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  • This study discusses the origins, development and outcomes of the first wave of radical Māori activism between 1968 and 1978. It charts the events of the period and the body of politics, philosophies and strategies employed by Māori activists. It contends that the discipline of history as currently practised becomes problematic when it is applied to the study of non-western cultures, and that scholars undertaking research into Māori histories and communities need to develop a model or metaphor for writing history which is sympathetic to Māori epistemologies and priorities. To this end the text focuses primarily on the words and actions of the activists themselves in order to better understand the way activists conceptualized their world. Activists’ ideas and politics should not just be studied in a ‘race relations model’, that is, in terms of their impact on society and the Pākehā public, and the reaction of the government. Taking activism out of the race relations model and examining it on its own terms throws the movement’s concerns, subtleties and contradictions into sharper relief and provides a deeper understanding of its significance. The thesis is centrally concerned with how activists defined themselves, their actions and their politics, and will argue that Māori activism was implicated in the era’s emerging politics of identity. Māori activism was as much about reforming Māori and Pākehā attitudes towards Māori culture, society and identity as it was about policy and legislative reform. Furthermore, the thesis attempts to explain the influence on, and contribution to, the activist movement of three interrelated contexts: te Ao Māori, the Māori world, Aotearoa, national events, and te Ao Hurihuri, the international setting. It also pays special attention to the gender politics of the era. The work is divided into four chapters. The first covers the Māori world and the ‘big three’ issues of Māori activism: the Treaty of Waitangi, land loss and cultural alienation. The second chapter discusses the national context and the ‘big three’ issues of national politics during the era: apartheid sport, the Vietnam War and class politics. The third chapter deals with the international framework and the influence of global trends on local events, while the fourth chapter details the emergence of the Black women’s movement.

  • The primary purpose of this thesis is to provide a way in which the law can protect and respect Te Mana Motuhake. In the course of achieving this purpose, the meaning of Te Mana Motuhake o Tūhoe is discussed. Firstly, a discussion is presented on the concept of mana motuhake as a part of tikanga Māori. Like all tikanga Māori, mana motuhake is sourced from Māori cosmogony. Secondly, a Tūhoe specific analysis of mana motuhake is presented. While mana motuhake has unique meanings for different iwi, for Tūhoe, mana motuhake is connected to Te Urewera, the lands within which they dwell, the lands that sustained Tūhoe in times of adversity and in times of peace. Mana motuhake is also intertwined with Tūhoetanga or Tūhoe identity. Mana motuhake is in the songs Tūhoe sing, the haka Tūhoe perform, and the phrase adorns the flag that has become known as Tūhoe’s symbol. Mana motuhake for Tūhoe is also about having Tūhoe control over the governance of Te Urewera. To create avenues through which the law can better respect mana motuhake, the Urewera District Native Reserve Act 1896 is analysed. Although this Act was considered by Tūhoe to give recognition to Te Mana Motuhake o Tūhoe, an analysis of this Act reveals that mana motuhake was not recognised. This thesis concludes with notes for a draft Act which would capture and reflect the essence of Te Mana Motuhake o Tūhoe. These notes are not intended to be a full draft of an Act and many decisions regarding Tūhoe tikanga are left for Tūhoe to determine. However, the notes do intend to give life to the essential aspects of Te Mana Motuhake identified in this thesis, which are Tūhoe Land, Tūhoe People and Tūhoe Self-determination.

  • Food sovereignty, the right of people to define and control their own food and agriculture systems (Patel, 2009), was a significant part of pre-colonial Māori economies as Māori practised mahinga kai where they lived off the land and were guardians of their resources. Today, after a long period during which Māori were stripped of many of their abilities to exercise sovereignty over their food worlds and food lives, Māori are working to rebuild their food sovereignty in a diverse economies framework (Bargh, 2011, 2012; Amoamo Ruwhiu & Carter, 2018; Bargh, Douglas & Te One, 2014; Fitzherbert, 2015). There is currentl‎y a limited amount of research examining Māori food sovereignty in these terms. In response to this research gap, this thesis examines how the relationships between iwi commercial food ventures and iwi food sovereignty are negotiated and developed using Whakatōhea Iwi as a case study. This research aims to map Whakatōhea’s food economy over time, document Whakatōhea’s loss of food sovereignty, investigate the relationship between the Whakatōhea mussel farm and Whakatōhea food sovereignty, and explore food sovereign futures for Whakatōhea. It develops four main arguments: 1. Over time Whakatōhea’s food economy has transitioned from a resource-rich diverse economy to an economy dominated by capitalist markets. 2. Whakatōhea has experienced a loss of food sovereignty since colonisation. 3. The complicated relationship between Whakatōhea’s mussel farm economy and Whakatōhea food sovereignty is continually being negotiated, but promises opportunities to build a new food sovereignty for whānau and hapū. 4. Several diverse economic initiatives can foster food sovereignty back into Whakatōhea’s food economy. This research makes several empirical, methodological, theoretical, and political contributions to foster new knowledge around Māori economies and Māori sovereignty.

Last update from database: 8/17/26, 4:11 AM (UTC)