Lessons Learned: The Micronesian Quest for Independence in the Context of American Imperial History

Petersen, Glenn (December 2004). "Lessons Learned: The Micronesian Quest for Independence in the Context of American Imperial History". Micronesian Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences. Albury, NSW: Letao Publishing. 3 (1–2): 45–63. ISSN 1449-7336.

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Abstract: In the course of their efforts to bring an end to US trusteeship over their islands, Micronesian leaders looked to American colonial history for the lessons it might provide them. This article draws upon both contemporaneous documentary sources and more recent interviews with the leaders who negotiated with the US, describing and analyzing the specific historical cases and patterns upon which the Micronesians drew, and focuses in particular upon the land and land rights problems experienced by native Hawaiians and American Indians. The Micronesians’ insistence upon full autonomy and sovereignty was grounded in their understandings of these historical lessons.