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That Maori are more often criminalised for cannabis use is often used as another good argument for decriminalisation. But Hirini Kaa argues things are more complex and that, as many Maori probably know, decriminalisation won't be the panacea proposed so often by privileged pakeha.

Following the annexation of Aotearoa/New Zealand by the British in 1840, Māori, as the Indigenous people of that country, experienced loss of sovereignty through the imposition of and application of new and transformative policies, including the law and unfamiliar legal and social codes. This paper considers the state and the influential legacy of an imposed, Settler-state social welfare and criminal justice system on Māori. An explicit, insider narrative will highlight how suppression, disconnection and abandonment, made manifest through particular and abusive state policies, has informed and constructed the life pathway of a member of a culturally and socially-submerged population, the Mongrel Mob gang.

Social scientists attached to the Centre for Applied Cross Cultural Research at Victoria University of Wellington examine issues of New Zealand identity.

This article draws on the personal experiences and state documentation of Stan Coster (Ngāti Kahungungu) whose life has been characterised by different forms of state confinement, including over 25 years in prison serving both short and long lags. Through the use of the Official Information Act, Stan recovered state documentation on himself spanning over 40 years. Stan is not a research participant, but a full research collaborator and is engaged in all elements of this paper, so while not a writer he is both auteur and author of this piece. Stan’s story is his own and yet many of its features speak to a much broader collective experience. His prison identity and gang identity can be seen as being both informed and generated by state sponsored activity. By traversing the issues that pertain to the crisis of mass imprisonment, Māori disproportionality in the prison system, the contribution of the state to prison, and gang identity, we look at the possibilities of drawing on knowledge acquired under conditions of state constraint.  

Māori knowledge, memory and cultural strength will only enhance New Zealand’s economic recovery planning – if they are listened to.

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The ways in which we understand bodies and fatness are complex. While coloniality unduly influences and shapes normative meanings of the body in everyday contexts, Maori conceptualisations of the b...

This chapter examines settler colonial crime control and its impacts on Indigenous women. High rates of victimisation and high levels of over-policing and over-incarceration mark Indigenous people’s experience of settler colonialism. This chapter explores the historical and contemporary conditions of colonialism through a gender lens, exploring in particular the impact of prison on Indigenous women’s lives. The chapter is based on an interview with and subsequent written notes by Professor McIntosh in 2020 discussing women, incarceration and settler colonial control in the Aotearoa New Zealand setting.

This chapter looks at the impact on M?ori that colonial and neo-colonial practices of dispossession and immiseration have had on elevated family violence rates in Aotearoa New Zealand. In reflecting on interpersonal violence, it seeks to locate systemic forms of violence, such as legislative violence, institutional violence, and economic violence, and their relationship with family violence. It draws on David Nixon’s (2011) notion of slow violence to look at the intergenerational harm of poverty, racism, and entrenched negative social issues. The focus then moves to Indigenous solutions to family violence that demonstrate the power of lived experience and social and cultural expertise to support healing and transformation in M?ori communities.

Māori are the indigenous peoples of New Zealand and are culturally and ethnically diverse. Previous research suggests that Māori who identify jointly as European (New Zealand's dominant group) may have improved employment outcomes, income and levels of education relative to those who identify solely as Māori. However, research exploring the broader constellation of factors linked to multiple versus sole-ethnic affiliation for Māori remains scarce. We examine differences in outcomes for Māori depending upon their single versus multiple ethnic affiliation as Māori, Māori/European, or European (but with Māori ancestry) in a national probability sample (N=1416). Results indicated that people who identified jointly at Māori/European expressed political attitudes more aligned with Europeans. However, while Māori/Europeans may be more aligned with other Europeans in terms of support for mainstream political parties and intergroup attitudes, they remained lower on various indicators of social and economic status. In this latter regard, Māori/Europeans reported outcomes more similar to their sole-Māori counterparts.

Objectives: The aim of the current research is to test predictions derived from the rejection-identification model and research on collective action using cross-sectional (Study 1) and longitudinal (Study 2) methods. Specifically, an integration of these 2 literatures suggests that recognition of discrimination can have simultaneous positive relationships with well-being and engagement in collective action via the formation of a strong ingroup identity. Method: We test these predictions in 2 studies using data from a large national probability sample of Māori (the indigenous peoples of New Zealand), collected as part of the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study (Ns for Study 1 and 2 were 1,981 and 1,373, respectively). Results: Consistent with the extant research, Study 1 showed that perceived discrimination was directly linked with decreased life satisfaction, but indirectly linked with increased life satisfaction through higher levels of ethnic identification. Perceived discrimination was also directly linked with increased support for Māori rights and indirectly linked with increased support for Māori rights through higher levels of ethnic identification. Study 2 replicated these findings using longitudinal data and identified multiple bidirectional paths between perceived discrimination, ethnic identity, well-being, and support for collective action. Conclusion: These findings replicate and extend the rejection-identification model in a novel cultural context by demonstrating via cross-sectional (Study 1) and longitudinal (Study 2) analyses that the recognition of discrimination can both motivate support for political rights and increase well-being by strengthening ingroup identity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)

Indigenous peoples often have a unique and deep connection to the land. However, quantitative research exploring this issue is scarce. The current research investigates cultural variation in environmental regard in New Zealand, where more recent settler groups have questioned the strength of Indigenous environmental regard. Study 1 examined differences in environmental regard held by Indigenous and non-Indigenous ethnic groups in a nationally representative data set, the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study (N = 9,269). Māori (the Indigenous group) expressed the highest levels of regard for the environment on average, although there was also considerable variance among Māori as a group. Study 2 adopted an emic perspective to investigate which dimensions of Māori identity are related to higher environmental value specifically among Māori (N = 193). Bayesian regression indicated that sociopolitical consciousness—the extent to which participants recognize the importance of and stand up for Māori political rights—was linked with higher environmental regard. Contrary to predictions, belief in Māori spiritual concepts was not linked with increased environmental regard. These findings suggest that Māori tend to value the natural environment more than non-Indigenous New Zealanders at least in part because high environmental regard is central to Māori political consciousness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)

Intolerance toward indigenous people is a common feature of colonial societies, and New Zealand is no exception. Despite aspirations of equality, evidence suggests that discrimination toward Māori remains pervasive and may relate to continued inequalities in social, economic, and psychological domains. This article analyzes self-report questionnaire data from 1,790 Māori sampled as part of the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study. We describe a Bayesian regression model assessing the links between perceived discrimination and 15 social, economic, and psychological indicators of well-being (including health care access, evaluation of own health, job security, self-esteem, life satisfaction, and psychological distress). The model adjusts for relevant covariates (including age, ethnicity, gender, and income). Forty-three percent of the sample reported experiencing either some discrimination or high levels of discrimination. Higher levels of perceived discrimination among Māori were associated with poorer outcomes in every measure, across multiple domains. This study demonstrates that New Zealand’s “bi-cultural” aspirations are far from realized, and should raise concerns for all countries with a history of colonisation. We call for more research on the incidences and impact of various forms of discrimination throughout New Zealand society, specifically in relation to the perpetuation of Māori disadvantage. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)

Political struggles are important to the identities of many indigenous peoples. This article examines identity as a predictor of crucial political outcomes—voter turnout, support for protest, and political party support—for Māori, the indigenous peoples of Aotearoa (New Zealand). We analyzed data from a national probability sample of Māori (N = 663) that included a scale of subjective identification with various aspects of Māori identity: the Multidimensional Model of Māori Identity and Cultural Engagement. Use of the scale allowed us to examine the facets of ethnic identity that predict political mobilization for indigenous peoples. As expected, the identity domain relating to political struggle, Socio-Political Consciousness, was positively associated with support for left-wing parties and Māori rights protest but negatively associated with support for the right-wing party. However, Socio-Political Consciousness did not relate to voter turnout. These results demonstrate the importance of ethnic identity as a key predictor of political behaviors for indigenous peoples. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)

This chapter considers the link between ethnicity and economic wellbeing for the Māori of New Zealand. In the context of 175 years of colonization, identity and culture remain an important determinant of Māori people’s economic wellbeing. Drawing from diverse strands of literature, the chapter considers the relationship between identity, culture and economic practices for Māori. Empirical research related to Māori identity and economic preferences will be discussed, including a discussion of the link between cultural dimensions (collectivism/individualism) and Māori economic practices. Specific outcomes will be related to different sub-groups of Māori; including a discussion of the impacts of discrimination on Māori who are sole identifiers (i.e. two Māori parents) as opposed to mixed Māori/European. The positive impacts of enculturation for Māori subjective wellbeing will be outlined. Policy implications are also reviewed, particularly suggestions on how to develop appropriately tailored programmes which meet the cultural needs of Māori people.