The Rapa Nui are the indigenous Polynesian peoples of Easter Island. The easternmost Polynesian culture, the descendants of the original people of Easter Island make up about 60% of the current Easter Island population and have a significant portion of their population residing in mainland Chile. They speak both the traditional Rapa Nui language and the primary language of Chile, Spanish. At the 2017 census there were 7,750 island inhabitants—almost all living in the village of Hanga Roa on the sheltered west coast.
Traditional dance of Rapa Nui people
Group of Rapa Nui people at Hanga Roa, c. 1914
Juan Tepano Rano ʻa Veri ʻAmo, a full-blood Rapa Nui and Chilean military officer, while serving in the 1915 Mana Expedition (23 July 1915).
Image: Easter Island Man
Indigenous peoples of Oceania
The Indigenous peoples of Oceania are Aboriginal Australians, Papuans, and Austronesians. These indigenous peoples have a historical continuity with pre-colonial societies that developed on their territories. With the notable exceptions of Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, New Caledonia, Guam, and Northern Mariana Islands, indigenous peoples make up the majority of the populations of Oceania.
Moai in Ahu Tongariki, Rapa Nui
Māori child learning the haka in a painting by Gottfried Lindauer
Dani people from the central highlands of New Guinea
Thomas Baines with Aborigines near the mouth of the Victoria River
