A dependent territory of New Zealand consisting of three tropical atolls (Atafu, Nukunonu, Fakaofo) in the South Pacific. Administered by the UK until transferred to New Zealand administration in 1926 (formal sovereignty transfer completed by the Tokelau Islands Act 1948). Tokelau is officially treated as a nation by both the NZ and Tokelauan governments and has elected its own head of government (the Ulu-o-Tokelau) since 1993, but remains on the UN list of non-self-governing territories after two narrowly failed self-determination referenda (2006, 2007). A living Polynesian polity, administratively and culturally separate from Samoa, Niue, and the Cook Islands, previously absent from the atlas roster entirely.
Remains a dependent territory of New Zealand; self-determination referenda in 2006 and 2007 narrowly kept the status quo.
Standard anthropological/historical overview of Tokelau society and governance.
Huntsman's history of Tokelau's modern political development and decolonisation debates.