Uncovering the History of Indentured Labor in Réunion Island

Communities across Réunion marked the end of the island’s indenture system on Wednesday highlighting a chapter of history that remains widely unknown both locally and abroad.

To address this gap, cultural institutions and artists are rolling out new projects to document the lives of more than 160,000 contract laborers who arrived from India, Mozambique, Madagascar, China, Vietnam, and other places between 1828 and 1938.

The Musée Stella Matutina in Saint-Leu welcomed 30,000 visitors during the first year of its exhibition, titled “Les Engagés du sucre: l’engagisme à La Réunion de 1828 à 1938,” according to a report by la1ere.franceinfo.fr. The Ministry of Culture designated the exhibition as an event of national interest ahead of its scheduled run through April 4, 2027.

Curators Michèle Marimoutou and Bernard Leveneur published an accompanying book in May through Éditions Hervé Chopin to chronicle the daily lives of laborers in the island’s sugar plantations and lazarets.

The museum exhibition expands with the addition of contemporary art installations and large-format photography along a pathway stretching from the main galleries into the museum gardens. Eight artists—Migline Paroumanou, Jack Beng-Thi, Karl Kugel, Katryn Libbrecht, Jean-Marc Lacaze, Kid Kréol and Boogie, Sébastien Fraysse, and Yassine Ben Abdallah—contributed works to the “Les Héritages” project.

Documentary filmmakers Sébastien Folin and Ketty Pausé compiled archival imagery and oral histories for a new film adaptation titled “Les Engagés du sucre,” featuring narration by Joey Starr. The documentary receives its premiere screening on November 13, 2026, at the Saint-Leu museum.

Television viewers can watch the broadcast on November 18, 2026, when Réunion La 1ère airs the creation as part of its Archipels program.