Instead of focusing on the negative attention brought to Tokelau from that tweet let’s focus on the beautiful nation and culture that is Tokelau

Tokelau is entirely made up of atoll islands. The main atoll groups are Atafu, Nukunonu, and Fakaofo. The word Tokelau itself means North in Western Polynesian languages because Tokelau was the northernmost point of the Tongan empire for much of its history

The people who live on Tokelau’s atolls are a proud Polynesian group. Throughout their history, they’ve maintained close relationships with the islands of Tuvalu, Kiribati, Samoa, and Tonga. Their language is closest to Tuvaluan and Samoan

Many generations ago the Tu’i Atafu of Tokelau traveled to Tikopia and set up the Atafu clan on the island, which is still one of the 4 chiefly clans of the island. Here is the current Tu’i Atafu of Tikopia who can directly trace his lineage to Tokelau and to Uvea and Tonga

Tokelauans once tattooed themselves extensively, tho this practice was banned by missionaries. One of the main reoccurring motifs is the fonu, or the sea turtle which is how Tokelau for the nickname “turtle islands”

The group Te Vaka comes from Tokelau and Samoa(get into that later) and the songs in the movie Moana were mostly sung in Tokelauan language

Tokelau is one of the only places in the world, along with 9 other pacific island nations, who still don’t have Covid-19. The economic struggles that come with covid in other countries tho, has still been felt in Tokelau. To combat this, the age old inati tradition goes strong

The inati tradition is where Tokelauans share all of their food equally among all of their neighbors. The chiefs and elders make sure to equally divide all supplies between each of the families on the islands to make sure nobody goes hungry

The main dance preformed in Tokelau is the fatele. This style of dance is shared by all of its neighbors, but Tokelau and Tuvalu put a unique spin on it not replicated in any other cultures. Sometimes the whole village will dance and sing and it is quite a spectacle to see

Unfortunately for Tokelau, your jokes hit very close to home bc of real issues this nation faces. Swain’s Island was once inhabited by Tokelauans but was illegally bought by an American businessman who made it his own private family island and evicted all those living there

For millennia Tokelauans have lived on their islands, growing crops and fishing its seas. A new challenge, more menacing than colonialism and invasion, however, threatens the people of Tokelau-rising sea levels. Tokelau sits just above sea level as is and will not last for long

If we don’t act fast. High tides and tropical storms have already killed much of Tokelauans plantations making food insecurity a huge problem. By 2050, Tokelau may not exist at all and all its people will live in Samoa, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, or America

Here’s a nice song and montage of pictures of old Tokelau