Recently my 8-year-old niece, with the biggest smile on her face, told me that when kids at school ask about her cultural background, she tells them she is Banaban. Always met with “what’s that?” she doesn’t let that stop her from standing proud and firm in her identity. When I reflect on when I was her age, I didn’t even know I was Banaban. I grew up thinking I was only Niuean/I-Kiribati. Even now, I sometimes pick and choose when to say I am Banaban because I am always met with “What’s that?”. It can be overwhelming having to explain our history, our displacement and the painful experiences of my ancestors. However, my niece’s pride as a Banaban is a potent reminder that we must keep our culture and identity alive by simply saying “I am Banaban”.

To provide context, the Banabans are from the island of Banaba, also known as Ocean Island, located in the Central Pacific. When Phosphate was discovered on the island in 1900, it triggered the destruction of our island at the hands of the British Phosphate Commission (BPC), comprised of three nations – Britain, Australia and New Zealand. Phosphate was like gold during this time; over 20 million tonnes of our land had been removed. Where did this phosphate go? It was spread across farmlands as fertiliser in the three BPC countries. As my mother always says – our land died, so others could live. The Banabans were displaced to the Fiji Island of Rabi in 1945, which we now call home.

In light of Kiribati Language Week, the theme focused on nurturing, enhancing and sustaining the Tungaru language and culture – ‘Tungaru’ being the ancestral name for Kiribati – I think of my Banaban ancestors and a language that has died with them. Banaba is a part of Kiribati’s territory as the British handed us over to them when Kiribati gained independence in 1979. Before European contact, we were an independent island. This part of history comes with challenges for us as Banabans to maintain the fact that we are our own identity separate from I-Kiribati; this made it more complex as the Banabans speak the Kiribati language. Many people don’t know that the Banabans had their own language, but this was wiped out when missionaries used Kiribati Bibles to spread the gospel. The colonial system’s recruiting of men from the Gilbert and Ellice islands (Kiribati and Tuvalu) to work in the BPC contributed to inter-marriage with Banabans that many of my great grandparents’ generation became mixed Banaban/Gilbertese or Banaban/Tuvaluan. Gilbertese became the dominant language. Even the Tuvaluans of the colonial era spoke Gilbertese.

So, what does that mean for the Banaban Islanders some may ask? Do we have a right to say we are our own people when we speak a language that belongs to another? My answer to that is YES. It is important to remember that language is only one marker of one’s identity. We Banabans have our own history, our own geography, our own culture reflected in our songs, dances and storytelling. I acknowledge the relationship between the Banabans and I-Kiribati, but also stress the importance of recognising our differences.

Navigating the complexities of this relationship is not easy when the countries we now live in (especially the BPC countries: Britain, Australia and New Zealand) put their heads in the sand like an ostrich when they need to recognise and acknowledge who the Banabans are. Two years ago, the Ministry for Pacific Peoples invited Pacific communities to a discussion on the Education curriculum to include New Zealand’s historical relationship with the Pacific. Of course, the Dawn raid was a topic not to be missed. My mother attended that meeting and voiced that the relationship with Banaba is an essential piece of history and should never have been removed from the Geography curriculum on Phosphate and farming in New Zealand – students who studied under the NZ School Certificate and University Entrance would remember this topic. The NZ Education curriculum should include the history of colonialism with Banaba. The impacts of phosphate that nurtured NZ agriculture in the early 1900s till the 1970s continue to thrive today. Banaba had to die for New Zealand’s grazing agriculture to live.

The Banabans now live in diaspora here in New Zealand. We have a thriving Banaban community. We are recognised in the Ministry for Pacific Peoples as a people with our own ethnic identity; a result of meetings with our elders and the Ministry. When we fill the Census, we can be counted as Banaban under Other Pacific. Therefore, if the Banabans can be counted as a unique identity in the NZ Census, our hope is that people in Aotearoa NZ become open to learning more about who the Banabans are.

Follow the Banaban Cultural Community of Auckland Youth on Instagram @banabanyouthaotearoa or on Facebook here.