hal-05658422 New Caledonia : what interpretations of the past should be encouraged when so many (…)

New Caledonia, this land of France for some and a Kanak country for others, is not exempt from questions of justice, memory, education, or reparation tied to its painful colonial past and the more recent upheavals that have followed (1984, 1985, 1989, 2024). In other words, the undigested colonial past of New Caledonia tends to resurface in the present (or, at least, in what historians term the contemporary period), leading to insurrectional situations described by some as "Events" and by others as a civil war (1981-1989). Similarly, the events of May 13, 2024 —variously referred to as riots, uprisings, a failed coup, atrocities, or "Events", etc..— may be viewed as an echo of this "past that does not pass." This still-present colonial legacy raises numerous challenges today for the territory, Paris, and the broader region. While no Truth Commission has yet been established in New Caledonia, the particularity of this case study lies in the fact that certain transitional justice mechanisms have nevertheless been put in place. For instance, following the Matignon-Oudinot Accords (1988), which provided for the irreversible transfer of powers from Paris to Nouméa, an educational reform was introduced, including adapted curricula and the publication of history and geography textbooks. Focusing on the period known as the “Events” (1891-1989), this paper examines the way in which the memory of this period is transmitted in New Caledonian schools. Despite archives that are still closed, New Caledonia produced its first textbook based on the adaptation of local curricula in 1992 (just after the “Events”), in an attempt to pass on this part of New Caledonian history. After an analysis of school programs and textbooks, and numerous interviews (with teachers from different cycles and different communities, with textbook editors and national education inspectors), this paper describes the successes and challenges encountered and tries to open the discussion.