Your search

New Zealand's indigenous Māori were colonized by the British (now referred to as Pākehā). Scant systematic investigation addresses bicultural/biracial identity for Māori who identify with ethnic groups other than Pākehā. Taking a narrative approach and applying thematic analysis, this paper explores interviews with forty-four Māori Italians, conducted in New Zealand in 2013. We show how Māori Italians negotiate the challenge of constructing positive ethnic identities in a milieu where ethnic hybridity has been defined primarily in relation to the Māori-Pākehā colonial encounter. Focusing on racism and stigma, we demonstrate that Māori Italians run a gauntlet of identity challenges shaped by socio-political contexts. Conversely, Māori Italians draw boundaries between themselves and the dominant Pākehā culture and draw from both Māori and Italian identities to buffer discrimination from Māori, Pākehā, and Italians. Our analysis reveals a multiplicity of interpretations of Māori-Italian identity not yet articulated in social psychology or New Zealand literature.

This article discusses intergenerational transformations in personal identity for New Zealand's indigenous Māori and links these to macro-societal (political, economic and cultural) changes in New Zealand society. Data is drawn from the life stories of 35 Māori women aged 18 to 78. Women born prior to 1950 and raised in traditional Māori communities interpreted Māori identity as related to communal economics, resourcefulness and Māori spiritual beliefs. Those born after 1960, raised in urban (multi-cultural) communities struggled to form a positive sense of being Māori during their formative years and reported ‘dislocation’ from their Māori identities as adults. Those born after the 1970s expressed strong political views that reflected their early exposure to affirmative ideologies regarding Māori rights to equality. Marked differences in women's stories highlight the overarching influence of Māori identity politics at a collective level for personal interpretations of what it means to be Māori.

A diversity of perspectives and wide variety of cultural and social features characterize Māori society and there is no one consensus view held by Māori in relation to gender roles, political orientations, or Māori/government (or state) relations. Both Māori women and men have shared in the struggle to assert Māori resistance to colonial encroachment and one gender cannot be elevated over the other. Moreover, Māori views and perspectives on the different roles of Māori men and women are contested and differ tribally and between individuals. This entry describes aspects of precolonial Māori society that shaped traditional values and discusses key sociohistorical factors shaping gender roles among Māori. A focus on the contribution of Māori women to Māori development and advancement is offered. The relationship between Māori identity, culture, and the New Zealand government (or state) is highlighted throughout.

Source: National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa, licensed by the Department of Internal Affairs for re-use under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand Licence.

"Since colonisation, New Zealand has been mythologised as a 'land of milk and honey' - a promised land of natural abundance and endless opportunity. In the twenty-first century, the country has become literally a land of milk and honey as agricultural exports from such commodities dominate the national economy. But does New Zealand live up to its promise? In this introductory textbook for first year sociology students, some of this country's leading social scientists help us to make sense of contemporary New Zealand. In 21 chapters, the authors examine New Zealand's political identity and constitution; our Māori, Pākehā, Pacific and Asian peoples; problems of class, poverty and inequality; gender and sexualities; and contemporary debates around ageing, incarceration and the environment. The authors find a complex society where thirty years of neoliberal economics and globalising politics have exacerbated inequalities that are differentially experienced by class, ethnicity, gender, sexuality and age. These social divides and problems are at the heart of this text. For sociology students and for a wider audience of New Zealanders, A Land of Milk and Honey? is a lively introduction to where we have come from, where we are now, and where New Zealand society might be headed"--Back cover.

Numerous researchers have posited links between ethnic identity and psychological wellbeing (Phinney, 1992; Martinez & Dukes, 1997; Roberts, Phinney, Masse, Chen, Robers, & Romero, 1999; Houkamau & Sibley, 2011), and Māori cultural interventions have been suggested as a means of promoting a range of positive outcomes (e.g. M. Durie, 1998; Durie, 2003b; Lawson-Te Aho, 1998). However, longitudinal evidence of causal pathways between Māori ethnic identity and psychological wellbeing remains scarce, and evidence of the positive impacts of cultural interventions is not well documented. The present thesis investigates Māori identity development in the context of State secondary schools, and explores the relationships between Māori cultural engagement, Māori identity, and psychological wellbeing. A methodology that incorporates both mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) and Western scientific knowledge bases and research methods was applied. Interviews were held with Māori students and their whānau (families) at a State secondary school where a community-driven initiative to improve Māori student outcomes took place. Thematic analysis was used to generate Te Korowai Aroha Framework, outlining how Māori cultural initiatives can enable schools to fulfil their duty of care and meet Māori community needs by affirming individuals‟ cultural identity and agency, by building relationships based on mutual respect, and by working collaboratively within the school and with external services providers. Thematic analysis of these interviews was also conducted to generate The Pōwhiri Identity Negotiation Framework. The pōwhiri (formal welcome), in which Māori creation narratives are ritually re-enacted, is used as a metaphor for Māori identity negotiation. The stages of creation Te Kore, Te Pō, Te Whaiao, and Te Ao Marama are used to describe, respectively: those who were yet to display interest in Māori cultural identities; those who were interested in developing their Māori identities; those who were actively exploring their Māori identities; and those who felt secure in their Māori identities. Quantitative longitudinal survey data from over 300 Māori adolescents in the Youth Connectedness Project was then analysed. Structural Equation Modelling revealed that Māori cultural engagement positively predicted Māori ethnic identity, and that Māori ethnic identity positively predicted psychological wellbeing, in support of hypotheses. In addition, Hierarchical Linear Modelling revealed that the higher a school‟s level of Māori cultural promotion, the higher the ethnic identity of its students was likely to be. The results of this thesis demonstrate the impact of school cultural environments on individual identity development, and provide evidence that cultural engagement initiatives can enhance Māori identities, which in turn can increase psychological wellbeing. The results from the studies presented in this thesis are incorporated into Te Pītau o te Tuakiri framework, outlining how Māori identities can be nurtured, and the results are also used to offer guidelines for individuals wishing to become more engaged in Māori culture, and institutions wishing to become more responsive to Māori communities. These findings are used to challenge educators and policy makers to ensure schools and other State institutions support Māori cultural expression and affirm Māori identities.

This study examines how global forces are shaping local indigenous cultures with a particular focus on the relationship between global capitalism, new media technologies, and transnational advertising. Concentrating on Mäori culture and identity in Aotearoa/New Zealand, the authors examine a contemporary political debate related to indigenous culture and intellectual property rights. Specifically, the study explores the politics of identity associated with global sports company Adidas and its use of the traditional New Zealand All Blacks haka as part of a global advertising campaign. A key feature of the analysis is the controversy surrounding a lawsuit filed by a Mäori tribe claiming compensation for the commercial use of its culture. Overall, the study highlights the problem of maintaining and protecting cultural spaces where indigenous identities can be constructed and affirmed.

This research hypothesized that respondents who have a good understanding of Matauranga Maori (Maori knowledge) are those with a secure cultural identity and are more likely to be concerned with the environment. A quantitative survey was carried out using two separate samples drawn from the Maori population; one from the general Maori population (N=331) in the city of Auckland and the other from a sub-tribe (N=61) whose traditional land has been encompassed by Auckland City. The responses from the survey presented a consistent environmental concern attitude across both samples and challenge a priori assumptions. The meaningfulness of a Maori cultural identity (MCI) measure to represent Matauranga Maori perspectives of the environment is discussed. The conclusion from the findings is that cultural identity is much more complex than an ordinal number and that caution should be used when employing the MCI measure.

This thesis aims to provide an understanding of the nature of tribes and tribalisation in Maori society that is not readily available from secondary sources. It is an attempt to move out of the fog created by the intense politicisation that surrounds definitions and perceptions of the tribe, which in turn have created a bewildering maze of issues and demands. For example social change and development among Maori - and by implication the tribe - has been characterised variously as renaissance (Durie 1998), neo tribalism (Rata 2000), the reification of culture (Hansen 1989, van Meijl 1996), and political struggle (Walker 1990). These conceptualisations have not taken into account the fact that the tribe as the fundamental social organisation of Maori society and the tribe as the fundamental essence of Maori identity diverged as the twentieth century progressed. This thesis offers an alternative view of social change based on a study of the changing perceptions of the tribe throughout the twentieth century. The underlying premise is that perceptions of the tribe evolved according to a range of endogenous and exogenous social and political influences. This position is juxtaposed against the proposition that the tribe is, and can be understood simply from observation of communities, past and present. Throughout the twentieth century the tribe's status as the primary organising force changed. In the early stages of the century the tribe was the primary, as well as the fundamental, form of Maori social organisation and identity. As the century progressed and Maori became progressively integrated into the wider New Zealand society, alternative forms of association became available to Maori. The tribe remained the fundamental source of identity: it was, however, no longer the primary social grouping for many Maori. That is, the majority of Maori claimed affiliation to a tribe but did not live and work in a tribal context. It is argued in this thesis that existing perceptions of the tribe have taken into account only the former, that the tribe was the fundamental expression of Maori kinship and identity and have ignored the reality that the tribe was no longer the most common and influential organizing force of Maori social organisation. It is also argued that these perceptions have been formed through three sets of interacting agency: Maori, government and scholarship. Maori understandings of the tribe were primarily sourced in life circumstances, in understandings of a society with a range of kinship inter and intra relationships that are encapsulated in traditional forms of association, namely iwi, whanau and hapu. However, what was not widely understood is that the influence of government through its Maori policies and its fostering of academic scholarship through research publications and advocacy, have had formative, descriptive and prescriptive influences on the tribe. This ongoing process has resulted in an interplay of categorical definitions and adjustments and strategic developments. Understanding conceptions and perceptions of the tribe are very pertinent, not only to Maori, but also to New Zealand as a whole. The tribe dominates notions of Maori identity as well as Maori political and social organisation. Since Maori constitute 15% of the total population of New Zealand, any research that assists in understanding the tribe assists in understanding New Zealand society. The tribe is also an integral part of Treaty-centred politics, and, therefore, a key plank of nation-building within New Zealand. The tribe as an autonomous polity had became a contested site in the late twentieth century, to the extent that definitional disputes disrupted and threatened to derail attempts by government and tribal leaders to arrive at Treaty settlements. Understandings and misunderstandings of the tribe therefore have ramifications for race relations, and the Maori quest for self-determination, as well as for republicanism, constitutionalism and democracy as understood and practiced in New Zealand. This thesis argues: 1. That perceptions and conceptions of the tribe were formed through the interlocking agencies of Maori, scholarship and government. 2. That the key to understanding the tribe and tribalisation in Maori society in the twentieth century is the acceptance that the tribe as the basis of identity and the tribe as the basis community organisation diverged as the century progressed. 3. That tribal affiliation remained central to understandings of Maori identity in spite of major societal changes that they experienced during the twentieth century, 4. That in the latter part of the twentieth century that movement to revitalise the tribe developed into an ideology of retribalisation that successfully introduced a prescribed form of tribe, a development that changed the fundamental nature of tribes and tribalisation among Maori.

The complexities involved in articulating an ethnic identity as a person of mixed Maori/Pakeha descent are explored in this study. Issues related to establishing a sense of belonging that ties a person to both ethnic groups are examined based on the life narratives of six people of dual Maori/Pakeha descent. What does it mean to be a person of mixed Maori/Pakeha descent in contemporary Aotearoa/New Zealand and in what ways are identities that reflect our dual heritage constructed? I use the term ‘our’ deliberately, because there is a place in the research for my own story as a ‘half-caste’ Maori/Pakeha. Constructing and articulating ethnicity when there has been historical ethnic inter-marriage, as well as ethnic conflict in New Zealand is complex. Negative and stereotypical images are continually being constructed of Maori in a society that aims to assimilate and promote Maori as a homogenous group. It is not only important that Maori articulate and explore their own experiences and realities, but also significant that Maori/Pakeha, as members of both groups, have an opportunity to explore and control their own definitions beyond the constraints set by the dominant groups. The Maori cultural and political renaissance has involved defining Maori in terms of difference from Pakeha/Europeans, but this study explores the overlap – genetic, cultural, and social – between two ethnic groups and provides new insights into the diversity within the Maori ethnic group. The key question guiding the research was: In what ways do people of mixed Maori/Pakeha descent construct and articulate identities that reflect their dual heritage? This study aims to provide insights and understandings about the challenges, issues and benefits associated with being of mixed Maori/Pakeha descent in Aotearoa New Zealand.

"Collection of 17 essays from Māori scholars which cover customary law, ancestral law, the natural world, Māori urban protest, health, politics, and customary language and expression"--Publisher's information.

Policies increasingly reinforce the self-determination of Indigenous peoples, but issues remain around group definitions. Colonization has led to (de)identification with Māori (New Zealand's Indigenous peoples) identity markers. We explore differences between Māori on combinations of descent, ethnicity and Iwi (extended kinship group) knowledge in the 2013 Census, and self-reported discrimination. There were six groups within the Māori descent population: two did not know their Iwi – some identified solely as Māori ethnicity (2.8 per cent) – or Māori plus another ethnicity(-ies; 6.8 per cent); two did not identify as Māori ethnicity: more named their Iwi (7.2 per cent), than not (6.9 per cent); the largest groups knew their Iwi and identified as Māori ethnicity, either solely (30.8 per cent), or alongside another ethnicity(-ies; 34.3 per cent). We found a pattern of differences across demographics and discrimination, highlighting the complexity of Māori identity and the need to account for differences within Indigenous groups.