages within the Austronesian languages, and inhabit Polynesia. They number approximately 1,500,000 people...
descent. In 1856, when Hawai‘i was offered the sovereignty of Sikaiana, the Privy Council
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
voted to accept the cession. King Kamehameha IV
Kamehameha IV
Kamehameha IV, born Alexander Iolani Liholiho Keawenui , reigned as the fourth king of the Kingdom of Hawaii from January 11, 1855 to November 30, 1863.-Early life:...
approved the action, making Hawai‘i an imperial power of sorts. But there were second thoughts. The great distance of the atoll from Honolulu would make administration impossible, and the cession was never formalized. Some residents have claimed to be native Hawaiians
Native Hawaiians
Native Hawaiians refers to the indigenous Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands or their descendants. Native Hawaiians trace their ancestry back to the original Polynesian settlers of Hawaii.According to the U.S...
and citizens of the United States
United States nationality law
Article I, section 8, clause 4 of the United States Constitution expressly gives the United States Congress the power to establish a uniform rule of naturalization. The Immigration and Naturalization Act sets forth the legal requirements for the acquisition of, and divestiture from, citizenship of...
. According to these residents, the Stewart Islands were given to King Kamehameha IV in 1856, and therefore the islands were part of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i at the time of the United States' annexation in 1898. The United States disagrees, arguing that the 1898 law annexed only the "Hawaiian Islands and their dependencies", and that the law defined dependencies as the islands named by a report by the Hawaiian Commission that omitted the Stewart Islands. Some residents applied to register to vote in Hawai‘i in 1996, but their applications were turned down by the Hawaiian Sovereignty Election Council.