抄録
Four layers of confusion obfuscate the issue of land in Gilbert Camp. First, residents ignore the intended representative of their residence rights. Second, they are confused regarding the “right” way to access land. Third, they do not know who the “real landowner” is. Fourth, the land boundary has changed continually since the foundation of Honiara. In this article, I try to clarify the confusing issue of land by looking at it from 3 perspectives: (1) The history of land policy in Solomon Islands reveals a long-standing neglect of the indigenous point of view regarding land; (2) ethnographic approaches illustrate how people react to such a dismissive attitude; and (3) the contemporary preference for patriliny among government officials exemplifies the tendency toward a form of “indigenous essentialism” in which the interests of policymakers and landowners converge. This article demonstrates that the issue of land is a legacy from the past that bears major consequences for the future of Solomon Islands.
