Kanak people
The earliest history of Europeans arriving on these islands is when Captain Cook of the United Kingdom landed in these islands in 1775 at a time when there were reportedly 70,000 Kanaks living in the archipelago. Cook gave the name "New Caledonia" to these islands, after Caledonia, his Scottish highlands.
Nidoïsh Naisseline
Nidoïsh Naisseline (born in Guahma on Maré Island, June 27, 1945 – died June 3, 2015 in Nouméa) was a New Caledonian politician. A Kanak of the Nétché tribe, born on the island of Maré, he was an advocate of New Caledonian independence. He succeeded his father Henri as high chief of the Guahma district in 1973; on June 6, 2007, he stepped aside in favor of his son, Dokucas. He has also served in the Congress of New Caledonia. He was the leader of the Kanak Socialist Liberation.