On this day, 1 August 2010 Indigenous Polynesian Rapa Nui people occupied the development site of the Hangaroa Eco Village & Spa hotel on Rapa Nui (Easter Island), a Chilean colony.
The move occurred amidst a wave of protests and occupations on the island, demanding that Chile honour an agreement it signed in 2008 to compensate Indigenous people for stolen lands.
Members of the Hito Rangi clan argued that the land the development was on was their property, which was stolen by deception of their grandmother, who was illiterate, and then handed over illegally under the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.
The occupation attracted widespread support, and had a significant economic impact. The hotel owner complained they were losing $1 million per month, and the island's hotel association claimed that overall tourist numbers were down 10% on the previous year.
So on December 4, the colonial government sent in police armed with pellet guns who shot numerous Rapa Nui people, injuring between eight and 19 people. The Chilean Supreme Court denounced the violent attempt to remove the protesters, but on February 6, fully armed police entered the hotel and forcibly evicted the remaining protesters.
Though unsuccessful at regaining their ancestral property, the occupation brought global attention to the dispossession and struggles of Rapa Nui people.
More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/7699/hangaroa-hotel-occupation
Learn more about recent Indigenous resistance in the Americas in episodes 88-89 of our podcast: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e88-89-indigenous-resistance-since-1992/
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