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This thesis explores the contemporary political rationality and government mechanisms that develop and impact upon educational policy for Maori. In engaging in a critique of political ideology and operational exposition, this thesis examines and discloses the mechanisms and rationalities of government in New Zealand through state policy theory, gender, race and ethnic writings, critical theory and theories of difference. Of significance to this work is the incorporation of Kaupapa Maori theory, which provides a traditional and contemporary insight into Maori views and praxis of emancipation. In realising the central interest and concern of Maori for real and effective intervention to address the crisis of schooling for Maori, analysis in this thesis examines the historical nature of Maori educational policy and critiques the contemporary educational political frameworks of the New Zealand Labour government. Furthermore, this research also examines government official’s perspectives in discussing the primary contemporary political mechanisms and rationalities that operate in controlling and developing educational policy for Maori. It is argued, that although these contemporary policy frameworks, rationalities and mechanisms may appear to be vastly different from historical colonisation and assimilation practices, they are informed by the same underlying structures and are intersected by similar tendencies and movements. In disclosing the perpetuating ethos of state Pakeha dominant interests and the absence of structural and cultural reform from within political educational policy development for Maori, this thesis argues that state initiatives in the new millennium, under the guise of transformation, commitment and hope still remain ineffective and oppressive for Maori.

This thesis investigates the evolving natural resource management and governance (NRMG) for the Kaipara Moana, in northern Aotearoa. I employ postcolonial theory (PCT) to consider Indigenous peoples’ acts of colonial resistance and tribal resurgence within this specific place and time. I utilise a postcolonial framework comprised of Bhabha’s concepts of ambivalence, mimicry, hybridity and third space as well as Spivak’s concept of strategic essentialism to explore the agency of two Ngāti whātua hapū – Te Uri o Hau and Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara – in initiating and participating in NRMG. These concepts enable the research to explore beyond the binary Indigenous versus non-Indigenous thinking to consider the nuances that occur within hybrid realities. I deconstruct colonial discourse, examining the relations between power, knowledge and agency, to resist and challenge imperialism. By utilising PCT and taking a ‘catchment’ scale approach this research characterises the various discourses at play as a legacy of colonialism and the postcolonial complexities associated with NRMG within, and associated with, this locale. My key research question asks: To what extent does Integrated Catchment Management address mana whenua rights to assert rangatiratanga over their environmental resources and taonga? The research finds that integrated catchment management (ICM) offers potential opportunities for Māori to re-negotiate their role in NRMG, and that iwi-led ICM offers potential for cultural revitalisation and empowerment. However in the case of Kaipara Moana this potential is undermined by a lack of appropriate overarching bicultural governance. The research reveals the ambivalence of the colonial state in the Kaipara and the fragility of its assumed positional superiority within NRM. It is suggested that non-statutory arrangements fail to ensure the commitment necessary for successful outcomes, instead providing a façade for colonial governments to merely appear responsive. New Zealand’s Resource Management Act (1991) is shown to be ineffective in supporting ICM, because cultural imperatives are given less weight than economic imperatives. Small triumphs in Indigenous attempts to reconcile themselves with other local actors in multicultural realities, against a backdrop of ongoing Treaty settlements, and to provide for their own social wellbeing and empowerment, are proven to be real and significant. However, ICM, in and of itself, is unlikely to provide for self-determination to the fullest extent. This research is timely, as current policy reforms such as the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPSFM) (2014) and Treaty of Waitangi settlements are placing greater emphasis on Māori rights and interests in NRMG. The NPSFM also recommends collaborative ICM-based implementation of fresh water management to meet the national level requirements. It is concerning though, that the NPSFM lacks any explicit implementation mechanism to ensure Māori rights and interests are met, meaning there is a similar risk that the NPSFM could also be ineffective. In this context it is highly relevant to be gauging a reallife ICM case and even more so, one that is iwi-led and to which the Treaty partnership is a fundamental principle. Key words: Indigenous rights and interests; Rangatiratanga; Natural resource management; Governance; Integrated catchment management; Ngāti Whātua, Treaty of Waitangi/te Tiriti; Treaty partnership; Multiple stakeholder platforms; bicultural kaupapa; mātauranga Māori Title: For the purposes of this research the Māori title “He waka hourua, he waka eke noa” is interpreted as ‘a waka with two hulls bound by a common kaupapa’. The notion being that while Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples may be willing to get into the same waka and integrate where necessary, for example sharing a vision, objectives and desired outcomes, they also maintain separate hulls to preserve and advance the knowledges, institutions and practices of each culture.

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.