NOUMEA – Voters in New Caledonia, a French archipelago in the South Pacific, will choose whether they want independence from France in a referendum that marks a milestone in a three-decade decolonization effort.Sunday’s vote is key to determining the future of the archipelago east of Australia and its 270,000 inhabitants, including both native Kanaks, who once suffered from strict segregation policies, and descendants of European colonizers.The vote was long-planned and is focused on local issues, but comes at a time when the legacy of colonialism is under new scrutiny globally after protests in recent months against racial injustice inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement in the U.S.In Sunday's referendum, more than 180,000 registered.