Trust Territory Era (1947-1994)

Browse all collection items relating to the Trust Territory Era

United Nations Security Council Resolutions

These resolutions were instrumental in setting up the Trust Territory and in effectively ending it when Palau gained its independence.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 21

Alternative Title: "Trusteeship of Strategic Areas".

Established the TTPI.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 956

Alternative Title: "Termination of the status of Palau as a Trust Territory".

Essentially ended the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands after its last area, Palau, became independent

United Nations Security Council Resolution 963

Alternative Title: "Admission of a new Member: Palau".

Admitted Palau into the United Nations as a member nation.

Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) Annual Reports

These detailed reports collect information on all the islands in the TTPI, from 1953 to 1994.

Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. 7th-10th (1953/54-1956/57).

Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. 11th-15th (1957/58-1961/62).

Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. 16th-19th (1962/63-1965/66).

Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. 20th-23rd (1966/67-1969/70).

Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. 24th-26th (1970/71-1972/73).

Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. 27th-29th (1973/74-1975/76).

Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. 30th-32nd (1976/77-1978/79).

Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. 33rd-35th (1979/80-1981/82).

Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. 36th-37th (1982/83-1983/84).

Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. 38th-39th (1984/85-1985/86).

Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. 1988/89-1989/90 (42-43)

Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. 1991/92 (45)

1978 TTPI Constitutional Referendum

Residents of each TTPI district were able to vote in the 1978 Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands constitutional referendum in order to form the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), which would unify the region under an autonomous, sovereign government (Wikipedia contributors, 2018).

This issue was contested in Palau, with signs popping up all over urging people to vote 'No'. In fact, there was even a "Vote NO" Parade held in Koror in the time leading up to the referendum. This resulted in 95% of registered voters turning out for the plebiscite—and the referendum narrowly failed, with 55% of Palauan voters voting "no" to joining the FSM. This resulted in Palau becoming a separate state (Wikipedia contributors, 2018).

1978 Micronesian Constitutional Referendum In Palau: "Save Er Belau" Sign. (N3).

Translation: "Save Your Palau - Vote NO"

Palau Parade, "Vote No". (N12).

A car in the 'Vote No' parade leading up to the 1978 referendum.

Al Betik. . .Vote El No Sign, Palau, 1978. ( N7).

Translation: "If you love Palau, vote NO".

1978 Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands Constitutional Referendum

People line up to vote.

Compact of Free Association

The Compact is a bilateral agreement between the Palau and the US which finally went into effect in 1994. You can read more about it and discover documents and media on the Compact of Free Association page.