Political Factionalism in Palau

This little known book was Arthur Vidich’s first publication and was an important stepping stone for his dissertation which was completed four years later under the title “The Political Impact of Colonial Administration.”  Funded by the Office of Naval Research and the National Academy of Sciences, this seminal study provides insight into the long history of colonial controls over the people of Palau including the impact of Spanish, German, Japanese and United States colonial policies on this island kingdom.  Art spent a year in Palau witnessing first-hand the social changes wrought by colonial politics.  With the help of interpreters and fellow anthropologists he identified the causes of political factionalism in Palau and how a series of different colonial administrations disrupted the clan power structure and kinship system.   The role of collaborators working within the government of the foreign administration is a key point of discussion since these individuals are often vilified for working with foreigners when in fact they often played an important role in trying to reshape the views of the foreigners. During the Japanese administration of the island, many significant cultural shifts were made to indoctrinate the people of Palau into Japanese values and economic imperatives including forced cutting of hair and wearing of foreign style dress; adoption of Japanese educational programs, discouraging Palau customs and class distinctions based on clan. While this book is no longer in print, it is a classic study of the impact of imperialism on indigenous cultures that rivals the work of Franz Fanon.