tïhei mauri ora honouring our voices mana wahine as a ...

TÏHEI MAURI ORA

HONOURING OUR VOICES

MANA WAHINE AS A KAUPAPA M ORI

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

LEONIE E. PIHAMA

A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy in Education, University of Auckland

2001

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KARANGA WAIRUA MAI I RARO I TE PARIRAU O TE

RAUKURA E I E

KUA HARI, KUA KOA, KUA T TE TIKANGA

KA HAURANGI T TAU O TE AO NEI

iii

MOURI WAHINE

I noho waenga potangotango

Puritia mai te mouri, te rongo.

Na Tikitiki o rangi tona noho

Te Apa mareikura te awhi.

Tirohia ki Matariki e rehu mai ana

Kei te taumata o tipua Taranaki

Karihi mai te marama whakatau.

Na te kopu whakaeke o nehe

Te uwha rongohia mai e te taiao.

I matua-te-kore whakapiri mai

Te aka matua i whangaihia

Na te ukai whakahouora

Na te ukai whakamaru

Arotia atu ki te kauwae-runga, ki te

kauwae-raro

Hei aratakinga

Te mataora whakaaria atu

I tama-o-te-ao-marama

E te ataamai o te mana wahine.

I te atawhai tama-tu, tama-ora

Whakakohatia atu te aroha mahaki

Na te hunga whai-muri

I pupuke whakaora ai !

I tiputipu whakaora ai !

O te matua manawa whenua, o te

matua manawa tangata.

Tihei mouri ora !

She sits within a dense dark

Grasping that essence of balance

The highest heaven is her resting place

And she is guided by female element

Gazing at the rise of Matariki

At the summit of ancestral Taranaki

Greeting the new beginnings.

From within womb descended from original time

The female essence balancing the world.

Joined by Matua-te-kore

The vital origin is sustained

By the rejuvenating breast

By the protective breast

Dependant upon celestial and terrestrial

knowledge.

To guide

The live representation

Of humanity

To the beauty beheld in female.

The nurture of humanity

Present gifts of humble love

Within the following generations

Life determination !

Growth determination !

Of indigenous land and people.

Elements of life

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FOR OUR TAMARIKI/MOKOPUNA

Shaun, Joshua, Jana, Joeliee, Nataliee, Janet-Liee, Jaylene, Andre, Neitana,

Kieran, Wiremu, Colleen, Kumeroa, Teahooterangi, Lillian, Jimi, Cassidy, Hana, Bethany, Matthew and those yet to come.

WHAIA TE ITI KAHURANGI,

KI TE T OHU KOE ME HE MAUNGA TEITEI

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis is a culmination of thirty-nine years of life as a M ori girl/woman/daughter/ sister/

mother/auntie/whaea/friend/partner. So there are many acknowledgements to be made, and

only one doctoral thesis to make them all in! This thesis is an acknowledgement of my aroha

and commitment to change for M ori women and children, which is ultimately an avenue for

change for all. I acknowledge and present my appreciation to all atua w hine, t puna

w hine who are of this land and who provide M ori women of the present and future with

pathways for transformation. I acknowledge and present my appreciation to all atua t ne,

t puna t ne that affirm, support and move alongside the w hine figures of the land in the

hope that some time in the near future more of our people will recognise that to honour

ourselves as M ori, as wh nau, hap and iwi we must honour the voices of our w hine

alongside the voices of our t ne. There have been a multitude of movements in the past 200

years that have laid foundations in this country for us to think differently, to think and act with

greater forms of moral and cultural justice. Those movements of our people who have

struggled to hold to our fundamental rights as t ngata whenua must always be

acknowledged, recognised and remembered. He mihi tënei ki a koutou ng t puna i

mau ai i tou koutou mana motuhaketanga.

Being from Taranaki I have been most fortunate to have always known the power of the

whakataukï, 'whaia te iti kahuranga, ki te t ohu koe me he maunga teitei'. To know

a maunga so awe inspiring every day of my childhood has put me in good stead to

recognise that it is only something of the magnitude of that maunga that one should bow

down to. N reira he mihi ki te maunga tit hea, ki ng awa, ki ng moana, ki te

whenua o Taranaki.

Living for sixteen years on the whenua of Ng ti Whaatua ki Orakei has brought to me a

political, social and cultural understanding that transformed my life. There are many

individuals to acknowledge for that, too many to name, but you know who you are. There are

wh nau that must however be recognised in name terms. The Hawke wh nau have been a

moving force and a safe haven for me here in T maki Makaurau, and I particularly thank

Joe and Rene for allowing me to be one of the many 'daughters' that they have taken into their

home and under their wing. To Sharon and all those that lived at Tranmere Road who opened

their doors to a young (then) Te tiawa/Ng ti M hanga woman who was struggling with

what it mean to be a M ori lesbian. To Trish Dempsey and Greer who have always been

around, and who introduced me to a political women's community. To the founding trust

members of Te Rapunga o Poutama Work and Education Trust, especially Michelle, Manu,

Rene, Sharon and Yvonne for the fast track lessons in Kaupapa M ori. To the roopu

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W hine m ng W hine o Te Moana nui Kiwa, who provided a space for M ori and

Pacific Nations women to be lesbian and cultural. He mihi tënei ki a koutou katoa.

I have had many work spaces in the past sixteen years which have all been related in some

way to education and in particular M ori Education. This has informed much of what

appears in this thesis and therefore I acknowledge the many people that have been a part of

those spaces who have given of their time, energy and political thought. I have also had

many cultural, social and political experiences outside of my formal work spaces that have

continually pushed the boundaries of my thought and analysis. Those too have been

influenced by past movements that have sought radical change. Again, there are many

individuals who have supported and moved how I think about the world and issues

surrounding us. Influence has come in many forms, in the music, art, writings, carving and

films of M ori women. Image is important to me and is key part of my life. Film in particular is

a passion and I acknowledge those M ori women who have been key in that part of my

creative expression, in particular the women of Moko Productions, also to Eliza, Ella, Whetu,

Ngahuia, Edna, Melissa, Karen and Mei, who tautoko many of the visions I have for the

future, and support an academic in the midst of your creative spirits. There are also those

that challenge my thinking at a very personal and political level, who are there no matter what,

who are able to move my understandings with the slightest of comments and who nurture my

spirit; Cherryl, Angeline, Annette, Betty, Maxine, Mereana T., Mereana P., Megan, Bronwyn,

Donna G., Mere, Huriana, Matewiki, Glenis and Tere. To the w hine of Ng Manu

Ng ngahu and Ng W hine Tiaki o Te Ao who are struggling against the threat that is

genetic manipulation and to the Indigenous People Council on Biocolonialism who are active in

supporting M ori movements, especially to Debra Harry.

I wish to acknowledge the support and encouragement of Te Aratiatia, the M ori Education

wh nau of the University of Auckland, to Margie, Kuni and Jenny who I have worked so

closely with in the past years, who have shown leadership in ways that we know only

M ori women can and have kept the waka moving through often difficult waters, the

enjoyment of working with M ori women like you is immense. To Eileen and Te Kawehau

who have picked up workload to support an over stretched team, your support is greatly

appreciated. To Trish who comments from afar and whose comments are invaluable. To

Graham, who not only writes about utopian vision but who really believes that such visions

are possible. To my writing partners Glynnis Paraha and Cherryl Smith who have been with

me through every degree I have done so that I've always had someone to talk and share with.

To Linda, I reserve my comments to you for a little later. To those who have been a part of the

M ori Education papers and in doing so have brought their knowledge and wisdom to the

collective pool of knowledge. I have been honoured to share time, space and k rero with

M ori people who are at the cutting edge of change and vision in the area of Kaupapa

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M ori Education, Kaupapa M ori Theory and Kaupapa M ori Research. You have all

inspired and motivated me to continue with this project. He mihi aroha tënei ki a koutou.

To colleagues in the School of Education, in particular Alison, Betsan and John H. To the staf f

of M ori Studies, for providing a warm space for the M ori Education team and who

welcomed us fully into your space tën koutou. Ki ng whare o te marae o Waipapa,

T ne-nui- -rangi, Reipae, Rehutai, Hukatai, tën koutou katoa. To the wh nau at the

International Research Institute for M ori and Indigenous Education, who are brave enough

to keep asking the question, 'is it finished yet?' And who provide a haven on the other side of

the campus for way ward M ori Education lecturers who are in need of a coffee break. To

Tommy who is a M ori woman who epitomises the idea that women hold up the world and to

Glenis and Kylie for the last minute reading, library trips, lunches, correcting of the text and

general all around manaaki. He mihi m hana ki a koutou.

Moving closer to home, I want to acknowledge those kaiako and wh nau in both Te

K hanga Reo and kura, who have nurtured, taught, learned from and loved our tamariki

over the past six years. Immersion language programmes take a lot of energy to maintain and

the survival of M ori Education requires the commitment from kaiako and wh nau. To the

kaiako of Awhireinga Te K hanga Reo, Ritimana Te K hanga Reo and Te Wh nau

Rumaki o Te Uru Karaka who have provided our tamariki with a solid foundation for life.

To those in the wh nau that hold the kaupapa together with their time and energy. To hear

te reo M ori daily and to see the ways in which our tamariki are able to negotiate tikanga

is a joy and inspiration to be a part of. He mihi mahana ki a koutou katoa m ng mahi

aroha ki te wh nau nei.

To my whanaunga. Those of Taranaki and Karioi maunga, who hold the kaupapa for

future generations, tën koutou katoa. To the Taranaki women who have ensured that I

am always looking to our maunga and who surround me with k rero and aroha. To

Ng ropi, Huia, Moewai, Taihuri. The deepest appreciation to M hinekura, for a karanga

that opens this piece to the world, to Christine for the image of our maunga and raukura, to

Hiku and Te Huingangutu for the creation of two powerful karakia to open and close the

writing. I am privileged by the fact that this thesis has been framed in the karanga, karakia

and whakairo of Taranaki women, ki a koutou ng w hine m ia o Taranaki maunga,

tën koutou katoa. I turn to my wh nau, who have watched the many ups and downs of

my life, often from a distance. Each of you have contributed to who I am. To Mum and Dad,

I'm not sure that you ever thought a PhD would be a part of your lives. This has only been

possible because you believed that your children could do it, and that there were options for

us outside societies expectations of your nine children. To my brothers and sisters who are

all named in this piece, I love you all and am grateful that we are able to re-establish wh nau

for the next generation, for our tamariki/mokopuna so that they will always know who

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they are. To all of our babies, the mokopuna who this really is for, so you know that

nothing is insurmountable, all you need to do is ask for help and your wh nau will be there

always. Also, to Donna and the Glentworth wh nau who provided a second home

throughout my growing up. To Pat and Gil Hanly who are always available for us and our

tamariki, my gratitude to you both. To Paul, Stephen, Julie and Raika, for your most

generous gifts, we are privileged to have you as part of our lives.

I want now to turn to the supervisors of this piece. It is always difficult to supervise a work

that is spread over a long period of time and I am certain that the sigh of relief from them is as

great as mine. Judith Simon began as supervisor for this thesis, before retiring, and was

instrumental in seeing the proposal through what was then an arduous proposal process.

Fiona Cram came into a supervisory role over the past eighteen months and brought more

clarity to the piece, through a detailed line by line approach. Tën korua. To my main

supervisor, Linda Tuhiwai Smith who has been with this work from beginning to end. Linda

was also my Masters supervisor and in that process we developed a relationship that

worked for two M ori women who had our own ideas, definite opinions and particular ways

of writing. That approach has flowed into this thesis. Six years is a long time to keep track of

thinking. It means writing, rewriting and at the end I found that the most used key on my

computer was the 'delete'. I have worried that my constant rewriting and changing of the

thesis structure would be irritating to Linda, however as expected her ability to keep calm and

let things take their course came to the fore. Linda is a big picture thinker and I am a big

picture writer, so this thesis is really a big picture thesis. That is how I envisaged it to be and

I am thankful to have a supervisor who has faith that I would do what is needed for a

Doctoral thesis. Ki a koe te tuakana, ng mihi aroha ki a koe mai tënei mokopuna o

Taranaki maunga.

Finally, I turn again to my wh nau. To those that have lived with this thesis for six years.

Writing a thesis can be a self-absorbed activity so to Tamsin who supported me throuh this

process. Thank you. To Kumeroa, Teahooterangi, Lillian who are constant sources of

s weetness. Who know that the work is important but never more important than them, as

without them we have no reason to do the work. I have been fortunate to have three wise

souls who are of this time but who are also of their t puna, who are reminders of why we

do what we do. Every day I see the incredible beauty in each of you. It is a beauty that

sustains and warms me through all other things in my life.

N reira ki a koutou te wh nau he mihi aroha ki a koutou

m ou koutou manaaki mai ki a au i ng w katoa.

Ehara te toa takitahi, ko te toa takitini

Tën koutou, tën koutou, tën koutou katoa.

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WHAKAR POPOTOTANGA

ABSTRACT

This thesis is a theoretical journey. Its primary focus is the honouring and affirmation of the

voices of M ori women and the assertion of Mana Wahine as a Kaupapa M ori theoretical

framework. It is argued that Western theories are inadequate in understanding and explaining

M ori experiences and in particular the experiences of M ori women. Kaupapa M ori

theory provides the framework within which this thesis is located. Kaupapa M ori theory is

conceived of as being a distinct M ori framework that has its foundations in m tauranga

M ori. It is argued that Kaupapa M ori is of ancient origins, which derive from within the

many realms of the M ori world. Kaupapa M ori theory is a framework that both draws

upon, and affirms, m tauranga M ori as fundamental to M ori understandings. Kaupapa

M ori theory is also multiple in its articulation and rather than exalt theory this thesis

contends that Kaupapa M ori theory provides openings into analysis that can more readily

explain and transform current inequities that face M ori people. As such there is an active

proposal for the exploration and development of Kaupapa M ori theory in ways that expand

on existing theoretical developments.

It is argued that colonial imposition of race, gender and class have culminated in the

construction of the belief that M ori women hold an 'inferior' 'lesser' position in M ori society

to that of M ori men. Through exploring the origins of the ideologies of race, gender and

class it is further shown that these constructions manifested in how early ethnographers

documented M ori society. Historical sources and Native Schools documentation are

examined to provide an overview understanding of the ways in which colonial patriarchal

supremacist ideas where entrenched into literature that has since provided the basis for

much research related to M ori society. Those sources it is argued were fundamentally

flawed in their approach and their disregard of the significance of the roles and status of

M ori women. The often unproblematic use of early documentation is challenged and it is

argued that the colonial constructions of M ori women mitigate against our interests and

therefore the interests of all M ori people.

This thesis is an opening discussion that asserts that Mana Wahine theory is an essential

development for M ori women. In doing so it argues that there are elements that are

fundamental to the articulation of Mana Wahine theory. These elements are not exclusive or

definitive, but are seen to exist within the growing body of literature regarding Mana Wahine

theory. Mana Wahine theory is a Kaupapa M ori theory that is dedicated to the affirmation

of M ori women within M ori society, within wh nau, hap and iwi. It is a theoretical

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framework that, like Kaupapa M ori theory, is based within m tauranga M ori and is

committed to the articulation of M ori women's ways of knowing the world. It is argued that

asserting Mana Wahine is a recognition of the current inequitable context within which

M ori women are located and therefore there is an inherent political project of engaging

oppressive relations that impact upon M ori women. Mana Wahine theory is presented as a

M ori women's theory that remembers our t puna w hine, our atua w hine and which

affirms M ori women as critical actors for change.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

KARANGA..................................................................................................................... ii

KARAKIA ......................................................................................................................iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................v

WHAKAR POPOTOTANGA :ABSTRACT..................................................................... ix

TABLE OF CONTENTS....................................................................................................x

CHAPTER ONE

I AM MY OWN CASE STUDY: PUTTING A THESIS IN CONTEXT.......................................1

CHAPTER TWO

WHAKAT WHERATANGA: OPENINGS........................................................................17

Introduction..................................................................................................................17

Representing Ourselves: A Journey To Theory............................................................19

Crafting the thesis .......................................................................................................25

Outlining A Journey : Thesis overview ........................................................................30

Framing the Research..................................................................................................32

Kaupapa M ori Research ..........................................................................................39

Summary .....................................................................................................................44

CHAPTER THREE

M ORI/WOMAN/ACADEMIC........................................................................................46

Introduction..................................................................................................................46

M ori/Academic..........................................................................................................48

Talking With The Dominant Other ..................................................................................55

Multiple Roles ...............................................................................................................61

M ori/Woman/Academic .............................................................................................64

Theoretical Disturbances ............................................................................................69

Summary .....................................................................................................................76

CHAPTER FOUR

KAUPAPA M ORI THEORY ........................................................................................78

Introduction .................................................................................................................78

Kaupapa M ori ..........................................................................................................79

Defining ‘theory’ and its place in the thesis ...................................................................85

Locating Kaupapa M ori theory in the thesis..............................................................91

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Kaupapa M ori theory as evolving theory ..................................................................95

Organic Development of Kaupapa M ori theory .........................................................98

Kaupapa M ori theory: Multiple Expressions ............................................................102

Kaupapa M ori theory and Critical theory ................................................................105

Summary ...................................................................................................................112

CHAPTER FIVE

KAUPAPA M ORI THEORY: IDENTIFYING ELEMENTS...............................................114

Introduction................................................................................................................114

Te Reo M ori me na Tikanga .............................................................................115

Te Tiriti o Waitangi .................................................................................................125

Tino rangatiratanga ................................................................................................127

Taonga Tuku Iho.....................................................................................................130

Whakapapa ..............................................................................................................131

Wh nau/Whanaungatanga ....................................................................................135

Ako M ori ................................................................................................................139

Decolonisation: Kaupapa M ori theory and Counter- hegemonic Possibilities............141

Summary ...................................................................................................................143

CHAPTER SIX

COLONISATION AND THE IMPORTATION OF IDEOLOGIES OF RACE,

GENDER AND CLASS ................................................................................................144

Introduction................................................................................................................144

Race..........................................................................................................................147

Challenging the myth of the ‘Scientific’ Order ..............................................................148

Constructing a Mythology: Race As A Defining Notion................................................150

Seeking 'Scientific' Justification: Debating the Origins .................................................152

Constructing Gender: The myth of a God-Given Order ...............................................156

Domesticating Western Women: Gender in the Victorian Era ......................................160

Capitalist oppression: Structuring Class .....................................................................164

Summary ...................................................................................................................170

CHAPTER SEVEN

HISTORICAL SOURCES.............................................................................................172

Introduction................................................................................................................172

Ethnography and historical representation .................................................................176

Berys Heuer 'on' M ori women.................................................................................190

Recycling colonial discourses ....................................................................................193

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Summary ...................................................................................................................201

CHAPTER EIGHT

M ORI GIRLS EDUCATION & NATIVE SCHOOLING 1840-1940 ..................................203

Introduction................................................................................................................203

Mission Schooling ......................................................................................................204

Native Schooling ........................................................................................................209

Legislative Developments and Colonial Discourses of Race and Gender ....................211

1844 Native Trust Ordinance......................................................................................211

1847 Education Ordinance .........................................................................................211

1867 Native Schools Act............................................................................................213

1880 Native School Code ...........................................................................................215

Schooling as Colonial Trojan Horses ..........................................................................216

Curriculum as Colonial Ideology ..................................................................................220

Summary ...................................................................................................................231

CHAPTER NINE

MANA WAHINE .........................................................................................................233

Introduction................................................................................................................233

Theory as a tool for M ori women............................................................................235

M ori Women's Movements ......................................................................................238

Debate over usefulness of Western ‘feminisms’.........................................................243

Mana Wahine and M ori Men .................................................................................252

Summary ...................................................................................................................258

CHAPTER TEN

MANA WAHINE: THEMES ..........................................................................................260

Introduction ...............................................................................................................260

Mana Wahine ...........................................................................................................264

Te reo M ori me na Tikanga...............................................................................267

Whakapapa ..............................................................................................................270

Wh nau ....................................................................................................................275

Recognising Diverse Realities ....................................................................................277

Wairua ......................................................................................................................284

Te Tiriti o Waitangi .................................................................................................285

Decolonisation ...........................................................................................................288

M tauranga Wahine: Reclaiming M ori Women’s Knowledge.................................290

Reclaiming Cultural Space ..........................................................................................295

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Summary ...................................................................................................................300

CHAPTER ELEVEN

K RERO WHAKAMUTUNGA .....................................................................................302

Ng Whakaaro Hurihuringa : Reflections................................................................302

Ng Whakaaro m te mahi : Thoughts on the Process ..........................................307

Ng Whakaaro m ëtahi atu mahi rangahau: Thoughts of future research..........310

KARAKIA WHAKAMUTUNGA ...................................................................................312

BIBLIOGRAPHY .........................................................................................................313

1

CHAPTER ONE

I AM MY OWN CASE STUDY: PUTTING A THESIS IN CONTEXT.

Mate atu koe i te aroha Titiro ki Taranaki

I kite koe i te auahi N ku i tahu e1

My choice of this thesis topic is not disconnected from my own experiences as a M ori2

woman.3 I was born in 1962, the 7th of 10 children (5 girls, 5 boys), at the Waitara4 Maternity

Annex, Taranaki on the lands of my people, Te tiawa5 I remember that place clearly, as it

was somewhere we seemed to visit often. We’d go in the taxi to pick up my mother and the

new baby. It was an exciting place to visit because of that. That was a time when mothers

could rest and be cared for, at least for the 5-7 days immediately after birthing. It was also a

time when the whenua6 of M ori babies were removed and ‘destroyed’, and when the

philosophies of Truby King were at their peak.7 Mothers were told to not feed their babies

during the night, and instead nurses would remove babies to nurseries and return them only

in the morning for ‘a feed’. I’ve often wondered how they ‘destroyed’ the whenua of

generations of Te tiawa descendants. Recently a M ori woman told me of the incinerator

out the back of the Annex where the whenua of hundreds of babies was burnt.

1 This is a whakataukï or proverbial saying from my own Tribal area of Taranaki that indicates for me that when feeling a sense of yearning or loneliness to look the mountain of Taranaki. It serves for me as a reminder of where I am from and the strength of identification with that place. It is also noted at this point that the use of bold type is to highlight te reo M ori as distinct from English. This is discussed in some depth in Chapter Two. 2 The term 'M ori' is viewed by some as problematic. Recent 'postcolonial' writers have positioned the term 'M ori' as a colonial construction. The homogenising of all M ori people has also been challenged by many M ori people. I use the term M ori not as a generalisation or homogenising term but as a political concept that identifies collectively the Indigenous Peoples of this land. The term M ori relates to notions such as; 'normal'; 'fresh' (as in wai M orior fresh water); 'original' and therefore its essence is one of recognising our Indigenous status. Using the term M ori throughout this thesis does not detract from the centrality of wh nau,hapü and iwi.3 I acknowledge the absolute subjectivity in writing about ones life experiences and the contexts within which those experiences are located. This is my version of those experiences. However, I have sought feedback on events and understandings from my own wh nau.4 Waitara is a shortened version of ‘Te Whaitara nui Wharematangi ki te kimi tana matua a Ng rue’. This relates to the story of Wharematangi, son of Ngarue and Urutekakara.Wharematangi, in seeking his father Ngarue, who had returned to Taranaki before his son was born, followed a ‘magic’ dart until he reached Waitara. This naming of the area is reflected in the naming of the oldest standing whare at Owae ‘Whaitara nui a Ngarue’.Waitara is located on the west coast of the north island of Aotearoa (New Zealand). 5 Te tiawa one of my own tribal groups in Taranaki. The maternity annex sits within Te tiawa boundaries 6 Whenua relates to both the land and the placenta. 7 Truby King was the founder of the Royal Plunket Society, which works now to support women and babies. King was however a proponent of eugenics and racial purity for white races.

2

My mother is P keh ,8 my father M ori. They were married in 1954 by a M ori Methodist

minister, and as a result, my mother was excommunicated from the Catholic Church, although

her struggle to retain that link was very much played out through her children. They were

married in a time that assimilation was deemed a necessary pathway for M ori. My father,

Jimmy, worked in the freezing works (Borthwicks) for nearly 40 years, in the Casings

Department. The key employment, in Waitara, was linked to farming and farming-related

industries. I recall him having breakfast at 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning, when the season

was in full swing, and leaving home on his bike in the dark. For us, as children, there was a

constant challenge to try and wake ourselves so that we could join him for breakfast. There

was often a statement like ‘go back to bed’, but if we strategically ignored that we would

soon be sitting and enjoying being up in the ‘middle of the night’.

What was a fun event for us was definitely not fun for either him or my mother. It was purely

hard work and was primarily about survival. Feeding, housing, clothing and schooling nine

children (Graham, the second eldest, died of bronchial pneumonia at 4 months) is hard work.

My father left the Works with little more than a ‘flash’ watch that he was presented with by Mr

Borthwicks himself. The photo taken of that event seemed to give my father a sense of pride.

That was in spite of the fact that they ‘demoted’ him from Leading Hand because he attended

his Stepmother's tangi.9 My father applied for a Foreman’s position but in his 40 years was

never offered it. He was at one time asked to move to Ocean Beach in Otago, an ironic offer

given the imprisonment of many Taranaki men there after the colonial invasion of Parihaka.10

My mother, Colleen, worked at raising healthy children. Not only her own but also many

children of friends who due to circumstances had no choice but to work long hours. M ori

children and P keh children. She is one of the most organised women I know. There was

a clear routine and we each knew from a young age our roles and what was expected of us.

As a mother of three now I have been able to reflect more fully on the ways in which our

lives were structured and the reasons why certain routines were in place, or why we were

8 The term P keh relates to white people who have emigrated to this country and their descendants. The term P keh is often misinterpreted and as a consequence there is often a resistance to its use. Many of those that reject the term P keh instead use the terms European or New Zealander to describe themselves. Given we are located in the Pacific and that many P keh families are generations removed from Europe, the term European is questionable. The irony about the use of the term New Zealander is that in early writings this term was used to refer specifically to M ori people. 9 A Tangi is a process of mourning the dead. 10 Parihaka is a settlement in Taranaki that was established along the lines of passive resistance with two key leaders, Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu Kakahi. The village was sacked by the colonial mil itia in 1881 and the men of the village were imprisoned, the majority having been transported and imprisoned in caves in Otago. Refer Waitangi Tribunal 1996 The TaranakiReport:Kaupapa Tuatahi, Muru Me Te Raupatu: The Muru and Raupatu of the Taranaki Land and People. Wai 143 Government Printer, Wellington Publications, Wellington, also Scott, Dick 1975 Ask That Mountain, Heinemann Publishers, Auckland also Riseborough, Hazel 1989 Days of Darkness Taranaki 1878-1884, Allen & Unwin, Wellington

3

or were not permitted to do things. I can only imagine what it means to get seven children

ready for school while catering for the needs of two preschoolers and in the midst of that

have someone arrive to drop off their one year old!

The formal schooling experiences for both my parents were limited. My father was born in

Puniho, a small Taranaki town, and was a wh ngai11 to his maternal auntie. He spent

some of his early life in Whatawhata12, amongst his wh nau there. 13 He returned to

Taranaki when he was around 10 years old. We had little contact with our Ng ti

M hanga14 whanaunga15 throughout our growing up, the focus was always with Te

tiawa. My father's schooling was in many ways a reflection of the times, in particular in

regard to how M ori people were being positioned. It is not something he ever really shared

with us. In fact, it took one of my tuakana,16 doing an assignment for her B.Ed, to virtually

drag it out of him. The difficulty that he finds to talk about these events and his experiences

as a M ori boy of the 1940’s highlights the ways in which colonisation has impacted

intensely on many of those of my fathers generation. For those of us who were not raised

speaking te reo M ori17, even though members of our wh nau still ‘had’ te reo, reflecting

on the experiences of his generation provides us with some insight as to the impact of

colonial discourses pertaining to being M ori.

Schooling was not a priority for my Great Grandmother, Kumeroa. My father recalls her

trying to keep them home,

before we went to school each day we had to do the housework, the dishes, scrub the floors and sometimes even weed the garden. Grandmother was strict in her ways and often we’d be late for school because of it. It was her way of rebelling against the school board. She didn’t want us to go to school and even tried to keep us home once, but the School Inspector came and told her we had to go to school or she would get into trouble..18

Early movement between Waikato and Taranaki exposed my father to two distinctly

different belief systems about te reo M ori. In Waikato his koro19 and kuia20 spoke only

M ori in the home, in Taranaki his Grandmother enforced the notion that they were to learn

11 Wh ngai refers to a process of 'feeding' and in this context is the process of being raised by someone other than the birth parents. 12 Whatawhata is a small town in the Waikato area, which is in the north island. 13 Wh nau refers to both birth and the extended family structure. In this context wh nau refers to my fathers extended family. 14 Ng ti M hanga is a tribal group of the Waikato area. 15 Whanaunga refers to all our relations 16 Tuakana relates to the older sister of a female or the older brother of a male. 17 Te Reo M ori is the term utilised when referring to M ori language. Reo also refers to voice. 18 This quote came from my tuakana, Vicki Stevens, who interviewed my father for a Stage III course. 19 Koro relates to my father's grandfather, it is a term that can also be used for elder men generally. 20 Kuia relates to my father's grandmother, it is a term that can also be used for elder women generally.

4

English and no M ori was spoken in the home.21 He and his cousins would ‘practice’,

attempting to keep some fluency and to imitate what they saw on the marae.22 Between the

age of five and fourteen my father attended seven schools. One New Plymouth primary

school they attended had a roll of around 400 children, of which only 4 were M ori; my

father, his brother and two cousins. They sat at the back of the room, often feeling confused

about what was happening. The literature that surrounded them bore little resemblance to

their realities. Books focused on P keh children, often who had a car, garden and a big

house, and those children lived with only their mother and father.23 Quite a removed reality

for someone who lived with his kuia, koro, brother, an uncle and auntie and two cousins.

‘Practicing’ te reo M ori in the school grounds, was in itself a dangerous pastime. Being

caught (often by senior students) meant immediate punishment. In one school he attended

they were ‘warned’ on their first day that no M ori would be spoken in the school, and so

were careful to not be caught. However, being ‘caught’ was inevitable and so too was the

punishment that was meted out. For a time they continued to be ‘caught’ and punished even

though they hadn’t in actuality been speaking M ori.24 My father happily left school at

fourteen before the leaving age was raised. He saw that as a lucky escape.

My mother's schooling was strictly Catholic, and located in the South Island. She spent most

of her teenage years at Nazareth House, a catholic orphanage. Her parents had separated

and because my grandmother needed to work the younger children were placed in the

orphanage. My mother lived for some time with her maternal grandmother and later was also

placed at the orphanage. There is no doubt that they were ‘cared’ for and that the Sisters

sought to provide for their needs, however in my mother's reflections, the older children were

also ‘cheap labour’. My mother left school at the age of fourteen and worked initially cooking

for Priests in a local presbytery, before moving to Wellington.

Given that the schooling experiences of both my parents was relatively brief and, on the

whole not particularly positive, I have always been intrigued by their absolute belief in the

doctrine that we needed a ‘good education’ to ‘make it in the world’. What I know now is that

21 For further insight into experiences of M ori people in schooling refer to Simons, J. (ed) NgKura M ori: The Native Schools System 1867-1969, Auckland University Press, Auckland; also see Jenkins, Kuni & Morris Matthews, Kay 1995 Hukarere and The Politics of M ori Girls Schooling 1875-1995, Hukarere Board of Trustees and Dunmore Press Ltd. Palmerston North 22 The marae is a cultural gathering place. 23 This was also the case in my own schooling experience where school publications focused on P keh famil ies and P keh views of the world. In an early M ori language series 'NgPukapuka Iti' much of the content was focused on images of integration that were particularly domesticating. See Price Milburn & Co. Ltd, Ng Pukapuka Iti Wellington 24 Physical punishment for speaking M ori was experienced by large numbers of my fathers generation and contributed to the decline in speakers of the language. Many did not speak

5

the sacrifice for ‘making it in the world’ meant, for our wh nau, a loss of te reo M ori me

na tikanga.25 The world we were to make it in was not a M ori world, it was a P keh

world, and to do that successfully we were denied access to the fullness of what it meant to

be M ori. I am not certain how my identity as M ori was firmly established, as in the

context of our day to day living we were not actively involved in what was happening within

the M ori community. What I know is that Waitara is a very M ori community. I say that not

as a statement related to cultural renaissance or political positionings, but as a statement

related to whenua26 and wairua.27

I was raised in Waitara, a rural Taranaki town. Waitara has always felt for me to be very

full of history that is sourced very much in dimensions that move beyond physical

expressions. It is also a place steeped in knowledge, and pain. It is often the pain that I

initially feel when I ‘go home’. It is a pain that one feels in the air, if you are open to that or if

you are able to recognise that there are other ways of being. It is a pain that is a direct

outcome of the ongoing oppression of our people and it weighs heavily over the land. As I

enter into the town I feel both an incredible sense of being on familiar land, of being near

wh nau (which are both exciting and warming feelings) and a heaviness of the generations

of suppressed stories, feelings and knowledge.

The land struggles in Taranaki and the ultimate loss of land and marginalisation of M ori

control and autonomy was extensive. Resistance too was extensive and strategic. The

lands at Waitara, for example The Pekapeka block,28 were illegally and immorally removed

from M ori hands not once but twice. The initial removal of the Pekapeka Block from M ori

hands resulted in armed struggle and our people suffered considerably. Then to add insult

the colonial government returned the lands in 1863 only to be confiscated again in 1865 under

'The Suppression of Rebellion Act 1893'.29 This was the experience of many hap and iwi

within Taranaki and across the country. Many of us who were born and bred in Waitara

had little knowledge of these events. My wh nau have lived for over forty years on the

Pekapeka Block, the lands of Te tiawa, it is now considered 'council land' and under the

current Treaty Settlement Process remains alienated. There are many examples of this in our

history. The hap of Ng ti R hiri30 remains alienated from much of what was tribal lands.31

M ori in their own homes in the hope that their children would not have to experience the same indignities or because the belief that assimilation was the key way to survive. 25 Te reo M ori me na tikanga refers to the relationship of M ori language and culture. 26 Whenua in this context refers to land, or Papatü nuku the earth. 27 Wairua refers to the spiritual essences that are a part of us and our world. 28 The Pekapeka block is land in Waitara that was wrongfully acquired by the colonia l government. Refer The Waitangi Tribunal Report 1996, op.cit. 29 The Waitangi Tribunal Report 1996, WAI 143 states "The retraction ,it seems to us, was simply play-acting; the fabrication of a scene to place blame on the former Governor, so that the new Governor might restart the war with a clean slate" , op.cit.: 91 30 Ng ti R hiri is a subtribal group of Te tiawa.

6

The individualisation of land title through the Native Lands Acts of 1862 and 1865 effectively

removed the lands from collective control. A large block of land was sold by individuals for a

Methanol plant that stands as an abomination just a small distance from our urup .32

Waitara's history can still be felt in the land and air, and which has been carried by

generations of M ori. The pain and struggle of a colonial past, of war and raupatu33 can be

felt, if you are conscious of it, and the consequences of the colonial invasion of Taranaki is

borne daily by many. Colonisation has not only meant the alienation of our lands, people,

language and culture but the processes of colonisation have meant an active disruption of our

landscapes, our wh nau, hap and iwi34 structures, our-selves. Much of the knowledge of

these acts have been kept out of the hands of the majority of people in this country. The

violence of colonisation has been largely invisibilised. One way of doing that is the renaming

of the land to render its history invisible. In a catalogue for an exhibition titled 'The Nervous

System' I wrote the following reflection;

I was born and raised in Taranaki. 35

I have lived under the korowai36 of the Maunga37 and have experienced the awe of seeing Taranaki stand firmly on the landscape, defining the geography in a way that we who live under his shadow nay never achieve.I have lived alongside the awa38 and the Moana.39 Known them in their strength and beauty. Known them in their provision of kai,40 before they were poisoned. I have lived on land that was taken from my people and watched as my parents struggled to ‘pay the rent’ on land that was rightfully ours. I was schooled alongside Owae Whaitara, the marae that stands above the township. We walked through and around that space every day and were never schooled within its bounds. It was an ‘out of bounds’ area. I learnt of a history of this land that told us of Cook and Tasman and Browne. And I knew these names because they named the streets upon which I walked. They named my world. Waitara.I was told we were all the same. New Zealanders/National identity/Kiwi/Egalitarian/National identity/One New Zealand/One identity.But I knew that to be Maori wasn’ t the same. And I see now why we were never to know who we were. Identity had to be controlled. So the system could be maintained. As without the system the “Nation” would be fragmented. And we would be left with a Nervous System.41

31 Waitangi Tribunal Report 1996, op.cit. 32 Urup refers to the burial place of our people. 33 Raupatu is to be 'overcome' and here I refer to the processes of alienation or loss as an outcome of colonisation 34 Hapü refers to pregnancy and sub-tribal groupings, Iwi refers to bones and tribal groupings. The terms wh nau, hapü and iwi are related in this way to highlight the interconnectedness between them. 35 Taranaki refers to both the region on the west coast of the northern island and the name of the mountain that stands there. 36 Korowai refers to a woven cloak. 37 Maunga refers to mountain, here it is Taranaki maunga.38 Awa refers to river and in this context is the Waitara river. 39 Moana is sea, ocean. 40 Kai in this context is food

7

As a part of the re-naming process we (my wh nau) were each given P keh first names;

Dennis, Graham, Malcolm, Owen, Lorraine, Vicki, Leonie, Brian, Sandra, Judith. All but one

were given Päkehä middle names. Ï was named ‘Leonie’ by the family doctor of the time, a

direct consequence of being born a ‘Leo’, and was given my maternal grandmothers name,

Eileen. My tuakana42, Vicki was given her middle name Aroha43 by one of our aunties and

she is the only one to have a M ori first or second name. Names and naming are important.

The loss of our t puna44 names in my generation was a part of the overall selection process

that is a part of assimilation. The impact of that continues, of all my nieces and nephews only

two carry M ori first names. It has been for me, a conscious choice that my two sons carry

the names of their direct t puna, as reclaiming our names is a part of reclaiming control of

our lives. Kumeroa Tauruoterangi and Teahooterangi Manukonga carry the names of

t puna who are important in our wh nau and invite stories about those people. Those

stories are a part of our process of reclaiming who we are.

Being a child of a M ori – P keh ‘mixed-marriage’ often meant being referred to, by others,

as ‘half caste’. It meant being seen as M ori when it was deemed appropriate, and being

defined as ‘half-caste’ at other times. What is important for me is that I never saw myself as

any thing other than being M ori. I remember being asked at Manukorihi Intermediate who

identified as M ori and was shocked when one girl, who I knew to be M ori, never

identified herself. It became clear that to be M ori was not something she wanted to be

associated with. That was a disturbing realisation. Sadly, the denial of being M ori is not

uncommon. It can be viewed within the context of a history of colonial oppression and racial

ideologies that have located M ori as inferior. The impact of colonialism, in particular the

greed of settler immigrants and the settler governments denial of the sovereign rights of

M ori, has had major implications for wh nau, hap and iwi. Wars, disease, lies, theft,

rape, imprisonment were all strategies utilised by the settler forces in the suppression of our

people. In Taranaki, wh nau hap and iwi have continued to experience the devastating

effects of those, and ongoing, acts of colonial violence. As the Waitangi Tribunal45 report

states ‘If peace is more than the absence of war’, Taranaki has never been at peace.46

41 Pihama, Leonie 1995 'Identity: Moving Beyond Colonial Impositions' in The Nervous System: Twelve Artists Explore Images and Identities in Crisis, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery New Plymouth & City Art Gallery Wellington , pp20-27 42 Tuakana refers to older sister of a female or the older brother of a male. 43 The name/word aroha relates to notions of compassion, love, caring. 44 Tüpuna are our collective ancestors, which can also include grandparent and great-grandparent generations. They are the people that we grow from and that we are reflections of. 45 The Waitangi Tribunal was established to establish a forum where breaches of Te Tiriti o Waitangi (The Treaty of Waitangi) could be engaged by M ori and the Crown. A more depth discussion of Te Tiriti o Waitangi is provided in Chapter Five. 46 Waitangi Tribunal 1996 TheTaranaki Report:Kaupapa Tuatahi, Wai 143 Muru Me Te Raupatu: The Muru and Raupatu of the Taranaki Land and People. Government Printer, Wellington Publications, Wellington

8

The psychological, emotional, physical, social effects were more than evident throughout my

growing up. The freezing works provided the centre in terms of employment. Reflecting on

that time it seems that economically Waitara was in a much healthier state than is the case

now in the late 1990s. There was employment, albeit mainly located in manual and factory-

type labour. There was also kaimoana,47 lots of it. We would all go ‘to the beach’ to get

k tai and p ua,48 or spend time whitebaiting (which was a favourite past time and remains a

favourite food!). Lying on the riverbank waiting for half an hour after sunrise was a regular

activity during ‘the season’. Then, it was all regulated by the State. We were ‘allowed’ fifty

k tai each and ten p ua. We could only whitebait in the State-defined season and only

during certain hours. Given that access to kaimoana was limited by the State it was little

wonder that all the children had to be available at low tide, to ensure numbers or act as

lookouts for the inspectors, who were seen by some as ‘worse than cops’.

The kaimoana around the Waitara coast is no longer edible. Reefs were destroyed by the

constant release of effluent into the river and sea. During my childhood the gathering of

kaimoana along the Waitara coast was a taken-for-granted. This is not the case for our

tamariki.49 The damage has been done by effluent released untreated through the Waitara

Borough Council outlet and from the major industries in the area, in particular Borthwicks,

Petralgas and Syngas50. Kaimoana reefs were noticeably affected after 1978, however

there was discussion that discharges into the Waitara river had affected some reefs prior to

this. In essence a key food source has been denied to many, who would have utilised that

source as a means of manaakitanga.51

When the claim to the Waitangi Tribunal was taken I had left Waitara. At eighteen I moved to

live with my sisters in Palmerston North. Both were at the Palmerston North Teachers

College. There was little else for me to do. That seems such an unusual statement, now, but

at that time it was the only ‘truth’ that I knew. In fact, most of my own schooling experiences

carry little significance for me. There are events and people that stand out as particular

influences. There were teachers who made an impact both creatively and painfully, but on

the whole throughout my primary schooling I was taught to be just like everyone else, except

somewhere along the way someone decided that I was ‘brainy’. Being called ‘brainy’ meant

that there were also those who were called ‘dumb’. The outcome of that has had devastating

effects on M ori, so much so that a M ori woman that I went to school with still, at thirty-

nine, refers to herself as ‘dumb’.

47Kaimoana is sea food. 48Kütai are referred to in English as mussels, P ua as abalone. 49 Tamariki refers to children. 50 Waitangi Tribunal Report, 1996 Wai 143 op.cit.:pp24-25

9

My Intermediate years were the most exciting of my schooling years. Manukorihi

Intermediate had just been built and we were the foundation students. Many of the teachers

were first year teachers from the Auckland Teachers College. There were M ori teachers (I

hadn’t had one M ori teacher throughout my primary schooling) and the P keh teachers

were pro-M ori. Those were a stimulating and exciting two years, including trips around the

East Coast and Taupo areas staying at numerous Marae along the way. It was at

Manukorihi Intermediate that I was asked to apply for a scholarship to St Josephs Catholic

Girls Boarding School. I reluctantly took the letter and application form home, only to return it

to the school saying my parents wouldn’t let me apply. I had never shown my parents, and

nor was I going to. The thought of leaving home to travel to some unknown place, alone, was

not something I intended doing. I didn’t show my family because I thought there was a good

chance that they would send me, and in my mind that was totally out of the question. There

are times that I wonder how different my life might have been had I attended St Josephs,

particularly in light of the many M ori women I now know were there during the 1970's who

hold powerful views in terms of being M ori. My Intermediate years were important, and

those teachers were important. Coming to teach in a small rural town like Waitara can not an

easy decision for some of those teachers. One commented on being told not to take the job

because the town was ‘too rough’.

The reputation of schools in Waitara as being ‘violent’ was something that I remember clearly.

It would make us laugh when we heard how ‘frightening’ the High School was meant to be. I

think that the use of the terms ‘violent’ and ‘frightening’ was about the school being ‘more

M ori’ than other schools in the area. Schools with higher numbers of M ori students were

considered ‘violent’ and ‘frightening’. The town's reputation was not entirely unearned.

However, few knew of the wider context and the history that lead to the situation that most

wh nau M ori52 found themselves in. The impact of confiscations has been multi-levelled.

High unemployment, the fragility of seasonal employment, an underlying racism that inferred

continually the inferiority of being M ori provided a context within which alcoholism,

gambling, and all forms of abuse were rampant. As a teenager the only place to be was in

the local pub or the many clubs in New Plymouth. There was a strained and contradictory

relationship between the ‘townies’ (those from New Plymouth) and those from Waitara.

Brawls between Waitara and the townies were common and at times extremely vicious. But,

when it came to sports there was a begrudged respect. Basketball, rugby league, rugby,

netball, Waitara sports teams made their mark across Taranaki and beyond. Sports was a

big factor in my life and gave me an opportunity to participate in events across the country.

This was made possible by the family of a close friend, who took me anywhere and

everywhere with them. It was years later that I realised we were from the same hap , as

51Manaakitanga is the process of hosting and caring for people.

10

those M ori connections were not readily known by us. Sport was important in Waitara.

Some top sports coaches and administrators came from there. The local rugby league team,

whose games and socials we attended regularly, has sported top national players. These

sports provided the social life for many in the town, both on and off the field. Rugby was

played not far from where I lived, at the Camp Reserve, where the colonial militia set up camp

during the land wars.

I have no memory of being offered any real sense of the history of Waitara. That is

something I came to myself, through my own research after realising that a deep injustice had

been done. My schooling never provided me with any understanding of the history of

Aotearoa. My family operated on survival level; clothing, schooling and feeding nine children.

We were robbed of a history and an understanding of our place in the world.

My High School years were full of ‘oh so you’re a Pihama’. Being the 7th child in a big family

means following six others through schooling, that can be quite a daunting experience,

particularly as each teacher that may have taught more than one older sibling then tended to

pigeon-hole me quite readily. So, when I entered High School I was expected to be ‘good’ at

accounting, maths, English and sports, just as my sisters before me had been. Plans for

‘making it in the world’ as designed by my parents were very much in line with dominant

beliefs about schooling of M ori children. Each of my brothers attended M ori Affairs Trade

Training courses, we (my sisters and I) were focused on teaching and office oriented work.

On the enrolment form for High School my mother nominated commerce, typing and homecraft

as the three main options preferred.

Te reo M ori was a compulsory subject in the third and fourth forms of Waitara High

School (though this was changed later). The Principal at that time supported the M ori

teachers, who held a belief that knowledge of te reo M ori was important. It must have

been a struggle for them as the dominant ideology in education at that time was one of Taha

M ori.53 With Streaming in the fifth and sixth forms I was placed in the ‘academic’ class.

Being able to do the work was relatively easy, however wanting to do the work was quite

another story. Throughout the fifth and sixth form other things took precedence, in particular

sport. Many of my ‘best mates’ were active in sports, particularly basketball. Being in the

52 wh nau M ori relates to M ori extended family groupings 53 Taha M ori was a curriculum development to introduce selected aspects of M ori language and culture into the school system. It was the dominant form of M ori curricula in the 1970s and 80's, and has been critiqued as serving the interests of the P keh system rather than M ori. Taha M ori has been referred to as a 'self-esteem model' where selected aspects of M oriculture are taught so that M ori children feel comfortable to learn the 'real' knowledge. For further discussion refer Smith, G.H. (ed) 1986 Ng Kete W nanga: M ori Perspectives of Taha M ori, Auckland College of Education, Auckland

11

gym for hours on end became much more important. Absences were continually noted, as

were ‘distractions’;

Leonie has a natural aptitude for this subject which is fortunate as she has lost time through her many absences. Leonie’s absences have not helped her. Her basic understanding is satisfactory but she must keep to the topic asked in questions and write more material54

Terms such as ‘ability’, ‘natural’, ‘aptitude’ appear through my own school reports, alongside

terms such as ‘absences’, ‘distractions’, being ‘too talkative’. It would be easy then to believe

that my ‘choice’ to leave school in the 6th form was due to my own shortcomings, after all I

was told I had the ‘ability’. However, my ending up on the ‘dole’ and then in a local

supermarket, when I had been encouraged with phrases such as ‘the skies the limit’, had

never been my ‘choice’. I left Waitara High School because I believed that there was nothing

further I could do. Most of my friends had left, most of the 7th form were P keh . I had

wanted to apply for Teachers College, following my two sisters, and had been encouraged

not to but to stay at school. Staying at school was not an option for me. Instead I ended up

unemployed and another M ori statistic. So much for successful schooling outcomes.

I ‘escaped’ Waitara at the age of eighteen, after nearly two years of a mixture of

unemployment, shop work, sport and parties, and moved to Palmerston North. It was in

Palmerston North that I decided to enrol at Massey University as an extramural student.

Although not gaining particularly 'good' marks it became evident to me that I could actually do

university study, however on gaining full time employment the desire to study diminished and

all spare time was focused on being at the gym. Sports were a focus that stayed with me

from my Waitara High School years. It provided friendships, opportunities to travel the

country quite extensively and feelings of success and ability, something that academic

pursuits never really provided. Having sisters at the Palmerston North Teachers College also

meant being surrounded by college and university students, and motivated me to apply for

teaching, an application that was rejected. Ironically, given my current teaching position in

M ori Education at the University of Auckland, I was turned down in two attempts to enter

Teachers College. However, I spent a good deal of time with M ori students at the college

and many of those people are now teaching in schools and polytechnics, colleges and

universities across the country. After four years of playing basketball and working in an

office came a realisation that ‘something’ had to change in my life, that there was ‘something’

missing and with that realisation came a desire to move to Auckland. I’d never been to

Auckland before in my life. I knew one person here, who had been my Physical Education

teacher in Waitara. I knew that the change I needed to make was a dramatic one, so the

move was necessary. I enrolled at the University of Auckland in 1985.

54 These comments are taken from my 6th Form report.

12

As a first year student at Auckland I knew almost immediately that the decision to move was

right. It was a time of growth and access to knowledge of things that I had never previously

had access to. It was a move that changed my entire direction. Within months I had

established myself a comfortable corner in ‘Women’s Space’, and it took some time until I

realised that the M ori space on the floor above was available for all M ori students. I

joined the kapa haka55 group and was active with a group of M ori women in ‘Women’s

Space’. Moving between these spaces I began to develop some understanding of the

complexities of gender and being M ori. Some of the M ori women never ventured

downstairs into ‘Women’s Space’, and some P keh women assumed that anything to do

with M ori women should be upstairs. Within each space there existed beliefs about the

other. This was intensified with the national debate over Homosexual Law Reform. I

remember a M ori woman and I having an hour long argument with a M ori male student

after he offered the idea that all ‘homos’ should be locked away or put on an island. This was

a M ori man who would speak strongly on the oppression of M ori. The contradictions that

he expressed I have seen many times in the past sixteen years.

Throughout that first year at Auckland I spent a lot of my time trying to work out where I fitted.

It seemed that part of me fitted in both spaces, but never really fully in either. I left at the end

of 1985 and moved to be a part of the first separate M ori Social Work Diploma at the

Auckland College of Education. The need for M ori students in the social work Diploma to

have M ori focused learning had been laid down by the 1984-1985 groups. The 1986 intake

was to see a totally separate pathway for M ori students. It was a difficult pathway in that

the Institution did not in fact provide clear resource (including staff and classroom) allocations

for the course. There were twenty M ori students at the beginning of the year. It was here

that I began to see the resistance of P keh staff and students to any idea of M ori having

real space. I left after six months after that time had been spent continually in struggle with

the Institution and moved to take a management position with Presbyterian Support Services.

On arriving in Auckland I had been volunteering for ‘Womanline’ a telephone information

service for women. It was a predominantly P keh women’s organisation and, as is often

the case, I became almost overnight a spokesperson for M ori. That is a scary place to be

at the best of times, so I made a conscious decision to meet more M ori women. I went with

a Samoan woman friend to a group called ‘W hine m ng w hine o Te Moana nui

Kiwa’,56 a political support group for M ori and Pacific Islands lesbian women. Having

55 Kapa haka refers to M ori Traditional performance 56 W hine m ng w hine o Te Moana nui Kiwa translates as Women for women of the Great Ocean of Kiwa, the Pacific Ocean. The term w hine m ng w hine referred specifically to lesbian women and was a term commonly used before the term takat pui gained popular usage

13

known I was a lesbian from a relatively young age I had struggled with what that meant and

spent the next ten years 'proving' I was straight. The term 'coming out' barely describes the

sense of affirmation that came with meeting M ori, Samoan, and Fijian lesbians. This group

opened lots of doors in my life including a growing knowledge of politics, land struggles,

racism, sexism, and gave a level of personal development that has rarely been matched.

As with many political groups of the time ‘W hine m ng W hine’ came to an end in the

late 80’s, and to my knowledge there has not been any similar organisation formed. What that

means is that for M ori and Pacific lesbians there are no organised support systems in place

in T maki. ‘W hine m ng W hine’ introduced me to M ori and Pacific women who

remain central to my cultural and political life. Those women provided support through what

was a difficult time in my life. It was also an exciting time that saw much change happen for

me that would have significant impact on my educational and political development. Many

women in that group came with the stories of occupations, the women’s movement, the

challenges, politics and pains of the 1970s and 1980s. They also actively engaged in notions

of tino rangatiratanga57 and a desire for M ori to take control of our destinies. As a

consequence of that in 1986 I was approached to apply for a management position of an

employment training programme. While I would like to believe the approach was made on the

basis of my own skills, it is probably more realistic to view it as part of a wider political intent

on behalf of the M ori who were working at the programme. Their aim was to introduce a

Kaupapa M ori philosophy to the programme and to establish wh nau decision making

within the organisation. With fifteen years hindsight I can see the incredible vision that those

women held at that time.

Poutama58 training programme had been under the auspices of Presbyterian Support

Services (PSS) for 5 years. One of the P keh women working in the programme had been

committed to having M ori employed, and through active challenge to the system had been

instrumental in having a M ori woman employed in the Life Skills programme. This opened

the doors and within a few years three M ori women were working on the programme. The

coordinator position came available in 1986 and a delegation to my student flat decided that I

amongst M ori gays and lesbians. Takat pui refers to an intimate friend of the same sex. For further discussion of the term refer to Aspin, Stanley Clive 2000 Trans-Tasman Migration and M ori in the time of Aids, Unpublished Phd Thesis, University of Otago, Dunedin 57 Tino rangatiratanga is a term commonly used to refer to M ori control; sovereignty; independence; autonomy. A fuller discussion is provided in chapter five. 58 The programme name Poutama was given by Paraire Huata, the then M ori Advisor to Presbyterian Support Services. Poutama is a pattern that reflects a stairway and refers generally to a progression towards knowledge or enlightenment. Arapera Royal-Tangaere refers to the poutama as a "visual model of M ori human development" that symbolises M ori quests for knowledge and the sharing of knowledge. Royal-Tangaere, Arapera 'M ori Human Development Learning Theory' in Te Whaiti, P., McCarthy, M and Durie, A., 1997 Mai i Rangi tea Auckland University Press and Bridget Will iams Books, Auckland pp 46-60

14

should apply. It wasn’t an easy process but they had developed a system of wh nau

management that they wanted to try and in order for that to happen they needed someone

who was equally committed to its implementation. At twenty-four, I became the youngest

member of the PSS management team, and we rearranged the structure of the programme to

remove the top-down manager-tutor model and instigated wh nau decision-making within

which we each had active input. In 1987 we formed the ‘Te Rapunga o Poutama59 Work

and Education Trust’ and informed PSS of our intention to relocate the programme as an

autonomous unit under M ori control. We moved to Khyber Pass in the buildings next to Te

T tai Hono marae60 and the Holy Sepulchre Anglican church, having survived a major cut to

employment training programmes that had seen the other larger PSS programme cut totally.

The movement away from large church-group operated programmes had begun and we had

moved out just in time to establish ourselves as a M ori community programme that had

significant Ng ti Whaatua ki Orakei involvement. In a period of two years my experiences

of life was miles away from that which I had known before. Knowledge and critical cultural

analysis played a major part in that shift.

I returned to the University in 1989, and worked also at Te Tari whina, the Learning

Support Unit at the Auckland Institute of Technology (AIT). My decision to return to University

was because I wanted to complete my degree. I had a sense that I had never really

completed anything. I’d been involved in a lot of issues over my time in Auckland but never

felt a sense of completion. I walked down to Waipapa, the University marae and stood

outside Tane-nui- -rangi. It was standing outside that whare that I knew I could go back

there. It was about having a space that was clearly defined M ori and about feeling solid

enough in myself to be a M ori woman in that place. As a student at the University of

Auckland a group of M ori women worked collectively to ensure our ‘survival’. We arranged

‘extra’ tutorials throughout my Undergraduate degree and it became evident very early on that

many of the M ori male students took and gave little in return. This was such a common

occurrence that in my final year a group of M ori women set up a tutorial support group that

was for M ori women. We tutored each other and held day-long exam study groups where

we studied hard and ate extremely well. Kai played a big part in our process. I was hap 61

with our m hanga62 during exam time and would sleep on the couch while a group of M ori

women would be debating the positioning of certain grammatical forms in te reo M ori. We

59 In following with the notion of the poutama, the foundation trust members chose the name Te Rapunga o Poutama to indicate the seeking of knowledge. This is in line with the notion that knowledge exists and that we open ourselves to that knowledge in the process of research and development. 60 Te Tatai Hono is a inner city marae that is operated by M ori in the Anglican church. 61 hapü in this context refers to being pregnant. As noted earlier hapü also translates as subtribal group and therefore the link between bearing the next generation of M ori people and the way in which our people name social structures is evident here. 62 m hanga refers to twins.

15

would sit in the student cafe planning our Masters and PhDs. At graduation we would

choose the PhD gown we wanted, not realising the significance of the different colours. All

of the M ori women who were a part of those study groups have completed a Masters

degree and at least three are heading for doctorates. That is the power of strong M ori

support systems.

Since returning to study in 1989 I have always maintained a link with the university. I have

taught at the Auckland College of Education (ACE) in the School of Early Childhood where

again M ori women carried much of the load in terms of providing opportunities for our

people. It was also in that institution that I saw the power of institutional racism to devastate

M ori women. Since that time I have maintained an uneasy relationship with P keh

institutions. I have now been with the M ori Education Department at the University of

Auckland for seven years. Our children have grown up around the university and take for

granted their right to enter study there. Few M ori children have such a belief. It was not

one that I or anyone in my wh nau ever held. It is not a belief held by M ori wh nau. It is a

belief that must be made available. That is a key role for M ori academics and it is something

that I see being done, by those I work with, every day. Changes in my life have occurred not

because I am ‘brainy’, nor because I am well assimilated, although I don’t deny the colonised

baggage I continue to carry, but because I have had things happen in my life that have

opened doors of reflection and analysis to enable me to re-see my experiences in another

way. Not an alternative way, but a M ori way. It is also because many people have entered

into my life at key times and given me access to knowledge and ways of thinking that have

broadened my world view. I count my wh nau in this, and the many M ori, Indigenous and

P keh radical thinkers whom I can talk with, read, watch, listen to, and am inspired by.

Articulate, radical thinking M ori women have seen me through the changes of the past

sixteen years. This continues to be my experience. I am privileged to know and continue to

meet incredibly astute, political M ori and Indigenous women who influence my thinking and

pathways significantly. That influence has taken many different shapes and forms. There

are those that have made instant impact, whose influence will be lifelong and who are

counted as wh nau in that their support is constant. There are those who sweep in and out

of our lives, bringing thoughts and ideas that motivate and inspire but who for whatever

reason can not be there for the long term. There are M ori women who come into my life that

bring about not only change in my thinking and analysis, but also in my life directions. Each

form of connection is of immense value. Each form of influence has been instrumental in

shaping how I view, theorise and engage the world. Throughout the writing of this thesis I

have come to appreciate more fully those M ori and Indigenous women who have gifted

myself and my wh nau, their time, energy, thoughts and passionate engagement with the

issues that surround us. There are also many others who bring to my thinking a clarity of

16

engagement and support who are from a range of backgrounds and ethnicities, who in a

consciousness of their own identities show us the vitality and possibility of diversity. There

are those who express their sexuality in many and varied ways, who constantly remind me

of the value and necessity of being fully who we are without doubt or concern for the

inability of others to see who were are. All of these things contribute to thinking beyond

imposed boundaries. They enable us to think with the vastness of the Te Moana nui

kiwa63 the stretches before us and reaches out to touch our whanaunga of the Pacific and

beyond.

I have also been fortunate in my work, study and home environments to have access to

critical M ori thinkers who have been active in their engagement with issues from a

Kaupapa M ori base. I am honoured to work alongside people that I believe are cutting edge

thinkers, who are constantly seeking ways of engaging issues that are based in our own

knowledge bases. My home space is a haven of radical thought and my wh nau are

challenging and caring in their engagement with this mahi. They know it is not solely about a

PhD but is about how we chose to live our lives. This has sustained me in my writing of this

thesis, which put simply is a thesis about thinking critically from a Mana Wahine, Kaupapa

M ori base.64 It is about finding ways to think about, analyse and critique experiences that

are common place for many M ori women.

This thesis may be viewed as a culmination of my life experiences. It allows me an

opportunity to explore in some depth the underlying reasons why certain things have

happened in my life and in the lives of many M ori. I have no doubt in my mind that my choice

of topic is a reflection of a need to write about myself and to engage with the complexities of

what I have seen around me. I have a need to know more and in that sense this thesis is

about me. As a M ori woman lesbian mother academic who was raised under the mindful

eye of Taranaki maunga,65 who has known the injustices perpetuated on our people and

who has struggled to hear the knowledge of M ori women, I can say very clearly that in this

thesis ‘I am my own case study’.

63 Te Maona nui Kiwa refers to the Pacific Ocean. 64 The terms Kaupapa M ori and Mana Wahine are discussed in depth in later chapters. 65 Taranaki Maunga refers to a majestic mountain known as Taranaki that stands in our tribal area. Te Miringa Hohaia gives insights into the incredible history related to Taranaki. Hohaia, T.M. 2001 'The Foundation Story: An account interpreted from manuscripts held by Taranaki Iwi' in Te Maunga Taranaki: Views of a mountain, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth

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CHAPTER TWO

WHAKAT WHERATANGA: OPENINGS

Tïhei Mauri Ora.

I sneezed and therefore I lived66

Introduction

The words of Hineahuone67 are often used as means of opening, of beginnings. They are

words that emanated from her as the first human being, formed from Papat nuku by T ne.

I sneezed and therefore I lived. The sneeze, the breath, the life force. I remember the birth of

my children, and it was when they took their first breath that I knew the depth of what those

words meant. Tïhei Mauri Ora. It seems a simple enough suggestion that the words of

Hineahuone are words that are those of M ori women. We should expect to be able to

claim the words of our t puna whaea68 and to speak those words. However, this is not

necessarily the case. Recently a young M ori woman spoke those words at her school as

a part of her Manu K rero69 speech. She was told women are not to say those words; they

are only for men.

This thesis is about contributing to the development of Kaupapa M ori theory in the form of

Mana Wahine,70 a theoretical expression that seeks to provide ways of engaging the

contestation over what constitutes M ori knowledge and the positioning of w hine M ori.71

It is about exploring the complex ways that the intersection of colonisation, race and gender

has impacted upon us and has manipulated many of the fundamental beliefs and values about

the roles and importance of M ori women. It is also, as this chapter indicates a process of

opening further the need to speak to, write to and theorise to and for ourselves as M ori

women. As I move through the thesis I lay out key areas of discussion both in terms of t wo

connected journeys, (i) the journey towards Mana Wahine theory and (ii) the academic

journey towards completing this doctoral thesis. The connection is indicated in the previous

chapter that indicates some life experiences that bring me to this particular pathway on these

66This phrase has ancient origins that indicated the first breath of life. it’s contemporary expression is articulated by Patricia Grace in the book, Kahukiwa R. & Grace, P., 1984 ‘WahineToa:Women of M ori Myth’, Collins, Auckland67 Hineahuone is the first human shaped from Papatü nuku, Earth mother, by T ne, one of her male children, with guidance from a range of atua (supreme beings) including Papatü nukuherself who indicated where the essence of humanity lay in her body. 68 Tüpuna whaea relates to women ancestors. 69 Manu K rero is a Secondary School Speech Competition. 70 The terms Kaupapa M ori and Mana Wahine refer here to specific M ori theoretical forms which are defined in depth in later chapters. 71 w hine M ori refers to M ori women.

18

particular journeys. Perhaps the key link is in the terms M ori woman academic, as the

following chapter is titled, in that they point to a link between being M ori woman from

Taranaki who links also to Waikato, and being positioned within the academy a place that is

seen in Western tradition as an institution that develops and engages theory.72 In the journey

along the pathways of this thesis I want contribute to openings. To processes of making and

revealing spaces that may be useful for us to enter into. There is no guarantee that the

openings will be there indefinitely and so there is a sense of urgency that I believe exists in

the need for us as M ori people to be more confident in the bringing forth of our knowledge

and strategies for change. There are, in my view, possibilities and potentialities in the

openings. Those are the openings that excite and inspire this writing.

Representing Ourselves: A Journey To Theory

As I move to near completion of this research I hear daily on M ori radio of the debate over

the rights of M ori women to speak in the p whiri73 on Waitangi Day.74 This has been

debated with some vigour over the past two years. In 1998 M ori women supported

Annette Sykes to speak on their behalf at the tangi75 of veteran M ori rights activist Eva

Rickard. In 1999 M ori woman activist, Titewhai Harawira, challenged the right of a

P keh woman (Helen Clarke, the Leader of the Labour Party) to speak when the same

rights were denied M ori women. She was adamant P keh women should not have the

right to speak on our marae when M ori women’s voices are denied. This challenge was

again laid in the year 2000 and 2001. The challenge is a serious one that has since been

expanded to one that questions the position of any P keh person to speak on the marae

tea76 while M ori women are not given such a right.77 This is a challenge that must be laid

and dealt with in real ways, and in order for that to happen we need to be firstly cognisant of

the ways in which dominant ideologies impact on M ori thinking and how we express what

we consider to constitute tikanga M ori.78 In order to do that we must engage our

72 The term Western is regarded by Edward Said as referring to European traditions. In this thesis it is also regarded in such a way and extends to include the construction of knowledge by the contemporary colonising forces of white America, that has its origins in Europe. See Said, E.W. 1978 Orientalism: Western Conceptions of The Orient, Penguin Books, London 73 P whiri is the ritual process of encounter and greetings. 74 Waitangi Day is the 6th of February. It is the anniversary of the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi,the Treaty of Waitangi. Te Tiriti o Waitangi guaranteed our people tino rangatiratanga or ful l 'chieftain/chieftainess rights over all things. To date the Treaty remains un-honoured by the Crown. 75 Tangi in this context refers to the mourning process. 76 The marae tea is the space that lies directly in front of a wharenui on the marae where much formal discussion and debate takes place. 77 This point was made articulately by Titewhai’s son, Hone Harawira. When interviewed on Ruia Mai, the M ori Language Radio Station, he asked who were considered the supporters of M ori men to which he stated “P keh men no, P keh women no, it is M ori women”. RuiaMai Friday, 14 January 2000.78 Tikanga M ori relates to M ori customary practices.

19

understandings by seeking historical knowledge and looking then to how that impacts on the

representation of who we are as M ori. It is my belief that this can only be healthy for us all,

however it entails those who currently have interests in the maintenance of dominant

ideologies to relinquish those interests. We know that such a request is rarely taken

seriously or heeded.

As Paulo Freire has so rightly stated the oppressor is incapable of bringing about freedom, it

is for the oppressed to free both themselves and their oppressors.79 For M ori to be

freedom fighters, to challenge the fundamentals of oppression as they exist in all forms, then

we must think beyond the hegemonic box that has been constructed. Colonisation has

impeded the ability of many of our people to think beyond the colonial box. But if we are to

create real and sustainable change then we have no option but to resist those impositions

and be active in our challenge to the perpetuation of acts and situations that merely continues

the oppression of our people. That includes challenging those acts that oppress our women.

African-American feminist writer bell hooks drew on the words of Sojourner Truth to make

this clear in terms of the feminist movement when she asked 'ain’t I a woman?'.80 The same

must be asked in M ori struggles, M ori women are entitled to ask 'ain’t I a M ori?' and in

doing so expect issues of gender to be given serious and real consideration.

I have a particular interest in laying challenge to those actions that oppress M ori women.

That does not mean that I seek to deny the oppression of our men. Rather, as a M ori

woman, I see that resistance against the oppression of our women will have an outcome that

brings about change for M ori more generally. M ori women have borne the brunt of white

men's and white women's colonial impositions. M ori women have also borne the brunt of

M ori men's acts of collaboration with P keh both intentional and non-intentional. We have

also borne the brunt of the anger, addictions and violence that are the outcome of the

stripping of identity, land, alienation, denial of knowledge, language and culture. As M ori

women suffer the consequences of these acts so too do M ori children and M ori men.

For M ori women to be healthy, so too must M ori children and M ori men. Therefore,

where this thesis is necessarily focused on the development of theories that can engage the

79 Freire, P. 1972 Pedagogy of the Oppressed Penguin Books, London 80 hooks, bell 1981 Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism, South End Press. Boston MA. In this publication bell hooks notes that in 1852 Sojourner Truth stood at an anti-slavery rally in Indiana and bared her breasts to show that she was a woman. She stood her ground as white women sought to deny her the opportunity to speak as they considered it ‘unfitting’ for a black woman to speak on the same public platform as them. Following a white male speaker who spoke against womens rights she stated; Dat man over dar say dat women needs to be helped into carriages, and lifted ober ditches, and to have de best places … and ain’t I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm!… I have plowed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me – and ain’t I a woman? I could work as much as any man (when I could get it), and bear de lash as well – and ain’t I a woman? I have borne five children and I seen ‘em nos

20

impact of dominant discourses on the construction of beliefs about M ori women, so too

does it engage the relationships within our wider wh nau.

As a M ori woman academic, I also have a passionate interest in the development of

theoretical analysis as tools for M ori. This, in part, explains my long-term involvement in

tertiary education. This thesis is about exactly that, the development of theoretical tools for

M ori women that can be utilised in that analysis of M ori representation and in particular

the representation of M ori women and girls. Having been a student and a teacher in fields

that are heavily theoretically driven I have realised that there are few theorists, critical or

otherwise, who are willing to engage the many complex issues that surround class, gender,

race, and colonisation. Therefore, there are relatively few theories that engage the multiple

issues that face many M ori women. This thesis argues that it is for M ori women to

develop not only ways of seeing and presenting ourselves, but also those tools of analysis.

There has been groundwork laid in this area by M ori women.81 This thesis continues those

developments. I do not argue or assume that there is one singular theory for M ori women.

Nor would I be theoretically, culturally or politically arrogant enough to assert that all M ori

women think the same. We don’t. What is offered here is a theoretical framework that comes

from the works, voices, writings, images, processes of M ori women and I offer it as my

contribution to providing radical Mana Wahine theories.

This thesis is about the construction of theories that will be located within understandings and

worldviews that are grounded in being wahine M ori and thus enable the exploration of

representations, colonial discourses and their historical origins from a distinctly M ori base.

There are many dominant discourses pertaining to M ori women that have been constructed

all sold off into slavery, and when I cried out with a mothers grief, none but Jesus hear – and ain’t I a woman? Cited in hooks, bell ibid:160 81 Awatere, D. 1984 M ori Sovereignty, Broadsheet, Auckland; Evans, R., 1993 'M ori Women as Agents of Change', paper presented to Winter Lecture Series, University of Auckland, reprinted in Te Pua, v.3, no. 1., Te Puawaitanga, Auckland; Irwin, K, 1988 'M ori, Feminist, Academic' in Sites, v. 17, Massey University, Palmerston North, pp30-38; Irwin, K, 1992 'Towards Theories of M ori Feminism' in Du Plessis, R. (ed.) with Bunkle, P., Irwin, K., Laurie, A., Middleton, S., 1992 Feminist Voices: Women's Studies Texts for Aotearoa/New Zealand, Oxford University Press, pp 1-21; Jenkins, K. 1992 'Reflections on the Status of M ori Women' in Te Pua 1, Te Puawaitanga, Auckland; Jenkins, Kuni Elaine Hineatauira Kaa 2000 Haere Tahi T ua: An Account of Aitanga in M ori Struggle for Schooling, Unpublished Doctor of Philosophy Thesis, The University of Auckland, Auckland; Johnston, P. & Pihama, L 1995 'What Counts as Difference and What Differences Count: Gender, Race and the Politics of Difference' in Irwin, K., Ramsden, I. & Kahukiwa, R. (eds), 1995 Toi W hine: The Worlds of M ori Women, Penguin Books, Auckland; Kupenga, V., Rata, R., Nepe, T. 1988 'Whaia te Iti Kahurangi: M ori Women Reclaiming Autonomy' in Saunders, P & Jamrozik (eds) Proceedings of Joint Conference with the New Zealand Planning Council, Social Welfare Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Australia. Also published in Puna Wairere: Essays By M ori, 1990 New Zealand Planning Council, Wellington; Smith, C.W. & Taki, M., 1994 'Hoihoi Wahine P keh ' in Te Pua2, Te Puawaitanga, Auckland pp.38-42; Smith, L.T. 1992 'M ori Women: Discourses, Projects and Mana

Wahine', in Middleton,S. and Jones,A. (eds) Women and Education in Aotearoa 2, Bridget Williams Books,

21

from a base that is not Kaupapa M ori. They are derived from ideological beliefs that are

essentially imported to Aotearoa. Those representations have been reconstructed in ways

that camouflage or disguise their origins. As such it is recognised that the act of

representation is inherently a political act.82 The representation of M ori plays a significant

role in the construction of dominant understandings about M ori people.83 There is much to

be said about the processes of representation. To represent, to present in another form, to

present again, is not merely a process of reproduction or reflection. As bell hooks aptly

comments, in respect to movies, the process of representation is not one of objective or

neutral presentation of the real. Rather, she reminds us that representation involves re-

imagined, reinvented versions of the real.84 What happens when the reimagining and

reinventing is primarily controlled by the colonising forces is that limited and very often

incorrect representations are presented as factual and correct. This is without doubt the

state of play in regard to M ori representation.

As is the case with theory, representations are not neutral or objective. Representations are

influenced by a range of sources, cultural, ideological beliefs and understandings, social

practices, gender expectations, race notions, to name a few. These influences shape and

inform the practice of representation. In Aotearoa, representations of M ori also inform the

ways in which the role and status of M ori women is perceived.85 This is recognition of the

fact that as M ori women we do not experience the world separately from M ori men. In

the representation it is evident that what we don't see is as significant as what we do see.

For example if only the opinions M ori men are sought on the direction of M ori people the

subsequent invisibility of M ori women sends as powerful a message as the visibility of

M ori men.

Wellington; Te Awekotuku, Ngahuia 1991 Mana Wahine M ori: Selected Writings on M oriWomen's Art, Culture and Politics, New Women's Press, Auckland 82 Refer Trinh T. Minh-ha 1991 When The Moon Waxes Red, Routledge, New York; Trinh T. Minh-ha 1999 Cinema Interval, Routledge, New York; hooks, bell 1992 Black Looks: Race and Representation, South End Press, Boston 83 Refer Walker, R., 1990 ‘The role of the Press in defining Pakeha perceptions of the Maori’, in Spoonley, P. & Hirsh, W. (eds) Between The Lines- Racism and the New Zealand Media,Heinemann Reed, Auckland; Mita, Merata 1992 ‘The Soul and the Image’ in Dennis, J., & Bieringa,J. (eds) Film in Aotearoa/New Zealand, Victoria Univeristy Press, Wellington; Paraha,G., (1993) He Pounamu Kakano Rua: Construction of Mäori Women - A Visual Discourse,Unpublished Master of Education, University of Auckland, Auckland; Pihama, L. 1994 ‘Are Films Dangerous: A M ori Womans Perspective on ‘ The Piano’ in Hecate: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Women’s Liberation, Hecate Press, English Department, University of Queensland, Brisbane 84 hooks, b., 1996, Reel To Real: Race, Sex and Class At the Movies, Routledge, New York:1 85Two inspiring critiques of this are; Mikaere, Ani 1996 The Balance Destroyed: The Consequences for M ori Women of the Colonisation of Tikanga M ori, Unpublished Master of Juriprudence thesis, University of Waikato, Hamilton; and Yates-Smith, Aroha, 1998 Hine! E Hine! Rediscovering The Feminine in M ori Spirituality, Unpublished Doctorate of Philosophy thesis, University of Waikato, Hamilton

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Representation in the form of analysis offered by bell hooks is located within systems of

complex relationships. Those relationships are themselves influenced by power, knowledge

and ideology.86 How we see those who take it upon themselves to represent and the ways in

which we position those people is undoubtedly influenced by our beliefs about the roles of

the representer and represented. Who is in control of the process, who determines what

knowledge is appropriate to share and indeed who is that knowledge being shared with, who

is the audience and who defines that audience. Representation is a process that involves

dynamic forms of power and power relations.87 In some cases both the representer and the

represented interact in the sharing of knowledge, the distinct difference between the two

roles is however one of who controls the selection of knowledge that occurs once that

knowledge is sharing and captured on cassette, video tape or paper. In other cases

representation is 'captured' with little if any control by those being represented. In processes

of representation ideologies about knowledge and knowledge sharing impact significantly

upon the ways in which individuals and groups participate and/or are represented.88

Ideological notions of knowledge and what constitutes valid knowledge are not neutral but are

intrinsically linked to power and power relations. There is no doubt that certain groups in

society are more likely to have their knowledge affirmed that others and that dominant groups

are in a position to have their own knowledge bases affirmed, more often than not at the

expense of subordinate groups. Through a process of selection particular constructions of

what constitutes legitimate knowledge and culture operate to enfranchise a certain group

whilst simultaneously disenfranchising others.

In identifying that power plays a key role in knowledge selection and affirmation, it is important

to state that this does not exclude acts of resistance and transformation. To the contrary, it is

through a process of identifying the power relations inherent in certain acts or selections that

we are able to create forms of resistance that seek to both challenge and transform. The

complexities of how knowledge is contested requires much more than a deterministic analysis

that implies a simplistic 'top-down' relationship in regard to power. That is not to say that such

impositions of power don't exist, as they do, but is to explore the idea that power is

expressed in a wider range of forms and that those forms may vary within certain contexts.

The notion of 'symbolic violence' provides us with one example of how power may be

constituted through a range of forms and processes.89 Processes of representation provide

86 Nichols, B., 1981 Ideology and the Image, Indiana University Press, Bloomington 87 ibid; also refer Downing, J., Mohammadi, A., Sreberny-Mohammadi, A. (eds) Questioning The Media: A Critical Introduction, Second Edition, Sage Publications, London; Hall, S. 1995 'The Whites of Their Eyes: Racist Ideologies and the Media' in Dines, G. & Humez, J. (eds), Gender, Race and Class In Media, Sage Publications, London 88 Abel, S., 1997 Shaping The News: Waitangi Day on Television, Auckland University Press, Auckland 89 Bourdieu, P. & Passeron, J., 1977 Reproduction in Education, Society and Culture, Sage, California For a discussion of 'symbolic violence' in the New Zealand education system refer to

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the potential both for the reproduction of and resistance to symbolic violence. The

construction of representation as symbolic violence is linked to the ways in which certain

knowledges are 'enfranchised' whilst others are 'disenfranchised',90 and is therefore

connected explicitly to structural arrangements within society. Stuart Hall provides a succinct

discussion of the link between the need to maintain an analysis of the complexities of

representation and wider structural inequalities when he states;

Ruling or dominant conceptions of the world do not directly prescribe the mental content of the illusions that supposedly fill the heads of dominated classes. But the circle of dominant ideas does accumulate the symbolic power to map or classify the world for others; its classifications do acquire not only the constraining power of dominance over other modes of thought but also the initial authority of habit and instinct. It becomes the horizon of the taken-for-granted: what the world is and how it works, for all practical purposes. Ruling ideas may dominate other conceptions of the social world by setting the limit on what will appear as rational, reasonable, credible, indeed sayable or thinkable within the given vocabularies of motive and action available to us. Their dominance lies precisely in the power they have to contain within their limits, to frame within their circumference of thought, the reasoning and calculation of other social groups.91

Where the complexities of representation then demand frameworks that allow for analysis of

those complexities, an important message that I take from Stuart Hall is the recognition that

dominance and dominant ideas do exist. As such I have sought throughout this thesis to be

conscious of the ways in which structure, at a macro level, intersects with text at a micro

level. A key point of intersection is that of ideology and representation.

Ideology and representation intersect in many ways. Where an in-depth discussion is beyond

the scope of this present piece of research it is necessary to indicate that such intersections

exist in ways that are often detrimental to the well being of M ori people. Where dominant

groups control processes and vehicles of representation, minority groups are in a constant

struggle to have their images and selves presented in ways that reflect what they consider to

be their spiritual, cultural, intellectual and material realities. In Aotearoa the ongoing battle for

M ori representation on film and television is clear indication of such struggles.24 Images, as

representations, like the construction of history, represent certain views and ideological

beliefs. In terms of representation it is the dominant ideology that is most likely to be

expressed in that these are held by the dominant group who have most access to the

Jones, A. 1991 At School I've got a Chance: Culture/Privilege: Pacific Islands and P keh Girls at School, Dunmore Press, Palmerston North 90 Apple, M., & Christian-Smith, L. op.cit.

92 Hall c ited in Apple, M & Christian-Smith, L. ibid:12 93 Refer Fox, Derek Tini 1988 ‘The Mass Media: A M ori Perspective’ in Report of Royal Commission on Social Policy: Te Komihana A Te Karauna Mo Nga Ahuatanga-A-Iwi April Report, Government Printer, Wellington; Fox, Derek 1990 ‘Te Karere: The Struggle for M oriNews’ in Spoonley, P. & Hirsh, W. (eds), Between the Lines: Racism and the New Zealand Media, Heinnemann Reed, Auckland; Mita, Merata 1992 ‘The Soul and the Image’ in Dennis, J., &

Bieringa, J. (eds) Film in Aotearoa/New Zealand, Victoria University Press; Paraha, Glynnis 1993 ‘Merata

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processes of representation. Any discussion of representation as a process or concept can

not take place without at least a fleeting visit to the ways in which meanings within, and

readings of, texts are constructed. This is important to this thesis in that it engages the

relationship of language to ideology, representation and knowledge. Within M ori thought te

reo M ori and tikanga M ori are inseparable, they are reliant on each other for their

maintenance and survival.94 This centrality of te reo M ori me na tikanga to Kaupapa

M ori research and theory highlights the importance of understanding how language is

constituted by and constitutes knowledge. This is a particularly important process in terms of

this thesis given that a key source of misrepresentation lies in the in historical documentation,

this is ironic given that critical sources of the reclamation of M ori knowledge also lies, in

part, in historical documentation.

It is argued in Chapter Five, that te reo M ori embodies not only linguistic potentialities but

also spiritual and cultural potential. Te reo M ori encompasses a range of meanings that

operate at many levels, social, cultural, political and some may say physical. Te Kawehau

Hoskins has in her Masters Thesis discussed the need to engage all forms of embodiment or

internalisation of oppression.95 She argues that in understanding the internalisation of

oppression we need to understand the notion of 'embodied oppression'. I would contend that

if oppressive relations are seen as shaping our bodily relations then so too do meanings and

counter-hegemonic processes have the potential to re-shape our being. The recognition of te

reo M ori within Kaupapa M ori theory as integral to the development of successful

interventions is an affirmation of the centrality of language in the expression and transmission

of culture. The marginalisation of te reo M ori is an outcome of the imposition of unequal

power relationships and the maintenance and reproduction of that through dominant

discourse and in Aotearoa through a majority position of the colonising population. This

thesis argues that in order to engage with the complexities of the colonial ideologies that have

been imposed on this land, but which have no roots here, we need to engage the many

layers of oppressive discourses and practices that maintain and perpetuate injustice.

It is my argument that Kaupapa M ori and Mana Wahine theories provide distinctive tools

through which we can view our world and analyse our experiences as M ori women. This

does not assume homogeneity of M ori women, or a singular definition of what constitutes a

M ori woman. Both Kaupapa M ori and Mana Wahine theories have a multiplicity of

expression. To assume a homogenous ‘ideal’ M ori woman would be antithetical to the

intentions of either of these theoretical expressions. It does however assume that there is a

Mita providing a Counter view: Reclaiming and Taking Control of our Image' in Te Pua 2, The Journal of

Puawaitanga, Smith ,L.T. (ed), University of Auckland, Auckland94 This is discussed fully in Chapter five.

25

need to work in ways that are able to actively incorporate analyses of all forms of oppression

and that there are fundamental ways in which representations of M ori women inform the

ways in which M ori women as a collective are viewed, and that these representations if

founded upon colonial beliefs about what constitutes M ori womanhood need to be

challenged. Discussing theoretical ways of engaging the world is in my opinion a necessary

part of a wider decolonisation intent. Theory, has historically been used against our best

intentions as M ori people, however what is argued here is that we can and will take control

of our own critical understandings and theoretical explanations and understandings. Those

theories must in my view be able to contribute to change that will benefit all M ori and not a

privileged few, they must also be challenging of those processes that continue to marginalise

many of our wh nau, hap and iwi and seek to challenge all forms of injustice.

Crafting the thesis

This has not been an easy thesis to craft. I have been hesitant to remove writings that I feel I

have poured by heart and soul into, and so have needed to think carefully about how the

various chapters and sections of this thesis are able to come together in a relatively coherent

piece of writing and reading. I’m not sure that I have been successful in doing that and hope

that readers are able to ‘see’ the connections with, of course, the help of the various pointers

that I have included to support the journey. This is, I believe, a consequence of the topic itself

which is complex and requires a constant remembering of the ways that colonisation, race,

gender and class continually intersect in often complicated ways. The outcome of which is

that in some parts of the thesis I have written in ways that I would consider deeply personal

and in other areas I have been theoretically heavy in my writing.

Such is the nature of engaging this topic. I can not remove myself from the issues and

therefore I have drawn on my own experiences of the world as an important part of my

writing. In his doctoral thesis Graham Hingangaroa Smith refers to himself as ‘the author’.96

This he states is a deliberate cooption of the ‘third person removed’ into a cultural and political

paradigm that is premised on the idea that it is not for the author to elevate themselves over

the voices of others. Graham notes that the terms ‘I’, ‘we’ and ‘me’ work to elevate the work

of the individual over the collective foundations of the work. This is an important point. The

writings undertaken by M ori are built upon foundations of collective endeavour and existing

cultural knowledge, and therefore Graham’s use of the term ‘the author’ is appropriate to his

argument. The difficulty I have with such an argument is that it does not challenge the

fundamental premise of academic assumptions in regard to naming ourselves. Furthermore,

95 Hoskins, T. K.C. 2000 Kia Whai Kiko Te k rero, Constituting Discourses: Exchanges at the Edge, Unpublished Master of Arts thesis, University of Auckland, Auckland 96 Smith, Graham Hingangaroa 1997 The Development of Kaupapa M ori Theory and Praxis. Unpublished Doctor of Philosophy thesis, School of Education, University of Auckland, Auckland

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using third person references does not necessarily mean an author doesn't privilege

themselves, rather most academic texts show otherwise.

A further point of consideration is that where the term ‘I’ in English is clearly individual, in

M ori terms the individual never moves alone, we are always surrounded and guided by

generations past. As such the term ‘I’ is not used in this thesis to elevate myself as an

individual. A similar notion is referred to in the Waitangi Tribunal Report on the Taranaki

claim. In outlining the manipulation of land 'sales' and the individualisation of land title in

Taranaki, the Tribunal highlighted that in letters from Wiremu Kingi, resisting the Crowns

assumption of ownership, he used 'I' consistently, however according to the Tribunal he was

not referring to himself as an individual but was referring to Te tiawa as a whole. In regard

to Wiremu Kingi, the Tribunal referred to his role as rangatira97 and noted:

… the rangatira were not merely the leaders of the people - they were the people. They were inclined to use 'I' where others would use 'the people' or 'we'. They owned everything and yet might claim nothing personally.98

This example gives an indication of the complex ways in which M ori use of English could be

influenced by our own cultural world view. Likewise the term ‘we’ is increasingly

problematised as a universalising, essentialist notion. In te reo M ori there is more than one

‘we’, for example m tou refers to we not including the person being spoken to, and t tou is

we including all present, physically, spiritually, politically, culturally. I have also been reminded

recently of the use of the term 't ua'. 'T ua' which is regarded as a two person inclusive

pronoun, that is it includes the speaker and the person they are speaking to, however it is

regularly used to relate to the groups that two people connect to and in that sense is

collective rather than individual.99 The essence of the terms is relational. My use of the

English word ‘we’ is not to assume a generalised universal position, it will sometimes be

m tou and other times t tou, that of course is dependent on the positioning of the reader.

A further reason for using personal pronouns is that I do not accept the academic assumption

that researchers act as objective observers and that as a consequence we must write

ourselves out of the text through a third person style. I have been fortunate to have good

models in such an exercise. Indigenous, Black women, and Women of Colour such as Linda

Tuhiwai Smith, Kuni Jenkins, Kathie Irwin, Ngahuia Te Awekotuku, Haunani K. Trask,

Cherryl Waerea-i-te-Rangi Smith, Margie Hohepa, Glynnis Paraha, Lee Maracle, bell hooks,

Angela Davis, Trinh T. Minh-ha, Gloria Anzuldua, Winona La Duke, Lilikalä Kame'eleihiwa,

97 rangatira refers to a person, either female or male, of chiefly status. 98 Waitangi Tribunal Report, Wai 143, 1996 op.cit.: 73 99 Jenkins, Kuni 2001 Personal communication.

27

Audre Lorde and many others, serve as powerful models.100 The outcome is what I could

best refer to as an undulating style, which I have no doubt readers will see as you move

through the thesis. There is no set style, rather the writing style is dependent on my

relationship to the material. Readers will see that where I feel personally involved and

passionate with the issues the writing appears more personal and passionate, where I feel

removed or positioned as ‘other’ in relation to issues my writing tends to be dispassionate and

detached. Initially I would angst over the changes in style and ways of relating to the

material, I now take it as a part of how I am as an academic, there are things that enthuse,

motivate and inspire me and those things bring out a passion in writing. There are also things

that have to be written in a thesis because the expectations of a doctoral thesis demand that

they are present, or because in engaging a field such as this there is a need to critique

particular pieces of work, those things I often found tedious and would write in ways that

showed my distance. This can be conceptualised in a number of ways. Firstly, my distance

is directly related to the ways in which colonisation, and the consequent establishment of

unequal power relations between M ori and our colonisers, has constructed knowledge and

what constitutes valid knowledge.

I have a resistance to writing about Western knowledge and Western theories in ways that

centre those understandings, and therefore consciously stand from the outside looking in, a

place where most Indigenous Peoples have been positioned by our colonisers. Throughout

my undergraduate degree I recall the struggle of trying to ‘fit’ into Western analyses, of trying

to see myself in theories that ultimately cared little about my existence as a M ori woman. I

now celebrate the fact that I was unsuccessful in that task. Looking in from the outside is

now for me a way of detaching myself, maintaining my own centre and making choices as to

what is or is not useful. Secondly, I have become increasingly aware of notions within te

reo M ori that express cultural ways of relating. Pat Hohepa in describing the terms nei, n

and r 101 noted that within a narrative the narrator would be standing a distance from the

person being referred to but still use the term ‘nei’ as a way of placing themselves politically

100 Many of these authors have been referenced earlier in the chapter, those that have not are as follows; Trask, Haunani-Kay From A Native Daughter, Common Courage Press, Monroe; Hohepa,Margie 'Hei Tautoko I Te Reo': M ori Language Regeneration and Wh nau Bookreading Practices, Unpublished Doctor of Philosophy thesis, University of Auckland, Auckland; La Duke, Winona, 1999 All Our Relations: Native Struggle for Land and Life, South End Press, USA; Davis, Angela Anzuldua, Gloria, 1990 Making Face, Making Soul: Haciendo Caras, An Aunt Lute Foundation Book, San Francisco; Maracle, Lee, 1996 I am Woman: A Native Perspective on Sociology and Feminism, Press Gang Publishers, Vancouver; Kame'eleihiwa, Lilikalä Native Land and Foreign Desires: Pehea Lä E Pono Ai? Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu; Lorde, Audre 1996 The Audre Lorde Compendium: Essays, Speeches and Journals, Pandora, London; Moreton-Robinson, Aileen 2000 Talkin' Up To The White Woman: Indigenous Women And Feminism, University of Queensland Press, Brisbane 101 There terms indicate location, nei: near to the speaker, n : over there, r : over there distant

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or philosophically alongside that person.102 Similarly a narrator could distance themselves

philosophically by using the term ‘r ’ in relation to someone standing near them. I was also

introduced recently to the use of the term ‘noho atu’, noho meaning to sit and atu, away

from. I was told that if someone who you didn’t agree with wanted to sit near you this would

be the term to use, ‘noho atu’ which also indicated a political or philosophical difference. The

point here is that inherent within cultural definitions is a notion of positioning oneself not just

physically but politically and philosophically through language. I have also done this through

the process of naming authors.

Having begun writing the thesis referring to authors by their last name, as is the academic

habit, I found it increasingly difficult to discuss the works of M ori people whom I have close

relationships with in a way that suggested otherwise. This also extended to the works of

writers for whom I felt a strong political or cultural connection. As such I have chosen to

move from the taken-for-granted academic practice of using only last names to indicate

authors. Again, there is not necessarily a set, stringently defined pattern of naming used

within the thesis, however on the whole I would indicate that for those people with whom I

have a personal or cultural and political relationship I have tended to firstly introduce their

work using their full names and then have moved to first name references. Then there are

those whose works I am inspired by but I have maintained last name reference because their

works have been referred to through last name references, for example the work of Paulo

Freire is often referred to as the writings of Freire. Writers of the critical theory fields who

are known primarily by their last names also fit within this vein, for example; Habermas,

Giroux, Gramsci etc are all referred to as such. It is my view that it is appropriate in those

cases to maintain such a use. For those whose work is somewhat distant from my own

either culturally or politically I have retained the use of last name references after the initial

introduction. I would note that the philosophical positioning in terms of naming is evident to the

critical reader. This textual discussion relates also to the use of footnotes. I have chosen to

use footnotes for a number of reasons. Firstly, footnotes allow a continual flow in the text by

providing references, translations and interpretations separately. Secondly, footnotes also

provide a space to expand on areas that require further depth but which if placed in the main

text who detract from the particular point being made. Finally, footnotes are used as a

process of defining and providing translation of te reo M ori. It took some time to decide on

how to do such a process, in particular whether to use footnote, endnotes or a glossary.

Where endnotes are also able to provide this, I personally find looking to the end of a piece for

definitions irritating and therefore they are not my preferred option. Glossaries, where useful

tools for defining terms tend to provide general meanings and therefore the context of the

102 Hohepa, P. 1981 'A look at M ori Narrative Structure' in Hollyman , J. & Pawley, A. Studies In Pacific Languages and Cultures, Linguistic Society of New Zealand, Auckland

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word usage can be lost. Therefore, I have chosen to footnote definitions in order to locate

particularly words and definitions in the context within which they are being used. Defining

M ori terms in English can be a difficult task given the multiple meanings and understandings

that each term carries, therefore footnoting the definitions allows for the term to be discussed

relative to the actual context. Another reason for footnoting definitions of M ori terms is that

for those who have an understanding of te reo M ori the flow in the main text is maintained

and the discussion is not interrupted.

In continuing on a discussion of language there is an ongoing issue for M ori people writing

in English but who use M ori words interchangeably with the colonisers' language. I accept

the position laid by Linda Tuhiwai Smith in her Doctoral thesis that we can as M ori

academics privilege te reo M ori by making distinctions within our texts.103 This she argues

makes it clear that M ori language cannot just be placed into the English language without

some form of appropriation or alienation occurring. As such Linda chose to both bold and

italicise M ori words in the text. Kuni Jenkins and Rapata Wiri also chose to draw the

distinction in terms of te reo M ori, in a predominantly English text, through the use of

italics.104 This raises ways in which textual representation impacts on language and

constructions of knowledge. As I type this thesis the word ‘normal’ appears in the styles box

of my computer, this only changes when I choose a different style, that is a style defined as

something other than 'normal'. Italics, bolding etc are not set in this technology as normal.

Publishers do not, on the whole, publish entirely in italics or in bold. Our aesthetic relationship

to text is constructed within particular frameworks and we are presented daily with what

constitutes 'normal' text. Having said that I still agree with the notion that M ori language can

not be read as an addition to the English language and therefore I have chosen to bold all

M ori words that appear in this thesis. It is a process of what I consider accentuating the

distinctiveness of te reo M ori, validating the presence and power of our language in a text

that is primarily articulated in English.

A further point regarding textual decisions in the use of te reo M ori is that of using the

macron. There are a number of positions taken in regard to indicating long vowels, the

choices being; (i) the use of double letters to indicate long vowels; (ii) the use of macrons and

(iii) to use neither macrons nor double letters but to rely on the fluency of the readers to

'know' the word. In this thesis I have chosen the option of using macrons for my own text

and those quotes that have macrons in their original text. As a second language learner and

103 Mead, L.T.R., 1996 ‘Nga Aho o Te Kakahu Matauranga: The Multiple Layers of Struggle by M ori in Education’ Unpublished Doctor of Philosophy Thesis, Education Department University of Auckland:31 104 Jenkins, K.E.H. 2000 op.cit.; Wiri, R. 2001 The Prophecies Of The Great Canyon Of Toi: A History Of Te Wh iti-nui-a-Toi In The Western Urewera Mountains Of New Zealand, Unpublished Doctor of Philosophy thesis, University of Auckland, Auckland

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speaker of te reo M ori knowing whether a vowel is long or short makes all the difference

to my understanding of a given statement. Also I am cognisant of the fact that not indicating

long vowels in words like t ngata or m tua have often culminated in 'male' oriented

translations being made.105

Outlining A Journey : Thesis overview

This thesis is a theoretical discussion. Each chapter seeks to either develop some aspect of

theory or to engage particular theoretical constructions that impact upon M ori people, and

M ori women in particular. The intention of the thesis is to contribute to the development of

Mana Wahine theories, building upon and extending both Mana Wahine theories and

Kaupapa M ori theory. Where the thesis itself is not physically separated into sections

there are clear shifts that occur throughout which provide quasi-sections.

The first part of the thesis (Chapters 1-3) focuses on my personal and academic journeys to

that have brought me to this particular research area. It includes a process of locating myself

as a M ori woman, lesbian, mother, academic, who comes from specific wh nau, hap

and iwi experiences. It gives the reader a general introduction to the thesis topic through an

exploration of my own experiences. This is apt, in my view, as what has brought me to this

place of writing a PhD thesis has been highly influenced by the many experiences I have

known as a M ori woman. The intention of the Chapters One to Three is to locate the thesis

within a context. It is my view that in order for me to write Kaupapa M ori theory and Mana

Wahine that I needed to state clearly where I am coming from. That is very much in line with

the basic argument of this thesis, that all theory derives from particular understandings,

worldviews, cultural and political constructions. It is noted that where Western theories may

hold major currency within the academy the usefulness of such frameworks is limited by the

cultural and social understandings from which they have been developed.

This is followed in the second part of the thesis by a discussion of Kaupapa M ori theory.

Kaupapa M ori theory, which it is argued provides a foundation for theoretical engagement,

and development, from a distinctively M ori worldview. Where Kaupapa M ori theory is

located as a central framework for the thesis I am working towards that argument that the

expression of Mana Wahine theories as forms of Kaupapa M ori theory are essential in

addressing issues for M ori women. Chapters Four and Five provide an engagement with

existing theoretical discussions of kaupapa M ori theory and what I identify as key

elements within current expressions of Kaupapa M ori theory. It is in these Chapters that I

outline the necessity for the further expansion of Kaupapa M ori theory and lay the

105 T ngata refers to people, whereas tangata refers to person, but is often translated as 'man';

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foundations for the need for a strongly defined Mana Wahine analysis. It is noted that a key

western theoretical paradigms that has influenced Kaupapa M ori theory within the

academy is the Frankfurt School Critical Theory. As such Critical Theory can be viewed as a

hoa mahi,106 a theory that is able to work alongside Kaupapa M ori theory. Both race and

gender discourses have had significant impact on the lives of M ori people and the status

and positioning of M ori women in particular. It is argued that in order to develop theoretical

frameworks that theorise, explain and provide understandings for transformative action there

must be an analysis of how ideologies of race, gender and class are constructed in the

context of colonisation.

The third part of the thesis provides a range of examples of how the impact of hierarchies of

race, gender and class are constructed to support a colonial agenda that marginalises M ori

women. Definitions of race, gender and are outlined, followed by an overview of the

intersection of these ideologies and colonisation for M ori women. It is argued that for

issues for M ori women to be actively engaged there must be an approach that is able to

engage the intersections of race and gender from a cultural foundation that is able to

adequately inform our analysis. In order to highlight this further Chapters Seven and Eight

provide illustrations of the impact of race, gender, class and colonisation. The areas

discussed, to provide illustration of this are, the historical sources of representation and the

construction of both legislation and curriculum in the Native Schools system from 1816-1940.

The arguments posited in these Chapters are not new. They have been expressed by a

diverse range of authors. What is presented here however is a process of tracking through

discourses or representations of M ori women in order to highlight that current forms of

representation are not new but can be sourced through a series of colonial ideologies. An

examination of historical sources of representation and Native Schooling demonstrates this,

identifying the source of and impact of dominant discourses and representations of M ori

women.

The final chapters of the thesis are dedicated to the discussion of Mana Wahine. Chapters

Nine and Ten argue that Mana Wahine is a theoretical framework that engages the

complexities of M ori women's experiences. Chapter Nine outlines general philosophical

underpinnings of a Mana Wahine theoretical framework as a Kaupapa M ori theory. It is

argued that Mana Wahine theory can stand as a Kaupapa M ori theory in its own right.

also m tua refers to parents and matua to father. 106 Hoa mahi refers to a companion in work and is influenced by the writings of Taina andHariata Pohatu. Taina refers to 'hai hoa haere' as being companionship affirming the importance of the cultural grouping/s in any cultural context. Pohatu, Taina 1996 I Tiipu Ai Taatou I Ngaa Turi O O Tatatau Maatua Tiipuna: Transmission and Acquisition Processes Within Kaawai Whakapapa. Unpublished Master of Education thesis, University of Auckland, Auckland; Pohatu,H.R. & T.W., 1999 Names: Distance Travellers, Unpublished Paper, Auckland

32

Furthermore, it is argued that the intersections of race and gender has been instrumental in

the undermining of the status and positioning of M ori women, therefore theoretical analysis

of issues for M ori women must actively engage those issues alongside wider cultural,

social and political analysis. Chapter Ten, draws upon works of a range of M ori women

theorists who utilise frameworks that I believe can be viewed as Mana Wahine theoretical

assertions. From the writings of M ori women theorists and visionaries, I have identified a

range of elements that appear consistently, which may be viewed as necessary elements of

Mana Wahine theory. I want to note clearly that these elements are not considered

exclusive or definitive, as with any theoretical framework there is also ongoing critique and

expansion. Chapter Eleven is the concluding Chapter. It is focused upon the idea that it is

essential for M ori women to develop theoretical frameworks that will support critical

transformation. This final Chapter provides concluding statements in regard to the role of

Mana Wahine and Kaupapa M ori theories in processes of asserting analysis from M ori

frameworks and providing a foundation for revealing; engaging; resisting and intervening in

the unequal power relations that exist within Aotearoa. This is what drives my involvement

in this process of theoretical developments, the hope and desire to contribute to a discussion

that supports transformation, and which validates our many experiences as M ori people.

Framing the Research

What has happened in our colonial experience is that many M ori women have been denied

access to what may be termed m tauranga107 w hine, or M ori women’s knowledges.

When we place that alongside the denial of M ori theories, language and culture we find

ourselves in a position where in order to theorise about the world and about our experiences

of colonisation we must recreate for ourselves our theories and means of analysis. What

this has been called in some M ori women’s circles is Mana Wahine. This thesis indicates

the importance of Mana Wahine and Kaupapa M ori Theory, as affirming each other. The

process of coming to a point where I am able to discuss the importance of the relationship

between Mana Wahine and Kaupapa M ori theory has been a long journey that includes

experiences from diverse range of people and events.

In Chapter One I sought to give the reader an indication of some key influences in my life that

have impacted on how and why I see the world the way I do. My experiences, background

and worldview is important to my theoretical development. It provides me a starting place, a

foundation of understandings and a place from which to reflect. As such the theoretical

discussions are those which I have chosen as useful in my life and in particular in my coming

107 M tauranga refers to M ori knowledge. This is discussed more fully in Chapter Four.

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to understand the complexities of race, gender, class and the experience of living in a

colonised context, and means of developing resistance and radical transformation.

It is not my intention to lay a universal theory for M ori women. I do not assume to speak for

M ori women as a group. Nor do I assume that our experiences are homogenous. I am

aware that language can appear one dimensional on paper, however what I ask of readers

of this thesis is that you draw into the reading the many possibilities that are available. It is not

my desire or aspiration or intention to write a thesis that confines either Kaupapa M ori

theory or Mana Wahine theory. I do not wish to exalt theory to an extent that a monolithic

framework is created that then suffocates our creativeness or diminishes the incredible

complexity that is a part our own being of Papat nuku.108 My engagement in academia and

research is driven by a fundamental belief that the work I am involved in within M ori

Education, film making and information sharing supports wider M ori aspirations for tino

rangatiratanga,109 and contributes to a philosophy of transformation in a societal context

that mitigates against such positioning. Kaupapa M ori and Mana Wahine theories are for

me powerful, creative, culturally defined theories of change.

This thesis is not written solely for my self or my wh nau. There is a hope and intention that

what I explore in this research will be of wider collective use; writing for the sake of writing

is a privilege most M ori women can ill afford. I do recognise also the resources and

possibilities open to me as a M ori woman academic. This is also what drives me in a

pursuit of transformative action. Few of our people have access to the resources and status

of a University and therefore how we use that access is critical. Many of my colleagues

have been through the process of doctoral research and have through their research been

instrumental in critical changes in the area of M ori Education. I would hope that this work

will contribute to the ongoing developments in terms of engaging the fundamental injustices

that exist within this society, that have been imposed in the first part by our colonisers and

maintained over the past 200 years through a range of mechanisms, including through the

involvement of our own. This thesis argues that to engage those injustices we must be

constantly aware of the complexities and intersections of oppressive regimes and their

impact on M ori women and M ori men.

108 Barbara Christian warns of the danger of monolithic constructions of theory that becomes prescriptive and in doing so denies possibilities. This is discussed further in Chapter Four. Christian, Barbara 1990 ‘Doing Theory’ in Anzaldua, Gloria (ed) Making Face, Making Soul: Haciendo Caras, An Aunt Lute Foundation Book, San Francisco pp 335-345 109 Tino rangatiratanga is a term used by many M ori in articulating our fundamental rights as guaranteed by Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Within Te Tiriti our ancestors agreed to our people maintaining our ‘tino rangatiratanga o o ratou wenua, o ratou kainga me o ratou taonga katoa’, rather than lean on offic ial interpretations of what this means I note that for me those words agreed on by our tüpuna ensured the absolute authority over our lands, estates – inc luding fisheries, forestries all things on the land -and all things treasured or held important by our people, both tangible and intangible

34

Theory is important for me. It is a way of developing analyses that are well founded and

thought through. It is also a means by which we as M ori can affirm the knowledges of our

t puna, who we know have always engaged in theorising about their world. Anyone who

reads this thesis will see that M ori theorising is something that I am willing and able to

struggle for. We have a right to have our worldviews and understandings validated. Equally

we have a right to be affirmed in the use of the understandings and explanations that have

been handed down to us. To not practice those would be to deny their existence and

therefore support a colonial objective, which was to remove M ori thinking from the face of

the earth. This may appear extreme but the records of the Native Schools system are

evidence to the many attempts by our colonisers to remove all semblances of te reo M ori

me na tikanga.110

This research discusses Kaupapa M ori theory and Mana Wahine, as theoretical

frameworks and as a means of affirming and validating M ori epistemologies. There is a

growing body of literature by M ori that challenges the hegemony of colonial knowledge and

which challenges each of us to reclaim and reproduce M ori knowledge forms within our

communities, our wh nau, hap and iwi.111 These writings are a part of a wider struggle

that engages many M ori at various times in our lives, that is the struggle of what it means to

be M ori and to live within a state of colonial dominance. As such it is my hope that this

thesis will contribute to that wider struggle through providing analysis that can address some

of the fundamental assumptions that underpin the colonial positioning of M ori women and

which serve to maintain ongoing injustices and inequalities for M ori girls and women. The

key to this analysis is the privileging of M ori women’s voices within the thesis. I remain

convinced that for change to occur for M ori women we need to have the space to

articulate our thoughts and desires. This is not to say that M ori men, and others, don’t have

a role in removing the oppressive structures and ideologies that marginalise M ori women.

M ori men, in particular, have both a role and an obligation to engage with issues that

marginalise M ori women. The failure of most M ori men to engage critically with these

issues means that M ori men themselves are not having to reflect on their own positions and

their contribution to wider societal sexist structures. Given that many M ori argue an idea of

complementarity between M ori women and M ori men, then understandings about the role

of M ori men becomes integral.

110 Refer Simons, J., 1998 op.cit. 111 Nepe,Tuakana 1991 E Hao nei e tenei Reanga: Te Toi Huarewa Tipuna, Kaupapa M ori, An Educational Intervention, Unpublished Master of Arts thesis, University of Auckland, Auckland; Pohatu, Taina 1996 op.cit.; Timutimu, Ngareta A., Kei Ngaro To T tou Reo Rangatira: Middle Generation M ori Language Crisis, Unpublished Master of Arts thesis, University of Auckland, Auckland; Jenkins, K. 2000 op.cit.

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Recent statistical data points to the maintenance of inequalities in terms of M ori girls and

women's experiences of society. In the May 2000 report from Te Puni K kiri to the Minister

of M ori Affairs the following general comment was made,

The report shows that, at the very start of life, M ori infants are more likely to die that non-M ori infants. Moving along a little further the report identifies M ori children are less likely to be participating in early childhood education… some years further on young M ori are leaving Secondary school with much lower levels of qualifications than non-M ori. More disturbing is that the majority of young M ori are leaving school with qualification levels that will disadvantage them when attempting to gain access to quality post-school education and employment. Following on from this, it is not surprising to find that M ori youth are less likely to move directly into tertiary education that non-M ori and are far less likely to be participating in formal tertiary education. Hence M ori are over-represented in second-chance schemes, such as the Training Opportunities Programme (TOP). M ori unemployment rates continue to be significantly higher than for non-M ori.M ori are also less likely to be participating in the labour force… not surprising therefore, M ori incomes are lower than those for non-M ori, and M ori are more likely to require government assistance or be totally dependent on a benefit. This in turn impacts upon M ori access to adequate housing and M ori health status. Although the causal links are complex, there is little doubt that all these factors have contributed to the much higher offending and victimisation rates within the M ori community.112

The Te Puni K kiri report provides table after table of data across the various sectors that

indicate that the state of education, justice and health for M ori continues to be in crisis. This

does not deny the positive developments that are occurring across the sectors but it does

highlight that change is coming too little, too slow for our people. One would think that after

200 years of white colonisers theories and remedies not working there would at be some

openness to the idea that perhaps M ori solutions are what need to be engaged and

supported. However, as is the struggle for Kaupapa M ori theory within the academy so

too is there an equivalent struggle by Kaupapa M ori service providers to affirm that M ori

based provision is not only affirming but is also transforming for our communities. The data in

the Te Puni K kiri report is not broken down in terms of sex. However, the 1999 report

'M ori Women In Focus' developed collaboratively by Te Puni K kiri and the Ministry of

Women's Affairs does give some statistical information in regard to M ori women.113 The

report notes that young M ori women are three times more likely to have their first child

between the ages of 15-19 than non-M ori women, and that the fertility rate up to the age of

24 for M ori women is twice that of non-M ori women. M ori women tend to have a

higher rate of abortion than non-M ori women. Young M ori women are less likely to be in

tertiary education than non-M ori women, however M ori women 35+ have a slightly higher

rate of tertiary attendance than non-M ori women. M ori women have lower rates of

employment in their twenties and tend to return to the workforce in their late-thirties and

forties. Between 1981 and 1996 single parent families rose from 19% to 41%, a high

112 Te Puni K kiri, Ministry of M ori Development 2000 Progress Towards Closing Social and Economic Gaps Between Mäori and non-Mäori, Te Puni K kiri, Wellington 113 Te Puni K kiri & Ministry of Women's Affairs M ori Women In Focus: 'Titiro h ngai, ka m rama', Ministry of Mäori Development, Wellington

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proportion of those being headed by M ori women. M ori women's household income was

shown to be lower in contrast to non-M ori women. In 1996 47% of M ori women had no

formal school qualifications and were half as likely to have a tertiary qualification as non-

M ori women. Unemployment rates for M ori women in 1996 were recorded as three times

that of non-M ori women.

Where the 'M ori Women in Focus' report is limited, in that its categorisation of 'non-M ori'

women hides the 'real' picture in terms of comparisons between M ori women and P keh

women,114 it does indicate that the social indicators for M ori women in this country continue

to be abysmal. What that says is that the measures put in place by successive governments

have been inadequate to bring about change for M ori women. It is my argument that such

measures are inadequate because they are, on the whole, based on understandings that are

foreign to this land. This thesis argues that for change to happen for M ori women, it must

be driven from a Kaupapa M ori base. Therefore it is asserted that developing a M ori

women’s analysis of Mana Wahine that is build on foundations that are M ori is essential.

Mana Wahine theory is grounded in Papat nuku.

This research highlights that the representation of M ori women and girls is complex and

therefore our analysis must be able to engage those complexities. Western feminisms have

tended to regard issues of race, gender and class in ways that seek to show these divisions

as parallel. However, this is inadequate in that such analysis does not engage the cumulative

effect of these ideologies upon M ori.115 Writing in regard to Black Women, Hazel Carby

highlights the inadequacies of a parallel analysis;

The experience of black women does not enter the parameters of parallelism. The fact that black women are subject to the simultaneous oppression of patriarchy, class and 'race' is the prime reason for not employing parallels that render their position and experience not only marginal but also invisible.116

It is hoped that this thesis will contribute to the development of theoretical analysis that

enables more complex analysis of the experiences and situations of M ori women and girls.

Within formal State schooling the complexities of these experiences have been made invisible

as M ori girls experiences have subsumed under the headings of 'M ori Education' or the

'Education of Girls'.117 Very little recognition of the interrelationship between race and gender

has been made, in fact we are now seeing a further denial of both race and gender with the

114 The 'non-M ori' category includes Pacific Nations women and Asian Women, and therefore the figures do not highlight the 'disparity' that exists between M ori women and P keh women. 115 Carby, Hazel (1987) 'Black Feminism and the Boundaries of Sisterhood' in Arnot, M. & Weiner, G. (eds) Gender and The Politics of Schooling, Hutchinson, London 116 ibid:65 117 Currie, G. 1962 Report Of The Commission On Education In New Zealand, Government Printer, Wellington; Hunn, J.K., 1960 Report On Department Of M ori Affairs, Government Printer, Wellington

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increasing focus on economic and class explanations within research.118 This thesis

focuses on these intersections and supports the development of theoretical understandings

and ideas that promote ways of interpreting both historical and contemporary acts of

marginalisation experienced by M ori women.

Western feminisms have been dominant in the explanation and analysis of gender relations.

The history of Black and Indigenous women’s attempt to be ‘included’ within those

explanations have, on the whole, been unsuccessful. In many instances this has meant a

retreat by Black and Indigenous women from ‘white women’s’ movements, and a

reformulation as black women’s groups. For M ori women, there has been a movement

away from P keh /western feminisms to a reclamation of M ori women’s theories. An

exploration of this movement is critical to this thesis. The development of M ori women’s

theories is not however contingent on the existence of Western feminisms. It is my argument

that Kaupapa M ori theory is not dependent on Western theories. Mana Wahine stands

irrespective, and often in spite of, the existence of Western feminist frameworks. On the

whole Western feminisms have denied the existence of ‘others’ and have tended to serve the

interests of white women. It is argued in this thesis that there are M ori women actively in

the development and articulation of theoretical frameworks that are more able to engage

issues pertaining to M ori women, with all our diversity.

Where the focus of this thesis is one which prioritises M ori women’s and girls experiences,

that can not be done in total isolation from M ori men and boys. I agree with Kathie Irwin that

we are, as M ori women, entitled to focus on the experiences of girls and women.119 I also

agree with the argument that M ori women’s experiences are contexted not solely within our

being ‘women’ but are by necessity contexted by our being M ori, being working class

M ori women, being lesbian M ori women and that the differences between women

account for many of our life experiences.120 This has been a point of debate within many

white feminist movements and between Black/Indigenous women/Women of Colour and white

women.

118 For M ori this has come in recently in the form of the ‘Chapple Report’. The Chapple report submits that the key determining factor within M ori education is that of class, or more specifically poverty. The report denies cultural, racial and gender oppression, as having any major contribution to success factors for M ori, and in doing so returns to the deprivation theories of the 1960s and 1970s. This is not surprising. While the neoliberal economic focus continues with the existing Coalition government agenda we can expect an increase in educational research ‘on’ M ori that follows the same line. Refer Chapple, S., Jefferies, R. & Walker, R. 1997 M ori Participation and Performance in Education: A Literature Review & Research Programme, Ministry of Education, Wellington 119 Irwin, K., 1992 op.cit. 120 ibid., see also Smith. L.T. 1992 op.cit.

38

What is evident, to me, about the process of writing this thesis is that it is a means through

which to tell my own story. That is, to tell a story, myself as a writer, and equally to tell a

story about myself, as a M ori woman. One thing that I have learnt over the past seven

years, working in the M ori Education Department, is that stories are important and need to

be told, in whatever form. A doctoral thesis, with all the difficulties and academic

requirements, is a form through which I can tell a story. It may be theoretically dense at times,

it may be unreadable in places, it may even be somehow important to our futures as a people,

but ultimately I have selected this area of research as I believe it is an area that needs

exploration. There have been many instances that I have seen M ori women silenced.

There are times that I have felt that there are M ori women present who have much to offer

but the space is not made available for them to speak. There are times I have felt frustrated

or angered at the denial of M ori women’s input. It is all epitomised in that one action, that

told a young M ori girl that she could not express herself with the words of Hineahuone, of

her t puna whaea.121

It is my opinion that there is a need for M ori women to speak to and for ourselves. To focus

our work on engaging the issues that are important to us. That is what I am seeking in this

thesis. Often when writing academic work I feel a constant pressure to write for an

audience that exists outside myself, an audience that is that group which constructs us as

the ‘other’. I write in explanation of who I am and in a mode of justifying the positions that I

take that may differ from dominant group positions. The constant justification of who we are

is a part of the M ori experience. It is our experience at individual and collective levels. That

justification stems from the privileging of western knowledge and P keh notions of how we

should all be.

This thesis is about challenging those ideas. In order to do that I need to engage with the

ways in which M ori women’s historical construction has, and continues to, inform

discourses about us. That is a key element in this thesis, a searching for the p take,122 the

origin of the k rero that now has such dire effects on M ori women. As with any form of

Kaupapa M ori research it is essential that we are constantly curious. Likewise, I see it as

a necessary part of engaging with dominant discourses, but it is not curiousness just for the

sake of knowing but for the need to seek the underpinning assumptions and beliefs that

inform us and the power relationships that are a part of those assumptions. This means

having a serious look at representation, not only in what is documented but more importantly

how, by whom and why it was documented. Asking whose knowledge frames such

documentation and whose interests are served are critical aspects of re-searching, of

121Tüpuna whaea is used here in relation to female ancestors. The term whaea is used to refer to a range of women, our lives, including mother, auntie and as a term of respect for other women. 122 Pütake refers to the source or origins

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searching the origins of beliefs. I am of the fundamental belief that it is for M ori women to

engage discourses about our place in Aotearoa. This may be dismissed in academic circles

as ‘essentialist’, idealistic or even separatist. I am aware of such criticisms and ask whose

interests are served by them. Are M ori women's interests served by the ongoing

documentation of who we are by P keh , male and female, anthropologists? I don’t think so.

This is not to deny the usefulness or importance of many works, but I suggest that there is an

increasing number of M ori researchers and academics who are able to undertake M ori

research from our own foundation, a Kaupapa M ori foundation. For the purpose of further

clarification of this point I will move to a discussion of Kaupapa M ori research which will

outline the research philosophies and processes that is the methodology of this thesis.

Kaupapa M ori Research

The methodology that informs this thesis is that of Kaupapa M ori research. It is one that

locates M ori understandings as central to the research process and analysis. Kaupapa

M ori research as a term was instigated originally through the works of Linda Tuhiwai

Smith and Graham Hingangaroa Smith in the mid 1980's. The history of research for M ori

has not been a favourable one. Linda states that M ori society was viewed as a “fertile

ground” for research as our colonisers sought to ‘expand’ their knowledge. Much of what

was documented was generalised as the way of being for all M ori.123 The consequence of

that is that many M ori have actively rejected the process of research as ‘P keh ’ or

colonial.124 This is in fact true of many forms of research and given our historical

objectification through research we as M ori have every reason to be not only wary but

actively defensive. M ori researchers I am involved with in both M ori education and

M ori research have sought to reinstitute fundamental M ori values as a part of the

research project. This is Kaupapa M ori research.

Kaupapa M ori Research is a methodology that is able to take into consideration the current

situation of M ori whilst simultaneously seeking to inform our practice through Kaupapa

M ori. In returning to the notion that Kaupapa M ori is itself part of those knowledges that

have been with us and our tupuna for many generations, then we are able to recognise that

whilst Kaupapa M ori research is a relatively recent methodological development, it is

founded in cultural practices that are thousands of years old.

Kaupapa M ori Research has both local and national aspirations. Local in the sense of

wh nau, hap and iwi and national in terms of urban M ori and multi-tribal M ori focus.

This means that Kaupapa M ori research can not be universalised to one set of M ori

123 Mead, L.T. 1996 op.cit.:179 124 For further discussion of these issues refer to Smith, L.T. 1999 Decolonising Methodologies : Research and Indigenous Peoples, Zed Books Ltd. London

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knowledge as to do so would be to marginalise wh nau, hap and iwi knowledges.

However, to operate as a methodological framework we need to outline fundamental

principles for operation that are based within Kaupapa M ori. This may appear somewhat

contradictory, however for M ori researchers the need for framework that has multiple

possibilities fits well within a context where relationships are multiple and are actively

negotiated. This has been a necessary part of moving from the position of researched to

researcher.

Kaupapa M ori Research is a growing field of discussion amongst M ori researchers. At

the Te Oru Rangahau conference a vast array of papers were delivered in regard to

research issues for M ori.125 Many of those papers engaged Kaupapa M ori Research.

Not all M ori researchers refer to the term Kaupapa M ori Research, as we would expect

there are various ways in which M ori researchers draw upon tikanga M ori,

m tauranga M ori as a basis for developing research methodologies. Te Ahukaram

Charles Royal outlines in his paper ‘Te Ao M rama – A Research Paradigm’, a theory of

M ori knowledge referred to as He Ari Whakapae m te M tauranga M ori : Towards

a Theory of M tauranga M ori.126 Te Ahukaram highlights a need for M ori to take

control of definitions and to develop research methodologies that are located within M ori

worldviews. In this case he is referring specifically to definitions that are being developed at

Te W nanga-o-Raukawa.127 This work is one example of the multiple ways in which

Kaupapa M ori can be expressed when drawing on the diverse positioning of M ori people

including wh nau, hap , iwi or urban M ori knowledge and experiences.

In terms of structural issues a number of key points were raised in regard to the continued

marginalisation of Kaupapa M ori Research within wider research structures. Margaret

Mutu highlights attempts to bring about change in the processes of refereeing M ori

projects undertaken by the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology.128 Margaret

notes that recommendations to the Foundation for Kaupapa M ori Research to be

administered differently resulted in assistance for M ori to shape applications to fit the

Foundations expected framework. Attempts to reframe Kaupapa M ori initiatives is not an

125Te Oru Rangahau was a M ori Research Conference hosted by Mäori studies of Massey University, Palmerston North. see Te Pümanawa Hauora 1999 Proceedings of Te Oru Rangahau: M ori Research and Development Conference, School of M ori Studies, Massey University, Palmerston North 126 Royal, Te Ahukaramü Charles, 1998 ‘Te Ao M rama – A Research Paradigm’ in Te Pümanawa Hauora, 1999, Proceedings of Te Oru Rangahau: M ori Research and Development Conference, School of M ori Studies, Massey University, Palmerston North, pp 78-86 127 Te W nanga o Raukawa is a higher learning institution controlled and operated by the iwi of Ng ti Raukawa.

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uncommon situation for M ori to face. Our experiences tell us that dominant group

institutions will not easily recognise M ori calls for change, in particular structural change.

We need merely to look at the ways in which successive governments over the past 160

years have approached Te Tiriti o Waitangi to see that M ori have been denied

expressions of tino rangatiratanga. Moana Jackson notes, for instance, that colonisers

operate with an arrogance, which he states is based on their assumption that they have the

right to dispossess the ‘primitive other’.129 Part and parcel of that arrogance is the ongoing

marginalisation of M ori knowledge, of te reo M ori me na tikanga.

In her seminal publication ‘Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples’130,

Linda Tuhiwai Smith outlines in some depth the relationship between ‘research’ and colonial

imperialism. Fundamentally, the relationship has been one that has been based within colonial

power relations, with our colonisers defining what constitutes research and constructing the

parameters of how research should be undertaken. Linda argues that such relationships in

the research field continues and that Indigenous Peoples are now faced with new forms of

exploitation.

Researchers enter communities armed with goodwill in their front pockets and patents in their back pockets, they bring medicine into villages and extract blood for genetic analysis. No matter how appalling their behaviours, how insensitive and offensive their personal actions may be, their acts and intentions are always justified as being for the ‘good of mankind’. Research of this nature on indigenous peoples is still justified by the ends rather than the means, particularly if the indigenous peoples concerned can still be positioned as ignorant and undeveloped (savages).131

The continuance of colonial paternalism in research is further intensified by technological

developments that open Indigenous communities to wider global exploitation. As Linda

indicates above biodiversity is a growing area of exploitation. Indigenous Peoples are being

exploited at all levels of our existence including the fundamental essence of what it means to

be Indigenous. 132 What this means is that there is a critical political project as a part of

Kaupapa M ori Research which is to develop M ori centred, defined and preferred ways

of research and also which seeks to intervene in the colonial project. The exploitation and

appropriation of M ori knowledge, language and culture, which in the context of

128 Mutu, Margaret 1998 'Barriers to Research: The Constraints of Imposed Frameworks' in Te Pümanawa Hauora 1999 Proceedings of Te Oru Rangahau: M ori Research and Development Conference, School of M ori Studies, Massey University, Palmerston North, pp 51-61 129 Jackson, Moana, 1998 'Research and The Colonisation of M ori Knowledge' in Te Pümanawa Hauora, 1999 Proceedings of Te Oru Rangahau: M ori Research and Development Conference, School of M ori Studies, Massey University, Palmerston North, pp 70-77 130 Smith, L.T., 1999 op.cit. 131 ibid:24-25 132 Harry, Debra., Howard, Stephanie., Shelton, Brett., 2000 Indigenous Peoples, Genes and Genetics: What Indigenous Peoples should know about Biocolonialism, Indigenous Peoples Council on Biocolonialism, Nevada

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biotechnology includes our genetic makeup, must be interrupted and challenged at every

opportunity. That is a part of the Kaupapa M ori Research agenda.

Kaupapa M ori Research carries particular cultural expectations. Those are based within

fundamental notions that are expressed through tikanga M ori. As a M ori researcher I

have been fortunate to work with M ori people who are actively seeking ways of

undertaking research that critique dominant imposed research processes whilst

simultaneously seeking ways of participating in transformative research in ways that affirm

and validate Kaupapa M ori. Russell Bishop provides a range of case studies that outlines

differing approaches to Kaupapa M ori research.133 Russell places

whakawhanaungatanga, as creation of relationships between those involved in the

research, as a central theme to each case study. Whilst Kaupapa M ori Research employs

M ori defined elements it is able to draw upon a range of methods. Fiona Cram identifies this

in an opening discussion on a recently commissioned report on Kaupapa M ori principles.

She writes;

As an analytical approach, Kaupapa M ori is about thinking critically, including developing a critique of P keh constructions and definitions of M ori and affirming the importance of M ori self-determinations and self-valuations. A Kaupapa M ori approach does not, however, exclude the use of a wide range of methods, but rather signals the interrogation of methods in relation to cultural sensitivity, cross-cultural reliability, useful outcomes for M ori and other such measures.134

Given that this thesis is a theoretical discussion I have not needed to interview or to negotiate

with others in the research, however I have needed to engage a topic that I believe will be of

‘use’ to M ori, and in this particular exercise of specific usefulness to M ori women. This

thesis has transformative potential in that it challenges the origins of representations,

discourses and constructions of M ori women with an intent to support the ongoing

development of theoretical frameworks that will advocate for change in a situation that

currently works against the interests of many M ori women. Important to Kaupapa M ori

research is the desire and intention of M ori to represent ourselves.

The International Research Institute for M ori and Indigenous Education (IRI) has been

instrumental in the development of Kaupapa M ori Research. Research projects from the

Institute are assessed on their value in relation to a range of key elements in terms of

Kaupapa M ori research. A key element in Kaupapa M ori Research is one of

For further information regarding issues of biocolonialism refer to the Council’s web site at www.ipcb.org133 Bishop, R., 1996 Whakawhanaungatanga: Collaborative Research Stories, The Dunmore Press, Palmerston North 134 International Research Institute for M ori and Indigenous Education in collaboration with Te R pu Rangahau Hauora a Eru P mare 2000 M ori Research Development: Kaupapa M oriPrinciples, A report prepared for Te Puni K kiri, The Ministry of M ori Development, Wellington

43

transformation, that the research undertaken will make a difference for M ori.135 As a

M ori researcher I have a fundamental belief that any research that we participate in needs

to be transformative in nature, that it needs to bring about possibilities of change for M ori. It

is the position of IRI that in the context of injustice and unequal power relations there needs to

be real change for M ori as a part of our research objectives.136 Moana Jackson refers to

this in ways that encourage M ori researchers to be visionary in our research

developments. In his paper to the Te Oru Rangahau conference Moana states,

If I have a request for this conference, and I commend you for that work that you are doing, it is the hope that we reclaim, for ourselves, our own reality. That we be brave enough not just to do research that will have a practical application in the world as it is, but rather that we are visionary enough to undertake research that will help our people in a world as it may be. That we be not afraid to dream, and that we accept that if we are spiritual people, and I believe we are, then we understand that the spirit is the base of our dreams. For if we conduct research in a dreamless world then we do not create a vision of hope for our mokopuna.137

The dreaming that Moana reminds us of is part of being visionary in our research aspirations.

Graham Hingangaroa Smith also relates to this vision in regard to Kaupapa M ori Theory.

Drawing and expanding on the Habermasian notion of ‘utopian vision’ Graham argues for

M ori to engage notions that support emancipatory outcomes.138

Other elements within Kaupapa M ori Research relate directly to the affirmation and

validation of te reo M ori me na tikanga. Kaupapa M ori Research alongside its

theoretical counterpart Kaupapa M ori Theory have at their centre the validation and

affirmation of te reo M ori me na tikanga.139 This provides a foundation from which we

as M ori researchers and academics can locate ourselves, and which supports a desire to

research and theorise the world from our own understandings. What it states is that there

are clearly M ori ways of exploring and conceptualising issues that face us as M ori

people. As such, Kaupapa M ori Research is explicit in its positioning. It does not seek to

appear neutral in any form. The naming of this research framework as Kaupapa M ori

research explicitly states the position from which the M ori researchers involved are

engaging their research process. As a researcher I engage my analysis from a Kaupapa

M ori/Mana Wahine base that is broad in its parameters and which has been developed

from both my own life experiences and from my theoretical development and engagement in

the University setting.

135 Smith, L.T. 1996 op.cit. 136 The kaupapa for IRI states a purpose to conduct and disseminate research, scholarship and debate that will make a positive difference for M ori and other Indigenous Peoples. Refer www.iri.arts.auckland.ac.nz137 Jackson, Moana 1998 op.cit. 138 This will be discussed in more depth in relation to Kaupapa M ori Theory in Chapter Four 139 Chapters Four and Five related to Kaupapa M ori Theory provide indepth discussion of this point

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Summary

This chapter indicates a need for openings. Those openings are multiple and continue an

assumption, which underpinned the previous chapter, that our experiences and

understandings inform and shape the journeys we take in our lives. The inclusion of

statistical data is not to indicate that M ori women experience huge disparities across all

sectors and that past explanations have done little to interrupt the oppressive nature of those

disparities. It is for M ori women to develop both theories and interventions to engage and

transform the inequities that exist.

This chapter began with the case of a young M ori girl who chose to begin her k rero with

the words of Hineahuone, 'Tïhei Mauri Ora'. That opening was turned on her as a form of

closing her right to speak. That is a fundamental denial of the right for us to speak the words

of our t puna w hine, of our atua w hine, of the M ori woman Hineahuone that

appears in the beginnings of the whakapapa of human beings. Tïhei Mauri Ora is

reclaimed in this thesis both as title and as the first worlds of Mana Wahine in the articulation

of our life force. The life force of M ori women is the life force of M ori people, it must be

nurtured and fed. It must be treated not with a passive reverence but with passion and life

and meaning. That is my understanding of M ori women. I understand our women to be

powerful, active, inspiring and alive. The representation of M ori women as passive

receptacles to be 'done to' by men, M ori or otherwise, is not the understanding I have of

M ori women. Nor is it how I view our t puna w hine. I will never be convinced that our

t puna w hine were 'unclean', 'common', 'profane', 'inferior', 'savages' as ethnography and

anthropology has so often portrayed us. I will never be convinced because it does not fit

with the knowledge I have of our t puna w hine, nor does it fit with the many M ori

women who daily struggle for the survival of their wh nau, hap and iwi. This is not an

idealistic notion, nor is it my intention to deny the increasing atrocities that are being committed

within the walls of homes in this country. We do have M ori women who inflict pain and at

times death on those who carry their whakapapa lines, their tamariki140 and mokopuna.141

That is the power of the fragmentation and breakdown that many of our wh nau have

experienced in their lifetime.

Recognising the power and potential of M ori women is a means by which we can seek

change. Reconnecting ourselves with a belief in who we are and a knowledge of where we

140 tamariki is children. Rangimarie Pere notes that M ori relationships to children can be seen in the term itself, she writes: "Tama is derived from Tama-te-ra the central sun, the divine spark; ariki refers to senior most status and riki on its own can mean smaller version. Tamariki is the Maori word used for children. Children are the greatest legacy the world community has." Pere,R. T., 1991 Te Wheke: A Celebration of Infinite Wisdom, Ao Ako Global Learning New Zealand Ltd., Gisborne:4

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are from is a part of bring forward knowledge that can be healing for wh nau, hap and

iwi. It is my hope that the theoretical openings that are laid out in this thesis will contribute to

a wider project of bringing theory out from the academy and back to the domain of the people

where it belongs. Both Kaupapa M ori theory and Mana Wahine theory it is argued are

driven by a need to bring about change. That need and desire is engaged in the next chapter

as I move to explore roles and obligations that are inherent in the position of being a M ori

woman academic.

141 mokopuna refers to grandchild or descendant, and relates to the notion of children as the reflection of the wellspring that has come before them. Ibid.

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CHAPTER THREE

M ORI/WOMAN/ACADEMIC My dream of becoming an academic has sustained me through the first decade of my chosen

career. It has the power to re-energise and re-commit me as a Maori feminist academic, because

it is not my dream in an individualistic sense, but part of a dream and vision handed to us by our

tipuna. This dream, more than anything else, keeps me working as an academic, against the

odds.142

Introduction

As a M ori woman researcher/academic I am approaching this research from a position

whereby to be M ori is a valid way of being. Te reo M ori me na tikanga are viewed as

appropriate and legitimate ways of understanding the world, and therefore are asserted as

valid and critical elements in the articulation of how the research topic is engaged. This

thesis, which is primarily one of theoretical development and textual analysis. Kaupapa

M ori Research is influential primarily in how I choose to frame my questions and in the

theoretical frameworks that I choose to engage as tools of analysis. The framing of

questions is a part of the selection process that researchers undertake in determining their

research parameters. If I were to name a research question that has influenced the shape of

this thesis is would go something like this; What are the key elements of a theoretical

framework that would enable us to engage an analysis of the construction of representation

of M ori women? Framing the question in such a way allows for an assumption that there

has been a construction of representations and that it has occurred because of the influence

of specific elements. It also assumes a validity in the role of M ori women in developing and

articulating our own preferred forms of analysis. The assumptions that underpin how we

frame our research questions are important as the framing of questions actively influences

the ways in which research is approached.143

The University of Auckland is a particular context within which M ori writing takes place. At

a recent M ori student graduation a number of M ori students receiving degrees

142 Irwin, Kathie 1992(a) ‘Becoming an Academic: Contradictions and Dilemmas of a M oriFeminist’ in Middleton, S. and Jones, A. (eds) Women and Education in Aotearoa:2, Bridget Williams Books, Wellington:52 143 A key example of this came to light publicly after the police shooting of a young M ori man, Stephen Wallace in Waitara. Research regarding police attitudes to M ori had been commissioned by Te Puni K kiri, the Ministry of M ori Development, however the research was never made public, instead a second research was commissioned where the ‘questions were reframed’. Given that the first report found that there was significant racism in the Police Department we can only wonder why there was a need for a new research with ‘reframed’ questions.

47

commented on their joys and struggles to complete within a P keh institution. This is

something that is the experience of many M ori students who enter tertiary education. The

university is itself a site of struggle. The University of Auckland is not exempt from that.

Universities are also spaces where radical thinking can be engaged and developed.144 This

too has been the experience of M ori. There are many examples of both the struggle and

the radical possibilities. From the development of Ng Moteatea145 by Apirana Ngata to

provide ‘evidence’ of M ori literature146 to the involvement of M ori students in the

organisations such as Ng Tamatoa in the 1970s.147 Cherryl Waerea-i-te rangi Smith148

refers to the university as a colonial institution. She notes that upon entering the university

M ori students become aware that the university is not exempt from racism and colonial

imperialism. Cherryl also reminds us that we can not down-play the role of universities, she

writes;

I do not want to play down the fact that the universities have produced some of our most strident activists and a number of dissenting voices. In fact the universities are often the place where Maori students can first begin to learn Maori language and history. Also, there do exist within the universities (too few) radical educators who are concerned with creating strategies of resistance, liberation struggles and strategies for ‘decolonising minds’.149

The contradictions and conflicts that are present as a M ori woman academic in working

within the university have become increasingly apparent to me. In researching this thesis I

have needed to work through issues of voice for myself as a M ori woman academic who

is writing within an institution that has often been antagonistic to our concerns. This includes

discussion of the positioning of M ori women within academia, the multiple roles that we as

M ori academics carry and the expectations that we face within the academy. I am of the

opinion that M ori academics have an obligation to be active across many areas; our

disciplinary area, our university, our local communities, our wh nau, hap and iwi, and in

the national M ori, and international, Indigenous, movements. The majority of M ori

academics are located in the context of universities that operate within dominant P keh

cultural structures and practices and therefore it is necessary to provide further discussion

on issues surrounding the roles and obligations of M ori academics.

144 Smith, C.W. 1994 Kimihia Te Maramatanga: Colonisation and Iwi Development, Unpublished Master of Arts thesis, University of Auckland, Auckland 145 Ng Moteatea is a publication of M ori compositions that was developed by Apirana Ngata.146Ngata, A. 1959 Ng Moteatea Part I, The Polynesian Society and A.H. & A.W. Reed, Wellington 147 Ng Tamatoa was a M ori activist group of the 1970-80's who brought about major changes in particular in terms of advocating for te reo M ori and fundamental Treaty rights. 148 Smith, C.W., 1994 op.cit. 149 ibid:14

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M ori/Academic

As M ori, we have a history of investigation. It is an ancient history of exploration, of

navigation, not solely in the physical domain, but in ways that reach throughout the many

dimensions of Te Ao M ori.150 These are all forms of research, they are all ways within

which our people have developed knowledge and have located ourselves in the wider world.

The searching for the source of the first slither of light that emanated from between the

armpits of Ranginui151 and Papat nuku, the journey of Tanenui rangi to gather ng

kete o te w nanga, te kete tuauri, te kete tuatea, te kete aronui152 are but two

examples of how ancient M ori research is. The point is that research is not ‘new’ for

M ori people. Neither is the idea that as M ori we can take control of our own research

processes and outcomes. What is new is the context within which many of us currently

locate our research and ourselves. For myself this is in a P keh university, an institution

that has its foundations deeply in Western philosophical traditions. The complexities of what

this means for M ori require discussion.

As a M ori woman academic/researcher it is important that I note explicitly that intellectual

and scholarly thinking is not something that came with our colonisers. As a people we have a

rich tradition of research and knowledge. Education systems are a part of Te Ao M ori and

processes of ako153 existed in all aspects of our daily living. More formalised processes

ensured the maintenance of all forms of knowledge, with Whare W nanga154 being one

example of highly formalised and ritualised forms of pedagogy155. The denial of this has been,

and continues to be, a fundamental flaw in the existing education system. The active

suppression of M ori knowledge in colonial legislation and through ideological warfare meant

that much M ori knowledge has been either lost or alternatively was forced ‘underground’.156

This suppression was instrumental in the development of the colonial education system that

sought to take the place of M ori systems of knowledge transmission.157

150 Ao refers to the world and therefore Te Ao M ori refers to the M ori world. 151 Ranginui is referred to by many as the Sky Parent. 152 Ng kete o te w nanga refers to three baskets of knowledge that T ne brought to earth from Iomatuakore, Io the parentless one, the Creator to provide knowledge for people. This is discussed further in Chapter Four. 153 Ako is learning and teaching, and can be considered to be a term referring to M oripedagogy 154 Whare W nanga are higher schools of learning. 155For discussion of M ori pedagogies refer to Pere, Rangimarie Rose 1994 Ako: Concepts and Learning in the M ori Tradition, Monograph, Te K hanga Reo Trust, Wellington 156 The Native Schools Acts of 1847 and 1867 are both indications of the legislative denial of M ori knowledge and the beginnings of the active political marginalisation of te reo M ori me

na tikanga. Refer Chapter Eight. 157 In the Native Schooling system there was a clear intention that te reo M ori be removed as a medium of instruction and that in order to receive support for a Native School that there be a commitment made to English as the medium of instruction with te reo M ori being used purely as a means of facilitating the learning of English.

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The marginalisation of M ori knowledge and M ori pedagogy has meant that our learning

and teaching processes have been denied to generations of M ori people. This has without

doubt been the situation in the University system, both in academic teaching and research.

Researching within institutional frameworks, such as those of the PhD thesis, means having

to deal in a daily way with critical issues related to M ori research, being a M ori

researcher, being a M ori academic, a M ori woman academic. These positions within the

University are not uncomplicated, nor are they safe from contradiction. What is critical, I

believe is that research related to M ori Education by M ori researchers must necessarily

lead to some form of transformation.

As I have noted previously involvement in University education is a site of struggle for M ori.

The fact that this thesis sits within this domain raises concerns. Struggle within the university

occurs on multiple levels; culture; language; structures; staffing; access; retention of staf f

and students; resources. These struggles are not new but derive from a history of colonial

imperialism. The University of Auckland is like other P keh dominated institutions, founded

upon a history of colonial oppression. We are often denied real knowledge about such a

history. Andrea Morrison informs us that the ‘official’ history of The University of Auckland

written by Keith Sinclair for the 1983 centenary only gives scant discussion of M ori

involvement with the university. She finds that from the outset the university was a place for

P keh settlers not for M ori.158 The University of Auckland Calendar tells us nothing about

the involvement of colonial imperialism in the establishment of the university, rather the history

given in the Calendar bemoans its financial situation. 159 It does not inform us of the Auckland

University College Reserves Act of 1885 where confiscated land from the Waikato area and

in Whakatane160 was utilised to fund the development of The University of Auckland161. Linda

Tuhiwai Smith notes that in concrete ways The University of Auckland has benefited directly

from the losses suffered by one of her iwi, Ng ti Awa. The apparent insignificance of these

events to P keh historians is evident in the documentation. As Linda notes

The first paragraph of the history of Auckland University written by a prominent New Zealand historian Sir Keith Sinclair, for example, immediately connects the history of Auckland’s university to the establishment of other universities in the ‘English-speaking countries’. The official history acknowledges that land was indeed vested in the university but focuses more on the inability of the rent to provide a decent income for the new

158 Morrison, Andrea 1999 Space for M ori in Tertiary Institutions: Exploring Two Sites at The University of Auckland, Unpublished Master of Education thesis, University of Auckland, Auckland:22 159 It is noted in the Calendar "…educational reserves were such poor land that they brought in very little" The University of Auckland Calendar 2000, Auckland :3 160 Whakatane is an area in the mid-eastern part of the North Island. It is the lands of Ng ti Awaof the Mataatua waka (canoe). The name Whakatane itself refers to a feat of one of the tüpuna w hine of Mataatua, Muriwai, who saved the Mataatua waka when it began to drift out to sea. To draw strength to herself she called "kia whakatane ahau i ahau" thereby calling on the strength equivalent to that of a man. 161 Mead, L.T.R., 1996 op.cit.

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university because the land was ‘poor and heavily forested’. There was scant official knowledge, even in hindsight that these lands belonged to Maori people. 162

The University of Auckland was not the only university founded from colonial imperialism.

Both Otago and Canterbury universities were developed as part of attempts to increase

settlements in those areas163. Legislation was also passed, by the colonial settler

government, for the confiscation of lands for the benefit of other universities. J.C. Beaglehole

includes in the appendices to the publication ‘Victoria University College: An Essay Towards a

History’,164 a memorandum on the Opaku Reserve from Herbert Ostler the chair of the College

in 1914. The memorandum outlines issues regarding the Opaku Reserve and Waitotara

lands in South Taranaki. The Opaku Reserve was essentially 10,000 acres of confiscated

lands that is located near the town of P tea. Ostler notes that the land was confiscated from

‘rebel Natives’ and was through section 6 of the University Endowment Act 1868 set aside as

a reserve for the endowment of a colonial university.165 At that time however there was no

university established in Aotearoa and the funds were placed into a Colonial University Fund.

The first university was established in 1870 in Otago and it was deemed in Section 30 on the

New Zealand University Act 1874 that lands in the Province of Otago reserved under the

University Endowment Act 1868 would be granted to the University of Otago.

It was not until 1878 that the recommendation was made for the establishment of Colleges in

Auckland and Wellington and, as Ostler documents, it was suggested that those lands held in

the North Island Reserves be put toward endowments for those colleges. By this time the

Waitotara Reserve of 4,000 acres had been included in the schedule of lands via the New

Zealand University Reserves Act 1875.166 The Auckland University College Act 1882

established the University of Auckland, and the Auckland University College Reserves Act

1885 saw lands stolen from three iwi in the upper North Island, Ng ti Awa, Tainui and Ng

Puhi, vested in the Council of the Auckland University College.167 The Victoria College Act

1897 brought the establishment of what is now known as Victoria University in Wellington,

which Ostler notes was to provide higher education for Wellington, Taranaki, Hawke’s Bay,

Nelson and Marlborough. Section 38 of that Act set the Waitotara Reserve aside as an

endowment however the Opaku Reserve was not included, instead the Opaku Reserve

162 ibid:98 163 Morrison, A., 1999 op.cit. 164 Beaglehole, J.C. 1949 Victoria University College: An Essay Towards a History, New Zealand University Press, Wellington 165 Ostler, Herbert cited in Beaglehole, J.C, ibid:291 166 ibid. 167 Auckland University College Reserves [1885:1], New Zealand Statutes 1885,Government Printer, Wellington: 411

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was in 1905 diverted to the Taranaki Scholarships Trust to provide scholarships for

Taranaki scholars to any of the universities in the country.168

Given the colonial beginnings of the university system and the dominance of monocultural

ways of operating it is not surprising that being a M ori academic can bring us into conflict

within our institutions as a direct consequence of the differing cultural values and

expectations. In terms of cultural space Andrea Morrison notes that M ori ‘space’ is a

notion that has multiple applications.169 It refers to physical, cultural, spiritual, spatial and

temporal concepts. In the university context it also relates to constructions of theory and

disciplinarity. Creating ‘space’ then for M ori within the university must happen on all these

levels. As Andrea has argued the unequal power relations that exist in the university context

for M ori means that this is not an easy task.

In a symposium by members of the Research Unit for M ori Education170 a range of papers

were delivered regarding the need to create space for M ori within educational institutions,

in particular within the university setting. Linda argues that the struggle for M ori academics

is that of creating both the space and the conditions for M ori knowledge to be engaged.171

The notion of space is a very broad one in M ori terms, when engaging an idea of creating

space we are not solely talking of spatial and temporal notions but are encompassing

physical, intellectual, social, cultural and spiritual ways of being. That puts a considerable

challenge in front of M ori academics within university structures. Linda Tuhiwai Smith

argues that in fact the structural struggles are critical to creating space,

Although at a social level it is important to make students feel comfortable by claiming a culturally appropriate space to work in and by developing support mechanisms for Maoristudents this does not begin to address the underlying structural issues which are concerned with what students are required to learn, how they learn and how this learning will serve them in their own practice. It is in their control over what counts as knowledge that the power of traditional intellectuals is paramount.172

The control over knowledge, what constitutes valid knowledge and how knowledge is

selected has been outlined in some depth by Michael Young.173 This work has been related

directly to M ori Education by Graham Hingangaroa Smith who draws upon key questions

posited by Young in regard to knowledge and the ways in which unequal power relationships

168 Beaglehole, J.C. op.cit, also see Taranaki Scholarships Trust, 1958 Avery Press Ltd, New Plymouth 169 Morrison, A., 1999 op.cit 170 The Research Unit is now known as the International Research Institute for M ori and Indigenous Education and is located at The University of Auckland. 171 Smith, Linda Tuhiwai 1992(c) ‘Ko T ku Ko T Te M ori: The Dilemma of a M ori Academic’ in Smith, G.H. & Hohepa, M.K. (eds) 1993 Creating Space in Institutional Settings for M ori,Monograph No. 15, Research Unit for M ori Education, University of Auckland, Auckland 172 ibid:10 173 Young, M.F.D. (ed) 1971 Knowledge and Control: New Directions for the Sociology of Education, Collier McMillan, London

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between colonised and coloniser leads to the suppression of Indigenous knowledge. Graham

asserts that questioning the basis of what counts as knowledge, how knowledge is

produced and whose interests are served by that, exposes the myth that knowledge is

neutral and therefore reveals that power underpins the ways in which education is

constructed.174

The imposition of P keh knowledge and ways of being has been our experience since

colonisation. It is evident that within university settings this is manifested in many ways. As

an academic there is an expectation that teaching and research will be couched within the

various theoretical frameworks of ones discipline. This becomes problematic when those

same theoretical frameworks have historically served to provide a platform for the oppression

of Indigenous Peoples. The history of State education systems within colonised countries

highlights that schooling was utilised as a mechanism for the denial of indigenous languages

and culture. The struggle over affirmation of M ori knowledge and M ori contributions to

the University is ongoing. Leah Whiu175 documents developments in the Law School at

Waikato University, highlighting that a lack of vision from the Foundation Dean, Margaret

Wilson, led to the 'bicultural objective' being viewed as a process of merely adding some

M ori content to existing programmes. Such processes do not bring about change for

M ori in the University. Interviews taken with participants in the Waikato University Law

School programme raised issues of racism, marginalisation of te reo M ori and limited M ori

presence in the curriculum content , particularly in the final year. Leah summarises her

research findings as follows;

In summary, the Law School is failing to provide an educational environment and experience in which; Maori students feel safe; Maori students and staff are free from racism generated by Pakeha (or tauiwi)176 students and staff; the use of te reo Maori is promoted and actively supported by staff; Maori issues, values, aspirations, traditions and whakaaro can be freely discussed without opposition from Pakeha (or tauiwi) students and staff; Maori content and a Maori presence pervades all courses and all levels of the Law School.177

There is no doubt in my mind that the University is a site within which colonial discourses are

simultaneously debated and perpetuated, the writing of this thesis within the University is then

both necessary and contradictory. Native Hawaiian academic Haunani Kay Trask asserts

that formal education in Hawai’i has been constructed in a context of colonialism.178 In a

174 Smith, G.H. 1992 ‘Tane-Nui-A-Rangi’s Legacy:Propping up the Sky Kaupapa Maori as Resistance and Intervention in Smith, G.H. & Hohepa, M.K. (eds) 1993 Creating Space in Institutional Settings for Maori, Monograph No. 15, Research Unit for M ori Education, University of Auckland, Auckland 175 Whiu, Leah 1999 Bicultural Legal Education A Tool of Liberation of Merely Educating the Oppressor, unpublished paper, Waikato University, Hamilton 176 Tauiwi refers to those non-M ori, who have come and settled in these lands. 177 Whiu, Leah op.cit.:35 178 Trask, Haunani Kay 1993 From A Native Daughter: Colonialism and Sovereignty in Hawai’i,Common Courage Press, Monroe, Maine

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powerful critique Haunani highlights the role of universities in maintaining colonial objectives

and racist structures through the legitimisation of the colonising cultures. She states

The University of Hawai’i stands atop the educational pyramid of public schools as the flagship campus for the State. With over 40,000 full and part-time students, it is a living symbol of colonization. In many ways, the University is an educational equivalent to the American military command center in Hawai’i. Both serve as guardians of white dominance, both support the State economy, and both provide a training ground for future technocrats.179

After a five year battle with racism at the University of Hawai’i Haunani gives important

reflection, and in particular warns of the ability for such institutions to wear down Indigenous

Peoples resistance to colonial structures, through “petty bureaucratic procedures and the

force of inertia”.180 Haunani gives a vivid reminder that in any struggle for space we need to

be aware of the institutional practices that work against our interests. M ori academics

have experienced similar situations in Universities and Colleges of Education in this country.181

M ori academics struggle within the universities of this country. In the economic climate of

the late 1980s and the 1990s M ori initiatives struggled with new right driven and market

controlled State policies. A number of M ori Studies Departments in universities and

Technical Institutes were downsized or re-positioned into other faculties. At the University of

Waikato, M ori staff were involved in High Court Action. At The University of Auckland

M ori developments in the Faculty of Arts have been slow, M ori staff numbers have

reduced based fundamentally on economic constructs. In the area of Maori Education staf f

replacement has also been limited, in what is potentially a major growth area. This is within a

context where the key research initiatives in the Faculty are M ori.182 bell hooks also

indicates that in the wake of progressive initiatives being undermined or threatened with

elimination struggle is a critical response. 183 She writes:

To create a culturally diverse academy we must commit ourselves fully. Learning from other movements for social change, from civil rights and feminist liberation efforts, we must accept the protracted nature of our struggle and be willing to remain both patient and vigilant. To commit ourselves to the work of transforming the academy so that it will be a place where cultural diversity informs every aspect of our learning, we must embrace struggle and sacrifice. We cannot be easily discouraged. We cannot despair when there is conflict. Our solidarity must be affirmed by shared belief in a spirit of intellectual

179 ibid:202 180 ibid:224 181 I have personally witnessed attacks on two M ori women academics by students who disagreed with their approach to M ori issues. The result being one having to take leave for a period of time to remove herself from an antagonistic environment and one having to leave the institution. 182 The three research facil ities in the Faculty that are gaining significant contracts are: The International Research Institute for M ori and Indigenous Education, The Wolff Fisher Centre and The James Henare Research Centre. All three have been developed by M ori.183 hooks, bell 1994 Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom, Routledge, New York

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openness that celebrates diversity, welcomes dissent, and rejoices in collective dedication to truth.184

Many M ori staff and students in the academy are cognisant of the need to struggle and to

be committed to a long-term vision as is expressed by bell hooks. The university is a site

worth struggling over in that it provides opportunities for M ori to research in more depth

both colonial discourses and te reo M ori me na tikanga. The struggle is one that is

necessary as we as M ori academics seek to create spaces that are healthy for future

M ori staff and students. There are many M ori academics that have preceded us who

have striven for similar outcomes and who in doing so have been successful in creating

many changes in university settings. Many too have been instrumental in working for the

development of Te K hanga Reo, Kura Kaupapa M ori, M ori Immersion education,

Whare Kura and Whare W nanga, which are institutions that have been formed through

M ori needs and aspirations.185 These changes and developments indicate the resistance of

M ori within M ori Education.

The difficulties experienced by M ori academics are not solely to do with theory or structural

issues. They may also be located in the lecturer/student relationship. Time and time again

M ori lecturers in the academy are challenged by P keh students for teaching M ori

content. I have come to consider this a process of talking with the ‘dominant Other’. The

relationship between M ori and P keh in the university can be fraught with danger for

M ori staff and students. M ori are often considered to be available for any P keh staf f

or students who want to know about anything M ori. At times I have felt that M ori are not

considered to have any personal or professional boundaries when it comes to the needs or

P keh staff or students. I recently read the experiences of African-American academic

Gwendolyn Parker who described her time as a law student at New York University.186 She

describes an incident in the library after an article appeared in the law school newspaper

comparing LSAT scores of black students to white students. Studying in the library a white

male student interrupted her, the description of the event is worth detailing as it is

recognisable to me as a M ori woman academic.

… all I remember is that he was suddenly at my table, speaking to me as if he were resuming a conversation that had been interrupted. “A lot of us are kind of mad” he said. I looked up when I heard his voice, mainly to see to whom he might have been speaking. I was surprised that he appeared to be talking to me. “What?” I asked. His face had a serious expression, and he was rubbing his hands on the table nervously. “ you know, the article in the paper a few days ago. A lot of us are pretty upset.” “Us?” I asked. “We

184 ibid:33 185 Te K hanga Reo refers to the pre-school M ori language nests; Kura Kaupapa M ori are M ori language immersion schools; M ori Immersion education in this context relates to M orilanguage immersion programmes but in particular Immersion classrooms in conventional schools; Whare Kura are M ori language Secondary schools; Whare W nanga in a contemporary context refer to M ori Tertiary Institutions 186 Parker, Gwendolyn M. 1997 Trespassing: My Sojourn in the Halls of Privilege, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston

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white students.” “White students?” I asked. I was still confused. I briefly wondered if he was part of some organization or was taking a survey of which I was unaware. I felt as if my attention had lapsed in the middle of a movie. Surely there was an explanation for why this stranger was talking to me.187

What is especially familiar with this account is the assumption that minority group individuals

should speak for the entire group and that dominant group members have the right to invade

our space and demand attention. Gwendolyn later notes that the white student had

… sneaked up on my hard-sought solitude like some sort of racial grenade and neatly riven the world in two.188

There are times when there have been highly publicised issues related to M ori and I have

seen P keh people treat any available M ori as either an authority on the issue or as a

sounding board, often with little or no invitation from the Mäori person involved. This can

become even more likely if you are known to be a M ori academic, and it can happen in the

least expected situations both professional and social. Gwendolyn Parkers’ experience is

very familiar. bell hooks refers to this as being placed in the role of ‘Native Informant’189. She

recalls particular incidents with students that echo the experience of Gwendolyn Parker. bell

hooks writes that often when there is a sole student of colour in a class she or he is placed

in the position of the Native Informant to be objectified by white students.

The objectification of M ori staff and students in the academy requires discussion. Much

has been written in regard to working with M ori students, more often than not those

writings have been done by non-M ori. Many of those writings are based within deficit

ideas that locate M ori as deficient or culturally deprived. It is some relief that there are a

growing number of M ori academics willing to challenge such accounts. There is however

very little discussion regarding M ori academics or teachers working with P keh students

and yet in the university setting this is an inevitable reality. I have found in my own

experiences that working with P keh students, and some P keh colleagues, is not a

straightforward activity. This is particularly the case when issues related to things M ori are

raised. Working with the dominant Other is an important discussion to have for M ori

academics as the M ori – P keh power relationships that exist within the academy can

impact directly on how we as M ori academics function and survive.

Talking With The Dominant Other

I have had many experiences of explaining myself to the dominant others. My children are

being educated in a conventional P keh school in the inner city area of Auckland. They are

187 ibid:142 188 ibid:142 189 hooks, bell 1994 op.cit.

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in a r maki reo190 classroom. They speak M ori all day in the classroom. When they leave

their room and enter the life of the wider school they are surrounded by English speakers. I

consider our children to be brave. They take on board the kaupapa to k rero M ori in the

midst of a dominant language environment. As a group we have chosen to remain with our

‘local’ school and to work to bring about change. When our tamariki began school we met

with one of the M ori women teachers who was running a bilingual unit. We discussed the

possibilities for our tamariki. One year later the r maki wh nau191 began. It was an

initiative that was grown from wh nau in the school.

More recently a P keh parent, in a community forum, stated that she didn’t know what

happened in Room 13, the r maki reo class, and that perhaps we could explain and even

allow her to sit in and ‘see’ what we did. Our children were to provide her with knowledge,

they were expected to be objects for her observation. It was expected that she had a right

to go and watch the M ori children, so she could learn from them. It seems that even our

children are supposed to educate, often ignorant, P keh people. It was assumed that the

dominant group had a right to access M ori knowledge for their own individual need to

know. There was no indication that there would be any reciprocal relationship, our children

had nothing to gain from the interaction nor did any of the M ori wh nau. It was for self-

knowledge, to make her feel better about what was happening in the school. Of course the

request was rapidly refused and it was made clear that the r maki wh nau had no idea

what was happening in her child’s class and perhaps we should all go and observe him. The

absurdity of the request was immediately evident to us, it was however seen as a valid

request by the P keh woman involved.

A similar example is given by Dr Alison Jones in her article ‘The Limits of Cross-cultural

Dialogue: Pedagogy, Desire and Absolution in the Classroom’. Alison collected journal entries

from a Stage Three course ‘Feminist Perspectives in Education/M tauranga Wahine’.192 The

journal entries reflected on the separation of the class, by ethnicity, into two streams. Many

of the P keh women students reflected negatively on the separation, and maintained a

sense of having ‘missed out’ on something. This was in stark contrast to the M ori and

Pacific Islands women who saw the separate groupings as a means of having space to

operate within their own cultural frameworks and who as a consequence felt validated and

affirmed in their own identity.

As a lecturer on that paper I remember vividly the first sessions. The course was organised

so that the M ori and Pacific Islands women would first engage with literature related to their

190 Rümaki reo refers to an immersion M ori language context 191 Rümaki wh nau refers to wh nau involved with M ori Language Immersion classrooms in conventional schools.

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definitions of the roles of women and the positioning of women within our respective

societies. The P keh women began their course with the work of western feminists and in

particular postmodern and poststructural analyses. The philosophy underpinning the course

structure was that in recognition of the fact that the group ‘women’ is not homogenous, there

was a need to instigate a pedagogical structure that would provide more effectively for the

cultural diversity within the group, in particular to develop a structure that would place M ori

and Pacific women's knowledges in the centre. in a position where they were not only

acknowledged but were actively validated. This was a radical move in a paper that in the

past has been predominantly P keh . It was also a recognition of the growing numbers of

M ori and Pacific Nation's women who wanted to take the paper.

These developments grew from the strength of the two women lecturers on the course, Dr

Alison Jones and Kuni Jenkins. Together they had, over time, developed a course that

included the voices of M ori women, as t ngata whenua,193 and then extended to Pacific

Nation's women with the support of Lita Foliaki and Lonise Tanielu. Adding the term

‘M tauranga W hine’ to the name of the course was also a significant move. For M ori the

naming of a course with te reo M ori brings particular assumptions, the key being that there

will be M ori involvement and M ori content. Likewise for Pacific women it indicated at

least some cultural content beyond the dominant group would be provided in the course.

Finally, the decision to separate into ethnic groups was made as a means of instigating

separate space to more readily enable the M ori and Pacific women to be able to express

themselves without having to be concerned with the ‘feelings’ of P keh women in the

group.194

My own teaching has highlighted for me the ability of P keh students to silence many M ori

(and Pacific) students. This happens in a number of ways. Dominating time is one way in

which dominant group students silence M ori. This is most evident in tutorial groups or more

interactive lectures. Often by virtue of numbers M ori students can be deprived space to

speak. However, it is not only a matter of numbers. I have worked with groups that have

had majority M ori students and still P keh students have sought a disproportionate

amount of speaking time. I have come to a point in my teaching that I have more fully

recognised the difficulties for many tutors in trying to negotiate this situation. Another way in

which M ori students are denied space is the constant pressure on M ori lecturers and

tutors to engage issues at the level of understanding held by P keh students. The reality of

colonisation is that few of the dominant group have any indepth understanding of the politics

192 M tauranga W hine refers to M ori women's knowledge and ways of knowing. 193 T ngata whenua refers to People of the Land, or Indigenous Peoples.

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surrounding the struggle for Indigenous languages, culture and knowledge. The

consequence of this is that in lecturing undergraduate papers with ‘M ori content’ there is

often the expectation that we, as M ori, will provide quite basis understandings of the

issues for M ori. What this means for M ori students is that their existing knowledge base

is effectively made invisible.

A key element in the denial of M ori space is the positioning of cultural capital. All groups

have cultural capital, but as Bourdieu identifies it is the dominant group's cultural capital that is

given validity and provides the basis for a whole range of structures and systems.195 The

assumption exists that M ori will, even when focusing on M ori issues, derive our theory

and analysis fundamentally from the premise of P keh cultural capital, that what we locate

as the centre of analysis will be readable and immediately understandable by the dominant

group. When this is not the case it is M ori who are called in to question. It is our

understandings that are seen out of place within the university. The existing theoretical and

cultural hierarchy remains a taken-for-granted, an unquestioned basis from which all courses

are expected to emanate. For the team that I work alongside in M ori Education this is not

the case. We work to centre Kaupapa M ori. This means developing pedagogies that are

conducive to our worldview. There are obvious limitations and constraints that exist in a

university. Limitations of time and space. Limitations in terms of the resources that are made

available to M ori. Limitations in terms of cultural understandings. These limitations can

constrain the implementation of radical pedagogies. Alongside the dominance of P keh

culture and structures the struggle to bring about change is exactly that, a struggle.

The expectation that M ori academics will speak ‘to’ the dominant group is highlighted in the

following journal entries of two of the P keh students;

The introduction to lecture one was in Maori, which even though it was obviously appropriate, was disappointing as I could not understand it. While some may say that this is as it should be with the resurgence of the Maori language, I was brought up to believe that speaking a language your guests or audience could not understand was rude, and as I do not know of any Maori who do not speak English, this seems unnecessary.

The structure of this course takes me aback in two ways. The large Maori/ Pacific Islands content of the course, and the high level of representation from these groups on the course. Secondly, the splitting of the students into two groups – Pakeha and Maori/Pacific Islands. I had more anticipated a course which focused on western feminism, although I did not have the language to describe it as such then. I guess that I, in typical western feminist style, had thought of women as a relatively homogenous group. Yes, I knew that there were differences in the way different groups of women were

194 For discussion of an attempt at forming alliances where similar issues are raised, refer to Albrecht, L. & Brewer, R.M. (eds) Bridges of Power: Women's Multicultural Alliances, New Society Publishers in cooperation with the National Womens Studies Association, Philadelphia 195 Bourdieu, P. & Passeron, J., 1977 Reproduction in Education, Society and Culture, Sage, California

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oppressed, but I guess I had assumed that, within the university, our studies would focus on white women’s feminist issues.196

These reflections give us some insights into how P keh women perceive not only

themselves in relation to M ori but also the position of white feminism. It is expected that

M ori people ‘should’ accommodate English as the dominant language. Where the first writer

begins with a hesitant recognition of the resurgence of M ori language she still maintains a

fundamental belief that it should not be spoken in a public space. The taken-for-granted belief

that English must be the language of the public domain is held quite strongly, to the point that

M ori are positioned as ‘rude’ for not adhering to the dominance of the English language. The

monocultural dominance in this country is in no way viewed as an issue. The issue is that

M ori ‘dare’ to speak the indigenous language of this land. The second reflection is one that

highlights a possibility for critical reflection when dominant beliefs are challenged in quite

fundamental ways. For this student the structure of the course raised questions as to

notions of difference and brought her to recognition of the assumptions underpinning her own

expectations.

Journal entries in regard to the physical separation of the P keh students from the M ori

and Pacific Islands students highlight significant differences in response. For many of the

M ori and Pacific women this was the first time in their academic careers that an entire

course was taught in a way that validated who they are. For the P keh women students

the feedback indicates that there is a sense of loss for the oppressors if oppressed groups

seek their own space. The separation for the M ori and Pacific women is quite clearly

celebrated as an opportunity for further growth and for self-affirmation.

This is the first time I have had a [course], which has been streamed, with Maori and Pacific Islanders in one and non-Maori in the other. I can not begin to describe just how much more I enjoyed coming to classes…

I felt validated or even vindicated. Being in a class of Maori and Pacific Island students, I stopped feeling like I was the other. Instead I felt as though I had moved towards the centre and stepped into the centre where white people normally reside. It felt good.

In the lecture room I witnessed an interesting sense of power-shift once it was suggested that Maori and Pacific Islanders would form their own group. Once the dominant Pakehagroup had lost their ‘marker’, things Pakeha seems to suddenly lose their advantage. As Maori knowledge was being affirmed as being important, a comment from one of the students next to me was “It’s alright for the Maori students. They have all the information.” Suddenly there was a reversal as to what counts as knowledge and who was having it.197

The separation is conceived of by the P keh women as a lost opportunity.

196 Journal comments in Jones, Alison 1999 'The Limits of Cross-cultural dialogue: Pedagogy, Desire and Absolution in the Classroom', in Educational Theory, 49 (3), Summer, pp. 299-315. 197ibid.

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I would have thought it would be interesting for all the students to be able to share their unique cultural perspectives with each other. I know I would have found that valuable. I am sometimes quite ignorant and intolerant of other viewpoints, so a wider input would have been educational.

It does not seem right. Could we not learn from each other? Wouldn’t it be valuable to share our differences in experience? … It is different reading about it in books, or having it taught by teachers. It is better to hear it straight from the women who are having the experience. It is easier to relate to.

When will I ever get to learn how Maori and Pacific Islanders perceive the world (since we are supposed to be so different) when we are continually separated?198

The journal entries provide a number of insights. Firstly, that M ori and Pacific Nations

peoples in Aotearoa rarely experience having their own space within the classrooms of the

University of Auckland and when they do in a context where they are recognised in

themselves and in terms of the knowledge they bring there is a sense of affirmation. That

sense of affirmation is one that centres their experiences and understandings. For many of

the P keh students however there is a sense of loss, that their ‘Native informant’ has been

removed. Another point that is raised is that notion that M ori and Pacific students are there

to ‘educate’ P keh students, to provide knowledge to the dominant other. Both M ori staf f

and M ori students are positioned as the ‘Native informant’, and are expected to deliver to

P keh staff and P keh students. Often for M ori staff the outcome of presenting radical

M ori centred lectures is that we receive what are considered ‘poor’ evaluations from

students. Evaluations of M ori Education contributions to courses can yield such general

comments such as ‘this lecture was racist’. Facing these kinds of responses from P keh

students is a common experience for many M ori academics.

Reminding the dominant other that we are not there as their informants or challenging their

underlying assumptions about who we are as Indigenous Peoples can draw fervent and

often vicious responses. Haunani Trask relates her experiences at the University of Hawaii

after responding to a letter in a student newspaper. Challenging the assumptions of the letter

she was also challenging the basis of the acts of the American government and the invasion

of Hawai’i. Haunani reflects on the response to her letter as follows;

So, when an uppity Native woman educates one of their own about his white history and his obligations to Natives, their fears and angers spill over into crazy accusations that, if examined, reflect back on their own sick history of violence.199

Being an Indigenous person that speaks out against racism and dominant ideologies can mean

being on the edge of violence, both symbolic and physical. A number of M ori academics

and activists have had threats made in a similar way to that expressed by Haunani. Linda

Tuhiwai Smith notes that a prominent M ori academic had his personal phone number

198ibid. 199 Trask, Haunani Kay 1993 op.cit.:232-233

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broadcast over public radio and listeners encouraged to ring him directly.200 This is not to say

that other academics do not face challenges from their students in terms of their paper

content, or from the ‘general public’ in regard to how they position themselves but the point is

that as M ori academics we are constantly having to defend our presence in the university

on multiple levels and while expected to carry multiple roles.

Multiple Roles

As a M ori academic there has always been a degree to which I have involved myself in the

educating of the dominant group. It has been a role that I have chosen to involve myself in,

not because of any sense of individual freedom of choice but because of the obligation that I

have toward bringing about change for M ori people. Paulo Freire tells us in ‘Pedagogy of

the Oppressed’201 that it is the oppressed who in turn humanise the oppressor. The denial of

M ori knowledge is directly linked to the denial of our humanity. Freire discusses this as a

process of dehumanisation. Dehumanisation is characteristic of the colonial experiences of

many Indigenous Peoples. As a means of justifying our fundamental rights as Indigenous

Peoples our colonisers have denied our humanity and even worse have attempted to strip our

humanness from us through denial, fragmentation, alienation and representation. For Freire

anyone who denies another the right to self-affirmation is creating a situation of oppression

and is denying the other their humanness. It is not, Freire states, the oppressed that are the

initiators of violence, but the oppressors.202 For M ori people the denial of cultural

knowledge, of te reo M ori, of whakapapa and identity, is the denial of self-affirmation. It

is the denial of our right to be fully human.

Linda Tuhiwai Smith asserts that the dehumanising of Indigenous Peoples is a process of

justifying imperialism. Through colonisation Indigenous Peoples were presented as less than

human, as the definition of what constituted humanity was controlled by the colonisers.203

Returning to the work of Paulo Freire, there is an assertion that the reclamation of our

humanness can only be undertaken by oppressed groups themselves. The oppressors he

200 Smith, L.T. 1992(c) op.cit. 201 Freire P. 1972 ‘Pedagogy of the Oppressed’, Penguin Books, New York. I need to note here that the publication Pedagogy of the Oppressed has been critiqued in light of the sexist language use employed. This is an important critique and needs to be articulated in light of the fact that I chose to use a significant amount of work by Paulo Freire. In the context of the time that this publication was written I can locate the language use as a part of the wider sexist societal relations. Just as M ori people have been rendered invisible in much of the documentation of that time so too were women made invisible in many radical publications of the time. This is not to excuse such omissions, however I agree with the position taken by bel l hooks (op.cit.) in regard to Freire’s work that to critique the sexism should not be the same as dismissing the work entirely. Paulo Freire has offered much to the struggle for transformation in this country and as a result of that was invited here by radical organisations in the 1980s to provide insights into working for change. 202 ibid.

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argues are not capable of finding the strength to work toward liberation, but it is the

oppressed who in their knowing of the state of dehumanisation will rise to struggle against it.

Any belief that the oppressor can ‘give’ to the oppressed their humanity or their freedom from

oppression is fundamentally flawed. Inherent in such a belief is a false generosity. In order

to ensure against liberation the oppressors seek to maintain a false generosity. False

generosity is itself dependent on a continuing state of oppression.204

False generosity is informed by the oppressors constructions of what constitutes appropriate

change. False generosity derives itself from a paternalistic colonial ideology that states that

the coloniser knows what is good for the colonised. It is a part of the paternal belief that

Indigenous Peoples are ‘childlike’ and required the parent from the colonial ‘mother’ country to

tell them what they need. False generosity is not new to M ori. Nor is it something that has

gone away. False generosity thrives within the colonial, P keh structures that have taken

root here in Aotearoa.205 As M ori academics we must be aware of the need to ensure

the development of real generosity within the university that encompasses M ori staff and

students in ways that are affirming.

The struggle over cultural space has become increasingly obvious to me in terms of staffing

for M ori programmes within the university. It is apparent that the multiple roles carried by

M ori academics within our Department are accorded little if any recognition by the wider

institution. There is little institutional acknowledgement that most M ori staff consider their

work with M ori communities as an essential part of their overall academic role. Indeed many

M ori academics begin their own academic pathways through a role that Italian theorist

Antonio Gramsci described as an ‘organic intellectual’.206 Gramsci identified two forms of

intellectual, each of which has particular functions in relation to the State and communities.

Mäori-Chinese academic Jenny Bol Jun Lee notes that the social function of the organic

intellectual is to transmit ideas within civil society, performing both ideological and

organisational functions in ways that provide for change. She writes:

The 'organic' intellectuals are essential to the success of a revolutionary programme, they are those people who are located in the participatory process of the group which they belong to and are the product of 'lived experience'. It is this group who will provide

203 Mead, L.T.R., 1996 op.cit.: 83 204 Freire, P. op.cit.:21 205 The current Treaty Settlement processes in this country epitomise ‘false generosity’. At a huithat rejected the Treaty Settlement framework it was asked why M ori have our land stolen and then the thief determines how much is returned, when and to whom, and M ori are supposed to be grateful. The Treaty settlement framework that is currently the negotiating platform between the Labour Government and iwi remains virtually unchanged from that proposed by the right wing National Government. 206 Lee, Jenny Bol Jun 1996 He Hainaman toku mama. He M ori toku papa. Ko wai ahau?Maori-Chinese Tell Their Stories: An Exploration Of Identity, Unpublished Master of Arts thesis, University of Auckland, Auckland.

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'organic' leadership in which the oppressed and disempowered can raise themselves to a 'philosophical' as opposed to 'common sense' view of the world.207

In further advancing the relationship of the concept of the organic intellectual to M ori,

Graham Hingangaroa Smith attests that M ori intellectuals working in the struggle for

change, that are driven by and for M ori interests, can rightly lay claim to the position of the

organic intellectual.208 What this means is that M ori academics carry multiple roles and,

furthermore, are expected by our communities to carry those. As a mother with children in

Te K hanga Reo I was viewed as having particular skills as an academic. That manifested

in particular forms of expectations from the wh nau. Involvement in these areas has been an

important way to input into the life of our K hanga Reo and to support the kaiako209 who

nurture our tamariki in te reo M ori me na tikanga.

These are not roles that M ori academics necessarily put themselves forward for, but they

are often ‘given’ to us from the wh nau groups involved. To say yes is a part of being an

organic intellectual, is a part of being a M ori academic. One implication of this is the

difficulty of maintaining other academic expectations such as publications. Publications are

critical for consideration for promotion in the academy. Community involvement is not deemed

so, however for M ori academics that is often the foundation for both our teaching and

research. The non-recognition of this in promotions processes seriously works against

M ori academics. Equally, I am constantly amazed at the ability of some P keh male

academics to complete publication after publication, and therefore access internal promotion

pathways with relative ease, but who make little if any contribution to transformative action

outside the academy.

Linda Tuhiwai Smith has given valuable insights into the roles and obligations of M ori

academics. In her doctoral research Linda reflected on the politics of being a M ori woman

academic in a University setting. She argues that for M ori women there are,

competing and intersecting tensions which are struggled over simultaneously in our academic work.210

When discussing the role of M ori academics it is critical that these tensions be highlighted

as it is often through, and because of, these tensions that M ori academics are positioned in

particular ways within our institutions. Linda highlights the multiple struggles within the

academy;

We are engaged in making space through struggles over power, over what counts as knowledge and intellectual pursuit, over what is taught and how it is taught, over what is

207 ibid:19 208 Smith, G.H. 1997 op.cit. 209 Kaiako refers to those that teach, in this case in the context of the k hanga.210 Mead, L.T.R. 1996 op.cit.:94

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researched, why it is researched and how it is researched and how research results are disseminated. We also struggle to make space for our students, space for them to be different, space to make choices and space to develop their own ideas and academic work. We struggle to make a future, to build an educational base for our own whanau,hapu and iwi in order that they may participate more fully in Maori development. We struggle to make jobs, academic jobs which can elaborate our own cultural knowledge and social systems. We struggle to make theory, theory which connects our work to our aspirations and which can contribute to the wider world in which we too are citizens.211

Similar struggles have been expressed by Pat Hohepa in a paper on the role of the M ori

academic.212 After many years of working within academia Pat was able to share strong

insights about the multiple roles of the M ori academic and the difficulties and possibilities.

Pat identifies four key roles of M ori academics as follows; to be mainstream academics and

academic administrators; to support and mentor students and other M ori staff; to be “a

beacon and a servant” to their M ori worlds; to act as interpreter between M ori and

P keh . He argues that each of these roles is important for M ori academics. To focus

solely on the requirements of mainstream academia may mean success in the university

setting but can mean failure as a M ori. Similarly to ignore the requirements of the academy

can mean success as a M ori and failure as an academic. This is noted by Pat in the

following way;

For any Maori staff member to do just one and not both is to fail either as an academic or fail as a Maori. I know we have to publish or perish as well as teach to survive. To exclude the rest of the world merely to ponder then write academic articles and books that will be read by no more than 10 others outside the circle of friends and colleagues seems a waste of talent to me. For any Maori academic staff to be confined to a university work in totality fails as a Maori. For any Maori on the other hand, to be a pied piper and commandant without the necessary teaching and creative publications fails as an academic. These tasks are intertwined because we are Maori academics.213

These are the tensions that Linda alludes to, the tensions of being a M ori academic in a

P keh institution. They are also part of those dilemmas that M ori women academics such

as Linda, Kathie Irwin,214 and Ngahuia Te Awekotuku215 have articulated.

M ori/Woman/Academic

In her article ‘Becoming an Academic: Contradictions and Dilemma of a M ori feminist’, Kathie

Irwin voices the many roles and obligations that are a part of the life of a M ori feminist

211 Smith, Linda Tuhiwai 1992 (b) ‘Ko T ku Ko T Te M ori: The Dilemma of a M oriAcademic’ in Smith, G.H. & Hohepa, M.K. (eds) 1993 Creating Space in Institutional Settings for M ori, Monograph No. 15, Research Unit for M ori Education, University of Auckland, Auckland:17 212Hohepa, Pat 1999 M ori Education and Cultural Spreadsheet for the next millenium,Unpublished paper presented at Waipapa Marae, University of Auckland, Auckland 213 ibid.:3 214 Irwin, Kathie 1992(a) ‘Becoming an Academic: Contradictions and Dilemmas of a M oriFeminist’ in Middleton, S. and Jones, A. (eds) Women and Education in Aotearoa:2, Bridget Williams Books, Wellington 215 Te Awekotuku, N. 1992 op.cit.

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academic216. In her position she was expected to develop a new programme in M ori

Education whilst teaching on a range of other interdisciplinary courses, undertake research

and provide liaison with M ori Studies. As a M ori feminist academic Kathie was also

aware of the obligations to provide for M ori women and encourage their participation,

whilst also encouraging the continuance of M ori students from undergraduate into graduate

degrees. What she highlights is that there is little space available to M ori academics to, as

Pat Hohepa has already argued, sit back and write articles for an elite few as is the case

with many of our colleagues in the academy. In fact to do so often means not only failure as

a M ori but can also mean less than supportive response from M ori.217

Kathie Irwin talks of the difficulties that are often experienced by M ori women in the

academy. Her reflections on entering into academia give some insights into the power of

dominant discourses in convincing M ori women that we don’t have a place in institutions

such as universities. The description of her first day is important to this discussion;

I still have vivid memories of the first day that I went to sign up, to collect the key of my office and to start my new career. I can see myself walking down the corridor, in a bright skirt (florals set on a black background, elasticised waist and frill at the hem), a matching peach-coloured tank top, my sunglasses perched stylishly (sigh, that’s what I thought then) on top of my head. My high-heeled, suede, multi-coloured, wooden-soled shoes slipped on the carpet and were bloody difficult to walk in. I was twenty-four years old, fit, lean, tanned, married, heterosexual and shit scared. If I didn’t look or speak like a ‘normal’ academic, that was no loss, because I didn’t feel like one either.218

Unlike Kathie I have little recollection of my first days as a lecturer at the University of

Auckland. Perhaps that is a reflection of the fact that from returning to the university as a

student in 1989 I have never actually left. Equally my employment in other tertiary institutions

has been directly linked to the university. Having said that, I still consider Kathie's description

of her first days as being reflective of many of my own experiences more generally both as a

lecturer and as a PhD student. There are days that I half expect someone to tap me on the

shoulder and say ‘you’re an impostor, you shouldn’t be here’, it is not a pleasant feeling. It is a

feeling that is a part of the colonial legacy of doubt and insecurity that many of us feel within

P keh institutions. By ‘we’ I am referring more directly to M ori women as I’m not sure that

M ori male academics have this sense, but I have heard similar comments from many M ori

women, some of which have been documented.219

216 ibid 217 In discussing the potential to have developed more mainstream programmes Kathie states that to do so would have meant being labelled “a sellout, a colonised M ori, a house nigger, a potato (brown on the outside, white on the inside) by other M ori., ibid:62 218 ibid:58-59 219 Irwin, K. 1992(a) op.cit.; Smith, L.T. 1992 'The Dilemma of a M ori Academic', in G.H. Smith and M.K. Hohepa (ed.), Creating Space in Institutional Settings for M ori, Monograph No. 15, Research Unit for M ori Education, Auckland University: Auckland; Te Awekotuku, N., 1991 op.cit.

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The feeling of being an impostor or not a ‘real’ academic is not an imagined one but originates

from both discourses about what and who is a ‘real’ academic and by real lived experiences.

I have on numerous occasions been questioned about my academic status or assumed to

have been general staff not academic staff.220 These kinds of experiences are not

uncommon, nor are they outcomes of ‘just a mistake’ but there are the kinds of actions that

are a part of internalised personal racism that supports wider institutional and structural

racism. Institutional racism in the university operates at many levels and has multiple effects

on M ori students and staff in the university, from an assumption about where we are

located within the structures to the denial of M ori students the validation of their own

worldview, from the monocultural nature of many courses to the ongoing mispronunciation of

M ori names. These show the range of racist experiences that confront M ori people in

the university in a daily way. In recent processes in the School of Education M ori staff are

struggling for the survival of established positions. M ori Education are expected to argue

for staffing positions that were struggled for over the past ten years, whilst the university

continues to benefit from the reputation that has been built up by M ori staff.

The struggle over staffing positions brings to the fore the dominant idea that we each operate

on a level playing field and that our needs should be assessed with equal weighting. This is

such a ridiculous idea. M ori people have struggled to gain the slightest space within the

university and when we finally achieve something that shows possibility we are told that we

are not guaranteed the positions and that others may put up a ‘better’ case. Well, what

actually is a better case over the case of Indigenous peoples who have continued to be

denied access to education and in particular tertiary education, whose people are researched

on and written about by the colonisers, who experience disproportionate levels of

underachievement, whose language has been on the brink of extinction and whose land has

been illegally confiscated? Even if we ignored all this, many of the M ori positions have

been argued for under the umbrella of M ori Education, and therefore the creation of such

positions have been struggled for by M ori staff.

220 The most recent occurred with my re-enrolment process for my PhD. Having received my enrolment forms late I decided to go in person to Registry to complete the process. I spoke with a P keh woman and was informed I needed two forms filled in, regarding my employment status, to complete enrolment. On receiving the forms I was told to bring them back to her on completion. This appeared relatively straightforward until I asked for some details related to time frames for doctoral research. There was an obvious back tracking and I was informed that as a PhD student I didn’t actually need to return the forms to Registry but instead to the PhD office. Apparently she hadn’t ‘realised’ I was doing a PhD, nor had she bothered to ask. Leaving the office I felt the frustration that is my response to institutional assumptions about who I am, assumptions that are rarely reflected upon by those who hold them. Returning to my office I moved to fil l ing in the forms, only to find that what I had been given were forms for General staff, not for academic staff. I immediately rang Registry and asked why there had been an assumption that I was General staff, and why if there were different processes for different staff, had she not asked me what my position in the university was.

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These scenarios are also not uncommon. Having read Kathie’s article I realised early in my

academic career that the insecurities that I felt were not mine alone. There is something about

knowing that your experiences are not an isolated case, which doesn’t necessarily change

anything except that I was able to place events in their context, a context of struggle and

tensions. Those struggles are about being M ori and being woman in an institution that

tends to privilege knowledge from those who are white and male. For M ori academics,

within the academy there is an inherent struggle that is reflective of wider societal non-

affirmation of M ori epistemologies. For M ori women this is further intensified by the

gender relations that exist within universities.

Ngahuia Te Awekotuku notes that her first appointment was to an unpaid position in The

Centre for M ori Studies and Research at Waikato. She writes of her difficulties in securing

employment in the academy as a M ori lesbian woman. Not only were there barriers to her

as a M ori woman but also as a lesbian, in her terms ‘not just an uppity M ori but a

queer’.221 As a M ori lesbian in the university I struggle with the positioning of issues of

sexuality in my work. The invisibility of issues of gender and sexuality brings with it a major

struggle that must be engaged alongside the assertion of being M ori. I have always

appreciated Ngahuia’s courage to bring all of these issues to the fore in her writing. It is

something that I aspire to be able to do more effectively. Very few M ori academics engage

analyses that incorporate issues related to sexuality. Just as few M ori men are brave

enough to challenge their own gendered assumptions, there are few M ori academics

willing to discuss sexuality. This can be viewed in the wider context of colonialism as it

exists within both our communities and within the institutions where we are employed.

The tensions explored in this chapter do not exist solely within the academy, they also exist

within M ori communities and the ways in which many M ori view academia. A further

factor that needs to be considered is that of the role of the State in locating M ori academics.

Agencies of the State engage regularly in processes of ‘consultation’ with M ori

communities, and in doing so M ori academics are invariably involved within these

processes, either in our role as researchers or, as defined by the University, in a role of

‘critics of society’. While working as both insider and outsider within these settings M ori

academics need, for survival, to develop clear positions and arguments. For M ori

academics there are multiple roles and obligations that come with being M ori and having

access to Western institutions of ‘higher learning’. As a M ori academic I am cognisant of

the potential for cooption into the system and recognise that often M ori academics are

221 Te Awekotuku, Ngahuia ‘Kia Mau, Kia Manawanui – We Will Never Go Away: Experiences of a M ori Lesbian Feminist’ in Du Plessis, R. (et.al) 1992 Feminist Voices: Women’s Studies Texts for Aotearoa/New Zealand, Oxford University Press, Auckland

68

selected for positions based on our P keh credentials. What this means, in my view, is a

need for a constant consciousness about our roles, obligations and accountabilities to our

people. As I have discussed earlier the multiple roles can require constant negotiation. This

negotiation is a part of our colonial experience since the imposition of P keh institutions that

have denied the validity of M ori ways of being. Such denial is instrumental in the colonising

process and is based on an intention of alienation and fragmentation.

It is necessary to also state that being in the university also affords M ori academics

pathways and opportunities. As an institution that is committed to ideas, thinking, philosophies

about the world, research, writing, theorising there is a wealth of opportunities available to

M ori academics. As a lecturer and researcher I have had real freedom to engage those

areas that are important to me and to M ori Education. This is where the ‘ivory tower’ terms

derives, from the ability of academics to sit ‘high above’ and theorise, detached from the

people. This is a very real construct and one that as a M ori woman academic I am

constantly wary of. It is also something that we are often reminded of by our own

communities. But much also needs to change within the academy in order for M ori staf f

and students to feel validated in who we are and in our cultural knowledge. There remains a

belief in a hierarchy of knowledge where M ori knowledge is placed very low on the list and

that remains a constant struggle for M ori in the university. The denial of M ori knowledge

is an outcome of colonialism where M ori as a whole have, through colonisation,

experienced incredible fragmentation. We feel the consequences of that in our daily lives.

The notion of fragmentation is important to this thesis. Linda Tuhiwai Smith links

fragmentation to what she refers to as the “principles of disordering” that is encoded in both

colonialism and imperialism.222 Fragmentation is in this sense a key feature in the alienation of

Indigenous peoples and the disordering of all aspects of our being. Linda writes that

fragmentation is a systematic process that occurs under colonialism operating through

multiple sites. Fragmentation culminates in processes of re-presentation, disordering,

disruption, renaming and reclassification of Indigenous systems and worlds.223 The

fragmentation of M ori worldviews, and hence relationships, has had dire consequences for

M ori women. Those consequences take many forms and their expression influences the

physical, emotional, spiritual and intellectual realms. The economic focus of social policy that

has been actively imposed in Aotearoa for the past 16 years has continued this

fragmentation. M ori knowledge has been fragmented, redefined and reordered through

processes of commodification and the establishment of credentialing frameworks that define

222Mead, L.T.R. 1996 op.cit.:64 223 ibid

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M ori knowledge through units and standards that determine what is considered of value.224

The fragmentation of M ori knowledge has meant the disruption of our theorising. M ori

explanations, understandings and theories have been disturbed through the imposition of

other theoretical frameworks justified by the idea that the colonisers knowledge is superior to

that of the colonised. Western theories have taken precedence within the Universities that

now stand on M ori land. The prioritising of Western theories over Indigenous theories has

been disturbing on many levels and that too is a reason why I have chosen to explore in this

thesis the constructions of Kaupapa M ori and Mana Wahine theories. It is a form of

writing back to the importation of Western theories that have on the whole worked against the

interests of M ori people.

Theoretical Disturbances

A range of theoretical frameworks have been consistently used against the interests of

M ori people. These are not new theoretical developments but are founded upon early

colonial constructions. In Education, theories of biological and environmental deficiencies have

been used as dominant frameworks when discussing M ori children.225 These theories are

inherent to theories of assimilation promulgated in the 19th Century. This is outlined by Patricia

Maringi Johnson, who describes three distinct views of assimilation in Aotearoa, these

being;

The assimilation of Maori and Pakeha to form one race; The assimilation of Maori in terms of formal equality under the law; The civilising of Maori into Pakeha cultural and social norms226

Having identified these three existing views from the literature, Patricia argues that the

dominant form of assimilation in regard to M ori – P keh relations is that of the intention to

assimilate M ori into P keh culture, language and social norms. This assimilatory view is

based on a fundamental assumption of the superiority of the dominant group, in this case the

224 The New Zealand Qualifications Authority is a Government Agency that determines frameworks of knowledge and levels of accreditation. This is a highly problematic area for M oriin that increasingly m tauranga M ori is being defined in relation to P keh notions of standards and in line with the commodification of knowledge. For critique of this process refer to: Naden, M.N.K. 1998 Kei Whea Te Kokako e Ko? : The New Right and Maori education: A Critical Analysis of the New Zealand Qualifications Authority Framework, Unpublished Master of Arts thesis, University of Auckland, Auckland Also for wider discussion of issues of commodification refer, Smith, G.H. 1993 'The Commodification of Knowledge and Culture' in Overview, no. 49, November, Corso, New Zealand pp 149-153; and Smith, G.H. 1994 'M ori Culture For Sale' in Polemic, Vol. 4 no. 3, University of Sydney Law Society, Friar Press, Sydney pp 33-40 225 For a general critique of these theoretical impositions and the impact on M ori refer to Pihama, L. 1993 Tungia te Ururua, Kia Tupu Whakaritorito Te Tupu o te Harakeke: A Critical Analysis of Parents as First Teachers, RUME Masters Theses Series Number 3, Auckland University, Auckland 226 Johnston, P.M., 1998 He Aro Rereke: Education Policy and M ori Underachievement: Mechanisms of Power and Difference, Unpublished Doctor of Philosophy thesis, University of Auckland, Auckland

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coloniser. Such assumptions are intrinsic to racial stratifications that are outlined in Chapter

Six. In terms of Aotearoa the overall objective was to both civilise and christianise M ori in

order to ensure an outcome where M ori would reject the cultural, political and social norms

upon which M ori society was based. Assimilation then depended not on the removal of

biological race differences but on the removal of cultural, political and social differences of

the oppressed group and replacement with those of the dominant group. In other terms

M ori were to cease being M ori socially, politically and culturally.227 Furthermore, she

argues that the ‘ultimate goal’ of assimilation was the demise of te reo M ori me na

tikanga as a means of bringing M ori under the control of the colonial forces. This is

outlined in more depth by Patricia;

The ultimate goal of assimilation was to facilitate the demise of Maori language, culture and world-views; to bring Maori under the direct control of Pakeha; to assimilation Maoriinto a distinctly Pakeha controlled and defined society, governed by Pakeha cultural, political and social norms.228

Jenny Lee brings an added dimension in her discussion of M ori-Chinese relationships. The

notion that assimilation focused on making M ori more like P keh is reinforced by the

discourses surrounding M ori-Chinese relations where M ori, women in particular, were

actively 'warned' away from such relationships, in a similar approach taken in regard to

Chinese-P keh relations.229 Assimilation, then can not be viewed separately from wider

notions of control and power but must be seen in the context of colonisation which is itself an

act of imposition of one peoples on another. Judith Simon also highlights the differing

intentions of the assimilation agenda.230 Judith names two clear intent as (i) the ‘protective

impulse’ and (ii) the ‘civilising impulse'. For the missionaries these two impulses were often

conflicting, as she notes was regularly the case in terms of humanitarian perspectives.

However, she argues that for the Government and the settlers there was less of a tension

and the focus was primarily of the ‘civilising impulse’. In terms of schooling both the

‘protective’ and the ‘civilising’ impulse were evident when the system was under missionary

control however the ‘protective impulse’ was less evident once control shifted to the Settler

Government.231

The theories and process of assimilation were entrenched through legislation. From the very

beginning of the colonial Government there was a thrust towards ensuring the assimilation of

M ori people. In the 1844 Native Trust Ordinance it was stated:

Her Majesty’s Government has recognised the duty of endeavouring by all practicable means to avert the like disasters from the native people of these islands [New Zealand],

227 ibid. 228 ibid:90 229 Lee, J.B., 1996 op.cit. 230 Simon, J., 1990 op.cit.:138 231 ibid.

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which object may be best obtained by assimilating as speedily as possible the habits and usages of the Native to those of the European population.232

Couched in what appears to be humanitarian intent the Native Trust Ordinance is illustrative of

the objectives of the colonial settler Government. To ensure the assimilation of our t puna

as quickly as possible. What was required, as outlined in the Ordinance, was the

replacement of te reo M ori me na tikanga, or what is described as the ‘habits and

usages of the Natives’ with the customs and language of the P keh colonists. This needed

to operate at multiple levels in multiple sites if the assimilation agenda was to be successful.

This agenda was further articulated in the colonial settler parliament and practiced in both the

mission and native school systems. The relevance of this discussion is that theories of

assimilation acted as ideological tools for the disruption of M ori society and undermining

fundamental values, beliefs and practices. Assimilation is then a theoretical disturbance. It

also provided the foundation for other theoretical disturbances. Western Psychological

theories focused on the individual have consistently placed M ori children as requiring

change.233 Deficit theories have defined our wh nau as deprived and key to the 'failure' of

M ori children.234

However, we should not delude ourselves that it is only the more conservative theoretical

constructions that require challenge. There are also more radical theories that posit notions

that have the potential to further disturb and disrupt M ori epistemologies. Within Aotearoa,

there is appearing increased academic legitimation of ‘post’ paradigms which lay claim to

"opening the debate" to issues of difference and otherness which M ori women M ori

people have struggled to have heard over the past 150 years. This is the idea that

post-colonialism provides a space from where the oppressed may speak. This is asserted by

Gunew and Yeatman in the introduction to their collection of feminist writings titled 'Feminism

and The Politics of Difference'. They state that post-colonialism may be

loosely defined as a body of theories which offers a place to speak for those who have been excluded from Western metaphysics.235

232 Native Trust Ordinance 1844 The Ordinances of the Legislative Council of New Zealand,Session III, no. IX, New Zealand 233 Hohepa, Margie 1999 'Hei Tautoko i Te Reo': M ori Language Regeneration and Wh nauBookreading Practices, Unpublished Doctor of Philosophy thesis, University of Auckland, Auckland; Stewart, Tereki R. 1995 Ka Pu Te Ruha, Ka Hao Te Rangatahi : Contributions To 'Indigenous Psychology' In Aotearoa/New Zealand Unpublished Master of Science thesis, University of Auckland, Auckland 234 I have discussed the development and imposition of Deficit theories in some depth in Pihama, L., 1993 op.cit. It is noted that theoretical explanations of environment and cultural deficienc ies have been prominent in this country in discussing M ori education since the 1960's, and it is my view that the underpinning assumptions that are held by defic it theorists remain highly influential. 235Gunew, A. & Yeatman, A (eds) 1993 Feminism and the Politics of Difference, Allen & Unwin, New South Wales : xii

72

This is further explored by Ashcroft with the emphasis on post-colonialism as manifesting

opposition to colonialism through the counter discursive.236 Where I don't disagree that the

counter discursive and the creation of space for voice is crucial for M ori, particularly given

that our struggle for the survival and retention of Te Reo M ori me ona tikanga is in itself a

process of creating space and reclaiming voice. What I do dispute is the position of the

colonisers to define this, on our behalf. The post-colonial potential is identified by these

authors as the creation of spaces for the colonised to speak, however, there is little

recognition of the possibility that the colonised themselves may create their own spaces

which are defined within their own terms, or that we may have our own terminology and

language through which to name these actions. The problematics of such claims is

expressed clearly by bell hooks, who challenges the failure within the academy to recognise

the presence of African-American writers in relation to postmodernism, and calls into

question the 'intellectual seriousness' of a framework that espouses recognition of

difference, and the need to legitimate difference and otherness in the academy, whilst

ignoring black cultural critique.237 I take a similar position in terms of Kaupapa M ori theory.

In short, these 'post' theoretical frameworks have the potential to be 'new talk but an old

story'.238 What I have found is that increasingly after hearing seminars or papers based upon

'post' paradigms I have been left feeling the disturbingly colonial implications of these

theoretical frameworks.

It is argued by some academics that the prefixing of the term 'post' to the term 'colonial' is, on

the whole, used as a framework for moving outside of colonial models.239 Within this

paradigm it is argued that in moving beyond colonialism the intention is to provide space for

voices of the colonised, the marginalised, the westernised 'Other'. Bill Ashcroft articulates

this argument with some vigour.

How many times must we insist that Post-colonialism does not mean "after colonialism” that it means from the moment of colonization. Indeed how often must we insist that Post-colonialism exists.240

Post-colonial theory is a growing form of analysis in areas that are significant to M ori

people. Where much of the material derives from outside of Aotearoa there are a number of

key writers who draw upon these frameworks in their analysis of relationships within

236 Ashcroft, B. 1994 'Excess: Post-colonialism and the Verandahs of Meaning' in Tiffin, C. & Lawson, A (eds) De-Scrbing Empire: Post-colonialism and Textuality, Routledge, London 237 hooks, b. 1990 'Postmodern Blackness' in Yearning: Race, Gender And Cultural Politics,South End Press: Boston 238 This comes from a discussion I was having with Mereana Taki in regard to new ways in which colonisers are attempting to ensure their positions of superiority. 239 Spoonley, P. 1995 ‘The Challenges of Post-colonialism’ in Bell,A & McClennan,G. (eds) Sites : A Journal for South Pacific Cultural Studies, Autumn, Massey University, Palmerston North; Ashcroft, B. 1994 op.cit.; Tiffin, C. & Lawson, A (eds) De-Scrbing Empire: Post-colonialism and Textuality, Routledge, London 240 Ashcroft, Bill 1994 op.cit.:34

73

Aotearoa. Extensive critique of these theories is required, but this is yet to appear.

However, M ori academics are engaging with the theories and providing strong Kaupapa

M ori analysis.241 In exploring these theories I see myself as contributing to the process

described by Linda Tuhiwai Smith as 'writing back'. Writing back to and against colonial

impositions.242 My involvement in theorising/talking/writing back' is related to a desire to create

space for M ori within the dialogue and in doing so talk back to the theoretical impositions

that are occurring in the 'post' arenas.

Recent writings by Paul Spoonley highlight the ways in which post-colonial theorising is being

utilised within the academy, in particular by P keh academics.243 Spoonley argues a

number of points related to post-colonialism and its usefulness in theorising issues in this

country. He acknowledges the inadequacy of post-colonialism in its assumption “that colonial

relations and institutions” have been removed, however he explains his use of the term

post-colonialism as follows;

to mark a critical engagement with colonialism, not claim that colonialism has been overturned...post-colonialism is used here to signal a project by those who want to critique and replace the institutions and practices of colonialism.244

Spoonley notes that the inadequacy of the term is highlighted by the implication that colonial

relations and institutions have been replaced, which is not the case.245 His continued use of

the term then becomes even more problematic. A reason for this is posited by Sheilagh

Walker in her thesis ‘Kia Tau Te Rangimarie’.246 Sheilagh argues that post-colonialism is a

P keh -centred theoretical framework, which is more about P keh definitions of

themselves than about struggling against the colonisers oppression of the colonised. I would

agree with Sheilagh and further contend that the use of the notion of ‘postcolonial’ in this

country is disturbing in its denial of the voices of M ori. The question must be posed as to

how we can possibly refer to Aotearoa as ‘post-colonial’ when every aspect of our lives is

touched and imposed upon by the colonisers? Whose interests are served by such a

proposition? The interests served are those of the colonisers and of those P keh

academics who draw upon these frameworks to validate their own position in the academy,

and more widely in this country. For example, Spoonley locates post-colonialism alongside

241 Hoskins, T. K.C. 2000 Kia Whai Kiko Te k rero, Constituting Discourses: Exchanges at the Edge, Unpublished Master of Arts thesis, University of Auckland, Auckland; Pihama, L., 1997 Ko Taranaki Te Maunga: Challenging Post-Colonial Disturbances And Post-Modern Fragmentation ,A Paper presented at Toioho Ki Apiti: M ori Art Conference, Massey University, Palmerston North 242Mead, L.T.R., 1996 op.cit. 243 Spoonley. P., 1995 op.cit. 244 ibid:49 245 ibid. 246 Walker, S, 1996 'Kia Tau Te Rangimarie: Kaupapa M ori Theory as a Resistance against the construction of M ori as the 'Other', Unpublished Master of Arts thesis, University of Auckland, Auckland

74

Indigenous Alternatives. 247 These ‘Indigenous Alternatives’ are positioned in opposition to

what is listed as colonial, perpetuating the exact binary oppositions that the theory is

supposed to critique. The description of Indigenous methods or language as alternatives must

be challenged in that it locates M ori as the 'Other' to the defined norm. At the 'Alternative to

APEC' forum held in Auckland in 1999 I made the following comment in regard to the term

'alternative'.

The word alternative is one that has always been problematic for me and yet it is used often in the articulation of radical causes. This is primary because much of what is created by M ori is located within dominant thought and systems as ‘alternative’. M orieducation, M ori health, M ori law, M ori healing are all referred to ‘alternative systems’ as being the ‘Other’ system to the dominant structure that exist. This is dangerous for M ori, in that it constructs us as the ‘alternative’ and not as the Indigenous. I want to say that to be Indigenous is not to be ‘alternative’.248

The idea of ‘Indigenous Alternatives’ serves to locate indigenous peoples on the fringe, and

as such M ori are located as appendages to 'the post-colonial'. In listing

'Post-Colonial/Indigenous Alternatives' the majority of the terms exampled are in fact M ori.

Whilst the only term in te reo M ori that appears in the 'Colonial/Racial Labels' is the term

'M ori'.249 At what point do P keh academics get to determine that the term M ori is a

colonial one'? Quite a crucial question alongside a theory that calls for 'marginalised' groups to

determine their own identities. This is not to deny that the use of the term 'M ori' can be

tentative at times, however as a collective group of Iwi nations it is crucial that we maintain

positions that allow us to maintain a collective struggle as M ori. What is particularly

problematic about this assertion is its ability to reduce our position as M ori, as Tangata

Whenua, to being the same as the 'post-colonial' P keh . The table itself locates M ori,

P keh and Tagata Pasifica all as 'postcolonial' and in itself subsumes our position in this

land in a kind of multicultural 'post-colonial' pluralism.

The publication 'The Empire Strikes Back' provides indepth discussion of the notion of post-

colonial theory and writing. The authors state that definition given to the term covers

… all the culture affected by the imperial process from the moment of colonization to the present day.250

There exists a fundamental assumption with P keh , white Australian, white American and

white Canadian post-colonialists that the construction of post-colonialism is all encompassing.

247 Spoonley, P. 1995 op.cit. 248 Pihama, Leonie 1999 'To Be Indigenous is not to be Alternative' Reflections at the Alternative to APEC forum, Unpublished Paper, T maki Makaurau (Auckland) September 1999:1 249The full lists given by Spoonley as examples are: (i)Colonial/Racial Labels: M ori ; Caucasian/European; New Zealand; Pacific Islanders; (ii)Post-Colonial/Indigenous Alternatives: Iwi/Hapü/Wh nau; T ngata Whenua; P keh ; Aotearoa; Tagata Pasifika 250 Ashcroft, B., Griffiths, G., Tiffin H., The Empire Strikes Back: Theory and Practice in Post-Colonial Literatures, Routledge, London: 2

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This definition and others like it are supposedly inclusive of Indigenous Peoples experiences.

The authors note that European theories are presented as 'universal' and are inadequate in

engaging post-colonial experiences. They argue that 'Indigenous' theories have needed to

develop to accommodate the differences in the colonies. Again the term 'Indigenous' is used

with some ambiguity, inferring post-colonial theory as part of the development of Indigenous

theories. This is more evident in terms of how the authors define post-colonial literature,

arguing that in New Zealand it includes P keh and M ori writings. M ori therefore are

considered a part of post-colonial developments. The positioning of Indigenous Peoples is

also indicated in their discussion of notions of 'dominated' and 'dominating' where it is argued

that there are particular relations that exist not only between colonised and coloniser but also

between dominated and dominating societies. An example given is as follows;

In Australia, for instance, Aboriginal writing provides an excellent example of a dominated literature, while that of white Australia has characteristics of a dominating one in relation to it. Yet white Australian literature is dominated in turn by a relationship with Britain and English literature.251

What strikes me in the literature is the tendency for the post-colonial drive in colonised

countries, such as Australia, Aotearoa, Hawai'i, Canada and America, to be focused on the

second aspect of this example, that is the position of white colonisers on our land in relation

to either their colonial 'mother countries' or to white colonisers in other lands.

In the main, few M ori people use the term 'post-colonial' to describe or locate their work

rather M ori works tend to be labelled as ‘post-colonial’ by P keh . This then raises issues

about who defines M ori writing, M ori Art, M ori filmmaking etc. as for M ori to be

positioned as 'post-colonial writers' is to remove the notion of ‘M ori writers’. As M ori we

need to ask whether this is actually what we want to happen. This is not to romanticise any

idea that there is 'a' definition of M ori Art or M ori Writing or M ori Music, but is to

challenge the idea that the term 'post-colonial' can or should supplant the term 'M ori'. As

such we need to look at the ways in which our writings, thoughts, languages are being

coopted by P keh /non-indigenous writers as a means of affirming their own positions.

Numerous writers have sought to justify the use of the term 'post-colonial', however those

justifications are unconvincing for many Indigenous Peoples who live day to day experiencing

colonial oppression. The transferral of the concept from countries (e.g.India) that can clearly

claim post-colonial realities to countries such as Aotearoa, where we remain in the midst of

colonial control, is not only unacceptable for many Indigenous Peoples of those countries but

is equally unbelievable. The use of the term post-colonial to describe the present social

context within this country is clearly problematic. So too is its use in naming, describing or

251 ibid:32

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positioning M ori expressions of resistance. Where the aims of post-colonial theories are

focused on challenging colonial discourses, as a theoretical framework it continues to

perpetuate those exact forms of oppression that it argues against. It is these forms of recent

theoretical disturbances that indicate the urgency of Kaupapa M ori theory. While this

thesis is not written to 'answer' the growth in post-colonial, post-modern and post-structural

theories it does by its argument for Kaupapa M ori and Mana W hine theories provide an

act of 'theorising back' to those Western theories that serve the interests of their theoretical

masters. As Audre Lorde so powerfully wrote

the masters tools will never dismantle the masters house.252

Summary

The focus of this chapter has been to discuss the multiple roles that are a part of being a

M ori woman academic and the imposition of Western theory. It is important to this thesis

that there is recognition given to the fact that our t puna have always been active

philosophers, researchers, theorists, explorers and that these notions as conceptualised in

the academy are not owned by academics. The university is but one context within which

these activities take place. For M ori there are multiple sites where engagement with

philosophies and theories take place, the marae, at hui,253 at thousands of work sites and in

our homes. My experiences are that some of the most deeply challenging theoretical

discussions I have been fortunate to participate in have happened in peoples lounges or lying

in the evening in a whare nui254 as people talk through the issues of the day. We have in our

own whare255 around the country our own libraries of accumulated knowledge, much of

which will never be heard in a university setting.

The history of the development of university education in this country is also a history of loss

of land and denial of m tauranga M ori. In this chapter I have highlighted the relationship

between wider colonising acts, such as land confiscations and the development of the

University of Auckland and Victoria University. These two institutions clearly benefited from

the colonisers drive for land. That benefit continues in that the accumulation of lands,

buildings and resources have fundamentally grown off the back of M ori land, and more

particularly for the University of Auckland off the benefits derived from the lands of Ng

Puhi, Tainui and Ng ti Awa. In terms of Taranaki land loss the benefit has accrued to

particular scholars and therefore to their families through the instigation of scholarship

systems from the confiscations of the Opaku Block.

252 Lorde, Audre 1984 Sister Outsider, The Crossing Press, Freedom, CA 95019 253 hui refers to gatherings 254 whare nui refers to large gathering houses, many of which are carved although as a consequence of colonisation some are not adorned by carvings 255 whare here refers to house/home

77

Alongside the land issues sits the active marginalisation of M ori knowledge. It is argued in

this thesis that M ori academics have particular obligations that derive from being M ori and

having access to the academy. Those obligations and roles are multiple and are closely

connected to the need for transforming oppressive relations. It is also noted that M ori

academics are often at the forefront of dealing with dominant groups and that there is a

danger of being constructed as the 'native informant'. M ori academics it is argued need to

be constantly aware of our roles and the potential for cooption by the State. To maintain a

position of organic intellectual is to be always accountable to and work with our own

communities. For M ori women academics there appears to be a constant reflection on

these roles. Writings related to the complexities of M ori women's experiences in the

academy point to having to deal with gendered notions alongside being M ori.

The academy is a site where theories are developed and promulgated. Those theories more

often than not impact directly upon M ori people. Any theoretical development that gains

prominence in this country will at some point impact on M ori people. Theories of assimilation

are clear examples of conservative, colonial approaches to Indigenous Peoples that were

designed to meet the interests of colonising nations. Assimilatory notions underpin dominant

educational theories, such as deficit theory, have had huge negative influence on M ori

educational achievement. Deficit theory continues to provide educational explanations for the

'underachievement' of M ori children in conventional state schooling and greatly influences

policy developments. What this chapter also illustrates is that theoretical disturbances come

not only from conservative factions but can also emerge from liberal and radical domains.

Current academic obsessions with 'post' theories are also having an impact on how notions

of identity and being Indigenous are constructed in this country. Whether these theories are

of the right or the left there is the potential for their universalising tendencies to continue

colonial disruptions for M ori people. These processes are what I have termed theoretical

disturbances. The theories noted here are examples, there are many more that could be

engaged in some depth.256 M ori academics have a role in engaging and challenging such

constructions. We also have a role in the affirmation and validation of being M ori, and that

includes creating and maintaining space in the academy for M ori people and for te reo

M ori me na tikanga. As a M ori woman academic that includes engaging and

supporting the struggle for cultural and theoretical spaces that ensure the validation of M ori

women's voices and M ori women's theories. It is my hope that this thesis will contribute to

that wider project.

256 A discussion of race, gender and class theories is provided in Chapter Six.

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CHAPTER FOUR

KAUPAPA M ORI THEORY

Maori society has its own distinctive knowledge base. This knowledge base has its origins in the

metaphysical realm and emanates as a Kaupapa Maori 'body of knowledge' accumulated by

experiences through history, of the Maori people. This Kaupapa Maori knowledge is the

systematic organisation of beliefs, experiences, understandings and interpretations of the

interactions of Maori people upon Maori people, and Maori people upon their world.257

Introduction

There is a growing literature about Kaupapa M ori theory. For many M ori people who

have actively sought out theoretical explanations for our experiences, Kaupapa M ori

theory provides a culturally defined theoretical space. There is resistance from many sectors

of the university and from some educationalists. However, in spite of these things, Kaupapa

M ori theory continues to thrive. Kaupapa M ori theory is a field that can no longer be

denied or ignored within academia. The origins of the term Kaupapa M ori theory is

worthwhile exploring in that it recognises the historical developments that have contributed to

its current usage. It also serves to recognise those writers, who in the initial voicing and

struggle over the theoretical domain, were key protagonists in the recognition of Kaupapa

M ori theory in both the academy and wider societal institutions. The need to convince

M ori of the existence of such a paradigm was a part of the development that did not require

the same intensive political lobbying. That is not to assume a heterogenous response, nor to

assume that all M ori have equal access to m tauranga M ori, M ori knowledge258

. The

point is that for many M ori acting to bring about positive, creative and innovative changes

that would move from the dominant deficit based paradigms, the recognition within Kaupapa

M ori theory that there does exist particular M ori cultural ways of operating serves to

affirm their own beliefs. This Chapter focuses on some key discussion in regard to Kaupapa

M ori theory, beginning with a discussion of 'Kaupapa M ori' and 'theory' as two notions

that are aligned in the expression of Kaupapa M ori theory.

257 Nepe, Tukana Mate, 1991 E hao nei e tenei reanga:Te Toi Huarewa Tupuna, Unpublished Master of Arts Thesis, University of Auckland, Auckland: 4 258 The term ‘knowledge’ refers not to singular knowledge forms but to many forms. The multiple knowledge(s) that derive from wh nau, hapü, iwi and our experiences of colonisation must in my mind be emphasised as if they are not then we are all too easily lulled into simplistic, universalist explanations.

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Kaupapa M ori

Kaupapa M ori is not new. What is relatively ‘new’ is the academic terminology of Kaupapa

M ori research and theory. It is the development of a framework as a means of informing

our practice that has been articulated clearly in the struggles of the past twenty years.

Kaupapa M ori is itself extremely old, ancient in fact. It predates any and all of us in living

years and is embedded in our cultural being. Mereana Taki expresses this with her

comment in regard to Kaupapa M ori theory

Kaupapa Maori theorising is not a new phenomenon. Configured within the living ancestry of Iwi, hapu and whanaungatanga, the dynamic foundation concepts of Kaupapa and Tikanga continue to inform the reproduction and transformations of ngaTikanga me nga Ritenga as Iwi laws today.259

Within te reo M ori there are indicators of cultural philosophies and ways in which

meanings can be gauged. For example the word ‘kaupapa’ is defined as philosophies or

ways of thinking about issues. It can be further read in its specific parts, those being ka u

papa. Mereana looks at the ways in which these relate to each other. ‘Ka u’ can be

defined in a range of ways, the term ‘ka’ can represent tense and in particular present tense.

‘U’ can be seen as a woman's breast, a process of holding firm, to arrive, to reach a limit, bite.

In the context of the word kaupapa I view ‘ka u’ as a process of holding firmly and

connecting to the foundation of our existence, to Papat nuku. Mereana writes that the

term ‘kau’ also relates to the notions of seeing for the first time or disclosure.260 The term

'Papa' also has a range of possibilities, including reference to Papat nuku, the earth, and

to layers or foundations. Henry Williams gives a range of definitions in regard to kaupapa,

including; level surface, floor, stage, platform, layer, plan, scheme, proposal.261 Te Taura

Whiri, the M ori Language Commission, extend on this and provide additional definitions to

relate to further contemporary usage of the term such as; policy, scheme, subject, theme.262

Each of these definitions connects to the notion of kaupapa as philosophy and foundation.

The term kaupapa can be seen as a process of holding firmly to ones fundamental

foundations.

Tuakana Nepe263 emphasises that Kaupapa M ori knowledge is distinctive to M ori

society and has its origins in the metaphysical. Kaupapa M ori she states is a ‘body of

knowledge’ accumulated by the experiences through history, of the M ori people.264 For

her, this knowledge form is distinctive to M ori in that it derives fundamentally from M ori

259 Taki, Mereana 1996 Kaupapa M ori and Contemporary Iwi Resistance, Unpublished Master of Arts thesis, University of Auckland, Auckland:17 260 ibid. 261 Williams, H.W. 1985 A Dictionary of the M ori Language, GP Books, Wellington: 107 262 M ori Language Commission, Te Taura Whiri 1996 Te Matatiki: Contemporary M ori Words,Oxford University Press, Auckland: 175 263 Nepe, Tukana Mate 1991 op.cit.264 ibid:4

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epistemologies that include complex relationships and ways of organising society. She

argues that this distinctive nature of Kaupapa M ori is seen in the ways in which M ori

conceptualise relationships:

the concept of the relationship between the living and the dead; life and death; the Maoriconcept of time, history and development; the relationships between male and female; individual and group; and the implication of such relationships for social power relations. These knowledge types and their functions are the content and product of the interconnection of the purely Maori metaphysical base and Maori societal relationships.265

Tracing further the origins of Kaupapa M ori knowledge Tuakana places its origins in

Rangi tea which she stated makes it exclusively M ori. Rangiatea is the first known

Whare W nanga located in Te Toi-o-ng -Rangi, the home of Io-Matua-Kore, the

creator.266 Tuakana writes that from Io-Matua-Kore comes the gift of m tauranga

M ori267 brought by T ne to the earthly realms in three kete, Te Kete Tuauri, Te Kete

Tuatea, Te Kete Aronui alongside two k hatu268 Hukatai and Rehutai. Within these kete

was held knowledge of both the celestial and earthly realms and that knowledge provided for

the teaching within Whare W nanga.269 Through various Whare W nanga knowledge and

culture was transmitted. Numerous Whare W nanga, each connected to particular

knowledge, are known to have made a complex educational system through which

knowledge was retained, maintained, developed and transmitted.

To explore in depth the complex systems of Whare W nanga is beyond this thesis.

However it is necessary to recognise and acknowledge that our people have always

maintained structures and systems of knowledge development and transmission. Some

Whare W nanga identified are; whare-w nanga, whare-kura, whare-maire, whare-

puni, whare-takiura, whare-tatai, whare-pora, whare-mata, whare-takaha and

whare-porukuruku270 In the Whare w nanga two teaching divisions were located

(i) kauwae runga - restricted to celestial knowledge, this included

cosmogonic genealogies, rituals, waiata, narratives and exceedingly difficult, cryptic and elliptical karakia271

(ii) kauwae raro - concerned with terrestrial knowledge.

Relating to the origins of ‘te ira tangata ki te Ao marama’, that is, from the conception of life within the mother’s womb into the World of Light; through the genealogical descent, ‘mai i Rangi Tuhaha ki a Papatuanuku, ki a Hine-hau-one’272, from the twelve heavens to Papatuanuku the Earth Mother, then to Hine-hau-one the first woman.273

265 ibid:5 266 Te Toi-o-ng -Rangi refers to the uppermost domain of the 12 domains that exist in the spiritual realm. 267 M tauranga M ori refers to M ori knowledge and ways of knowing. 268 K hatu are stones 269 Whare W nanga are house of higher learning. 270 These are different types of w nanga named by Tuakana Nepe op.cit:18271 ibid.:18 272Hinehauone is another name used for Hineahuone273 ibid.

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Knowledge has always had a central place within M ori society and the complexities of

knowledge and knowledge transmission recognised in the structures of the Whare

W nanga. Kaupapa M ori is, Tuakana argues, the conceptualisation of M ori knowledge

transmitted through te reo M ori.274

Mereana Taki argues that Kaupapa M ori derives from a networking of iwi knowledge

frameworks.275 This identifies the diversities that are a part of Kaupapa M ori and which

must be maintained if we are to ensure the recognition of wh nau, hap and iwi

complexities, which I argue are essential to Kaupapa M ori theory. The bringing together of

Iwi knowledge in Kaupapa M ori is further premised on a world view that is grounded in

notions of te ira Atua, te ira Whenua and te ira Tangata. Mereana states that Kaupapa

M ori bodies of knowledge, provide both a historical context and a cultural orientation that is

founded upon a three dimensional framework of human existence based in te ira Atua, te

ira Whenua and te ira Tangata.276 Mereana identifies these notions as follows;

Ira atua is defined here as the seed descent of Iwi Maori creation from the Creator Gods. The usage of the term Gods is restricted to this range of indigenous knowledges and the meanings imputed to them exclusively by Iwi Maori nations and their descendants. Ira whenua is defined here as the seed descent of the planet and its siblings environs. Ira whenua is often associated explicitly with the primal power of Papatuanuku the Earth Parent of all Iwi Maori nations. Ira tangata is defined here as the seed descent of human life according to Iwi Maorinations belief systems. This is a gender neutral concept.277

Where Mereana speaks of atua, whenua and t ngata in relation to the notion of 'seed

descent' that is ira. Others talk of these elements in relation to mana, that being mana atua,

mana whenua and mana tangata.278 M ori Marsden regards mana as a form of divine

authority.279 In this respect there is a direct relationship of mana to all things. Te Kawehau

Hoskins writes that mana tua is identification with t puna and atua from creation, all things

are accorded a relationship particular tua. Mana tua connects us to celestial realms.

Mana whenua is the relationship of all things to the land. Te Kawehau notes that it is often

said mana whenua relates to peoples authority over territory, however she argues that it is

the land that bestows mana on the people. Mana whenua is often a term utilised to related

to the people of a particular place, therefore there is a recognition that we are of that land.

Mana tangata, is our relationship as people to each other, it is Te Kawehau writes our

274 ibid. 275 Taki, M. 1996:16276 Ibid:8 277 Taki, M, 1996:8 278 Hoskins, T.K. 2000 op.cit. 279 Marsden, M ori 1988 The Natural World and Natural Resources: M ori Value Systems and Perspectives, in Resource Management Law Reform, Vol. 29A. Ministry for the Environment, Wellington. Mana is defined more fully in Chapter nine in relation to Mana Wahine.

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collective relationship, and is power derived from working in relation to each other and to

t puna and atua.280 Mana tangata can be seen as our fundamental humanity, our human-

ness and in this context our t ngata whenua state. Annette Sykes also indicates the

importance of the matrix of Mana Atua, Mana Tangata, Mana Whenua, noting,

The hierarchy of this matrix must also be respected so that it is the intrinsic values and principles (Mana Atua) which will drive the political organisational frameworks of out peoples (Mana Tangata) and which will then seek appropriate economic models to sustain us (Mana Whenua).281

In regard to Kaupapa M ori within the M ori Education sector this is defined by the M ori

Education Commission as distinct in that its basis in within m tauranga M ori and the

philosophical underpinnings are M ori.282 Taking this further, Graham Hingangaroa Smith

has identified six elements that are evident in Kaupapa M ori education; tino

rangatiratanga, taonga tuku iho; ako M ori; kia piki ake i ng raruraru i te kainga;

wh nau; kaupapa.283 Graham argues that these elements provide a solid basis for

Kaupapa M ori theory.284

Where these elements require further explanation I have located that discussion in chapter

five as they have provide a solid foundation for the development of Kaupapa M ori theory.

Furthermore, he states that Kaupapa M ori initiatives are held together by collective

commitment, philosophies and visions. The vision, which Graham relates to Habermas’s

notion of the ‘utopian vision’ may have within it elements such as conscientisation, resistance

and praxis. I use the term ‘may’ deliberately here as not all expressions of kaupapa embrace

a politicising element explicitly. On many occasions I have heard the statements ‘this is not

political’ or ‘leave politics out of this’, the belief inherent in such statement is that Kaupapa

M ori is not in itself inherently political. In political terms ‘being on the kaupapa’ is an

indication of a political philosophy being inherent in someones thinking. Kaupapa in these

terms is very much about wider aspirations that are cultural and political. However, given the

hegemony of colonisation many M ori people now reduce the political or deny its existence.

We need to be clear, everything that is about struggling for the position of M ori is political.

As a whanaunga,285 Mahinekura Reinfelds, so eloquently retorted to a statement that

politics were not welcome “For some M ori people to get up in the morning is a political

act!”.286

280 ibid 281 Sykes, Annette (n/d) Agents For Change, Unpublished Paper, Rotorua:10 282 M ori Education Commission 1998 Report to the Minsters of M ori Affairs, Report 2, Wellington 283 These elements are discussed in depth in Chapter five. 284 Smith, G.H. 1997 op.cit.:pp466-473 285 Whanaunga refers here to a tribal relation 286 Reinfelds, M. 2000 personal communication

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Kaupapa M ori is a transformative power. To think and act in terms of Kaupapa M ori

whilst experiencing colonisation is to resist dominance. This is not something that M ori

alone are engaging. It is the experience of vast numbers of Indigenous Peoples across the

world. Native woman writer Rayna Green, reflecting on Indian notions of leadership in their

communities writes,

In Indian country, maybe the most radical change we will ever have is a return to tradition.287

What is clear in discussions regarding Kaupapa M ori is that Kaupapa M ori can not be

understood without an understanding of m tauranga M ori and the ways in which we as

M ori engage knowledge and forms of knowing. As noted in the brief discussion on

Kaupapa M ori research in Chapter Two, Te Ahukaram Charles Royal outlines

m tauranga M ori as theory and whakapapa as research methodology. In posing a

number of possibilities in what he refers to as theory in 'embryonic' form, Te Ahukaram

gives the following working definition;

He mea hanga te m tauranga M ori n te M ori. E h ngaia ana tëne i m tauranga i roto i te whare o Te Ao M rama, i runga an hoki i ngwhakaat ranga o te whakapapa kia m rama ai te tangata ki t na Ao.

M tauranga M ori is created by M ori humans according to a worldview entitled 'Te Ao M rama' and by the employment of methodologies derived from this worldview to explain the M ori experience of the world.288

M tauranga M ori is created by the use of whakapapa. Whakapapa is regarded an

analytical tool that has been employed by our people as a means by which to understand our

world and relationships. In such a framework it appears that whakapapa is both vehicle and

expression of m tauranga M ori. The assertion through whakapapa of the origins of

m tauranga M ori returns us to Papat nuku and Ranginui.289 Rapata Wiri also locates

m tauranga M ori as essential to the construction of what refers to as a Mana M ori

model. M tauranga M ori provides a distinct M ori epistemology and ways of knowing

and draws upon a range of both verbal and non-verbal forms for its expression. Rapata

highlights the complexity of definitions of m tauranga M ori and its multiple elements as

follows;

M ori epistemoloy; the M ori way; the M ori worldview; the M ori style of thought; M ori ideology; M ori knowledge base; M ori perspective; to understand or to be acquainted with the M ori world; to be knowledgeable in things M ori; to be a graduate of the M ori schools of learning; M ori tradition and history; M ori experience of history; M ori enlightenment; M ori scholarship; M ori intellectual tradition.290

287 Green, Rayna 1990 'American Indian Women: Diverse Leadership For Social Change' in Albrecht, L. & Brewer, R.M. (eds) Bridges of Power: Womens Multicultural Alliances, New Society Publishers in cooperation with the National Womens Studies Association, Philadelphia 288 Royal, T.C. op.cit.:83 289 ibid. 290 Wiri, R. 2001 The Prophecies Of The Great Canyon Of Toi: A History Of Te Wh iti-nui-a-Toi In The Western Urewera Mountains Of New Zealand, Unpublished Doctor of Philosophy thesis, University of Auckland, Auckland: 25

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In identifying non-verbal forms of m tauranga M ori Rapata highlights some examples as;

whakairo, raranga, hangarau, hanga whare, and verbal forms as; whakapapa, k rero,

whakataukï, waiata, kupu whakaari.291 Each of these forms and others contribute to the

immense knowledge that is m tauranga M ori. Rangimarie Rose Pere discusses the

necessity of seeing the interrelationship between forms of m tauranga M ori.292 In the

following model for M ori education she presents us with a clear example of the many

interacting forms that contribute to m tauranga M ori.

291 Rapata defines these as whakairo - carving, raranga - weaving, hangarau - technology, hanga whare - house building, and verbal forms as; whakapapa - genealogy, k rero - oral narratives, whakataukï - proverbs, waiata - song, kupu whakaari - proverbial sayings. I would add that the term whakairo in its wider sense relates to the process of making shape. 292 Pere, Rangimarie 1991 Te Wheke: A Celebration of Infinite Wisdom, Gisborne, Ao AkoGlobal Learning New Zealand

For Diagram described please Refer to Pere, Rangimarie 1991 Te Wheke: A

Celebration of Infinite Wisdom, Gisborne, Ao Ako Global Learning New Zealand

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According to Rangimarie, in a M ori educational framework each institution merges

together. This can also be said of m tauranga M ori and Kaupapa M ori where the many

elements that are explored are continually in relationship and do not sit isolation.293

Defining ‘theory’ and its place in the thesis

The appending of the term theory to Kaupapa M ori and Mana Wahine may for some be

literally a contradiction in terms. Both Kaupapa M ori and Mana Wahine are conceptually

based within M ori cultural and philosophical traditions. Theory, however, may be said to be

conceptually based within European philosophical traditions. To query this relationship is not

unfamiliar to M ori. Theory, like other academic traditions, has rarely been ‘M ori friendly’.

In fact theory often provided the justification for the ongoing perpetuation of violence on

M ori. Theories of racial inferiority, deficiencies and cultural disadvantage have been key in

the denial of M ori people access to our land, language and culture.294 It is clear that theories

can be used both for and against M ori. Graham maintains that M ori, as a subordinate

group, must critically engage theory as a site of struggle.295 As a tool theory is not inherently

oppressive just as it is not inherently transformative. As African-American intellectual bell

hooks writes

Theory is not inherently healing, liberatory or revolutionary. It fulfils this function only whenwe ask that it do so and direct our theorizing towards this end.296

All theories are socially constructed and therefore the worldviews and philosophies of those

who participate in their construction inform all theories. In terms of Kaupapa M ori theory,

Graham Smith argues that the deliberate cooption of the term ‘theory’ has been an attempt to

challenge dominant P keh notions of theory and provide “counter-hegemonic practice and

understandings” in terms of how theory is constructed, defined, selected, interpreted and

applied.297 Thomas J. Ward in his article ‘Definitions of Theory in Sociology’ gives an

extensive overview of the use of the term ‘theory’ by a range of sociologists. Utilising a

content analysis, Ward draws on the writings of 27 sociologists as a basis for determining

key concepts used in regard to defining theory.298 What is evident in Ward’s analysis is that

293 ibid. Also for further discussion of concepts in the model refer to Pere Rangimarie, 1982 Ako:Concepts and Learning in the Maori Tradition, Hamilton, Department of Sociology, University of Waikato, Reprinted 1994, Te K hanga Reo Trust, Wellington 294 Mead, Linda Tuhiwai Te Rina (1996) Ng Aho o te K kahu M tauranga: The Multiple Layers of Struggle by M ori in Education, Unpublished Doctoral Thesis, University of Auckland, 1996 295 Smith, G.H. 1997 op.cit.:132 296 hooks, bell 1994 Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom, Routledge New York, pg 61 297 Smith, G.H. 1997 op.cit.:455 298Ward, T.J., 1974 'Definitions of Theory in Sociology' in Denisoff, R.S., Callahan, O., Levine, M.H. (eds) Theories and Paradigms in Contemporary Sociology, F.E. Peacock Publishers Inc., Ill inois. Wards process of analysis included (i) identification of conceptual categories through a “tentative compilation of categorical referents’ (ibid.:33); (ii) examination of each category in

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sociologists may use a variety of terms for similar concepts dependent upon the context and

the perceived formality of the context. For example, Ward notes that in more formal contexts

statements regarding theory may distinguish between a range of concepts, such as “axioms,

postulates, premises, and theorems”, whereas in less formal statements these concepts may

be located under a more general rubric of proposition. The complexities of attempting to

provide a definition of theory is highlighted most significantly in Ward’s attempt to answer the

question, What is theory?

Using language that reflects at least some areas of consensus, a theory is a logical deductive-inductive system of concepts, more selected aspects of phenomena and from which testable hypotheses can be derived. Theories in sociology are intended to be descriptive, explanatory, and predictive of phenomena of interest to the discipline and to its individual practitioners.299

Abbott and Wallace300 note that given that all people engage in acts of thinking and having

ideas then we are all theorists. We are all able to theorise and analyse what is happening

around us, in fact we all participate in common-sense notions that are a part of our engaging

with processes of theorising. There is, however, a need to distinquish between common-

sense notions and sociological theorising. Drawing on the work of Stuart Hall they identify

that in the social sciences theories are expected to be

open-ended, open to new evidence, capable of modification and improvement, and clear about the way its concepts are formed.301

Social theories are expected to be more systematic in their explanations and ideas, try to take

account of the ‘facts’ presented and be coherent in its explanations, and be open to

refutation. These expectations make social theories quite distinct from common-sense

assumptions. Taking the discussion of theories a step further, Abbott and Wallace then

explore elements that constitute a ‘theoretical perspective’. The following five points are

identified as necessary in a theoretical perspective:

1. provides us with concepts to use in our analysis and accounts

2. suggests what questions to ask and informs our direction to certain aspects

3. provides ways of answering questions through orienting certain assumptions

4. informs how we interpret and our perceptions

5. involves judgements about the use and application of knowledge.302

Where theories seek to explain, organise and summarise what is happening around us,

theoretical perspectives then acknowledge how we position ourselves with particular

some depth; (iii) count of number of entries in each category as both frequency and percentage distribution. 299 ibid,:39 300 Abbott, P. and Wallace, C., 1997 Introduction to Sociology - Feminist Perspectives,Routledge, London 301 Stuart Hall cited in Abbott and Wallace, ibid.:25 302 ibid.

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theoretical frameworks. This is a recognition that ‘theory’ is not singular and that by locating

ourselves within a certain theoretical perspective we are naming where we are and the

types of analysis that we are bringing to our discussions. It may be that in light of such a

contention that the juxtaposition of ‘Kaupapa M ori’ to ‘theory’ is appropriate in that such

process overtly identifies the theoretical perspective within which analysis is located. This is

affirmed by the process of identifying our position ‘up front’ so to speak. To position

ourselves clearly as Kaupapa M ori theorists is to identify ourselves, to place before others

where we are coming from so that there is no guise of neutrality or assumed objectivity.303

The possibilities of theory are multiple. Theories are not solely descriptive or explanatory or

predictive, but can be all of these simultaneously. Focusing on the explanatory nature of

theory Coxon et.al304 note that theories may be viewed fundamentally as collections of

general principles that provide explanations for events and experiences. Theories can

provide ways of explaining the world through the use of given understandings. Given the

diversity of world views, of cultural ways of seeing, understanding and therefore explaining

the world it is expected that a range of theories may exist simultaneously for any given event

or to explain experiences. Theories are, and must be, more.

Having looked at some of the literature here that presents theory as prescription, description,

explanation and analysis it is clear to me that theory can not only be about these things but

must be rooted in practice. To use a term from the work of Paulo Friere, theory and practice

must exist in ‘dialectical unity’.305 Dialectical unity, as a term, acknowledges the

interdependence of theory to practice and vice versa. One cannot act fully without the other

but that there is a process of constant reflection and reshaping as each part of the unity

informs the other. Theory and practice are not closed entities, they are open to each other

and therefore we, in our practice and our theorising, need to be open to the possibilities that

come with such a process of reflection.

The shifting of a definition of theory from the descriptive mode, within which it is positioned by

Ward, to one that is related explicably to practice and therefore is informed by the politics and

social realities within which the practice is located, makes theory worthwhile for M ori.

Without the unity of theory with practice, theory has little to offer. The idea of theory as a

means of describing and explaining what is happening around, and more often than not ‘to’

us, and its relationship to transformative practice, is explored in some depth by bell hooks in

her piece ‘Theory as Liberatory Practice’. Coming to theory was for hooks

303 Smith. L.T.2000 op.cit. 304 Coxon, E., Jenkins, K., Marshall, J., Massey, L., (eds), (1994) The Politics of Learning and Teaching in Aotearoa - New Zealand, Dunmore Press Ltd, Palmerston North

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because I was hurting - the pain within me was so intense that I could not go on living. I came to theory desperate, wanting to comprehend-to grasp what was happening around and within me.306

bell hooks’ exploration of theory as liberatory practice is helpful in that her discussion

engages with some issues that are central for African-Americans, of which many also have

direct relevance for M ori. Where theory has on the whole been imposed upon M ori

experiences and events, there has emerged an often deep resentment and dismissal of the

idea that theory could be at all transformative. Reflecting on similar responses within her own

community, hooks identifies the difficulties that such responses pose for the black intellectual,

in particular the ways that dismissal of intellectuals and theory can silence the black

academic. The silencing noted by hooks can equally be felt by M ori academics in this

country. It is a process that I have felt and seen on many occasions. The dismissal of M ori

academics and any notion of theory, through utilising anti-theory discourses, has become a

means of silencing or of capturing ground within a debate.

Barbara Christian, an African-American woman literary critic, offers much to this discussion.

Christian gives an articulate and powerful critique of the developments in literary theory.307 A

key point of concern is what she considers the 'race for theory' and the ways in which new

literary criticism is being constructed. Whilst it is important to engage and develop theory, she

states, it must be grounded in experiences and practice, without which theory becomes

“prescriptive, exclusive, elitist”.308 Further, she challenges the notion that new theoretical

developments will make change for black women writers, she writes;

These writers did announce their dissatisfaction with some of the cornerstone ideas of their own tradition, a dissatisfaction with which I was born. But in their attempt to change the orientation of Western scholarship, they, as usual, concentrated on themselves and were not in the slightest interested in the worlds they ignored or controlled.309

For theory to be invented in ways that have little or no relevance to people's lives because of

its prescriptive, exclusive and elitist foundations is of no use to M ori. Any theoretical

305 Freire, P., 1985 The Politics of Education: Culture, Power and Liberation, Bergin and Garvey Publishers Inc., Massachusetts 306 hooks, b., 1994 'Theory as Liberatory Practice' in Teaching to Transgress, Routledge: London:59 This article is one that I use in a Graduate course I teach, as it promotes discussion about the possibilities of theory. It has become increasingly obvious to me that many M ori hold a deep distrust for anything that is called ‘theory’. That distrust has been well earned. As Linda TuhiwaiSmith relates in regard to research, M ori have been at the receiving end of being ‘researched on’ and ‘researched by’ the coloniser306. As M ori, our experience of theory, like our experiences of research have been as the object who is studied, and theorised about. Our lives, our wh nau, our culture, our language, our entire being has been theorised by P keh academics and researchers over the past 200 years. Our world has been theorised through paradigms that bear no resemblance to the ways in which we would explain and understand ourselves. 307 Christian, Barbara 1990 'The Race For Theory' in Moraga, C. & Anzuldua, G.(eds), 1983 This Bridge Called My Back, Kitchen Table Women of Colour Press, New York, pp335-345 308 ibid. 309 ibid:339

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framework must be located within our experiences and practices. Equally, I would argue a

strong Kaupapa M ori theoretical framework must be cognisant of our historical and cultural

realities, in all their complexities.

Struggling with and over the notion of theory is a part of Kaupapa M ori theory. We need to

both recognise and critique those theories that have reconstructed our experiences as a

means of maintaining the colonisers dominance. Equally we need to acknowledge that if

theory is about providing explanations about the world that are derived from certain sets of

principles then it is clear that our tupuna did engage in theory as a part of our own knowledge

constructions and ways of understanding our experiences. In this light we can see the

possibilities for theory, as bell hooks names it as 'liberatory' practice.

However, just as not all theory is oppressive, not all theory is liberatory. Theory is

constructed by groups of people through their own cultural and political understandings.

Theory is as with other social constructions, both socially and culturally bound. Liberatory

theory can only develop from a political positioning that acknowledges that injustices and

oppression exist. Without that acknowledgement the need for liberatory theory would not be

evident. It seems to me that bell hooks is calling for the recognition of the potential for theory

to be liberatory, and that such recognition is realised through active critical reflection that is

located in an understanding of oppression, of pain, of struggle. Theories that develop from

these concrete and known experiences bring possibilities for transformation. The relationship

of these ideas to the development of ‘new’ feminist theorising is explained by hooks;

Personal testimony, personal experience, is such fertile ground for the production of liberatory feminist theory because it usually forms the base of our theory making. while we work to resolve those issues that are most pressing in daily life... we engage in a critical process of theorizing that enables and empowers.310

A further source of rejection of theory is related to accessibility. Many theoretical

frameworks that espouse a focus on transformation are themselves inaccessible. If theory is

inaccessible because of the language chosen by academics then the potential for that theory

to transform the lived realities of oppressed groups becomes limited. A common complaint by

M ori students is regarding the inaccessibility of some theoretical discussions. bell hooks

expresses her amazement at the limited number of feminist theoretical texts that actually

‘speak’ to women, men and children about transforming our lives. By ‘speak’, she is referring

to the meanings and theories being accessible. The academy does little to support the

development of accessible texts.

310 ibid:70

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As M ori academics we are often caught in the bind between our communities and the

academy. M ori thesis students often voice the position that their thesis must be able to be

read by their wh nau and the wider M ori community, if it can’t then it’s potential for offering

information and knowledge is, in their minds, diminished.311 This can create a dilemma for

M ori students in that the expectations of the university, and what constitutes a thesis and

theory, can differ significantly from the expectations of the M ori student and their priority

audience.

As in other areas of our existence in the academy, as both teachers and students, the use of

theory, and how we use theory are sites of contestation. There are ways to present theory

in understandable language and this is something that many M ori academics seek in their

own writings. This is especially relevant to Kaupapa M ori theory as its sustainability is

dependent on its reproduction by M ori for M ori. To write in ways that deny access to the

majority of M ori people is in my opinion bringing closure rather that ensuring ongoing debate

and evolution. I agree with Graham Hingangaroa Smith’s contention that theory is a central

problematic in the development of liberatory processes which Smith refers to as

“transformative action in the interests of subordinated groups”.312 For Graham, theory is a

definite site of struggle between interest groups and the struggle for theoretical space, to

support M ori to critically analyse our experiences, is a worthwhile struggle. This struggle is

about contesting theoretical space. As with all forms of contestation the underpinning power

relations require challenge. This is a threat to those who argue the dominance of Western

theories. It is also about M ori constituting theory within our own terms. Sheilagh Walker

argues that M ori academics engage in theory because of our engagement in the struggle

for Kaupapa M ori. In her terms “our struggle becomes our Theory”.313 Furthermore, she

suggests that Kaupapa M ori theory is not defined within Western philosophical traditions

but through Kaupapa M ori praxis. It is worth outlining this argument more fully by referring

directly to a statement made in her Masters thesis.

I conclude that Kaupapa Maori is not a Theory in the Western sense; it does not subsume itself within European philosophical endeavours which construct and privilege on Theory over another Theory, one rationality over another rationality, one philosophical paradigm over another paradigm, one knowledge over another knowledge, one World view over another World view of the Other. Kaupapa Maori Theory is rather Kaupapa MaoriPraxis. My problematic continues. I de-construct the title further; what remains is simply KAUPAPA Maori.314

311Taki, Mereana 1996 op.cit.; Pahiri, Dallas 1997 Me Whakatupu Ki Te Hua O Te Rengarenga, Me Whakapakari Ki Te Hua O Te Kawariki Reclaiming and Contesting Culture: Popular Culture and M ori Youth, Unpublished Master of Arts Thesis, University of Auckland, Auckland 312 Smith,G.H. 1997 op.cit.:131 313 Walker, S. op.cit:119 314 ibid.

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This raises again the necessity or otherwise of appending the word ‘theory’ to Kaupapa

M ori and Mana Wahine. The problematic being in the dominant conceptualisation of theory

in Western terms. I would argue that the use of the term theory in resistance terms is one

that validates more directly the underpinning intentions of Kaupapa M ori and Mana Wahine

theories, but as with any concept that derives from a Western base the issues raised by

Sheilagh Walker must be continually present and be central to our ongoing reflection on the

terms that we choose to use.

Locating Kaupapa M ori theory in the thesis

This chapter focuses on Kaupapa M ori theory. Kaupapa M ori theory is the fundamental

framework of this thesis. There is no other theoretical framework that can ensure a cultural

integrity is maintained. It provides both tools of analysis and a means by which to context the

various discourses that the thesis engages with. Kaupapa M ori theory is the critical theory

alongside which all other theories will be located. Current expressions of Kaupapa M ori

theory are expanded upon through an assertion of Mana Wahine as a Kaupapa M ori

theoretical framework and methodology. This research is about knowledge and analysis as

related to M ori women. It seeks to provide analysis and critique that will raise frameworks

for analysis of critical issues for M ori women. In order to undertake such a task a strong

theoretical foundation is necessary. That theoretical foundation must, in my view, be built

from here, from Papat nuku, not from the building blocks of imported theories. Kaupapa

M ori theory provides such a foundation.

In an analogy of a wharenui,315

Kaupapa M ori theory is the poutokomanawa for this

research.316

Margie Kahukura Hohepa draws upon the wharenui as a means of

highlighting the inter-relationships that occur within M ori Education.317 The wharenui is an

appropriate symbol for discussing M ori Education and Kaupapa M ori theory as it is the

embodiment of our being. The wharenui as a representation of selected t puna, both

female and male, is itself a storehouse of knowledge. The wharenui also serves as shelter

and protection, whilst holding within the space generations of stories and images that remind

us of our place in the world. A number of writers position the wharenui as a form of

understanding particular forms of Kaupapa M ori theory or Kaupapa M ori research.

Hirini Melbourne draws on the whare whakairo as a means of contextualising M ori world

315 The wharenui is the large meeting house that provides as a collective gathering place for our people. As a metaphor the whare embodies and personifies our ancestral connections and provides a cultural space that authors such as Ranginui Walker have referred to as one of the few bastions where M ori can ‘be’ M ori.316 The poutokomanawa is the central post within a wharenui, as such the manawa or the heart of the wharenui is supported by this very central post. 317 Hohepa, M., 2001 personal communication

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views.318 Takirirangi Smith notes the whare provides a whole representation of M ori

worldviews and stands as a symbol of our validity in the world.319 Frances Goulton

discusses the wharenui as a form for depicting key concepts in their Teacher Education

programme. In her discussion the t huhu320 represents wairua, the papa is wh nau, and

four pou represent ako, tikanga, Kaupapa M ori and te reo.321

Kaupapa M ori theory is not the ‘only’ theory that will appear in this thesis, others that allow

a critical analysis and reflection are included. I have no intention of adhering to an academic

addiction that promotes ongoing injections of work from ‘dead white men’. This is not to

undermine the contributions of many who fit this category, but is a response to the constant

deluge of ‘important’ theorists that I am told I ‘should’ read. The majority of those ‘important’

theorists have absolutely no understanding of how M ori experience the world, or the

complex cultural relationships that are a part of our experiences. Sheilagh Walker also

highlights this as an issue when she writes;

the majority of ‘Dead White Males’ who have created and perpetuated European philosophical discourse, have done so, for the benefit of other White Males.

322

Those ‘other’ theories that appear in this thesis do so for three key reasons (i) they provide

an analysis that is affirming of the wider theoretical drive of the thesis; (ii) they require a

Kaupapa M ori critique; or (iii) they provide a P keh or European analysis of a P keh or

European ideology323

. I write more fully about this in Chapter four which discusses the role of

Western theories alongside Kaupapa M ori theory, but it is necessary to state at this point

that I do not intend throwing out all Western theories solely because of their cultural origins.

318 Melbourne, Hirini 1991 'Whare Whakairo: M ori Literary Traditions' in McGregor, C. (ed) Dirty Science: Aspects of Language and Literature in New Zealand, Oxford University Press, Auckland 319 Smith, Takirirangi 1999 'Doing Research From Home: Tangata Whenua Issues and M oriResearch' in Te Pümanawa Hauora, 1999, Proceedings of Te Oru Rangahau: M ori Research and Development Conference, School of M ori Studies, Massey University, Palmerston North, pp 246-248 320 T huhu refers to the ridgepole of the whare, that is seen as the backbone of the ancestor that the whare represents. 321 Goulton, Frances, 1999 'He Huarahi Ako: Pathways to Learning : The Academic and Cultural Self-efficacy of M ori Student Teachers' in Te Pümanawa Hauora, 1999, Proceedings of Te Oru Rangahau: M ori Research and Development Conference, School of M ori Studies, Massey University, Palmerston North 322 Walker, Sheilagh 1996 Kia Tau Te Rangimarie: Kaupapa M ori Theory as a Resistance against the Construction of M ori as the Other, Unpublished Master of Arts Thesis, University of Auckland:26 323 Here I am identifying that there are both P keh and European ideologies in existence in Aotearoa. I am not inferring an interchangeabil ity between the two terms as I don’t believe that they are in fact interchangeable. When I refer to P keh I am meaning those of some form of European background who have settled in Aotearoa, this can be from first generation migrants through to those who have lived here for a number of generations. European however refers to those who are of European background and still choose to see their home as elsewhere, not Aotearoa.

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As both bell hooks324

and Lee Maracle325

would say that would be absurd, as it would deny

that there are theories of Western origin that can be of use for oppressed groups. This

position is clearly taken by M ori academics such as Linda Tuhiwai Smith, Graham

Hingangaroa Smith, Margie Kahukura Hohepa, Patricia Maringi Johnston and Kuni Jenkins

in their recently completed doctoral theses.326

M ori women theorists such as Ngahuia Te

Awekotuku, Kathie Irwin, Mereana Taki and Cherryl Smith, have also been highly

influential in my own theoretical development and have encouraged the utilisation of

theoretical frameworks that will support M ori aspirations.327

A range of M ori

organisations and M ori women in 'the movement' have also been influential in shaping ideas

and analysis.328 Given that I have a tendency to critique certain theoretical frameworks with

some vigour, I have a need to continually remind myself not to blatantly deny that there may be

things that are useful in such theories. My position however, remains that the foundation for

analysis will be M ori. In considering Kaupapa M ori theory I am working toward an

articulation of Mana Wahine as a means of theoretical analysis. My proposal is that for

insights into M ori experiences there must be explicit statements for and by M ori women;

this, in my argument, is critical if we are to ensure that Kaupapa M ori theory does not

become yet another ‘malestream’ theoretical framework.329

This point constitutes a major

section of my theoretical positioning and therefore informs the research analysis significantly.

It is necessary to acknowledge that Kaupapa M ori theory is not a theoretical framework

that provides answers by following a set recipe. Where there are recognisable elements

within Kaupapa M ori theory, as is presently being defined, these are not seen to be

deterministic or exclusive. This is not an attempt to close or define the parameters of

Kaupapa M ori theory in such a way that would prevent those who draw upon Kaupapa

M ori theory the ability to be flexible and in fact adaptable to the ever changing contexts of

324 hooks, b., 1994 op.cit. 325 Maracle, L., 1996 op.cit. 326 Mead, L.T.R. 1996 op.cit.; Smith,G.H., 1997 op.cit.; Johnston, P.M., 1998 He Aro Rereke:Education Policy and M ori Underachievement: Mechanisms of Power and Difference, Unpublished Doctor of Philosophy thesis, University of Auckland, Auckland; Hohepa, M.K., 1999 op.cit.; Jenkins, K., 2000 op.cit. 327 Irwin, K. 1988, 1992 op.cit.; Te Awekotuku, N., 1991, 1992 op.cit., Taki, Mereana 1996 op.cit.; Smith, C.W., 1994; Smith, C.W. & Taki, M, 1994 'Hoihoi Wahine P keh ' in Te Pua 2,Te Puawaitanga, Auckland pp.38-42 328 W hine m ng w hine o te Moana nui a Kiwa, a support group for M ori and Pacific Women Lesbians was particularly influential in terms of issues and analysis. The Hawke wh nau of Ng ti Whaatua ki Orakei have been nurturing of many M ori women in terms of coming to understand issues of mana whenua and land struggles in T maki Makaurau. Te Rapunga o Poutama work and education trust operated from a wh nau base from its inception in 1986 and continues to provide programmes for rangatahi in inner city Auckland. The are a multitude of M ori individuals, and some P keh although to a lesser degree, who contribute to my understandings of the world, and they know who they are. 329 The term ‘malestream’ is used by Pamela Abbott and Wallace Claire 1997 op.cit. They coin this term as a recognition that historically male theorists have been privileged within sociology with little if any recognition of women.

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M ori collectively and wh nau, hap and iwi as distinct units. To promote closure would in

my mind be the antithesis of what is proposed within Kaupapa M ori Theory. The term

theory itself is multiple in the definitions associated with it and some exploration of that

provides some understanding of the need to ensure against a closure of Kaupapa M ori

theory.

Much of the strength of Kaupapa M ori theory comes in the ability of many M ori to ‘see’

the relevance of such theoretical engagement, and to recognise much of what is said in their

own practices. What is also important is the recognition that Kaupapa M ori theory is not

set in concrete, in fact it is very much a fluid and evolving theoretical framework.330 The

complexities of what this means is evident in my own struggle to find ‘a’ word that does not in

itself express a reductionist view. I have chosen to use the term ‘framework’ in that it

provides a notion of environment and setting as opposed to terms such as ‘model’ or

‘paradigm’, which for me, imply notions of patterns that are set in place. In a wider sense this

is a part of a realisation that it is dominance that seeks to set cultures in concrete, to hold us

in a construction that is static and unchanging and which is often relentless in its denial of

growth and change. We can’t afford for this to be the case.

In developing, drawing upon and refining Kaupapa M ori theory we need to be a part of a

process that is accessible and fluid, not something that is controlled by a few or static and

unchanging. The evolving of Kaupapa M ori theory is long-term and requires intense

reflection. The process itself is as important, if not more so, as the outcome. It is through the

process that we are able to engage more deeply with M ori knowledge, with te reo M ori

me na tikanga, in ways that can reveal culturally based frameworks and structures which

will provide a foundation of M ori Indigenous analyses.

In identifying the evolving nature of Kaupapa M ori theory it is also important to

acknowledge those who have been instrumental in its articulation. Much is owed to the

foundational work done by Linda Tuhiwai Smith and Graham Hingangaroa Smith in providing

key elements for exploration in terms of what Kaupapa M ori theory might look like.331

This

is also indicated in the area of research where Kaupapa M ori research has been carefully

developed alongside Kaupapa M ori theory.332

What is most impressive in the works of

both these writers is their desire to be a part of collective and open development of Kaupapa

M ori theory with other M ori academics such as myself. More recent works by Margie

Kahukura Hohepa, Patricia Maringi Johnston, Kuni Jenkins, Tuakana Nepe, Fiona Cram,

330 Smith, G.H. op.cit: 97 331 op.cit 332 Smith, L.T. 1999 Decolonising Methodologies : Research and Indigenous Peoples, Zed Books Ltd. London

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Cherryl Waerea-i-te-rangi Smith, Mereana Taki, Kathie Irwin, Huia Jahnke, Taina Pohatu,

Hine Waitere-Ang and Russell Bishop show the expansiveness that is Kaupapa M ori

theory.333

It also highlights Kaupapa M ori theory as evolving.

Kaupapa M ori Theory As Evolving Theory

As a theoretical framework Kaupapa M ori theory is still developing. However, we can be

assured that development comes from a philosophical tradition that is as longstanding as any

Western philosophical tradition. The idea that Kaupapa M ori theory is still growing is an

important aspect to consider as it would be easy to stay with what has been written and not

build on, critique and reshape Kaupapa M ori theory. To ensure the diversities of M ori

experiences and an inclusion of wh nau, hap and iwi knowledge Kaupapa M ori theory

must be reflective, and we as its proponents open to an evolving process. In one of the most

depth discussions of Kaupapa M ori theory, Graham Hingangaroa Smith establishes

Kaupapa M ori theory as an evolving theory of transformation that can be understood

through an analysis of Kaupapa M ori intervention initiatives.334

Graham locates the genesis

of Kaupapa M ori theory very securely within the political initiatives driven by M ori. More

recently we established the phrasing of the term ‘Kaupapa M ori theory’ was a collective

event, having been articulated through theoretical discussions that took place in a M ori

Education graduate paper in 1990.335 I recall the kinds of discussions that took part in that

group and the strength of debate surrounding the ‘usefulness’ or otherwise of the focus on

the Frankfurt School Critical Theory. A question that was constantly raised was ‘where are

our theoretical terms?' This remains a crucial question for M ori. It is important to note at this

point that the term Kaupapa M ori theory was phrased in line with existing developments of

Te K hanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa M ori, and with the idea that we can and should

develop our own theoretical frameworks based within te reo me na tikanga. Kaupapa

M ori theory was not, as appears to be the belief of some, based upon Critical Theory.336

Kaupapa M ori theory may be viewed as a theoretical movement that has its foundation in

M ori community developments. These developments are epitomised in the M ori education

333 Many of the people referred to here are referenced at footnotes 45 & 46. The remainder are:Nepe T., 1991 op.cit.; Pohatu, Taina 1996 I Tiipu Ai Taatou I Ngaa Turi O O Tatatau Maatua Tiipuna: Transmission and Acquisition Processes Within Kaawai Whakapapa.Unpublished Master of Education thesis, University of Auckland, Auckland; Waikere-Ang, Hine1999 Te Kete, The Briefcase, Te Tuara: The Balancing Act - M ori Women in the Primary Sector, Unpublished Master of Educational Administration thesis, Massey University, Palmerston North; Bishop, R., 1996 op.cit. 334 Smith, G.H. 1997 op.cit:457 335 Graham Smith personal communication 336 Rapata Wiri argues that Kaupapa M ori theory is based on Critical Theory and is a 'bicultural' approach. The relationship to critical theory is discussed in this chapter however it is necessary to restate that Kaupapa M ori theory is based upon Kaupapa M ori. In these terms Kaupapa M ori theory is more akin to what Rapata terms Mana M ori. Refer Wiri, R., 2001 op.cit.

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initiatives Te K hanga Reo337 and Kura Kaupapa M ori. Both Te K hanga Reo and Kura

Kaupapa M ori are initiatives that originated from M ori communities. They were, and are,

driven primarily by the motivation of M ori for initiatives through which te reo M ori could

be regenerated for our people and which would intervene in the crisis of M ori educational

underachievement that had been the experience of generations of M ori children and

wh nau. The development of these initiatives brought a need for M ori people to reflect on

and draw upon our own cultural knowledge. Te K hanga Reo, the first of the M ori

Education initiatives to develop, is a prime example. The history of the development of Te

K hanga Reo has been well documented by M ori people involved in the movement. M ori

women such as Margie Kahukura Hohepa, Arapera Royal-Tangaere, Tania Ka’ai and

Mere White have documented Te K hanga Reo and identified key elements that contribute

to the success in terms of language revitalisation.338

What is key to this discussion is that Te K hanga Reo was an initiative through which to

explore M ori knowledge in a concrete and focused manner in terms of education.

Moreover, it meant that we needed to clearly articulate the types of values, understandings,

beliefs and norms that we wanted for our tamariki and to bring forward te reo M ori me

na tikanga so that those aspirations could be reached. I don’t intend romanticising Te

K hanga Reo, as there are struggles that are inherent in processes of reclamation for

M ori, but it is important to note that the development of Te K hanga Reo has had a

profound affect on M ori Education more generally and on the growth of Kaupapa M ori

theory.339

337 In 1979 a gather of elders at the W nanga kaumatua affirmed te reo M ori ”Ko te reo te mauri o te mana M ori” the language is the life principle of M ori mana. This was followed in 1981 with a resolution from another hui, Waananga Whakatauira for the development of bilingual education at pre-school level. These were taken further to a proposal for immersion pre-school programmes. In April 1982 the first Te Kohanga Reo opened at Pukeatua KokiriCentre Wainuiomata. The overriding goal being the fluency of te reo M ori which would address the priority concern for the revitalisation of te reo. Refer Hohepa, M.K 1990 Te KohangaReo Hei Tikanga Ako I Te Reo M ori, Unpublished Master of Arts thesis, University of Auckland. pp 7-18 338I would urge any reader who is interested in Te K hanga Reo to refer to the following works: Hohepa, M.K.:ibid.; Irwin, Kathie 'The Politics of K hanga Reo' in Middleton, S., Codd, J., Jones, A., 1990 New Zealand Education Policy Today, Allen and Unwin, Wellington pp 110-120; Royal-Tangaere, Arapera 1992 Te Puawaitanga O Te Reo Ka Hua Te Haa O Te Potiki I Roto I Te Wh nau Ko Tenei Te Tahuhu O Te K hanga Reo: Transference From Te K hanga Reo To Home, The Roles Of The Child And The Family, Unpublished Master of Arts Thesis, University of Auckland; Ka’ai, Tania 1990 Te Hiringa Taketake: Mai i te Kohanga Reo: M oriPedagogy, Te K hanga Reo and the transition to school, Unpublished Master of Arts thesis, University of Auckland; White, Mere Ng utauta Skerrett 1995 Te Wero - Te Uru Whakatupu Ake Te Uru o Matawhaura: Language Scaffolding in a K hanga Reo, Unpublished Master of Philosophy in Education thesis, University of Auckland. 339 This is explored further in the following section on the organic development of Kaupapa M ori theory.

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My own relationship with the term Kaupapa M ori theory has also been one of constant

reflection for precisely the reasons that have been raised. I am keenly aware of the coining

of such phrases by M ori as a process of opening space. There is no doubt that the coining

of the term Kaupapa M ori theory has been precisely that, a process of engaging the

academic community in a way that will create cultural and theoretical space for M ori within

the university. This has also meant a reclaiming of the possibilities of theory, as I have

discussed earlier in chapter two, where theory is not constrained to those dualistic

oppositions and contests that Sheilagh Walker has alerted us to.340 This is critical, as

Kaupapa M ori theory is not constructed in the competitive, hierarchical nature that is often

the case in the assertion of Western theories. Kaupapa M ori theory, as explored in this

thesis, is not dualistic or constructed within simplistic binaries. It is not about asserting the

superiority of one set of knowledge over another or one worldview over another. It is not

about denying the rights of any peoples to their philosophical traditions, culture or language. It

is an assertion of the right for M ori to be M ori on our own terms and to draw from our

own base to provide understandings and explanations of the world.

Asserting a right to argue Kaupapa M ori theory has been an ongoing struggle. In

universities across the country M ori academics are drawing upon the growing body of

M ori literature that is engaging Kaupapa M ori theory. The historical dominance of

Western theorising is being challenged at a very fundamental level, that is at the level of

relevance to the Indigenous people of this land. For many P keh academics this challenge

is viewed as a threat. The possibility of M ori taking control of our own theoretical

frameworks is a threat to the survival of many of those P keh academics who have spent

the best part of their academic lives theorising ‘about’ and ‘on’ M ori. M ori students across

the country have been told that it is not sufficient to reference Kaupapa M ori theory as

their theoretical framework, or to rely solely on the writings of M ori academics when

discussing issues regarding M ori Education. It is clear that those P keh academics, some

of which are supervising M ori students at Graduate level, are unable to accept that

Kaupapa M ori theory is a valid theoretical framework or that M ori are able to develop

theoretical frameworks that have origins in te reo M ori me na tikanga. This is a

particularly ethnocentric notion, yet it continues to pervade the academy in ways that can

seriously disadvantage M ori staff and students.

In spite of the resistances to the assertion of Kaupapa M ori theory, we continue seeking

ways to claim ground in the framing of our own theories. We do this with the knowledge that

theory is not in itself transformative, that it is a site of struggle, and that it must be located in

direct relationship with practice. Theory is a term that has a tenuous relationship to M ori. It

340 Walker, S. 1996, op.cit.

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is my hope that Kaupapa M ori theory will bring to the fore the possibility that we no longer

have to adhere to an idea that theory belongs only to the coloniser, but rather that we can as

Indigenous people once again acknowledge that we have always theorised about our world

and that our theories, that are grounded historically on this land, are valid. Kaupapa M ori

theory is I believe a theoretical framework that is organically M ori.

Organic Development of Kaupapa M ori theory

The organic development and nature of Kaupapa M ori theory is perhaps one of its

strongest aspects. Having already noted that the coining of the phrase came within a

university context it is vital that we do not then assume that Kaupapa M ori theory is only

about academia, as that is not the case. Kaupapa M ori theory has in very real terms

developed from M ori. Given that te reo M ori me na tikanga is central to Kaupapa

M ori theory we have an established foundation that can be described as nothing other than

organic.

Kaupapa M ori theory is a part on a wider resurgence for M ori, it is a part of what is

often termed the M ori Renaissance. That renaissance is an outcome of the struggles by

many M ori to regain the fundamental rights guaranteed under Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The

struggles of groups such as Ng Tamatoa and Te reo M ori Association341 were

instrumental in the maintenance of M ori struggles for te reo M ori me ona tikanga. The

Wai 11 case to the Waitangi Tribunal has provided an ongoing thrust for M ori who are

active in the struggle for the revival and retention of te reo M ori. From these struggles

have emerged the M ori Educational initiatives of Te K hanga Reo, Kura Kaupapa M ori,

Whare Kura and Whare W nanga. The political and historical development of these

initiatives has been recorded by those involved directly with these initiatives. 342 It may be

stated in more general terms that the development of these initiatives has come about from a

basis of the need for M ori to take control of our own educational processes and in doing so

of our own destinies. Fundamental to this is the revival, maintenance and development of te

341 Ng Tamatoa and the Te Reo M ori Association were radical M ori groups that were instrumental in the assertion of M ori rights to M ori language and culture. 342 Refer Hohepa, M.K. 1990 op.cit.; Nepe, T. 1991 op.cit.; Smith, L.T., 1990 M ori Education: A Reassertion in in Puna Wairere: Essays By Mäori, 1990 New Zealand Planning Council, Wellington pp 62-70; Smith G.H. 1989 Kura Kaupapa M ori: Innovation and Policy Development in AccessVol.8, Journal of the Policy Studies Group, Education Department, University of Auckland, Auckland pp26-28; Smith, G.H. 1997 op.cit.; for a bibliography refer Hohepa, M & Ratapu, R., 1992 He Kete kupu korero : a bibliography of readings on Te K hanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa M ori Research Unit for M ori Education, University of Auckland, Auckland; Jenkins, K. with Ka'ai, T., 'M ori Education: A Cultural Experience and Dilemma for the State - A New Direction for M ori Society' in Coxon, E., et.al. 1994 The Politics of Learning and Teaching in Aotearoa - New Zealand, , The Dunmore Press: Palmerston North pp 148-179; Mead, H.M., 1998 The Development of W nanga: Politics and Vision [sound recording], University in the 21st century Winter Lecture Series, University of Auckland, Auckland

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reo M ori me na tikanga for present and future generations of M ori. Discussion

surrounding the context within which Te K hanga Reo emerged highlights these general

intentions.

Margie Hohepa343 describes the development of Te K hanga Reo as having developed as a

part of wider concerns in regard to te reo M ori. The concern for the potential loss of te

reo M ori has been located with various movements and petitions of the 1970s. Perhaps

one of the most understated events in the revival of te reo M ori as been that of the work

done by Hana Te Hemara in her instigation of the te reo M ori petition in 1970. In the

publication ‘Mana Wahine’, Hana speaks of her life and the inspiration to take on the

development of the M ori Language petition. Having been raised in a wh nau where her

mother had been beaten for speaking M ori, Hana’s own experience was one of hearing te

reo M ori but not being able to speak M ori. Gaining a political understanding of this was

essential and the move toward the petition was further influenced by hearing others speak of

the position of te reo M ori in education.344 Furthermore, Hana states her involvement with

Ng Tamatoa was because of their commitment also to te reo M ori. The petition was

presented to parliament on September 14, 1972 and consisted of 44,000 signatures.345

Where the early 1970’s is undoubtedly the time where there was a growing radical assertion

that intervention must take place, Hana also notes that it is necessary to recognise that there

were concerns expressed much earlier in regard to the positioning of te reo M ori within

Aotearoa. She stated;

Many M ori people pushed for the retention of our language and I want to acknowledge stalwart people like Lou Tawhai from Te Arawa, who left here broken-hearted because of insufficient support in the fifties and sixties. We were just one of many groups like the M ori Women’s Welfare League, who since 1952 had passed remits at their annual conferences to retain the M ori language. It was really an idea whose time had arrived.346

Linda Tuhiwai Smith also identifies the significance of the 1970’s period in the revitalisation of

te reo M ori. It was a time when significant actions were being undertaken in regard to

land issues including actions such as the 1975 Land March, the reoccupation of Bastion Point

by Ng ti Whaatua,347 the occupation of the Raglan Golf course by Eva Rickard and her

343 Hohepa, M., 1999 op.cit. 344 Brown, A. & Carlin, J. (eds) 1994 ‘Hana Te Hemara’ in Mana W hine: Women who show the way, Reed Publishing (NZ) Ltd., Auckland pg 51 345 ibid,:52 346 ibid.:52 347 For reflections on Bastion Point refer to Hawke, S. (ed), Takaparawhau : the people's story : 1998 Bastion Point 20 year Commemoration Book, Ng ti Whaatua ki Orakei & MokoProductions Ltd., Auckland ;for discussion of the occupation at Whaingaroa refer to Greensill, A., Sykes, A., & Pihama, L. (eds), Tauiwa Hautai Kereopa Rickard: 1925-1997: Ng Puna Roimata, Tuaiwa Hautai Kereopa Wh nau & Moko Productions Ltd., Independent State of Whaingaroa

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wh nau, the establishment of the Waitangi Tribunal. M ori movements of the time were not

removed from wider international movements. Ngahuia Te Awekotuku places the

American Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s as a key influence in M ori politics at the time.

Equally the American Indian Movement (AIM) was also gathering momentum struggling for

Indigenous rights in their lands.348

What is clear from documentation in regard to the struggle for and establishment of Te

K hanga Reo is its organic nature. M ori people instigated Te K hanga Reo. M ori

people defined the need for Te K hanga Reo. It is M ori people that are ultimately

responsible for the nurturing and maintenance of Te K hanga Reo. This can also be said

for those things that have grown out of Te K hanga Reo, such as Kura Kaupapa M ori

and Whare Kura. The movement into Kura Kaupapa M ori was a necessity in terms of

maintaining the foundations that were put in place in Te K hanga Reo. In research

regarding the transition of Te K hanga Reo children into existing state schools, Tania Ka’ai

observed that Te K hanga Reo children who went in to mainstream English-speaking or

bilingual classes experienced a rapid loss of fluency of te reo M ori.349 There is little doubt

that within education, and particularly in the formal context of schooling, Te K hanga Reo

and Kura Kaupapa M ori have been key initiatives in the revival and retention of te reo

M ori me na tikanga, and that from these initiatives has emerged a growing body of

literature as to what may be considered success factors for M ori in education. These

factors are equally viewed as key factors in terms of Kaupapa M ori theory. Graham

Hingangaroa Smith has noted that these initiatives in M ori education are themselves

Kaupapa M ori praxis.350 Graham’s research in Te K hanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa

M ori brought to the fore the ways in which M ori activate tikanga within a formalised

setting of schooling.

At this point it is important to note that we need to be careful not to assume that Te K hanga

Reo and Kura Kaupapa M ori are the only sites where Kaupapa M ori is articulated.

There are numerous sites through which M ori people are actively engaged with Kaupapa

M ori. These sites are often distinctly M ori, such as the many marae around the country,

but can also include the development of Kaupapa M ori initiatives within a whole range of

sites including mainstream institutions.351 Both Te K hanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa M ori

348 Mead, L.T.R. 1996 op.cit. 349 Ka’ai, T., 1990 op.cit. 350 Smith G.H. 1997 op.cit. 351 There are many examples of M ori seeking to implement Kaupapa M ori initiatives within the mainstream institutions that they work in. The M ori Education department, of which I am a member, is one example. Within the University of Auckland we have sought to provide space, both physical and theoretical, for M ori staff and students to engage more fully in Kaupapa M ori pursuits. This is no easy task and is fraught with institutional difficulties, however the outcome has been that M ori students have been provided with a much wider selection of

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are now firmly entrenched under the state and therefore are expected to undergo the

evaluation processes, and other requirements, as defined by the Ministry of Education. This

means that certain criteria must be met in order to maintain state funding. This may also be

said for Whare Kura and Whare W nanga, who also are required to fulfil criteria as

determined by the state. It has not been all clear sailing for these initiatives. Some have

argued that the subjection of Te K hanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa M ori to state

requirements is an indication of the attempt by the state to appropriate M ori initiatives in

order to undermine their radical potential. For example, Patricia Maringi Johnston argues that

the structure of Te K hanga Reo changed considerably once incorporated into the state

apparatus. She notes that the unique characteristics of Te K hanga Reo are being re-

defined by the state, through policy, legislation and practices. Patricia states that Te

K hanga Reo has been captured by the state through those processes. An example of the

impact of the state on Te K hanga Reo is that of the role of the Te K hanga Reo National

Trust.

Its key role was to protect and nurture te reo M ori. However, in taking on the role of administrating Government funding, the Trust’s role has changed, and a report commissioned by the Minister of M ori Affairs (written by Rose Pere and KaraPuketapu in 1990) titled ‘The Te K hanga Reo National Trust, Review of Trust Operations’ outlined some of those changes. A major problem related to the fact that the Trust was not set up to administer Government funding but had become responsible for that task… This also means that the original kaupapa of the Trust – to care for and nurture the kaupapa of the Te K hanga Reo movement – has become subverted.352

Issues of cooption and capture are a part of what Graham Hingangaroa Smith defines as a

‘war of position’ that is waged by the state with M ori interests. That war of position has

multiple strategies which include such things as; importing selected experts; capturing

theoretical discourse; renaming; cooption; control of curriculum and definitions of knowledge;

rewriting of history; underfunding and manipulation of funding; divide and rule tactics.353

These are critical issues that face M ori education more generally and the Kaupapa M ori

initiatives specifically. Having said that we should not be deterred. The fundamental

assertion of te reo M ori me na tikanga within these initiatives means there remains the

real potential for bringing about change for M ori in education and beyond. What we need to

ensure is that the resistance and struggles that led to the development of these initiatives

choice across the curriculum and have been able to be M ori within that site. The following references give more depth discussion on the need for, and processes of, creating space for M ori in P keh settings. Moko Productions & Research Unit for M ori Education 1993 Te Aratiatia:Maori and Postgraduate Study (Video), University of Auckland, Auckland; Smith, G.H. & Hohepa, M. (eds) Creating Space in Institutional Settings for M ori, Monograph No. 15, Research Unit for M ori Education, University of Auckland, Auckland; Morrison, Andrea 1999 Space for M ori in Tertiary Institutions: Exploring two sites at the University of Auckland,Unpublished Master of Education Thesis, University of Auckland, Auckland. 352 Johnston, P.M 1998 op.cit.:318. The reference for the Trust review discussed here is: Pere, R and Puketapu, K 1990 The Te K hanga Reo National Trust, Review of the Trust Operations,Report commissioned by Minister of M ori Affairs 353 For depth discussion of each of these strategies refer to Smith, G.H. 1997 op.cit:478-481

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remains as a key element of Kaupapa M ori in order that both the cultural and structural

issues are engaged with. It is also essential that such developments are located within wider

social, economic and political contexts that both acknowledge and engage power

relationships.

Kaupapa M ori theory as having derived from organic community processes, such as Te

K hanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa M ori, provides us with a theoretical process that

ensures those struggles, and the inherent power relationships within those struggles, are a

conscious part of our analysis. Given the unequal power relations that exist, between M ori

and the State, the recognition that the organic developments are the outcome of M ori

aspirations and a subsequent struggle for the realisation of those aspirations means that

there is a clearly articulated political agenda that sits alongside cultural aspirations for te reo

M ori me na tikanga. The organic nature of Kaupapa M ori theory also means that

there are many ways in which Kaupapa M ori theory can and is articulated. Kaupapa

M ori theory is, by nature of its development, multiple.

Kaupapa M ori theory: Multiple Expressions

Kaupapa M ori theory is not singular. There is no set formula that we can use to say ‘here

this is what it looks like’. Kaupapa M ori theory is undeniably linked to te reo M ori me

ona tikanga, and these are not expressed in a singular form amongst M ori. What has

highlighted, most recently, for me the possibilities in Kaupapa M ori theory has been the

thought of moving back to my own iwi area, Taranaki. There is something about being

home. Home as in t rangawaewae.354 Having a place to stand and to know that it is a place

you belong and that the people there, irrespective of the many differences, are a part of you

and you are a part of them. That is how I feel in Taranaki. I know that I am of that whenua

and that while I am away from it there is a detachment that is deep inside myself and my

tamariki. There are those that leave home and there are those that stay. Those of us who

leave have at least some time in our lives that we consider if we ‘should go back’, those who

stay keep that possibility alive for people like me. For without those who keep the ahi kaa355 I

would have no where to return to. From a distance I hear and see what our people refer to

as ‘ng piki me ng heke’, the ups and downs. To be home is to take on what that means

through active involvement. It means to be a part of the wh nau, hap and iwi dynamics

that exist. To put oneself amongst that is to know that the place of wh nau, hap and iwi in

Kaupapa M ori theory is not only in the ways that relationships are explored conceptually.

These groupings can, and do, derive multiple ways that Kaupapa M ori theory can be

discussed.

354 Türangawaewae relates to a standing place, where we come from.

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Taina Pohatu directs his theoretical discussions in relation to his own whakapapa grouping,

his k wai whakapapa.356 Taina writes that there are particular cultural signposts that must

be read from a position of cultural knowledge. Furthermore, Taina notes that there are

particular developments that occur as a result of being a part of a specific whakapapa

grouping. This relates to the point made earlier in regard to specific wh nau, hap and iwi

possibilities within Kaupapa M ori theory. Taina explains that it is necessary for him to

express his ideas through knowledge that begins from within k wai whakapapa. That in

turn gives him a location from which to articulate his ideas and views on the M ori

worldview. This also has wider implications, as Taina writes;

I am constantly returned to my cultural upbringing, my cultural experiences, my internalised reality. As I give more time and energy to this image, I go through a process of recreating the place, the people, the time, the parameters of my cultural world as a whakapapaperson return to a position that uniquely belongs to my kawai whakapapa, am moved to a site where I am able to address issues, from within a grouping that I am responsible and accountable to.357

Te Ahukaram Charles Royal in his discussion of Kaupapa M ori Research also locates

the importance of whakapapa and of definitions being developed organically within hap

and iwi. His discussion relates specifically to work being done in Te W nanga o Raukawa

in developing theories of m tauranga M ori.358 Mereana Taki positions herself as an iwi

woman and argues for whakapapa as a theoretical framework, again linking iwi knowledge

as an important aspect of her theorising.359

There are many possible forms for Kaupapa M ori theory, just as there are many possible

forms of te reo M ori me na tikanga. Being from Taranaki constantly reminds me of the

range and diversity of being M ori. I have no doubt that this is the case for many M ori.

The iwi dialects within te reo M ori example the diversity. The ways that tikanga are

framed highlight the diversity. Many M ori know this and are able to move in and with a

range of tikanga and kawa. Equally many are able to recognise both the similarities and the

differences. As we move around marae throughout the country we see these. It is not

only the diversity of wh nau, hap , iwi, M ori expressions of te reo, tikanga and kawa

that illustrate the many potentialities of Kaupapa M ori theory, but also the many varied

concepts within te reo M ori me na tikanga. A vast array of M ori concepts and

355 Ahi kaa refers to the home fires and is a figurative term that recognises land occupation. 356 Pohatu, T.W., 1996, op.cit. 357 ibid.:50 358 Royal, Te Ahukaramü Charles 1998 ‘Te Ao Marama – A Research Paradigm’ in Te Oru Rangahau: M ori Research and Development Conference 7-9 July 1998, Te Pütahi- -Toi,School of M ori Studies, Massey University, Palmerston North pp78-86 359 Taki, M., 1996 op.cit.

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notions of how to be in the world, are theories in themselves.360 The form of Kaupapa M ori

analysis that can be undertaken is varied. This is, in my opinion, an exciting potential in

Kaupapa M ori theory. The notions of multiplicity and diversity are not new, and therefore

the idea that there can be many expressions of Kaupapa M ori theory seems appropriate.

Something that I have become increasingly aware of is the potential of Kaupapa M ori

theory in contributing to much wider theoretical discussions, whilst also holding firmly to the

notion that Kaupapa M ori theory is itself highly contextualised. In a society that prioritises

binary relationships these are often viewed as conflicting agendas however it is in my opinion

necessary that these agendas are a part of Kaupapa M ori theory. They are neither

conflicting nor contradictory. They are recognition of the cultural place of such a theory for

M ori and in terms of wider Indigenous communities. Kaupapa M ori theory is

simultaneously local and international. Local, in that it is necessarily defined by M ori for

M ori, drawing on fundamental M ori values, experiences and worldviews. International, in

that there are many connections that can be made through a process of sharing Indigenous

Peoples theories.361 The multiple expressions of Kaupapa M ori theory are important to

recognise so that the theoretical frameworks that develop are not universalised in ways that

ignore the complexities of our experiences. The differences that exist within M ori

communities are marked and that in turn requires theoretical analysis that can engage the

various influences that impact on our lives, whilst simultaneously providing tools to reflect and

act as M ori. It also requires that there be an exploration of key elements that are seen to be

critical to Kaupapa M ori theory.

bell hooks reminds us that theory can be liberatory if we seek to use theory in that way362.

Transformation is one of the driving elements of Kaupapa M ori. How that transformation is

defined and brought is determined by how the issues are understood, theorised and

engaged. Therefore it is necessary, whilst avoiding a formulaic development, to indicate what

may be considered some specific elements that are inherent within Kaupapa M ori theory

and ways in which a range of M ori people are articulating methods of analysis. The

360 The range of M ori writings referenced in this Chapter provide many examples of the ways in which particular concepts provide explanations and understandings of the world and our experiences. 361 A clear indication of this came recently on a trip to Samoa. There I met with Maria Kerslake the Head of Department, Sociology, at the National University of Samoa. The Indigenous Pacific connections are evident. As M ori we have ancient links with Samoa. In our discussion about the development of Indigenous theories we were able to recognise the similarities and differences in our theorising and our context. For example, the state of the Indigenous languages and our experiences of colonisation are considerably different and therefore the centrality of te reo M ori as located within Kaupapa M ori theory is not necessarily the priority focus of theoretical developments that Maria is involved in. The process of conceptualisation of theory from a cultural base is however a clear meeting place and is one that we need to engage more fully with in terms of what is happening in the Pacific and with other Indigenous Peoples.

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transformation or emancipatory intent of Kaupapa M ori theory may be viewed as a

decolonisation process, however it is not solely about the theorising for transformation but is

also directly related to the development of practical interventions. Again Te K hanga Reo

and Kura Kaupapa M ori are clear examples of the emancipatory intent of Kaupapa M ori

theory. Graham Hingangaroa Smith takes this aspect of Kaupapa M ori theory a step

forward in drawing upon the theorising of Jurgen Habermas.363 Graham argues for a need to

include a utopian vision within the development of Kaupapa M ori theory, which serves to

highlight the transformative potential of Kaupapa M ori theory.

Kaupapa M ori theory and Critical theory

Graham Hingangaroa Smith argues that Kaupapa M ori theory is a localised Critical

Theory.364 More recently Kuni Jenkins has questioned the centrality of Critical Theory within

Kaupapa M ori theoretical discussions and asserts that where Critical Theory is useful, it

does not form a basis for Kaupapa M ori theory. Both these discussions promote a need to

assess the relationship between Kaupapa M ori theory and Critical Theory, which in turn

raises the wider issue of the role of Western theory in theorising M ori experiences. My

approach to this dialogue is to view Critical Theory and Kaupapa M ori theory as two quite

separate entities. Kaupapa M ori theory does not depend on Critical Theory for its

existence just as Critical Theory does not depend on Kaupapa M ori theory for its

existence. Kaupapa M ori theory is founded in this land, Aotearoa. Critical Theory is

founded in Europe. Kaupapa M ori theory is driven by wh nau, hap , iwi, M ori

understandings. Critical Theory is driven by European sourced philosophies and

understandings. They are without doubt distinct theoretical forms. However, they are able to

inform and support each other, and this has clearly been the case. In taking a middle ground I

would argue that that any Western analysis drawn upon alongside Kaupapa M ori theory

needs to be located in a role of what Taina Pohatu refers to as ‘hoa mahi’, that is a friend

that works alongside365 and that the defining parameters of that relationship are negotiated

from a Kaupapa M ori framework.

My argument for a hoa mahi relationship with Western theory is based upon the idea that

radical Western theories can be drawn upon by Indigenous Peoples to engage colonialism.

This is seen in the fact that forms of Critical Theory has heavily influenced a range of radical

M ori critiques of the oppression of M ori people.366 Marxism for example provides a

critique of capitalism and modes of production and has established a foundation for many

362 hooks, bell 1994 op.cit. 363 Smith, G.H. 1997 op.cit. 364 ibid. 365 Pohatu, T. 1996 op.cit.

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forms of sociology to build upon. The centre of Marxist analysis may be identified as issues

of class struggle and in particular control of the mode of production and the implications for

the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, the ruling classes and the working classes. From this

centre Marxist analysis is then expanded, reinterpreted, ‘neo’-ised (that is becomes various

forms of ‘neo-marxist’ analysis), or certain aspects of Marx’s work is coopted into other

frameworks that may include other issues at their centre. One powerful example of this can

be seen in the work of Angela Davis.367 As a Black woman, activist Angela Davis advocates

analysis that is expansive, that has no boundaries in terms of challenging oppression. She

calls for analysis that engages capitalism, patriarchy, racism, homophobia, ageism, and notes

that we must challenge all forms of oppressive structures.

However, as it has been argued in Chapter two we need to be both aware of and wary of

the potential of Western theories as yet another form of oppression. It is not enough to locate

analysis of M ori issues within a Western framework, as Western frameworks are not able

to engage Kaupapa M ori and m tauranga M ori. For example, Kuni Jenkins in her call

for a construction of history whereby M ori are active participants rather than passive

receivers of oppression, argues that Marxist analyses continue to cast M ori as victims and

P keh as actors.368 Kuni posits that such approaches nullify M ori voices and that the

possibilities for M ori become defined by dominant sociological explanations. This is very

much the case in education. M ori experiences of the education system have, on the whole,

been located within dominant theoretical frameworks. M ori voices have been marginalised

as policy developments are constructed upon other peoples understandings of our

experiences and needs.369

The inadequacy of some academics and researchers to provide more full explanations for

issues related to M ori Education, has led to calls for theorising that is more complex and

which includes both a structuralist and a culturalist element.370 Graham Hingangaroa Smith

asserts a need for M ori analysis to include both structuralist explanations, that is an

analysis of social and economic structures and their role in the production and reproduction

of social conditions and social relations, and culturalist explanations, including the everyday

lived reality of people and how they engage and make sense of the social arrangements

366 An overview of the use of Critical Theory is provided in Smith, G.H. 1997 op.cit. 367 Davis, Angela Y., 1984 Women Culture and Politics, The Women’s Press Ltd. London 368 Jenkins, K. 2001 op.cit. 369 refer Jenkins, K. with Ka'ai, T. 1994 op.cit.; Pihama, L., 1993 op.cit.; Johnston, P. 1998 op.cit.; Jenkins K. and Jones, A. 2000 Maori Education Policy: A State Promise in Marshall, J. et. al. Politics, Policy, Pedagogy: Education in Aotearoa/New Zealand, Dunmore Press, Palmerston North pp Te Whaiti, P., McCarthy, M., Durie, A., 1997 Mai I Rangiatea: M oriWellbeing and Development, Auckland University Press/Bridget Williams Books, Auckland; Tooley, C., 2000 M ori Education Policy in the New Millennium: Political Rationality & Government Mechanisms, Unpublished Master of Arts, University of Auckland, Auckland 370 The most recent example of this appears in the work of Chapple, S. et.al 1997 op.cit.

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within which they are located. 371 Critical theory can provide both structuralist and culturalist

explanations. As with other theories there is not one Critical theory that could be said to be

used in a wholesale way, rather various explanations are drawn from a range of theorists

who locate themselves under the umbrella of Critical theory. Perhaps this is what has drawn

M ori educationalists to use Critical theory, or more appropriately Critical theories, in their

work. Critical Theory is intrinsically global and historical looking to the big picture in particular

constructions of capitalism and potential transformation to socialism, however its proponents

have avoided economic reductionism by seeking to link economic structures with politics,

culture, pyschic and an idea of relative autonomy of the superstructure.372 The link between

these areas is the basis of the notion of ‘mediated totality’, which Kellner explains as

a theory… which described various relations between spheres of reality, rather than reducing all society to the dynamics of the economy.373

As a M ori woman academic I have drawn upon Critical Theory alongside Kaupapa M ori

theorising. What has become evident through the process of this thesis is that like Kaupapa

M ori theory, Critical Theory is grounded within particular cultural, social and political

foundations. The literature outlining the history of the Frankfurt School highlights a range of

political engagement by its members, it also highlights the point that exponents of Critical

Theory do so from a base of their own worldviews, understandings and cultural, social and

political context.374 Members of the Frankfurt School draw upon a range of both historical and

contemporary Western philosophers as the basis for arguing their theoretical positions, which

indicates the importance of cultural context in the development of theoretical frameworks.

This is an important point in the recognition of theory as culturally and socially produced.

Kellner identifies this as a strength of Critical Theory, in that the preoccupation with theory

then necessarily brings a need for critical reflection on the role social theories, as social

practices, in the reproduction of dominance.375 Furthermore, he argues that where traditional

theory that is not aware of its origins in social practice that can reproduce dominance, Critical

Theory is conscious of that potential and therefore strives toward transformation.

There is an idea that theory/ies are a part of the way in which we interact with the world.

This idea arose from a belief that theory and practice are inseparable. That the interactions

that we have within society are each informed by theory. Practices is informed by and

371 Smith,G.H., 1997 op.cit.:pp127-128 372 Kellner, D., 1989 Critical theory, Marxism, and modernity, Polity Press,Cambridge, UK:48 373 ibid. 48 374 Gibson, R., 1986 Critical Theory and Education, Hodder & Stoughton: London; Giroux Henry 1983 Theory and Resistance in Education: A Pedagogy for the Opposition, Bergin & Garvey Publishers Inc., Massachusetts; Jay Martin The Dialectical Imagination: A History of the Frankfurt School and the Institute of Social Research 1923-1950, Heinemann Educational Books, London; Wiggershaus, Rolf 1994 The Frankfurt School: Its History, Theories and Political Significance, Translated by Michael Robertson, Polity Press, Cambridge 375 Kellner 1989:45

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informs theory. Paolo Freire articulates this relationship as being one of ‘dialectical unity’.376

Dialectical Unity, in Freirean terms, asserts both a relationship and a distance between theory

and practice. When looking at the relationship between theory and peoples lived realities the

idea that theory and practice are indivisible and must be viewed in a dialectical relationship is

useful for M ori. It is seen as both necessary and critical to creating change. M ori do not

have, and never have had, the luxury of theorising for the sake of theorising. The impact of

colonisation has meant that by necessity theory and practice must be continually informing

each other. Recently Andrew Vercoe has reminded us that M ori academics do not have

the privilege of spending our time in an ivory tower mentality but that we must be actively

involved in the developments within our communities.377

Critical Theory positions theory and practice as being in relationship. What this does is that it

places theory up front and therefore challenges the idea the practice alone is neutral. To

challenge a common-sense notion that we merely ‘do’ because that’s ‘what we do’ and to

acknowledge the role of theory in shaping our actions means that dominant group actions can

not be located as merely the ‘way that it’s done’ but that they are grounded in certain

theoretical world views. Henry Giroux argues that central to the work of the Frankfurt School

is to examine the degree to which domination extends in everyday life. He notes that what

Critical theory offers educational theorists is both method of critique and a language of

opposition.378 As Henri Giroux has commented:

Theory must be celebrated for its truth content, not for the methodological refinements it employs … theory is informed by practice; but its real value lies in its ability to provide the reflexivity needed to interpret the concrete experience.379

In the introduction to Theodor Adorno’s ‘The Jargon of Authenticity’ Trent Schroyer380

privileges the focus of Critical Theory in revealing those actions that have been reified within

society to the extent that unequal power relationships are hidden in the misrepresentation of

social relations. Furthermore, locating Critical Theory within the paradigm of the class

struggle appropriately identifies the neo-marxist origins of Critical Theory. However, in their

move beyond an economic determinism the Frankfurt School provide in the theoretical

framework possibilities for use that extend further.381 The call to reconcile people with their

historical possibilities is inherently a call for emancipatory outcomes, an aspect that is key in

Critical Theory. This is further supported by Henry Giroux who identifies Critical Theory as the

theoretical legacy of the Frankfurt School, and notes that whilst there is no one singular

376 Freire, P. 1985 op.cit. 377 Vercoe, Anaru Eruera Educating Jake: Pathways To Empowement, HarperCollins Publishers, New Zealand 378 Giroux, H., 1983 op.cit. 379 ibid: 99 380 Schroyer, Trent in Adorno,Theodor W. (1973) The Jargon of Authenticity, Translated by Knut Tarnowski and Frederick Will, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London 381 Bronner, S., 1994. Of Critical Theory and Its Theorists, Oxford, UK ; Cambridge, Mass., USA

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universal theory, all examine capitalism and domination, and seek to highlight notion of human

emancipation.382 Critical Theory, moves beyond being purely a theoretical paradigm, as

Giroux notes Critical Theory is both

a school of thought and a process of critique.383

Henry Giroux views Critical Theory as referring to the theoretical legacy of the Frankfurt

School, noting also that where there is no one singular universal theory, all look at growth of

capitalism and domination, and seek to reconstruct the notion of human emancipation.384

Kellner385 writes that in part the term Critical Theory was used as a means of masking the

Marxist underpinnings of their work given an often hostile response to Marxism (as

associated with socialism and the Soviet Union) in America. Critical Theory he argues

involves a set of ways for looking at theory that involve investigative, research, textual and

political practices. As such it provides a comprehensive theoretical development and a

methodology for relating social research and theory to radical politics. As Henri Giroux has

stated, one of the central values of Critical Theory is;

a commitment to penetrate the world of objective appearances and to expose the underlying social relationships they often conceal. In other words, penetrating such appearances meant exposing through critical analysis social relationships that took on the status of things or objects.386

Kellner locates Critical Theory as ‘supradisciplinary’ challenging the notion of interdisciplinarity.

He argues that the Critical Theory project included the working together of individuals from a

range of disciplines to develop social theories. According to Kellner this process differs from

one of interdisciplinary work which is described by Leo Lowenthal as maintaining existing

disciplines whilst fostering an ‘acquaintance’ between them without any challenge to the

fundamental boundaries that claim a self-sufficiency between disciplines.387 A

supradisciplinary approach attacks the notion of separate disciplines and provides a critique

of the divisions constructed between disciplines that prevent an integration of a range of

disciplines.388 This is helpful for Kaupapa M ori theory in that it recognises the inter-

relationship between disciplines in a way that affirms an approach that is not limited by

disciplinary boundaries. Perhaps the clearest way to sum this up is through Martin Jay’s

assertion that Critical Theory is essentially open-ended, probing and unfinished. An open-

ended nature of analysis was important in that the changing historical context and social

realities meant there was a need for the development of analyses that were different from

earlier forms of traditional philosophies and which moved beyond the

382 Giroux 1983 op.cit. 383 ibid:8 384 ibid. 385 Kellner, D., 1989 op.cit. 386 Giroux, H., 1983 op.cit.:8 387 Lowenthal cited in Kellner, D., 1989:7 op.cit. 388 ibid.

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tendency of vulgar Marxists to elevate materialism to a theory of knowledge which claimed absolute certainty the way idealism had in the past.389

It seems to me that what draws M ori academics to Critical Theory are the values,

assumptions and characteristics which underpin the work. Henry Giroux highlights that one

of the central values of Critical Theory is the commitment to

penetrate the world of objective appearances and to expose the underlying social relationships they often conceal. 390

This value is one that is imperative to a process of revealing ways in which social

relationships are constructed. It assumes that in such construction there are subjective

processes that are hidden by notions of objectivity. It is precisely these subjective processes

that when revealed enable us to engage more fully with the social relationships that exist.

For M ori people who are working to both reveal the injustices, both of the past and the

present, in this country and to bring about change the value of Critical Theory is most evident

in Giroux's statement.

Rex Gibson391 highlights that where there are a number of major concepts that underpin the

development of critical theory, key elements in the assertion of Critical Theory are the notions

of emancipation and transformation. These notions assert an expectation of those who utilise

Critical Theory, that they will be moved to action, to the development of some intervention or

practice that is emancipatory and interrupts the structures of oppression. This indicates it is

not enough to merely be a student of Critical Theory but that we must engage in practice in

ways that challenge the inequalities and injustices that we theorise about. The participation of

Critical theorists in acts of social changes does however vary. There is an assumption that

because Critical Theory is a politicising theoretical framework then those who provided the

foundations for Critical Theory must equally have been politically active. Where such a belief

is understandable it is also idealistic. For example in Wiggershaus’s discussion of the institute

Horkheimer is presented as having a depth analysis of the exploitation and oppression of the

working classes, however he did not necessarily bring together the notions of theory and

practice in terms of transformative action.392

389 Jay,M. op.cit. 1973:53 390 Giroux, H. op.cit.:8 391 Gibson, R., 1986 op.cit. 392 Wiggershaus, R. 1994 op.cit.:134 noted The constant policy of the Institute under Horkheimer’s direction continued to be abstinence, not only from every activity which was even remotely political, but also from any collected or organized effort to publicize the situation in Germany or to support émigrés. In the 1970s Jürgen Habermas asked Herbert Marcuse, ‘Did the Institute ever, let us say, take up a position in relation to the more strongly politically organized groups among the émigrés?’ Marcuse replied, ‘That was strictly forbidden. Horkheimer insisted from the start that we were the guests of Columbia University, philosophers and academics. Also in reference to Karl Wittfogel, one of those active in political movements, Martin Jay 1973 op.cit.:16 notes; His activism they found somewhat of an embarrassment: he was no less scornful of their political neutrality.

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Furthermore, Kellner writes that Critical Theory is motivated by a need to construct theories

that confront social and political issues, and therefore is informed by a critique of domination

and also by theories of liberation.393 However, he writes that in regard to the Frankfurt

School although they called for a revolutionary transformation of society, they themselves

became increasingly distanced from political struggles.394 Both Gibson395 and Coxon et al.396

stress the importance of emancipation noting that Critical Theory seeks not simply to describe

or explain problems but provides tools for resolving them by enabling people to gain more

control over their lives.

It is my view that a role of the M ori theorist is to support the movements for change in

society, change that seeks to intervene in the growing ‘underachievement’ levels of M ori

children and young people in both compulsory and non-compulsory sectors of education.

Theory for M ori must ultimately provide frameworks for change, just as the idea of

emancipation or transformation has a central role in critical theory. Critical Theory is then a

framework that can work theoretically for M ori, given that it is located within the

experiences and knowledge of M ori. Critical Theory is not in itself transformative for

M ori, what provides the transformative potential is when M ori ourselves utilise Critical

Theory as a tool for alongside our own tools. For Kaupapa M ori theory there is a potential

for liaisons or collaborations with radical theories that engage the complexities of the impact

of colonial imperialism, however those relationships need to be defined from a clear M ori

theoretical base. Where Critical Theory provides values and intentions that are beneficial for

M ori analysis, it is not in Kaupapa M ori terms able to engage our values and

understandings for the specific reason that Critical Theory is itself grounded within its own

cultural and political arrangements.

Just as Critical Theory exists in its own rights so too does Kaupapa M ori theory. Kaupapa

M ori theory can and does exist without Critical Theory. That does not mean that Kaupapa

M ori theory is not radical and political in its expression as it is. Kaupapa M ori theory must

be about challenging injustice, revealing inequalities, seeking transformation. These are all

aspects expressed within Critical Theory. They are also elements that have been expressed

by our t puna throughout the struggle for our land, through the assertion of tino

rangatiratanga, through the generations who have fought the Crown against continued

colonial injustice, by those who have been visionary in the reclamation of our language and

culture, and of all who continue to hold to the teachings of our t puna in spite of colonial

393 Kellner 1989 op.cit. 394 ibid. 395 Gibson, R., 1986 op.cit. 396 Coxon et. al., 1992 op.cit.

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oppression. These are acts that exist in our history, in our stories, in our struggles. They are

acts that highlight Kaupapa M ori praxis, from which current expressions of Kaupapa

M ori theory draw inspiration and definition. Given the ownership of the term 'Critical Theory'

by predominantly Western theorists and theorising perhaps it is more apt to refer to Kaupapa

M ori theory not as a localised Critical Theory but as a theoretical expression of our

aspirations as M ori. Just as earlier in this chapter I argued that the term 'theory' has been

useful in creating theoretical space for M ori, so too has Critical Theory had a role in opening

theoretical grounds for more radical thinking, that has without doubt supported the articulation

of both Kaupapa M ori theory and Kaupapa M ori research within the academy and

beyond.

Summary

This Chapter has opened the discussion in regard to Kaupapa M ori theory. The key

intention was to outline some of the broader philosophical context within which Kaupapa

M ori theory needs, in my view, to be considered. What is important in this chapter is the

understanding that Kaupapa M ori theory is founded within knowledge that derives from the

learnings, experiences, understandings, worldviews, values and beliefs that are ancient.

Those forms have been handed down through generations, and although disrupted and

disregarded through colonial impositions they have survived to continue to inform how we are

in the world. Kaupapa M ori theory is developed from a foundation of Kaupapa M ori and

m tauranga M ori. Its base is firmly entrenched on this land, on Papat nuku and that

holds Kaupapa M ori theory as a distinctive framework. Theory is considered to hold

possibilities from liberation however there is a wariness that remains in M ori communities

as a result of the imposition of theories that have historically worked against how interests.

Within the academy Western theories have been privileged. Indigenous Peoples theoretical

voices have been rarely heard let alone engaged with the same status as those of the West.

This is not a surprise to M ori academics given the ongoing marginalisation of M ori

knowledge. M ori knowledge has been under attack since the arrival of colonial settlers to

our lands. Within the colonial education system M ori knowledge has been through

processes that have denial the validity of our own knowledge and worldviews. Kaupapa

M ori theory it is argued provides us with the potential to continue a tradition of thinking

about, explaining and understanding our world that is not the domain of the colonising forces,

but has been a part of Indigenous Peoples worlds since creation. Kaupapa M ori theory is a

theoretical framework that is evolving. It is evolving from a base of being M ori, from

wh nau, hap , iwi and from collective M ori movements. As a theoretical framework

Kaupapa M ori theory is engaged in a site of struggle within the Academy. It struggles for

the recognition, the validation and affirmation of our cultural worldviews as M ori. It asserts

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that we have always been researchers, have always engaged in theorising our lives, our

experiences, our context. The organic and multiple nature of Kaupapa M ori theory is a

powerful force in the future creation of a range of Kaupapa M ori theoretical expression.

Theory itself is multiple, whether that be M ori theory or Western theory. Critical Theory is

one expression of a radical change theory that has developed in the West. It too, however, is

shown to be culturally bound and therefore the argument for Kaupapa M ori theory as a

culturally defined and driven theory is not new.

Critical Theory is often utilised alongside Kaupapa M ori theory. It is a theoretical framework

that engages injustice and seeks transformation through the interrelationship of theory and

practice. The praxis orientation of Critical Theory is central to its use by M ori academics.

Kaupapa M ori theory is however not dependent upon Critical Theory for its existence.

Critical Theory has supported the creation of radical space within the Academy and in doing

so has supported the growth of Kaupapa M ori theory. Where some argue for Kaupapa

M ori theory as a localised Critical Theory while others argue that Kaupapa M ori theory

can not and should not be seen as grounded in any Western framework, critical or otherwise.

Whatever position is taken by M ori academics the role of Critical Theory in supporting the

further prising open of theoretical space can not be disregarded, hence the inclusion of a

discussion of Critical Theory in this chapter. This chapter has laid the broader foundation for

an exploration of key elements that are expressed within current articulations of Kaupapa

M ori theory that are outlined in the following chapter.

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CHAPTER FIVE

KAUPAPA M ORI THEORY: IDENTIFYING ELEMENTS

Kaupapa Maori knowledge is the systematic organisation of beliefs, experiences, understandings and interpretations of the interactions of Maori people upon Maori people,

and Maori people upon their world.397

Introduction

As I have written in the previous chapter Kaupapa M ori theory is evolving, multiple and

organic. What this means is that in terms of the writing of theory from a Kaupapa M ori base

we have much more to explore, and that M ori communities will shape Kaupapa M ori

theory in ways that works for them. However, as with any theoretical framework there

needs to be some philosophical understandings through which to identify and relate to

Kaupapa M ori theory. This is one attempt at outlining those understandings. It is an

attempt, that is informed by the works of a range of M ori people who currently engage

Kaupapa M ori theory, to identify some of the key elements that underpin their work.

The elements that I will outline here are not definitive in any sense. They represent the kinds

of approaches that I have chosen to take in my own use of Kaupapa M ori theory as a tool

of analysis. This includes contexts of policy analysis, to the research context within our own

communities, through to examining possible forms of Kaupapa M ori process in representing

ourselves in film and video production and publication. Each of these areas require similar

approaches in that they are fundamentally about representation, whether that be through

policy, moving image or written text. My intention in this chapter is to outline those aspects

that I would consider are important considerations for Kaupapa M ori theory both as

analysis and as process. One way of doing that is to highlight that Kaupapa M ori theory is

grounded within fundamental M ori values and beliefs and therefore some discussion on

what might be considered key elements in Kaupapa M ori theory is necessary.

In doing so I am hoping to bring together key elements outlined in already published works

regarding Kaupapa M ori theory and Kaupapa M ori research. It is important to recognise

that there are differing ways in which M ori academics engage their analysis and that

throughout Aotearoa there are particular schools of thought that can be associated with

particular institutions and academics within those institutions. I have come to refer to the way

in which I utilise Kaupapa M ori theory as deriving from the Auckland School of thought, for

the precise reason that the M ori Education team and the Indigenous Research Institute for

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M ori and Indigenous Education (IRI) have a particular approach to analysis that is distinctive.

This could be said for other universities and Whare W nanga that have selected, developed

or adopted particular theoretical frameworks as fundamental to their analysis. Tribally based

whare w nanga in particular provide for very specific theoretical and research

developments that are wh nau, hap or iwi based. This is exciting for Kaupapa M ori

theory and the growth of strong critical kaupapa based analysis. There have always been

key M ori academics that have been proponents of particular theories within P keh

universities, so current developments are not new. 398 The point here is that the diversity of

approaches opens many possibilities for M ori analysis. This is something, that as a

proponent of Kaupapa M ori theory, I find very exciting.

The objective of this chapter is to identify elements that appear consistently throughout the

articulation of Kaupapa M ori theory. In Chapter two I noted that Graham Hingangaroa

Smith has identified six elements in Kaupapa M ori education; tino rangatiratanga the self-

determination principle), taonga tuku iho (the cultural aspirations principle); ako M ori (the

culturally preferred pedagogy); kia piki ake i ng raruraru i te kainga (the socio-economic

mediation principle); wh nau (the extended family structure principle); kaupapa.399 These

elements are outlined here alongside other elements such as te reo M ori me na tikanga,

Te Tiriti o Waitangi, mana motuhake, whakapapa, and whakatika as a process of

decolonisation. In outlining each element and its contribution to theoretical analysis I will begin

with what I consider to be a central element of Kaupapa M ori theory, that being te reo

M ori me na tikanga.

Te Reo M ori me na Tikanga

When I first began my journey to learn te reo M ori it was undertaken as a cultural, social

and intellectual pathway, as a process that was a part of a wider seeking of identity and

knowledge about who I am in the world, the M ori world that is. For many, like me, who

seek to develop fluency in te reo M ori as adult second language learners and speakers,

there is a passion that has been fired by the radical politics of those involved in the initial drive

for the revitalisation of te reo M ori.

397 Nepe, T.M., 1991 op.cit. 398 For Example, the development of M ori Studies can be traced to a generation of M oriacademics that were involved in Anthropology; another more recent example would be the case of Massey University which is well known for the theoretical developments of Mason Durie and his contribution to understanding M ori Health, in particular is recognised nationally. In terms of whare wananga, Te W nanga o Raukawa have actively promoted an academic approach that is clearly located in wh nau, hapü and iwi linked to that particular W nanga.The possibilities of what these approaches bring to the growth of cultural projects can, in my view, only be positive for future developments.

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The positioning of te reo M ori me ona tikanga as central in Kaupapa M ori theory is not

simply a theoretical statement but it is a part of the lived realities of many M ori people. The

denial of te reo M ori within my wh nau has meant that few are fluent speakers. Those of

my generation who are speakers of M ori are so because of a commitment from some in our

wh nau to Kura Kaupapa M ori. However, for my own brothers and sisters there are only

four mokopuna who have had consistent access to te reo M ori. My experience is not

unlike the experiences of many of my peers. We are children of those who were a part of a

beaten generation. Those who were physically, emotionally and psychologically denied te

reo M ori through the formal system of education and the strength of the ideological

assertions that marginalised and devalued te reo M ori. Those who were constantly fed

the ideology that in order for their children to survive in the world all they needed was English.

The bringing together of te reo M ori me na tikanga in this conversation is important. It

recognises the unbreakable bond that is language and culture, that is communication and

action, that is theory and practice. Te reo M ori me na tikanga, M ori language and

its/her/his cultural forms. They are bound together in relationship to each other and can not

be separated from each others influence and creation. There is a power in that

interconnection that I believe is critical to future developments for M ori people and for

M ori women in particular. M ori women have much to gain from the assertion that te reo

M ori me na tikanga must be seen whole and not be superficially separated. The

separation of te reo M ori me na tikanga allows for dominant colonial ideologies to claim

space through the manipulation of our language in processes such as translation and

interpretation400.

The centrality of te reo M ori me na tikanga is voiced powerfully by Rangimarie Rose

Pere;

Kotahi he tino taonga ki a ngai taua te Maori, ahakoa te iwi, ahakoa te hapu, ahakoa te whanau, ko to tatau reo rangatira. Ko te reo i heke mai i Rangiatea, te hoki ki nga rangi tuhaha, i whakaparekereketia ai ki te oneone, i tanumia, a, mai i te kohuretanga ake i roto i te oneone nei, i whakatipuria ai, i poipoia ai, i penapenatia ai, i manaakitia ai, i tipu ai, a no te tipunga, ka haumi, ka awhiowhio tona kakara ki nga topito o te ao a ratau ma. Te reo rangatira nei, he wairua kamaatu tona, he momo huna, kia kore e mohio a tauiwi ki ona hohonutanga, engari te raruraru i tenei wa, he maha nga tangata Maori, kaore i te mohio ki nga hohonutanga, nga whanuitanga o te reo

401.

399 Smith, G.H. 1997 op.cit.:pp466-473 400 The relevance of this to M ori women will be engaged more fully in chapters Nine and Ten. 401 The following translation is provided in the publication by Rangimarie herself: There is one truly great treasure among us Maori, no matter which tribe, sub-tribe, or family, and that is our chiefly language. The language which came from Rangiatea, the highest heaven of the far-flung heavens, down to earth, was planted here, and thereafter since it was first uncovered in the soil, it was grown, it was cherished, it was nurtured, it was cared for, it grew. Then from its growth, it gradually spread its sweet scent to every corner of the universe of the ancients. This chiefly language has its own spirit of inherent wisdom, it is communication of the abstract, in

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This k rero encapsulates much of my own argument in terms of te reo M ori, a language

that has its own inherent spiritual essence that permeates through all communications

deriving from our ancestors, and therefore is in itself ancient. The statement too that few

M ori know the depth of te reo is a direct consequence of the fragmentation and separation

that is a part of our colonial experience. In recognition of this I would argue that Kaupapa

M ori theory calls for the processes of reclaiming te reo M ori me na tikanga to be

expansive, that is to seek the "nga hohonutanga, nga whanuitanga o te reo".402 This is

a process not only of recovering of knowledge but of bringing forward conceptualisation of

the world through te reo M ori that can allow us more critical reflection on our current

position and to engage more fully with the colonial manipulations that have occurred over the

past 200 years.

Where the fundamental language is the same nationally there is no single dialect in terms of te

reo M ori; there are regional variations. There are also differing ways in which people refer

to te reo M ori. Rangimarie Rose Pere uses the term te reo rangatira. This is

recognition of the spiritual and chiefly status of te reo. In a conversation with Kaa Williams403

she informed me of the need to recognise the differing functional forms of te reo M ori, with

distinctive k rero for ritual purposes, for example p whiri and karakia, that varies from te

reo o te kainga, everyday language use. Given the complexities of language use these

distinctions are important to Kaupapa M ori theory as they draw our attention to the varying

ways in which te reo M ori is utilised by our people and again affirms the diverse

experiences of our people.

Te reo as a term also has a range of meanings, one being language and dialect.404 Te reo

also refers to voice. In a traditional oral culture these notions were viewed as been critical to

culture, hence the term often expressed now te reo M ori me na tikanga. This is an

assertion of the direct relationship between language and culture. The importance of te reo

is articulated in a range of statements and whakatauki. For example, a key statement noted

in relationship to Te K hanga Reo is; Ko te reo te mauri o te mana M ori, The language

order that outsiders might not understand it’s hidden depths. The problem at this time is there are many Maori who do not know its depths, or the breadth of the language. Pere, R. 1999 'TeReo Rangatira me na Tikanga' in M ori Education Commission Newsletter, Issue 2 May 1999, Wellington pp3-10 402 ibid. 403 Kaa Williams is a M ori woman who has for many years been active in education and in particular the survival and revival of te reo M ori. 404 Pere, Rangimarie Rose 1982 Ako: Concepts and Learning in the M ori Tradition, Reprinted 1994 by Te K hanga Reo Trust, Wellington

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is the life principle of M ori mana405. Manuka Henare notes the following whakataukï as

an indication of the essential part played by te reo.

Ko te p take o te M oritanga ko te reo M ori, he taonga tuku iho na ng t punaThe root of M ori culture is in the language, a gift from our ancestors.406

Equally the place of voice and discussion is well known by M ori and is also expressed in

whakataukï such as; Ko te kai a te rangatira, he k rero, oratory is the food of leaders.

The power of te reo is seen in its many possibilities, including the potential to inflict pain; he

wero o te tao e taea te karo, te kï e kore e taea, the flight of the spear can be parried,

what is said cannot.

The Waitangi Tribunal Report regarding te reo M ori (Wai 11) highlights both the role of

colonisation in the denial of te reo M ori and also the critical need to ensure active moves

for its revitalisation. Early in the report the Tribunal refer to a whakataukï presented to them;

Ka ngaro te reo, ka ngaro t ua, për i te ngaro o te MoaIf the language is lost, we will be lost as dead as the Moa407

Amongst other conclusions, the Tribunal found that the education system was operating

unsuccessfully for M ori; that te reo M ori was not adequately protected and that the

Treaty of Waitangi asserted a fundamental right of M ori to education and all other human

rights, this includes the need to ensure te reo M ori its rightful place.408

The struggle for te reo M ori is a necessary part of our survival as M ori people. This

must also be said for the need to ensure the relationship between te reo M ori and

knowledge. Tuakana Nepe asserted that Kaupapa M ori knowledge and te reo M ori

are intrinsically bound. Hence in order to maintain M ori knowledge there must be a

reproduction of that knowledge through te reo M ori. In her thesis on Kura Kaupapa

M ori and the philosophy of Te Aho Matua, Tuakana wrote;

Kaupapa Maori is the “conceptualisation of Maori knowledge” that has been developed through oral tradition. It is the process by which M ori mind receives, internalises, differentiates, and formulates ideas and knowledge exclusively through te reo Maori.Kaupapa Maori is esoteric and tuturu Maori. It is knowledge that validates a Maoriworld view and is not only Maori owned but also Maori controlled. This is done successfully through te reo Maori, the only language that can access, conceptualise,

405Margie Hohepa 1990 op.cit.:7 notes that M ori elders at a W nanga Kaum tua in 1979 affirmed te reo M ori through this statement. 406 Cited in Henare, Manuka 1988 Nga Tikanga Me Nga Ritenga O Te Ao Maori: Standards and Foundations of Maori Society in Report of The Royal Commission On Social Policy, Volume III Part One, April 1988, Government Printer, Wellington

407 The translation given in the Tribunal report relates that ‘man’ will be lost. I have chosen not to use that interpretation of the word ‘t ua’, which refers to ‘you and I inclusive’ and has no reference at all to gender. This highlights the very deep penetration of gendered assumptions in the process of translation or interpretation. 408Waitangi Tribunal 1986 Finding of the Waitangi Tribunal Relating To Te Reo M ori And A Claim Lodged By Huirangi Waikerepuru And Ng Kaiwhakapumau I Te Reo Incorporated Society, Wai 11, Government Printer, Wellington:54

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and internalise in spiritual terms this body of knowledge…this Kaupapa Maori knowledge is exclusive too, for no other knowledge in the world has its origins in Rangiatea. As such it is the natural and only source for the development of a mechanism which aims to transmit exclusively Kaupapa Maori knowledge.409

Te reo M ori is in these terms the only language through which Kaupapa M ori can be

fully expressed. In the context of the struggle for Te K hanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa

M ori this assertion is a necessary one in the striving for the affirmation of Kaupapa M ori

schooling initiatives. In my own experience as a student of te reo I know the necessity of

the position taken here. Nonetheless, we need to be aware that in asserting the centrality of

te reo M ori me na tikanga we are not in turn denying the ability of many M ori to

sustain tikanga whilst having less fluency in te reo. Nor should we overlook the inherent

danger of M ori becoming defined as being ‘real’ M ori only if we have a fluency in te reo

M ori.410 These are important warnings that we need to heed. To be M ori can not be

measured on levels of fluency or knowledge of tikanga. Experience may tell us that to be

fluent in te reo M ori does not immediately mean that person is any more or less

knowledgeable of what it means to be M ori than someone who has no knowledge of te

reo M ori. Nor does being fluent in M ori necessarily mean that one will act in ways that

are in the interests of M ori.411

What is evident though is that within te reo M ori there exists ways of explaining the world

that are distinctly M ori. There are also clues to how our t puna may have thought about

the world and their relationships within it. Those ways of thinking are encompassed within

tikanga M ori. Tikanga is described in many ways by M ori. It can be defined as cultural

template, customs, rules, laws, processes, appropriate ways of being, distinctive M ori

ways. As with all M ori concepts to define tikanga in English is extremely difficult as the

cultural parameters of the English language do not necessarily engage the many elements of

te reo M ori. Rangimarie Pere has indicated this difficulty through her writings. Tikanga

in her belief is multi-formed and indicates customs as appropriate to a given context or

“customs that are seen to be right for a particular occasion”.412 In more recent writing for the

M ori Education Commission, Rangimarie notes that the universalisation of te reo M ori

leads to the loss of the ethos of the culture. Such is the interrelationship between language

and culture. Language and culture are intertwined. Language carries and creates culture

409 Nepe,Tuakana 1991 op.cit. pp15-16 410 Kathie Irwin 1992(b) op.cit. and Linda Tuhiwai Smith 1992(c) op.cit. note the danger of creating discourses of the 'ideal' M ori which deny the diversity of our communities. This is also discussed in some depth by Patricia Johnston 1998 op.cit., in regard to the construction of 'difference' . 411 The current M ori fisheries debacle is a clear example of this, refer Pihama, L. & Smith, C.W. 1998 Fisheries & Commodifying Iwi : Economics, Politics and Colonisation: A series of readers examining critical issues in contemporary M ori society. IRI/Moko Productions, Auckland 412 Pere, Rangimarie Turuki 1991 Te Wheke: A Celebration of Infinite Wisdom” Ao Ako Global Learning New Zealand Limited, Gisborne:34

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which in turn as practice recreates and reflects back onto language. Through te reo M ori

we are able to gain access to what Rangimarie Pere has referred to as deep

knowledges.413 This is indicated in the many concepts that are themselves possible

theoretical frameworks. A recent example of drawing upon one tikanga concept as a

theoretical framework appears is presented by Mason Durie in his application of the term

mauri414 to a discussion of the dynamics of M ori health.415 Mauri is conceptualised in

multiple ways to engage issues related to M ori health. Mauri is also a term that has

provided a base for research undertaken by Te R pu Rangahau Eru P mare regarding

the impact of unemployment on M ori health.416

In placing the validity and legitimacy of te reo M ori me na tikanga at the centre of

Kaupapa M ori theory we are challenging the assumed supremacy of English by saying that

we as M ori have a fundamental right to our language and our culture, and that the call for

the revival is a valid and legitimate one. It is also a call for survival. The loss that has been

suffered by M ori is not merely a statistical concern. It has had detrimental effects on M ori

communities across the country. The suppression of te reo M ori me na tikanga has had

a huge impact on M ori people. That impact has been multiple. It is impacted upon identity,

knowledge, language, confidence, access, whakapapa knowledge etc. All these things

have been impacted upon over a period of time as a direct consequence of the denial of te

reo M ori me na tikanga. The extent of the loss of te reo M ori is evident in both past

and recent surveys. The 1975 survey undertaken by NZCER highlighted the chronic state of

te reo M ori.417 Chronic is the right word for it. Te reo M ori it was proposed would

become an extinct language if there was not urgent developments to address the decline in

the numbers of speakers.

A more recent survey by Te Puni K kiri and Te Taura Whiri indicates that te reo M ori is

still in a fragile position.418 The National M ori Language Survey was undertaken to examine

the proficiency of M ori adults in speaking te reo M ori, explore how they gained their

M ori Language skills, identify how often and where te reo M ori is spoken and reveal

413 Pere, R. 1999 op.cit. 414 Mauri may be viewed as the life force or life essence which abides in all things. 415 Durie, Mason 2001 Mauri Ora: The Dynamics of M ori Health, Oxford University Press, Auckland 416 Keefe, V., Ormsby, C., Ormsby, W., Cram, F., Reid, P., Robson, B., Wätene, N., 1998 Mauri Mahi, Mauri Ora, Mauri Noho, Mauri Mate: Health Effects of Unemployment Portfolio, in Te Pümanawa Hauora, 1999 Proceedings of Te Oru Rangahau: M ori Research and Development Conference, School of M ori Studies, Massey University, Palmerston North, pp 171-178 417 Benton, Richard A. 1978 Can the M ori language survive? Mäori Unit, New Zealand Council for Educational Research, Wellington; Benton, Richard A 1978 The sociolinguistic survey of language use in M ori households : notes on the purposes and methodology of the survey.M ori Unit, New Zealand Council for Educational Research, Wellington, N.Z.

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actions and attitudes toward te reo M ori. In terms of language proficiency the survey

found that 59 percent of M ori adults speak te reo M ori to some extent, however only 8%

are considered highly fluent, and one-third of those are aged 60 or over. Overall 83% of

M ori adults were considered to have either low fluency or did not speak te reo M ori at

all. The authors of the survey research note that whilst M ori attitudes towards te reo

M ori are positive, the language “remains in a critical state”.419 The importance of

recognising the fragile state of te reo M ori is necessary in a Kaupapa M ori theoretical

framework, as too is the need to recognise that where the survey research views M ori

attitudes to te reo M ori as both positive and committed this is not the case in the wider non-

M ori community. The impact of colonisation on te reo M ori me na tikanga has been

immense and the initiatives toward the survival and revival of te reo M ori are not

necessarily affirmed by non-M ori. This too is alluded to in the research where past

recommendations for the development of te reo M ori have been ignored by the

Government.420 What is highlighted in both writings is that mauri can be impacted on and

expressed in a range of ways, each of which can contribute to an understanding of M ori

health. There are many M ori concepts, like mauri, that can be draw on to deepen our

understandings and theoretical developments within the context of a Kaupapa M ori

framework.

Debates surrounding the validity of te reo M ori emerge in all sectors of Aotearoa. Most

recently a debate ensued in the midst of the State hierarchy, when during a sitting of

Parliament one M ori minister chose to speak in te reo M ori without giving prior indication

to the ‘House’ so that an interpreter would be available. The outcome of that action, during

M ori Language Week, was a debate concerning the position of te reo M ori within a

P keh context of Parliament.421 Where questions can be raised in regard to party politics

and point scoring with M ori, particularly given the proximity of a national election, it must

also be noted that such debates are not new to that setting. In discussions surrounding the

1867 M ori Representation Bill both te reo M ori and fluency in English was raised on

numerous occasions as reasons for why M ori [men] should not have representation.

Levels of English language fluency was deemed as an indication of degrees of ‘civilisation’ or

‘savagery’. One minister, Mr Harris, is recorded as follows;

When the time came that the Natives were qualified by education and a knowledge of the English language, laws and social usages, he would be one of the first to recognize their right to the franchise, but until that time came he would raise his voice against admitting them to a participation in privileges which they could not properly value, and to which at

418 Te Puni K kiri 1999 The National M ori Language Survey: Te Mahi Rangahau Reo M ori,Government Printer, Wellington 419 ibid:64 420 ibid. refer to Waitangi Tribunal 1986 Wai 11 Appendix Six:pp 81-82 421 The Dominion, 26 Jul 1999, MPs to speak only in Maori , Edition 2, Page 2; The Evening Post, 25 Aug 1999, New Maori translator, Edition 3, Page 3.

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present they had no right… he believed that some few of those Natives had partially emerged from savagedom, it would take very little to induce them to reform to the barbarious habits which characterized the whole race when Europeans first settled in the colony, and which still characterized it as a whole.422

The denial of te reo M ori has been systematic within the education sector and in wider

society. It did not happen by accident but was debated and planned as a strategy to

assimilate M ori through what was deemed as a superior language, English. If we look to

the history of te reo M ori in the colonial system it is apparent that intention was one of

English as the primary language of communication in Aotearoa.423 Debates within the

colonial settler parliament surrounding the 1847 Education Ordinance and the 1867 Native

Schools Act give us irrefutable evidence that the colonial settlers saw the demise of te reo

M ori as imperative in the ‘civilising’ of M ori. These ideologies are explored in some depth

in Chapter Ten, however a general comment can be made that the colonial assimilation

policies of the 1800s and 1900’s were instrumental in the undermining of te reo M ori me

na tikanga. The fact that we have maintained our reo and tikanga is an indication of the

strength of M ori people not only to survive but to resist the onslaught of colonial imperialism.

Te reo M ori me na tikanga must then be located as central to Kaupapa M ori theory.

The role of te reo M ori me na tikanga in Kaupapa M ori theory is a critical one in that

they provide a basis for understandings and world views. That does not mean that M ori

people who do not speak te reo M ori with fluency are unable to hold such understandings

as it has been argued by Mereana Taki that as a colonised people we have developed

English-M ori idioms which act as a means by which we are able to maintain our own

knowledge.424 This can be viewed as an act of resistance. Furthermore, I am cognisant of

the fact that many of our people maintain the fundamental essences of being M ori in the

most assimilatory environs. However, it is important that we position English as the language

of the coloniser and that we explicitly note its shortcomings in regard to the transmission of

M ori knowledge and tikanga M ori. As Rangimarie writes,

The language is not only a means of communication, but transmits within it the values and beliefs of a people. Some of the language used by these people may lace the richness of the traditional M ori variety if only because they have themselves been subject to the largely monocultural influence the P keh . But despite this limitation, the climate and general environment within which they work are essentially M ori.

422 M ori Representation Bil l 1867, New Zealand Parliamentary Debates Vol. I Pt.II Aug-Oct:815 423 See Simons, J. 1998 op.cit.; Walker, Ranginui 1986 'The M ori Response To Education' in Smith, G.H.(ed) 1986 M ori Perspectives of Taha M ori: Ng Kete W nanga: Readers in M ori Education, Auckland College of Education, Auckland; Ka'ai-Oldman, T. 1988 'A History of New Zealand Education From A M ori Perspective' in Hirsh, w. & Scott, R. (eds) 1988 Getting It Right: Aspects of Ethnicity and Equity in New Zealand Education, Office of the Race Relations Concil iator, Auckland; Stephenson, M. 2000 Creating New Zealanders: Education and the Formation of the State and the Building of the Nation, Unpublished Doctor of Philosophy Thesis, University of Auckland, Auckland

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This relates to what Graham Hingangaroa Smith has referred to as the validation and

affirmation of te reo M ori. In discussing Kaupapa M ori theory Graham notes the

following;

A Kaupapa Maori base (M ori philosophy and principles) i.e. local theoretical positioning related to being Maori, such a position presupposes that: The validity and legitimacy of Maori language and culture is taken for granted The survival and revival of Maori language and culture is imperative The struggle for autonomy over our own cultural wellbeing, and over our own lives is vital to Maori survival.425

These three points can be seen as the basis for the positioning of te reo M ori me na

tikanga in Kaupapa Maori theory. The validation and legitimation of M ori language and

culture as asserted by Graham opens space for those who seek the revitalisation of te reo

M ori to develop and utilise Kaupapa Maori theory no matter what their level of fluency,

which I believe is also the point made by Rangimarie Rose Pere. Alongside the validation

and legitimation of te reo M ori is the issue of survival and revitalisation. This can then

propel proponents of Kaupapa Maori theory to a place where fluency in te reo M ori

becomes an aspiration for those who are not fluent or native speakers. Therefore, Kaupapa

Maori theory raises the roles and obligations that we, who espouse this theoretical

framework, have to te reo M ori me na tikanga. That in a sense is our praxis, the

interrelationship between our theory and practice. It is not enough to state that te reo M ori

must be affirmed if we ourselves do not commit to participating in the practice of ensuring it’s

survival. This I would argue needs to happen on both a collective and individual level. It is not

enough to expect our tamariki to carry the load. We must all carry the load. We need then

to explore what this means in theoretical terms and how can we utilise the notion of the

validation, legitimation, survival and revival of te reo M ori me na tikanga as an analytical

tool.

There are various ways in which te reo M ori me na tikanga can be utilised as tools of

analysis. Firstly, to assume the validity and legitimacy of te reo M ori me na tikanga

enables us to ascertain how we as M ori are being located within particular actions,

representations, images, texts, discourses, legislation, processes or policies. It enables us to

ask key questions such as:

Where is te reo M ori?

Where is tikanga M ori?

How are te reo M ori me na tikanga positioned?

Who is defining the position of te reo M ori me na tikanga?

424 Taki, M. 1996 op.cit. 425 Smith, G.H. 1990 'Notes On: The Business Roundtable and the Privatization of Education: Individualism and the Attack on M ori' in Gordon, L. & Codd, J., 1990 Education Policy and the Changing Role of the State, Delta, Studies in Education No.1 Massey University, Palmerston North:100

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How is that position being defined, what is the process through which it is being defined?

How are M ori people located in defining the position of te reo M ori me na tikanga?

Who controls the processes?

Is te reo M ori me na tikanga being validated?

Is te reo M ori me na tikanga being marginalised?

Who benefits from the position of te reo M ori me na tikanga?

Whose interests are being served by the positioning of te reo M ori me na tikanga?

These are some questions that may be asked to facilitate an understanding of a particular

context in regard to te reo M ori me na tikanga, and to direct us to further exploration

that is required. This is not merely an academic exercise. If we utilise a Kaupapa M ori

theoretical process such as is being proposed then asking key questions such as these can

open the issue being explored to deeper interrogation. A recent example in which I

participated was a critical analysis of the Treaty Settlement processes and the Heads of

Agreement for Te tiawa, my own iwi.426 The Treaty Settlement processes were engaged

fully by many M ori people when it was introduced in 1995.427 M ori communities across

the country rejected the proposed model only to have it continually foisted up us as the ‘only’

process the Crown would provide. For Te tiawa, as for other iwi and hap , the process

has been fraught with controversy. Just hours before a general election a group from Te

tiawa signed a Heads of Agreement with the outgoing Minister of Treaty Negotiations, Doug

Graham.428 To ascertain the position of Te tiawa a Kaupapa M ori theory analysis was

undertaken on the Heads of Agreement. It was identified clearly that te reo M ori me na

tikanga were not only marginalised in the document but were virtually invisible.429 The

document was constructed almost entirely in English, there was no mihi or opening of any

form, the document was framed within Western legal discourse, there was no evidence of

any recognition of tikanga M ori. An apology was written into the beginning of the

document that was an exact replica of the apologies written into the Heads of Agreement for

at least two other iwi in Taranaki, hence there was no recognition of the specific history of

Te tiawa. The process of negotiation and writing of the Heads of Agreement were defined

and controlled by the Crown and the Crown benefited most significantly if settlement took

place as it validated their position in this country and denied the tino rangatiratanga of the

426 The draft Heads of Agreement were presented to the iwi in 1998 for consideration. The analysis that ensued forced the negotiators to place the negotiations on hold. 427 Pihama, L. 1996 The Fiscal Envelope, Economics, Politics and Colonisation, Volume One,Research Unit for M ori Education and Moko Productions Ltd., Auckland 428 The previous Minister of Treaty Settlements, Doug Graham has been lauded as being instrumental in Treaty Settlements, however a more radical view of his contribution highlights the Treaty Settlement Processes as being another instrument of denying fundamental rights of tino rangatiratanga to our people. Refer Pihama 1996 op.cit. Sadly the current Labour Government has maintained the status quo in regard to Treaty Settlements with the only change being the lifting of the bill ion dollar cap. 429 Te tiawa Draft Heads of Agreement 1999, Office of Treaty Settlements, Wellington

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people of Te tiawa. Such an exercise provides an example of how placing te reo M ori

me na tikanga at the centre can open critical areas that require depth analysis.

It is my view that asking critical questions in regard to the positioning of te reo M ori me

na tikanga can then open the issue at hand to more specific analysis which can be

developed further through utilising M ori concepts to engage what can be complex levels of

oppression or injustice. In the remainder of this chapter I will look at a number of concepts

that have been identified as important to a Kaupapa M ori theoretical analysis. Firstly,

however, I want to note two points (i) these are not the ‘only’ elements that can be drawn

upon as foundations for analysis. There are many elements and concepts within te reo

M ori me na tikanga that can direct our analysis and (ii) the concepts identified all fall

within the gambit of te reo M ori me na tikanga and therefore need to be seen within the

context of an entire world view not and although engaged separately they are in fact

interconnected. A document that features strongly in that world view is Te Tiriti o

Waitangi, which an agreement that carries the signatures of 512 representatives of

wh nau, hap and iwi and that signifies a direction that our ancestors envisaged for future

generations of wh nau, hap and iwi in relationship with the colonial settlers that arrived on

our lands.

Te Tiriti o Waitangi430

Te Tiriti o Waitangi is a crucial document in the articulation of Kaupapa M ori theory. It is

a document that is considered by many M ori to be a binding agreement between M ori and

the Crown. It is also a document that articulates the sovereign rights of M ori as T ngata

Whenua of Aotearoa. Eddie Durie has written

Treaties are agreements between independent sovereign nations.431

In line with such a contention Te Tiriti o Waitangi can be located as a document that was

signed by M ori as independent nations with representatives of the Crown. It is a document

that is often referred to by M ori as tapu432 because of the deep significance within which it

is held. It has meaning to M ori that reaches into fundamental oral beliefs that the word

once spoken must be recognised in its fullest. As noted in the earlier discussion regarding te

reo M ori me na tikanga, we have whakataukï that announce the power of language.

430 Te Tiriti o Waitangi refers to the M ori language version of The Treaty of Waitangi.431 Durie, E.T.J 1991 ‘The Treaty in M ori History’ pp156-169 in Renwick, William (education) Sovereignty & Indigenous Rights: The Treaty of Waitangi in International Contexts Victoria University Press, Wellington:156 432 tapu refers to the sacred, revered state the document is held in.

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In a culture that utilised primarily, although not solely, oral language as its means of collective

communication, the word does in fact name the world.433 We can say therefore that each

word in Te Tiriti o Waitangi has significance. Intentions and interpretations are important in

the negotiating of meanings between languages. These have remained a point of contention

in regard to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the relationship of M ori and P keh . From a

Kaupapa M ori theoretical position the accepted validity and legitimacy of te reo M ori

locates the M ori text as the primary one from which we need to operate. This too was

validated by our t puna in that between 512 – 540 signed the M ori text434 whilst 39 signed

the English text.435

There are many publications that outline in some depth the events leading up to the signing of

Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Admittedly few of these have been authored by M ori and that is an

area that requires serious redress. It is beyond the scope of this thesis to engage in depth

the events of that time. It is however necessary on my part to indicate my positioning in

regard to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the guarantees made therein. As I have noted, the

centrality of te reo M ori me na tikanga within Kaupapa M ori theory takes me to a

position that it is Te Tiriti o Waitangi that is the document to which I believe we need to

refer. I realise that the Western legal frameworks of this country have dominated the defining

processes in regard to Te Tiriti o Waitangi have imposed numerous readings and have in

many ways captured Te Tiriti o Waitangi within legal discourse.436 That, however, does

not mean that we have to accept those definitions. What I believe to be more useful in regard

to Kaupapa M ori theory is an undertaking of seeking to view this foundational document

through our own eyes, through our own reo and through our own tikanga. What this also

means is that as wh nau, hap and iwi we are able to explore our specific relationships

with Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

While it is also beyond the scope of this thesis to engage the many debates regarding Te

Tiriti o Waitangi, it is necessary to indicate that Te Tiriti is a document that is considered

central to how M ori view a relationship with the Crown.437 It also affirms wh nau, hap ,

433 The reason I write ‘but not solely’ is because there are many cultural forms of expression that exist. Written language is only one form of expression. 434 Orange, Claudia 1987 The Treaty of Waitangi, Allen & Unwin Port Nicholson Press, Wellington:260 435ibid. For discussion in regard to signatories refer Simpson, M. 1990 Ng Tohu o Te Tiriti:Making a Mark The Signatories to The treaty of Waitangi, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa, Wellington 436 For examples of this refer Renwick, W. (ed) 1991 Sovereignty and Indigenous Rights: The Treaty of Waitangi in International Contexts, Victoria University Press, Wellington 437 For further reading regarding historical events refer to: Orange, C., 1987 op.cit.; For a range of opinions related to Te Tiriti o Waitangi refer to Kawharu, I.H.(ed) 1989 Waitangi: M ori and P keh Perspectives of the Treaty of Waitangi, Oxford University Press, Auckland

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iwi, M ori as t ngata whenua, and guarantees that maintenance of fundamental rights.

This is encapsulated within Te Tiriti which notes in Article Two:

Ko te Kuini o Ingarangi ka wakarite ka wakaae ki nga Rangatira ki nga hapu ki nga tangata katoa o Nu Tirani te tino rangatiratanga o o ratou wenua o ratou kainga me o ratou taonga katoa. Oti ia ko nga Rangatira o te Wakaminenga me nga Rangatira katoa atu ka tuku ki te Kuini te hokonga o era wahi wenua e pai ai te tangata nona te Wenua ki te ritenga o te utu e wakaritea ai e ratou ko te kai hoko e meatia nei e te Kuini hei kai hoko mona.

438

Te Tiriti o Waitangi is a document that affirms not only M ori as t ngata whenua but also

defines the basis for M ori - P keh relations.

Relating Te Tiriti o Waitangi in analytical terms means asking critical questions about the

positioning of wh nau/hap /iwi/M ori as t ngata whenua and reflecting on how that is

being constructed within a particular context. It also enables us to determine how

relationships between wh nau, hap , iwi, M ori are being constructed, by asking pertinent

questions about the state of that relationship. We can take the current Treaty Settlement

processes as an example of how this relationship has been established in ways that

undermine Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It may seem ironic that a Treaty Settlement process is itself

in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi however there are key indicators that this is in fact the

case. In drawing on Te Tiriti o Waitangi as a basis for analysis we can ask questions in

regard to who constructed the process?, what was the involvement of wh nau, hap , iwi,

M ori?, who determines the framework within which negotiations will take place?, how are

the fundamental guarantees agreed to within Te Tiriti o Waitangi represented in the

process? How are the power relationships being maintained?

Tino rangatiratanga

Tino rangatiratanga, like te reo M ori me na tikanga, is considered an overarching

element in Kaupapa M ori theory. By this I mean that it acts as a key tenet that I believe

must be inherent in all forms of Kaupapa M ori theoretical analysis. Tino rangatiratanga

links us directly to a right to define and control what it means to be M ori in Aotearoa. Tino

rangatiratanga is expressed in Te Tiriti o Waitangi in relationship to the notion

‘kawangatanga’ which is referred to in Article one and translated by Hugh Kawharu as

‘government’ and which others refer to as ‘governorship’.439 The relationship between these

two notions is perhaps one of the most hotly contested areas in regard to Te Tiriti o

438A translation provided by Hugh Kawharu of this article is as follows; The Queen of England agrees to protect the Chiefs, the Subtribes and all the people of New Zealand in the unqualified exercise of their chieftainship over their lands, villages and all their treasures. But on the other hand the Chiefs of the Confederation and all the Chiefs will sell land to the Queen at a price agreed to by the person owning it and by the person buying it (the latter being) appointed by the Queen as her purchase agent. ibid:319

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Waitangi. That contestation is shown in the complex legal interpretations that surround Te

Tiriti.440 The Waitangi Tribunal Report on the Motunui claim notes that under the Treaty of

Waitangi Act 1975 there is recognition that there are differences between the M ori and

English texts and that the Tribunal is required to decide on issues raised by the differences.

In that report there is significant discussion in regard to the importance, and interpretation, of

the term ‘rangatiratanga’. The Tribunal notes that M ori were in 1840 conversant with

Missionary use of the phrase tino rangatiratanga as it was used in the ‘Lords Prayer’, they

report,

It has been noted that many Maori were able to recite large passages from Scripture and the Book of Common Prayer by rote. It is also to be remembered that the missionaries played a major role in presenting and explaining the Treaty to Maori people, at Waitangiand throughout New Zealand. It must also have been readily apparent to the Maori that the Treaty was written in what could best be described as ‘Missionary Maori’. It appears to us that the Maori signatories to the Treaty would have been in no doubt that they and the missionaries were agreed on what “rangatiratanga” meant. It was well known to both parties for its use in scripture and prayer, as in “kia tae mai tou rangatiratanga” or “thy kingdom come”, as appearing in the Lords Prayer.441

Where it is beyond the scope of this thesis to survey the literature in regard to Treaty

interpretation, it is noted that tino rangatiratanga is a key notion in the struggle with the

Crown. It is a notion that affirms the argument that Te Tiriti o Waitangi guaranteed M ori

the right to sovereignty in our own lands.442 There have been many M ori organisations that

have formed for the express purpose of organising around Te Tiriti. One such group Te

Kawariki worked to develop awareness about Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and have ensured that

on February 6th (Waitangi Day) there would be a political forum held at Waitangi.443 Te

Kawariki have been instrumental in the past twenty years at keeping Tino Rangatiratanga

on the political agenda. Tino rangatiratanga is an expression of M ori aspirations for self-

determination, M ori autonomy, M ori sovereignty. As such it is expressed as a key

objective in many M ori movements. It is noted however that tino rangatiratanga is but one

discourse that expresses the notion of Mäori autonomy. The concept of mana motuhake is

also used as a means of expressing M ori control over things M ori, that includes all

taonga guaranteed under Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Mana motuhake however does not stem

from Te Tiriti rather it is grounded in our Indigenous position in Aotearoa. Mana

motuhake, like tino rangatiratanga asserts M ori as t ngata whenua, and the

expectation of autonomous rights in line with that identity. In reflecting on both Te Tiriti o

Waitangi and mana motuhake, Annette Sykes writes:

439 ibid. 440 Refer Renwick, William 1991 op.cit. 441 Waitangi Tribunal 1986 op.cit.:51 442 For a range of M ori perspectives on issues of sovereignty refer to Melbourne, H. 1995 M oriSovereignty: The M ori Perspective, Hodder Moa Beckett, Auckland 443 Te Kawariki 1999 20 Yrs Protest Action 1979-1999, Te Kawariki, Kaitaia

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The Treaty is a symbol which reflects Te Mana Maori Motuhake.444

Graham Hingangaroa Smith notes that from this context the term ‘tino rangatiratanga’ is

drawn and related it to Kaupapa M ori in the form of a ‘self-determination principle of

asserting M ori control over M ori kaupapa.445 That was an underpinning assumption

inherent in the developments of Kaupapa M ori educational initiatives of Te K hanga Reo

and Kura Kaupapa M ori. The continued state denial of M ori aspirations for te reo

M ori me na tikanga, and for our tamariki to experience 'success' in their schooling

experiences became irreconcilable and the subsequent drive for independent autonomous

systems was an expression in enacting tino rangatiratanga. This is not new. Our t puna

have been enacting such assertions for generations, the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi is in

itself an example of the belief that M ori have always held rangatiratanga over all things

M ori. It is little wonder then that within the education arena this has been most successfully

expressed in the M ori Education initiatives such as Te K hanga Reo, Kura Kaupapa

M ori, Whare Kura and Whare W nanga. Te K hanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa M ori,

in particular held to the notion of M ori autonomous development by establishing outside, and

some would say in spite of, the existing P keh state education system. This has changed

structurally in that both Te K hanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa M ori are now operating

under the state umbrella, however the struggle for tino rangatiratanga remains a critical

element to many involved in these movements.

In regard to the positioning of tino rangatiratanga as a key element in Kaupapa M ori

theory, I would argue that tino rangatiratanga as a concept needs to be viewed in

relationship to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, thereby bringing forward the wider issues of self

determination and the responsibilities of the Crown to fulfil their obligations to Te Tiriti o

Waitangi.446 These are but some examples but they give sufficient indication as to how

referring directly to Te Tiriti o Waitangi we can develop important forms of analysis that will

support movement towards creating fundamental structural change that will support M ori

aspirations and the reclamation of what is referred to in Te Tiriti o Waitangi as taonga

katoa. Ranginui Walker writes that the term taonga katoa refers to ‘all their treasured

possessions’ and encapsulates all things that are treasured both tangible and intangible. This

is also the position taken by the Waitangi Tribunal in the te reo M ori case, Wai 11. In

Kaupapa M ori theory the notion of taonga katoa is encompassed also in the phrase

taonga tuku iho, which I will turn to now.

444 Sykes, Annette (n/d) op.cit. 445 Smith, G.H. 1997 op.cit. 446 The Crowns obligations are clearly identified in Te Tiriti o Waitangi as those of kawanatangaor governorship. As co-signatories to Te Tiriti o Waitangi there is also an expectation that the Crown will honour their agreement, this however has not been the case.

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Taonga Tuku Iho

As I have noted in the previous section taonga is a term that refers to all things that are held

as ‘treasures’ therefore the concept of taonga tuku iho relates to those ‘treasures’, both

tangible and intangible, that have been handed on to us from our ancestors. M ori Marsden

shows the depth of the relationship of 'taonga' to M ori people. Taonga, he wrote denotes

desirable values, that is desirable M ori values. In defining the term taonga, he noted;

… the Maori idea of value is incorporated into the inclusive holistic term 'taonga' - a treasure, something precious; hence an object of good or value. The object or end valued may be tangible or intangible; material or spiritual.447

In regard to Taonga as cultural elements, M ori Marsden states that the following terms

identify ways in which taonga are bequeathed by forebears to their descendants:

Nga taonga a nga tupuna ancestral treasures Taonga tuku iho treasures bequeathed Ohaki a nga tupuna guidelines, maxims of the ancestors

These taonga refer to the cultural tradition, love history; corpus of knowledge, etc, with which the descendants can identify and which provide them with their identity, self-esteem and dignity; that which provides them with psychological security.448

The positioning of taonga tuku iho as a key element in Kaupapa M ori theory recognises

the taonga that our t puna have held as important for the maintenance and reproduction of

wh nau, hap , iwi, M ori. Those taonga include a vast array of things including whenua,

moana, ng here, awa, maunga, te reo M ori me na tikanga and many elements that

are a part of tikanga M ori. In the Te Reo M ori claim to the Waitangi Tribunal it was

argued that te reo M ori is a taonga that is acknowledged within Te Tiriti o Waitangi and

therefore the Crown has an obligation to support the maintenance and development of te reo

M ori, to not do so would be in breach of Te Tiriti. The notion of taonga tuku iho is

expressed in Kaupapa M ori theory through the validation and affirmation of being M ori

and of M ori worldviews, beliefs, values, cultural preferences and all of those things that

are tangible which are held to be culturally important. Kaupapa M ori theory affirms the

cultural aspirations of M ori people and seeks analyses that support the attainment of those

aspirations. Graham refers to the phrase taonga tuku iho as the ‘cultural aspirations

principle’. In regard to taonga tuku iho and the validity of being M ori Graham writes,

In a Kaupapa Maori framework, to be Maori is taken for granted; one’s identity is not being subtly undermined by a ‘hidden curriculum’. Maori language, knowledge, culture and values are validated and legitimated. Maori cultural aspirations, particularly in a wider societal context of the struggle for language and cultural survival, is more assured.449

447 Marsden, M ori 1988 The Natural World and Natural Resources: M ori Value Systems and Perspectives, in Resource Management Law Reform, Vol. 29A. Ministry for the Environment, Wellington 448 ibid:16 449 Smith, G.H. op.cit. pg467

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The notion of taonga tuku iho both validates M ori knowledge and also serves as a

process of knowledge transmission between generations. It recognises the value of ancient

knowledge that has formed over many generations and the importance of knowledge

reproduction between generations. This is a critical element in the colonial disruption of

wh nau structures, and in the maintenance and reproduction of te reo M ori me na

tikanga. The assimilatory policies of the past and the ongoing denial of te reo M ori me

na tikanga has had devastating effects on M ori. In discussing the denial of taonga tuku

iho, M ori Marsden emphasised that cultural erosion and cultural genocide produces a

psychological insecurity that then manifests itself in negative areas of social relations.

Taonga tuku iho and the revitalisation of fundamental values then become critical in

Kaupapa M ori initiatives. As M ori Marsden writes;

The cultural metaphysics or basic convictions which provide a people's guidelines to life evolve over generations of life experience in which succeeding generations add their quota of knowledge and fresh discoveries to the corpus of their cultural heritage. The customs and traditions of previous generations based on their beliefs and attitudes regarding the nature of ultimate reality, of the universe, and of man [sic] are the foundation stories upon which the mores, standards and values comprise the body of the cultural metaphysics.450

The concept of taonga tuku iho reminds us of the need to draw upon fundamental values,

beliefs, understandings and practices in understanding our current context and future

developments for our tamariki and mokopuna.

Whakapapa

Central to the notion of taonga tuku iho are whakapapa and wh nau, which act as

mechanisms both of identity and of knowledge transmission. Whakapapa is a key element in

Kaupapa M ori theory. Whakapapa exists irrespective of our specific knowledge of its

complexities, and for many M ori the search toward knowing those specificities can be

fraught with complications. Perhaps that is why so many M ori academics include explicit

references to their own histories and experiences within their thesis writings451. M ori

writers such as Mereana Taki452 and Taina Pohatu453 locate whakapapa as central to

M ori analysis. It provides us with positioning in the world and affirms that positioning and

cultural identification. Whakapapa is however more than a means of identification. It is a

spiritual connection that brings together all aspects of te ao M ori. Through whakapapa

our links are identified. It is a means through which we are able to place ourselves not only in

450 Marsden, M ori 1988 op.cit. 16 451 Smith,G.H.. 1997 op.cit.; Walker,S. 1996 op.cit. 452 Taki, Mereana 1996 Kaupapa M ori and Contemporary Iwi Resistance, Unpublished Master of Arts thesis, University of Auckland, Auckland 453 Pohatu, Taina 1996 I Tiipu Ai Taatou I Ngaa Turi O O Tatatau Maatua Tiipuna: Transmission and Acquisition Processes Within Kaawai Whakapapa. Unpublished Master of Education thesis, University of Auckland, Auckland

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the world but in relationship to each other. This is crucial in Kaupapa M ori theory and in

Kaupapa M ori educational initiatives.

Mereana argues solidly that iwi epistemologies are enshrined within the complex

relationships inherent within whakapapa. She identifies whakapapa as a relational

framework that organises positionality within and between iwi, hap and wh nau

groupings. This complexity is often denied in the eurocentric, anthropologically driven,

inclination to reduce whakapapa to a one dimensional genealogical table. The key positioning

of whakapapa can be seen in the reflection made by Dallas Pahiri in regard to Kaupapa

M ori theory when she states that Kaupapa M ori affirms her own identity as a woman

from Waikato.454 Whakapapa is an essential element to who we are and what it means to

be M ori. This is not singular but is inclusive of our many multiple identifications within

collective grouping. Kathie Irwin notes the necessity of recognising the interrelationships

within whakapapa; we are each recognised for who we are in relation to our collective

being.455 Whakapapa establishes not only relationships but also obligations and

accountabilities.456

Within whakapapa we are a part of a complex set of interrelationships. We are a part of

wh nau, hap and iwi. Yet contrary to dominant belief, this does not deny our own person

as individuals, rather what it contends is the prioritising of cultural relationships over a notion

of privileging the individual. Rangimarie Rose Pere writes that each individual has their own

absolute uniqueness and that we need to keep a balance between individual and group

pursuits.457 There appears to be a false assumption regarding M ori that we can only

operate as a group, this is an incredibly simplistic belief in regard to what is an elaborate

system of connections. What is needed is for us to define ourselves and how we wish to

operate in regard to wh nau, hap and iwi. It is not for the Crown or others to define how

we should relate to each other. Kathie Irwin succinctly places the control of identification in

the hands of M ori. Control, she argues, is exercised through tikanga M ori including

whakapapa.458

454 Pahiri, Dallas 1997 Me Whakatupu Ki Te Hua O Te Rengarenga, Me Whakapakari Ki Te Hua O Te Kawariki Reclaiming and Contesting Culture: Popular Culture and Mäori Youth,Unpublished Master of Arts Thesis, University of Auckland, Auckland: 23 455 Irwin, K, 1992 (b) 'Towards Theories of Mäori Feminism' in Du Plessis, R. (ed.) with Bunkle, P., Irwin, K., Laurie, A., Middleton, S., 1992 Feminist Voices: Women's Studies Texts for Aotearoa/New Zealand, Oxford University Press, Auckland 456 Smith, L.T. 1992 (a) Maori Women: Discourses, Projects and Mana Wahine, in Middleton, S. and Jones, A. (eds) Women and Education in Aotearoa 2, Bridget Williams Books, Wellington 457 Pere, Rangimarie Rose 1988 ‘Te Wheke: Whaia te Maramatanga me te Aroha’ in Women and Education in Aotearoa, Allen & Unwin, Port Nicholson Press, Wellington 458 Irwin, K., 1992 (b) op.cit.:11

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John Rangihau warned of the cultural dangers of collectivising to the extent that wh nau,

hap and iwi are denied.459 This, he wrote, may be yet another colonising tool. The act of

collectivising iwi nations in such a way supported positivist paradigms that were located in

colonial dualisms. The term M ori became a signifier for notions of inferiority, heathen,

barbaric, uncivilised, immoral, natives whilst the coloniser placed themselves within the

positions of superiority, civilised, christian, moral. These dichotomies served one purpose, to

provide justification for the many acts of colonial violence that were to follow. In taking on

John Rangihau’s point, we are alerted that the subjugation of wh nau, hap and iwi to a

collective M ori being has the potential to deny the complexities of who we are. However,

we must also be cognisant that the maintenance of an ability to mobilise collectively and be

accountable for each other in a wider context. In our historic experience of collective

movements such as Kotahitanga and Kingitangi there has been particular strength in being

able to draw across wh nau, hap and iwi in terms of support.460 We need to find those

spaces that allow for both our wh nau, hap and iwi beings to be validated in ways that

enable us, as M ori, to maintain collective strength. In spite of many recent assertions to the

contrary I would argue that whakapapa is a point of meeting, a space that enables us to be

wh nau, hap , iwi, M ori, t ngata whenua, all simultaneously.

Whakapapa also brings to the framework notions of history that are located within M ori

understandings. Whakapapa is integral to a discussion of our histories and the relationships

that position how we relate to each other. To understand our whakapapa is also to

understand the k rero, the stories, the knowledge that comes with events, people,

relationships. These are passed through whakapapa and whakapapa is passed through

the telling of those histories. Te Rangihiroa Peter Buck notes that those who showed

interest in whakapapa, or those who by virtue of birth required that knowledge, were taught

both their own iwi links and the connections between iwi. This, he stated, ensured that the

links were referred to appropriately in future meetings.461 Throughout writings regarding

M ori history and M ori knowledge related to how our world came about are also

references to whakapapa. History and who we are is not separate, it is one in the same.

The relationship of whakapapa to history as inseparable. It informs us of our relationships

459 Rangihau, John 1975 'Being M ori' in King Michael (ed) Te Ao Hurihuri: The World Moves On, Hicks Smith & Sons/Methuen N.Z. Ltd., pp165-175 460 The Kotahitanga movement is discussed in Chapter Ten. For further reading refer Rei, T. 1993 M ori Women and The Vote, Huia Publishers, Wellington. Kingitanga was development as a means of unification across M ori in dealing with the oppressive actions of the settler government, in particular in regard to land confiscations. For an historical account of Kingitanga developments refer Gorst, J.E. 1864 The M ori King, Macmil lan & Co., Kent, reprinted 1959 Oxford University Press, London & Pauls Book Arcade, Hamilton 461 Buck, Te Rangihiroa Peter 1949 The Coming of the M ori, M ori Purposes Fund Board, Reprinted 1987 Whitcoulls Ltd. Wellington

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with the world around us, with Papat nuku, Ranginui and all the multitudes of atua462 that

make up the M ori world. Whakapapa brings to Kaupapa M ori theory a necessity to view

notions of history within M ori constructions.

History has been constructed within Western colonial definitions that are antithetical to M ori

interests.463 In validating our own concepts such as whakapapa we validate M ori views

on what constitutes history and how that is constructed. This then brings to Kaupapa M ori

theory a form of analysis that calls for a number of critical reflections not only on how history

is constructed but also how we view issues in the present. For many, the phrase ‘the past is

our present is our future’ may be considered overused, however it is a phrase that brings

with it a way of viewing the world that is not linear or strictly chronological. Whakapapa

brings an assertion that we are accountable to our t puna, our mokopuna and all past and

future generations. It also brings to the fore expectations in regard to our relationships to

each other. In a time when we have seen increasing imposed fragmentation between many

iwi organisations and urban based M ori groupings, whakapapa can mediate.464 That is if

those parties involved are willing to consider whakapapa in ways that are not determined by

money or colonially imposed structures.

Whakapapa also brings an understanding of relationships and how they can be viewed.

This is critical in Kaupapa M ori theory in that we have certain forms of relationships that

are defined within cultural frameworks. For example Linda Tuhiwai Smith in her article

regarding the building of a wharenui at Auckland Girls Grammar highlighted the complexities

of M ori relationships within mainstream P keh schooling, which has its own sets of rules

regarding relationships. What Linda highlights is that M ori people working within P keh

institutions are not only having to negotiate relationships and accountabilities with the

institution but also between each other as M ori.465 This brings to the fore a whole raft of

relationships between wh nau, hap and iwi and also in terms of tuakana–teina relations.

These relationships can have both cultural and political significance, and irrespective of our

knowledge of whakapapa they are constantly in play whenever M ori people gather

together. Whakapapa embraces those complexities and within Kaupapa M ori theory we

too need to engage the complexities rather than seek simplistic answers, which is what tends

462 tua relates to tüpuna M ori of the spiritual realm, the godesses and gods, the guardians of the many realms. 463 Mead, L.T.R. 1996 op.cit. 464 Pihama, L. & Smith, C.W. 1998 Fisheries & Commodifying Iwi : Economics, Politics and Colonisation: A series of readers examining critical issues in contemporary M ori society. IRI/Moko Productions, Auckland 465 Smith, L.T. 1993 'Getting Out From Down Under: M ori Women, Education and The Struggles for Mana Wahine' in Arnot, M. & Weiler, K. (eds) Feminism and Social Justice in Education, Falmer Press, London

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to be the habit of many who work alongside M ori people. Mereana Taki higlights this in

her research as follows:

Whakapapa often appears deceptively simple as a theory. This has often been because of a eurocentric trend to reduce its meaning to a shallow one dimensional and single-meaning comparison of contemporary P keh concepts. Whakapapa is a part of a complex Iwi epistemological body of Iwi thought, universalisms, theories, concepts and their dialectical practices with the Iwi world. Of importance to this thesis is a fundamental premise that the Iwi is central in the reproduction, transmission and practices of their whakapapa. This body of theories establishes their direct descent to the Iwi cosmos and ethos. Iwi whakapapa also sets out broad relational frameworks for organising positionality within and between Iwi in their Iwi, hap and whanaunga groupings. Whakapapa is also relevant for articulating where and how Iwi nations relates to Tauiwi-P keh colonial society.466

Mereana articulates strongly the multiple levels of knowledge that are a part of whakapapa

k rero. Whakapapa is not only about identity and knowing who we are as M ori, but is

surrounded by discussions of the whenua, of inter-relationships, of past experiences and

key events in wh nau, hap and iwi history. Kaupapa M ori theoretical analysis must be

equally as layered. We can not afford to partake in common-sense accounts that reduce

issues to simplistic reasoning and explanations. Whakapapa as a key element in Kaupapa

M ori theory requires us to explore relationships, how they are played out, how power is

constructed within those relationships, and the layers of knowledge that are a part of those

relationships.

Wh nau/Whanaungatanga

Another element of whakapapa within Kaupapa M ori theory is that of wh nau. The

wh nau and the cultural relationships that are expressed through whanaungatanga are

central to the Kaupapa M ori project. Wh nau provides a support base from which we as

individuals are located in the wider dimensions of whakapapa and M ori society. Margie

Hohepa describes the various ways in which wh nau can be regarded.467 Wh nau, she

states, has both traditional and more 'evolved' meanings. Traditional in the extent that the

construct of wh nau through whakapapa connections remains as a key definition, and

more recently the cooption of the term wh nau in the linking of groups of common interest, or

common kaupapa. Margie describes these groupings as follows;

Wh nau based on unity of purpose rather then whakapapa lines, sometimes termed 'kaupapa wh nau' or 'metaphorical wh nau', develop around a particular aim or goal.468

466 Taki, M. 1996 op.cit.:pp24-25 467 Hohepa, Margie 1999 'Hei Tautoko I Te Reo': M ori Language Regeneration and Wh nauBookreading Practices, Unpublished Doctor of Philosophy thesis, University of Auckland, Auckland 468 ibid:18

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Mason Durie also emphasises the diversity of wh nau in contemporary M ori society.469

He notes that the term wh nau has undergone changes in line with changes that have

occurred in M ori society more generally, noting that there now exists a spectrum of

wh nau types that range from whakapapa wh nau to kaupapa wh nau. Mason

identifies the following wh nau types;

wh nau as kin: who descend from a common ancestor;

wh nau as shareholders-in-common: who are shareholders in land;

wh nau as friends: who share a common purpose;

wh nau as a model of interaction: for example in a school environment

wh nau as neighbours: with shared location of residence;

wh nau as households: urban dwellers;

the virtual wh nau: that meet in cyberspace due to geographical separation.470 Those

wh nau that are not based within whakapapa relations may be seen in general terms as

wh nau of interest or kaupapa wh nau.471 They are constituted and maintained through a

particular purpose or set of circumstances, and therefore have diverse roles and obligations

to their members.

In the context of Kaupapa M ori initiatives the wh nau has a key role in providing support.

Graham states that the wh nau structure brings with it reciprocal roles and obligations. In

the schooling context of Kura Kaupapa M ori this includes the wh nau giving support to

individuals and groups who are a part of it, and also that the wh nau of the children give

support to the wider school wh nau. The wh nau is a crucial component in M ori society.

Meaning both extended family and birth, the word wh nau is encompassing of both creation

and of support mechanisms for all in the wh nau. Wh nau provides the basis for M ori

society upon which other forms of organisation such as hap and iwi are dependent. It has

also been a key target for colonialism and colonising forces have actively sought to

undermine the fundamental values and relationships that are the basis for wh nau wellbeing.

Wh nau also brings to the fore collective obligations and responsibilities for each other in the

wider sense of wellbeing. This is critical in providing analysis of the individualistic drive of

colonial ideologies. Family has been defined in dominant discourse as the nuclear family, the

structure that supports and perpetuates colonial mythologies in terms of relationships in

particular gender positioning. In an article I wrote recently in regard to lesbian wh nau I

made the following point;

469 Durie, M., 2001 op.cit. 470 ibid. 471 Mason Durie refers to the work of Joan Metge in use of the term kaupapa whänau. This is also discussed in Cram, F. & Pitama, S. 1998 ‘Ko t ku wh nau, ko t ku mana’ in Adair, V. & Dixon, R. (eds) The Family In Aotearoa New Zealand, Addison Wesley Longman New Zealand Ltd., Auckland pp130-157

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The limited definition of the ‘family’ as nuclear, heterosexual and constructed within limited gender roles is not ‘natural’, but is constructed by certain groups to benefit their own interests… For many people the definition of ‘family’ is not dependent on a legal contract of marriage, nor is it dependent on the idea that family must be one man, one woman and their children. Such a definition is not only limited but it also imposes restrictions on how different groups wish to construct their families. With the nuclear heterosexual family being centred as the ‘norm’, the standardised version of family, everything else is measured against it and labelled and judged accordingly.472

If ‘family’ is defined as a nuclear, colonial, heterosexual model then any other familial forms

are only visible if they are labelled, for example ‘extended’ family, ‘blended’ family, ‘mixed’

family. The term family itself is a taken for granted structure. Where colonisation has clearly

had an impact on wh nau,473 it remains that wh nau is not a nuclear family model.474 No

matter how often people and organisations juxtapose the terms wh nau and family they will

never be the same. Hence, the role of wh nau in Kaupapa M ori initiatives is essential in

that it affirms the roles and obligations that we as M ori have as a collective group to each

other. It also relates directly to a process of intervening in socio-economic areas, which

Graham refers to as ‘Kia piki ake i ng raruraru i te kainga - the socio-economic

mediation principle’.475 Where Graham identifies this separately in his discussion of

intervention elements in Kaupapa M ori I tend to locate this notion within the overall context

of whanaungatanga. Rangimarie Rose Pere identifies whanaungatanga as the

practices that provide the bond and strengthening of the wh nau. She writes

Loyalty, obligation, commitment, an inbuilt support system made the wh nau a strong stable unit, within the hap , and consequently the tribe.476

These roles of wh nau are roles that are worth cultivating in a movement for change. This

needs to be in a context of recognising a point made by Margie Hohepa that belonging to

wh nau can be hard work and requires commitment.477 Mason Durie also indicates that

there are both adversities and possibilities that face wh nau.478 The adversities are the

consequence of the colonial disruptions we have experienced as a people over the past 200

years. Colonisation actively targeted M ori societal structures for destruction, and in doing

so have created a context of dysfunction. It is not wh nau that is dysfunctional, it is the

societal philosophies of capitalist greed, of racism, of sexism imposed through patriarchal

institutions, of homophobia and the tolerance of misogyny that creates and perpetuates

dysfunction. Each of these oppressive regimes impose conditions that are for many of our

wh nau intolerable and in societal terms must be considered unacceptable. The potential of

472 Pihama, L. 1998 'Reconstructing Meanings of Family: Lesbian/Gay Wh nau and Families in Aotearoa in Adair, V. & Dixon, R. (eds) The Family In Aotearoa New Zealand, Addison Wesley Longman New Zealand Ltd., Auckland pp179-207 473 Cram, F. & Pitama, S., 1998 op.cit. 474 Hohepa, M.K, 1999 op.cit 475 Smith, G.H., 1998 op.cit.:pp 468-469 476 Pere, R.R., 1994 op.cit.:26 477 Hohepa, M.K, 1999 op.cit.

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wh nau to intervene in wh nau well-being is argued by Mason Durie, Graham

Hingangaroa Smith, Fiona Cram and Suzanne Pitama, Rangimarie Rose Pere. This

requires rebuilding and reconstructing our understandings in terms of the possibilities of

wh nau and the roles and obligations that are a part of maintaining collective relationships.

It is my view that if the potential of whanaungatanga is able to be realised then that would

include the supporting wh nau and intervening in some of the impact of socio-economic

oppression for those wh nau members. The practice of supporting each other within

kaupapa M ori contexts is critical in overcoming difficulties that face us in the current

context of colonisation. This does not imply that wh nau should carry the burden of 'freeing

us' from an unequal class structure, rather it identifies that in terms of mediating effects of

such oppression wh nau is a tool that we as M ori can utilise. It is clear that the imposition

of class structures and the denial of economic control to M ori of our resources is a central

tool in the actions of colonising regimes. Given that the active undermining of wh nau as a

means by which to undermine the wider structures of M ori society was a calculated act,

intended to facilitate the alienation of land and resources, we can look closely at the role of

wh nau in developing interventions. Wh nau and whanaungatanga provide us with an

understanding of fundamental relationships of M ori structures. Kaupapa M ori theory can

play a significant role in engaging class issues and the imposition of class structures upon

M ori, in providing critical analysis of the need for M ori to enact those fundamental values

inherent within whanaungatanga that can intervene in the impact of class oppression

through the collectivisation of resources and support. This is in line with Rangimarie’s

contention that whanaungatanga is the key to the strength of the iwi.479

Whanaungatanga as an expression of forms of relationships then relates beyond wh nau

to hap , iwi and M ori relationships more generally. This then provides us with

opportunities to explore the complexities of relationships that exist both within wh nau and

beyond. For example, relationships of tuakana-teina are not regarded solely within

wh nau but also provide frameworks for relationships across wh nau within hap and

iwi. There are also wider relationships between and across iwi that are equally able to be

defined within whanaungatanga terms. In current debates regarding definitions of what it

means to be M ori or the Fisheries 'what is an iwi' courtcase appear to continually ignore

the complexities of whanaungatanga as they exist across iwi and our fundamental

obligations to each other as whanaunga.480 It is my view that if we are to espouse notions

of transformation and intervention as an element of Kaupapa M ori theory then we need to

478 Durie, M., 2001 op.cit. 479 Pere, R, 1994 op.cit. 480 Pihama, L. & Smith, C.W. 1998 op.cit.

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engage more deeply the ways in which colonisation and more recently neo-liberal market

philosophies have undermined those obligations.

Wh nau and whanaungatanga bring to Kaupapa M ori theory notions of relationships,

collectivity, obligations and accountabilities. These are important notions when analysing the

positioning of M ori people. Within education policy over the past 30 years M ori wh nau

have been defined predominantly within deficit and deprivation models, where wh nau has

been regarded as maintaining ‘undesirable’ characteristics. Positioning M ori definitions of

wh nau as a starting point challenges those deficit models. Where the entrenchment of the

nuclear family model was instrumental in the attack on M ori structures and gender

organisation, the reaffirmation of wh nau can in turn challenge the colonial constructions of

gender. Rangimarie Pere states that within her wh nau, hap and iwi experiences of

wh nau, both women and men worked together for the wellbeing of all.481 Documentation by

Anne Salmond also highlights the contributions of both M ori women and M ori men in the

raising of tamariki.482 Wh nau then, as an element in Kaupapa M ori theory, calls for us

to engage critically the way that relationships are constructed and to ask where and how

M ori structures are positioned within a given situation. Furthermore, as a range of M ori

people have noted wh nau provides a structure and mechanism for intervention.483

Ako M ori

Alongside the structural notions of whakapapa and wh nau are pedagogical notions such

as ako M ori. Ako M ori is imperative to M ori Education, in that it is a critical term when

referring to M ori pedagogical forms and also contributes significantly to processes of

transformation. Ako refers to both teach and learn, it relates to both learning and teaching

processes. The akonga as student and kaiako as teacher. Ako relates to the processes

that informs both positions. Ako also notes the possibility of being both learner and

teacher.484 Rangimarie Rose Pere addresses the complexities of relationships within

tikanga M ori that are a part of informing ako. What is highlighted is the interaction

between key concepts in tikanga M ori as contributing to learning and teaching.

Furthermore, Arapera Royal-Tangaere asserts that the model provided by Rangimarie also

481 Pere, Rangimarie Rose 1988 Te Wheke: Whaia Te Maramatanga me te Aroha in Middleton, S. Women and Education in Aotearoa, Allen &Unwin New Zealand Ltd., Wellington pp 6-19 482 Salmond, A. 1991 Two Worlds: First Meetings Between M ori and Europeans 1642-1772,Viking, Penguin Books, Auckland 483 Smith, L.T. 1996 op. cit., Smith,G.H. 1997 op. cit., Cram, F & Pitama, S., 1998 op. cit., Pere,R. 1988 op. cit. 484 refer Royal-Tangaere, Arapera 1997 ‘M ori Human Development Learning Theory’ in Te Whaiti, P. McCarthy, Marie, Durie, A. (eds) 1997 Mai i Rangiatea, Auckland University Press & Bridget Williams Books, Auckland pp46-59

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illustrates the positioning of the tamaiti/mokopuna with a series of relationships.485

Arapera outlines pedagogical processes that are drawn from the poutama and relates

these to Western theories of psychological development.486 What Arapera shows is that

notions of ako and tuakana-teina provide us with clear processes of child development and

of learning and teaching processes.

The work of Margie Kahukura Hohepa in Te K hanga Reo also identifies the importance of

ako.487 Margie discusses tuakana-teina, whanaungatanga and whina as culturally

defined pedagogical methods that highlight Mäori processes of ako, of learning and teaching

are embedded in the Te K hanga Reo that her research was located in. Graham

Hingangaroa Smith refers to Ako Maori in terms as a ‘culturally preferred pedagogy’ and

asserts the need for culturally defined and appropriate teaching and learning strategies in

particular practices that connect with the cultural and life circumstances of M ori.488 This

has been established within Kaupapa M ori education initiatives. For example within the Te

Aratiatia489 programme it is clearly articulated that we operate from a Kaupapa M ori base.

This then places certain expectations on the group, both staff and students. It is noted that

manaakitanga, whina, tautoko are all expected within the programme, that we are all

responsible for each other to nurture, care for and support each other through the

programme.490 Often this is a ‘new’ proposition for students who have experienced more

individualistic, competitive approaches to their study. This is all part of ako M ori. Ako

M ori thereby assumes the validity of M ori processes of learning and teaching, and

asserts the notion that we have a right to access those processes. Drawing on notions of

ako in analysis is, as with the other elements, relatively straightforward. Validating ako

M ori means that in any context, policy document, curriculum document, and learning or

teaching environment we can ask how and where elements of ako M ori are positioned.

The pedagogical potential of ako are yet to be fully explored and this is an area of

development required. However, as noted previously utilising culturally defined elements

within the learning and teaching process is essential to Kaupapa M ori initiatives.

485 ibid. 486 Royal-Tangaere op.cit. 487 Hohepa, M.K 1990 Te Kohanga Reo Hei Tikanga Ako I Te Reo Maori, Unpublished Master of Arts thesis, University of Auckland, Auckland 488 Smith, G.H. 1997 op.cit.: 468 489 Te Aratiatia is the M ori Education group in the School of Education at the University of Auckland. 490 Moko Productions & Research Unit for M ori Education 1993 Te Aratiatia: M ori and Postgraduate Study (Video), University of Auckland, Auckland

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Decolonisation: Kaupapa M ori theory and Counter-hegemonic Possibilities

In my Masters thesis I argued that Kaupapa M ori theory is inherently anti-colonial and acts

as a counter-hegemonic theoretical resistance to colonial oppressions.491 This deserves

more in-depth discussion. Kaupapa M ori theory as a framework or theoretical environment

locates itself fully in huatanga M ori and in doing so expresses critical M ori concepts

and notions about the world, in all its forms. The articulation of te reo M ori me na

tikanga as the central pou for Kaupapa M ori theory therefore ensures counter-

hegemony, in that it demands that it is from a M ori world-view that we derive our analysis.

It is also from this place, this cultural location, that we engage all other theoretical

explanations.

Kaupapa M ori theory does not take for granted the existence of colonisation, rather it

assumes the absolute validity of our world-view and from there locates the acts of

colonisation as impositions. Kaupapa M ori theory will, and does, exist of its own right, it

exists irrespective of colonisation. It does not rely of colonisation for its expression. All

aspects of Kaupapa M ori theory are located in being M ori. As such, Kaupapa M ori

theory necessarily critiques colonial oppression or all forms of oppression that seek to deny

our fundamental place as M ori. In this sense Kaupapa M ori theory differs from Critical

theory, albeit that the desired critique of colonisation has parallels.

Kaupapa M ori theory is anti-colonial but that is not the central reasoning for why Kaupapa

M ori theory exists. Kaupapa M ori theory exists because we are M ori and our reo and

tikanga have their own fundamental right to exist and to be articulated within all parts of our

lives. The outcome of that is that Kaupapa M ori theory is anti-colonial in that working from

positions such as tino rangatiratanga directly calls in to question the position of colonial

settlers on our lands. This is not an argument that places the anti-colonial nature of Kaupapa

M ori theory as secondary but which regards the critique of colonisation as an essential

element, however it is driven from a distinctive M ori analysis. A critical role of Kaupapa

M ori theory is to provide us with frameworks through which to theoretically view the world

and to engage understandings, explanations, descriptions and analysis of issues and events

that impact on our lives. Colonisation is one such issue, as are the many oppressive

ideologies that come with our colonial experiences.

Coming then from a Kaupapa M ori theory necessarily means that we must engage all forms

of colonial oppression and those structures that maintain and perpetuate those oppressions.

This indicates a need for Kaupapa M ori theory to have the scope to engage the multiple

forms of oppression that exist. These include oppressions based on race, class, and gender,

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in all their many forms, and which includes analysis of these forms as they exist in a context

of colonisation. In considering the writing of this section I began to think about the many

resistance movements of our t puna and how those movements were based within the

notions of revealing injustice, of resistance, of revolution, of struggle. In my own iwi of Te

tiawa there is a legacy of struggle that is well known throughout the country. The struggle

to hold land, the struggle to hold tino rangatiratanga is documented throughout the history

of Taranaki.492

As a M ori theoretician these struggles indicate the involvement of many of our t puna in

working against injustice. Kuni Jenkins documents this in her doctoral thesis. She

emphasises the active role our people took in light of colonial oppression.493 Decolonisation is

then not 'new' but can be seen in the ways in which our tupuna engaged the colonial forces

of this country. For example in regard to the illegal taking of lands in Taranaki, our people

were engaged in multiple responses to the actions of the colonial settler government, in an

attempt to seek redress and the return of the lands. Those actions ranged from direct

confronting of colonial agents to long term acts of passive resistance.494 Decolonisation is a

process of revealing and actively analysing the impact of colonial ideologies and practices

upon our people.

Many authors refer to the decolonisation element of Kaupapa M ori theory with terms such

as revitalisation or reclamation. These terms recognise a sense of loss through colonisation

and emphasise the need to take control of those things we wish to vitalise and claim back.

We need however to be continually critical and reflective of what it is that we are actually

seeking to reclaim, and to be wary of the idea that there is a pure form of precolonial ways of

being that exist in some uncontaminated state now. After 200 years of contact with our

colonisers there now exist ways of being that have been integrated into M ori thinking that

are not ours. What we need to determine as M ori is what of those things are useful and

what is dangerous for our present and future generations. It is my position that just as it is

for M ori to define and control what constitutes our fundamental values and tikanga, it is for

M ori to provide the critical analysis and reflection on the impact of colonisation on our

m tauranga and tikanga. It is my assertion that Kaupapa M ori theory supports and

engages such a process. The counter-hegemonic element of Kaupapa M ori theory is

crucial, it is the political articulation of the elements outlined here in that it brings to the fore the

491 Pihama, L., 1993 Tungia te Ururua, Kia Tupu Whakaritorito Te Tupu o te Harakeke: A Critical Analysis of Parents as First Teachers, RUME Masters Theses Series Number 3, University of Auckland, Auckland 492 Waitangi Tribunal Report 1990 Wai 143 op.cit.; Scott, D. 1975 op.cit.; Riseborough, H. 1989 op.cit. 493 Jenkins, K. 2000 op.cit. 494 Waitangi Tribunal Report 1990 Wai 143 op.cit

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unequal power relationships that currently exist within Aotearoa as a consequence of

colonisation.

Summary

Kaupapa M ori theory is a growing and thriving theoretical framework. This chapter has

been focused upon outlining some philosophical underpinnings of Kaupapa M ori theory as

a contribution to the growth and expansion of Kaupapa M ori theory. What is important to

take from this chapter is not only what has been developed in the literature and discussions

about what constitutes Kaupapa M ori theory but more importantly to gauge the future

possibilities of what Kaupapa M ori theory can be or can become. The potential of theory

for M ori, the possibilities for the political, social, cultural and spiritual understandings of the

world that may be expressed through Kaupapa M ori theoretical analysis and explanations.

Kaupapa M ori theory, it has been noted, is the poutokomanawa for this thesis. It is the

strength which holds the wider structure of the discussion as is laid here on this paper, as

one would lay thoughts for others to consider.

In this chapter I have lain before you what I consider to be some key elements that appear in

the literature regarding Kaupapa M ori theory. It is argued that te reo M ori me na

tikanga are central factors for Kaupapa M ori theory as they provide the language and

cultural framework within which all elements are located. The validation and affirmation of

our own language and our own cultural knowledges and practices is essential to Kaupapa

M ori theory, it is the t huhu or the backbone to which all things are connected. In

extending on intervention elements of Kaupapa M ori schooling identified by Graham

Hingangaroa Smith I have outlined the following elements as fundamental to Kaupapa M ori

theory, Te reo M ori me na tikanga; Te Tiriti o Waitangi; Tino rangatiratanga;

Taonga tuku iho; Whakapapa; Wh nau; Ako M ori; Decolonisation. Within each of these

elements is a multitude of M ori concepts and ways of being and therefore the potential for

Kaupapa M ori theory is expansive. The wh nau, hap and iwi context further opens the

possibilities for M ori people to engage theory in ways that are not constructed with generic

understandings. It is necessary to further reiterate that these elements are not exclusive, nor

should they be viewed as prescriptive. If anything, this remains a very general overview of

Kaupapa M ori theory as it is currently expressed, particularly within the 'Auckland School'

of thought. It provides to the thesis a theoretical overview from which I will engage the

theories and notions that follow, and on which I will expand in chapters nine and ten, when

engaging the ways in which Mana Wahine theories are articulated.

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CHAPTER SIX

COLONISATION AND THE IMPORTATION OF IDEOLOGIES OF

RACE, GENDER AND CLASS

Colonisation has had, and continues to have, a major impact on the ways in which M ori

women's realities are constructed. Colonial discourses based within ideological constructions of

race and gender [and class] have served to define M ori women in line with particular roles,

expectations and practices.495

Introduction

Within Aotearoa, pre-colonisation, wh nau, hap , iwi had developed and interrelated in

complex ways. This included forms of relationships that existed between women and men.

These relationships have however been interrupted through our experiences of colonisation.

This chapter explores ideological importations that have contributed to those interruptions;

the ideologies of race, gender and class.

Identifying the construction of race, gender, and class ideologies through colonial discourses

is a means of understanding underpinning ideologies that exist in the maintenance of unequal

power relationships. The importation of these ideologies that are based within Western

colonial paradigms has meant the disruption of some fundamental beliefs. As Ani Mikaere

has stated there are many M ori who have taken on colonial belief systems, however there

has also been active resistance to such those ideologies.496 If that was not the case then

many of the writings that appear in this thesis would not exist. This chapter sets out

processes whereby colonial beliefs of race, gender and class have impacted on positioning

and experiences of M ori women. It is my view that in order to effectively talk or write

back to such ideologies we need to interrogate the origins of those constructions. This

chapter provides an overview of historical beliefs related to those constructions in order that

we are able to more deeply understand the complexities of the dominant discourses that

pervade our society, and the ways in which the intersection of such discourses impact

multiply on M ori girls and women.

The concept of race is a colonial importation. Prior to contact between M ori and P keh

race did not exist for M ori. As has been discussed in the Kaupapa M ori Theory

495 Johnston, P. & Pihama, L 1995 'What Counts as Difference and What Differences Count: Gender, Race and the Politics of Difference' in Irwin, K., Ramsden, I. & Kahukiwa, R. (eds), 1995 Toi W hine: The Worlds of M ori Women, Penguin Books, Auckland:82 496 Mikaere, A. 1996 op.cit.

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chapter social organisation was mediated through whakapapa and the complex ways in

which relationships were determined amongst wh nau, hap and iwi. Those

constructions were based within culturally defined structures. The Western notion of race

is also constructed within culturally defined notions however this is rarely made explicit, nor

is the means by which racialisation of peoples served the interests of some groups over

others. Racially based hierarchies, as they exist in present day Aotearoa, are a historical

consequence of colonisation. Colonisation as a process has been significantly influenced

by the ways in which race has been constructed. Race and the development of racial

hierarchies has been both the justification for, and maintenance of, imperialism around the

world. As both the reasoning for and the means by which colonisation is perpetuated the

construct of race requires careful consideration in this thesis. What is considered here is

the way in which race is constructed both historically and in current day usage. The

importance of this is located in the need to identify those multiple discourses and ideologies

that impact upon M ori women. Race is one of those ideologies. The colonisation of

Aotearoa was conducive to the universal expansion of the capitalist mode of production in

an attempt, by colonising forces, to provide new sources of land, raw materials and labour

power. According to Cherryl Smith497 it was clear that colonisation was driven by a “desire

of profit”. It is equally clear that imperative to the accumulation of profit was the subjugation

of the indigenous population. Cherryl argues that the realisation of the empire required the

rendering as inferior indigenous peoples. 498

Authors such as David Bedggood argue that throughout the colonisation of Aotearoa, a

conscious attempt was made to create a 'little england' through the transplanting of key

elements of British society: economics, politics and ideologies499. There is little doubt that

capitalism may be directly implicated in the use of racial justifications for the colonisation of

our lands. It also has a direct relationship to the maintenance and reproduction of racist and

sexist discourses. It is not, however, the sole reason for the existence of these discourses.

This chapter gives discussion as to the origins and foundations of dominant colonial

ideologies and engages with the ways in which these ideological constructions contribute to

the development of specific discourses about M ori.

The construction of class in Aotearoa is also premised upon the importation of particular

definitions and structures within a defined colonial hierarchy. As David Bedggood has

argued the imposition of class was necessary for constituting a 'little england'. Colonial

imperialism has been a flagship for capitalist exploitation around the world. Some of the

497 Smith, C.W. 1994 Kimihia Te Maramatanga: Colonisation and Iwi Development, Unpublished Master of Arts thesis, University of Auckland, Auckland.:18 498 ibid. 499 Bedggood, D., 1980 Rich and Poor in New Zealand, George Allen and Unwin, Auckland

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earliest contact between M ori and P keh was often in the form of traders, sealers and

whalers.500 The concept of 'discovery' as asserted over Indigenous Peoples lands generally

can be viewed in relationship to ideas of ownership. In Australia, Aboriginal people were

made invisible in their own lands when the colonising forces assumed 'ownership' on the

basis of 'Terra Nullus'.501 The theft of Indigenous lands and subsequently the theft of natural

resources through to the commodification of our language, culture and genetic makeup, has

all been reasoned and justified through capitalist growth and expansion.

Gender is a concept that is used generally to refer to being either female or male, however in

sociological terms gender is defined more specifically as being those beliefs and

understandings about what it means to be either female or male.502 Gender in this sense is

considered both socially and culturally constructed. Bev James and Kay Saville-Smith note the

following definition of gender as a social construction;

The concept of gender refers to qualities, traits and activities collectively deemed to be masculine or feminine in any given society. Although 'things feminine' are associated with females, and 'things masculine' are associated with males, sex and gender are quite distinct. The content of masculinity and femininity does not have an immediate biological foundation, despite the fact that gender defines what it means to be a male or female in a social sense. Gender is a categorization based not on physiological but on social attributes. Sex, that is the categories of 'female' and 'male' is purely physiological.503

Not only is the categorisation of gender not physiological it is also necessary to state explicitly

that biological arguments are used purely as a justification for the maintenance of unequal

power relations which privilege the controlling group. Gender is socially constructed. That

social construction is undertaken within political and cultural boundaries. In a chapter on

Gender and Education in Aotearoa, Diane Mara and I provided the following definition ;

Gender is therefore a social construction, which may be viewed in general terms as the social overlay of beliefs, values and practices that are attached to our biological sex.504

Such definitions directly challenge the notion that gender roles are natural or derive from

biological and physical makeup and in doing so provide a critique of the construction of roles

and beliefs as 'natural', relocating them as social and cultural. Gender relationships are not

'natural' and neither are any unequal power relations within society. Gender roles are

socially constructed as opposed to being biologically determined and therefore are able to be

500 Salmond, A. 1991 op.cit. 501 Moreton-Robinson, A., 2000 Talkin' Up To The White Woman: Indigenous Women and Feminism, University of Queensland Press, Queensland 502 Jaggar, A.M. & Rothenberg, P.S., 1984 Feminist Frameworks: Alternative Theoretical Accounts Of The Relations Between Women And Men, Second Edition; Jones A. et.al, 1990 Myths And Realities: Schooling In New Zealand ,Dunmore Press, Palmerston North; Pihama, L. & Mara, D. 1994 Gender Relations In Education, in Coxon, E. et.al., (eds) 1994., The Politics of Learning and Teaching in Aotearoa - New Zealand,The Dunmore Press: Palmerston North 503 James Bev & Saville-Smith, Kay 1989 Gender, Culture and Power, Oxford University Press, Auckland:10 504 Pihama, L. & Mara, D., 1994 op.cit.:215

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transformed. Gendered beliefs are produced and reproduced within the context of particular

societal and cultural structures.505 As a social construction gender then may be located

within the beliefs, understandings and values of a society.

Colonial ideologies encompass those beliefs and ideas that are constituted through the

worldviews and knowledges of the coloniser. This is a much easier statement to make than

it is to define. The parameters of what constitutes the colonisers worldviews and

knowledge are not necessarily clearly delineated, but are blurred by the many years that lie

between us in 2001 and the experiences of those in the 18th and 19th centuries. This could

potentially raise issues for the identification of colonial ideologies, however there are ample

writings to draw upon that trace diverse sources and explanations of European worldviews

and dominant Western thinking of the time period. This chapter outlines some of those views

beginning firstly with ideas of race and racial hierarchies then moving to discussions of

gender and finally class. The ordering is of no particular significance as it is the intersection

of these understandings that is of central concern to this thesis.

Race

Bob Blauner506 argues that a product of Western colonialism is the development of other

means of categorisation, which ideologies of race contribute to. This chapter provides a

general overview of the development of race as a basis for social organisation and in terms

of the ways that race as a social construct operates as a means to engage more directly the

impact of those constructions on M ori. Race as a social phenomenon cannot be separated

from issues of gender, class or indigenous struggles. This chapter is designed to begin the

discussion on the ideologies that fundamentally underpin wider discourses pertaining to

M ori women in order that we more fully understand their origins.

There is little talk in wider society about race, even though racial ideologies are a part of the

structural arrangements of this country. An avoidance of racial issues is a part of maintaining

the dominant myth that Aotearoa has 'good race relations'. There are many organisations that

work to maintain a ‘we are one people’ mythology in order to continue the marginalisation of

M ori.507 This idea is not new to Aotearoa. It is in fact a mythology that is perpetuated daily

505 ibid. 506 Blauner, Bob 1994 ‘Talking Past Each Other’ in Pincus, Fred L. and Ehrlich, Howard (eds) Race and Ethnic Conflict: Contending Views on Prejudce, Discrimination and Ethnoviolence,Westview Press, Boulder 507 Bell, A.1996 'We're Just New Zealanders: P keh Identity Politics' in Spoonley, P., Pearson, D. MacPherson, C. (eds), 1996 Ng Patai: Racism and Ethnic Relations in Aotearoa/New Zealand, The Dunmore Press Ltd., Palmerston North

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through a colonially imposed system.508 African-American author Toni Morrison discusses

the invisibilisation of race within the American Literary field through a habit of ignoring race

and argues that this must be engaged with by writers and literary critics. The process of

ignoring race she notes;

… is understood to be a graceful, even generous liberal gesture. To notice is to recognize an already discredited difference. To enforce it’s invisibility through silence is to allow the black body a shadowless participation in the dominant cultural body.509

This statement can be related directly to M ori. It seems that many people in this country do

not want to talk about race in ways that are identifiable. Issues of M ori student participation

are often more conveniently reduced solely to economics, which as a consequence means

P keh staff are not challenged to deal with wider cultural and political implications that are a

part of the racial stratification of this country. It is not easy to call into question the denial of

the impact on racialism, especially in a country that oppressed the indigenous peoples whilst

simultaneously promoting our land as a ‘new’ land where the colonial settlers could access

‘new opportunities’. Their new opportunities have been, and continue to be, off the backs of

M ori people. To use a term from Cherie Moraga and Gloria Anzaldua, the colonisers have

crossed to a land of opportunities via ‘this bridge called my back’.510 Critical race discussion

is imperative in any analysis of M ori issues in Aotearoa as race has been a defining notion

since early contact.511 This involves engagement with and critique of the myths that found

notions of racial superiority and contribute to the promotion of white supremacist practices.

Challenging the myth of the ‘Scientific’ Order

Many authors note that the term race is problematic. Blauner writes that race is a problematic

notion because there is such a variance between scientific and commonsense definitions.512

He notes that physical anthropologists reject the notion because people are of mixed lineage.

However, the commonsense usage of race as a defining characteristic remains prevalent

and therefore race cannot be considered a fiction. David Goldberg513 notes that although the

508 The avoidance of engaging discussions about race have become increasing evident to me. Recently two P keh colleagues reported back on a seminar held about issues of Equal Educational Opportunities (EEO). The seminar that had been given clearly stated that M oriand Pacific Islands students were being disproportionately affected by the shift in polic ies and fees structures. In the report back the term Social Economic Status (in particular low SES) was used to describe those students who are experiencing high disadvantage in the University of which, we were reminded, included P keh . The terms M ori or Pacific Islands were not used until M ori staff suggested that such issues could not be discussed without talking specifically about M ori and Pacific Islands students. Race as a defining factor was made invisible. 509 Morrison, Toni 1993 Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Tradition, Vintage Books, New York:9 510 Moraga, C. & Anzaldua, G. 1983 op.cit. 511 Johnston, P.M. 1998 op.cit. 512 Blauner, B. 1994 op.cit. 513 Goldberg, David Theo 1990 (ed) Anatomy of Racism, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis

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term race has become a contestable notion most still agree that it continues to impact upon

contemporary society. For Angela Davis race is a key defining element in the stratification of

societal hierarchies.514 Likewise, Floya Anthias and Mira Yuval-Davis note that where race

as criteria for designation has been widely discredited it remains and continues to impact and

therefore cannot be denied.515 As such the term race cannot be dismissed, as it has a

particular place in the way that differences and inequalities have been constructed. Added to

this is the recognition that racism exists and is experienced by many people daily.

Michael Apple argues that race is not a stable category but that how, why and by whom race

is used is both contingent and historical.516 Equally race is not an object that is easily

quantified or measured as a biological phenomenon but is a complex set of social relations

that are constructed and reconstructed. Race has on the whole been presented to us

through dominant discourse as biological with the hierarchical structuring of race being

presented as inevitable because of the ‘naturalness’ of biology. Western sciences have

contributed significantly to the development and maintenance of such ideologies. As such I

agree with Michael Apples' contention that issues of race must be treated with a seriousness

and complexity that recognises it is critical that we refuse to separate our discussion of race

from gender, class, sexuality and other relations. Furthermore, we must be always mindful of

the ways in which power, power relations and interests are central to the construction and

perpetuation of any ideology, as too is the ability for such ideologies to change form

dependent on the historical and social context. As Cameron McCarthy and Warren Crichlow

remind us:

... racial difference is the product of human interests, needs, desires, strategies, capacities, forms of organization, and forms of mobilization. And that these dynamic variables which articulate themselves in the form of grounded social constructs such as identity, inequality, and so forth, are subject to change, contradiction, variability, and revision within historically specific and determinate contexts.517

As racism is founded upon discourses of racial difference then the notion of race must

continue to be a key part of our analysis. For those who are aware of the expansiveness of

this field it will be obvious that I have not sought to bring forward an authoritative version of

these developments. If indeed that is at all possible. The focus taken here is one of providing

an overview of the development of racial ideologies in order that I can later explore the impact

of those developments on M ori .

514 Davis, Angela 1991 Women, Race and Class, Random House, New York 515 Anthias, Floya and Yuval-Davis, Mira 1992 Racialized Boundaries: race, Nation, Gender, Colour and Class and the Anti-racist struggle, Routledge, London 516 Apple, Michael ‘Series Editor’s Introduction’ in McCarthy, Cameron and Crichlow, Warren 1993 Race Identity and Representation in Education, Routledge, New York 517 McCarthy, Cameron and Crichlow, Warren 1993 Race Identity and Representation in Education, Routledge, New York: xv

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Constructing a Mythology: Race As A Defining Notion

Lucius Outlaw518 notes that the notion of race first appeared as a form of categorisation in a

poem by William Dunbar in 1508. Later, it was used in literary works referring to a class of

people or things. Race as a classification gained increasing authority through the 18th

century with works that Outlaw describes as ‘typological thinking’, that is, the defining of

people as being of certain ‘types’. This lay the foundations for the next step into

classificatory systems of race.519 Drawing on ‘scientific’ explanations, race became quickly

legitimated as a means by which to classify peoples and place groups in relationship to each

other through the existence of a ‘natural’ hierarchy. This then legitimated of the idea that

groups' behaviours could be determined by their positioning in the racial hierarchy. The

movement to a hierarchical construction was not, however, immediate but was developed

throughout the early 19th century. It was in the 19th century the term race gained more

specific definition related to a process of signifying groups on the basis of biology. The

development of this definition of race is linked to a greater need, of Europeans, to classify

peoples, particularly given the increased encounters with other peoples.

Gustav Jahoda provides an indepth literature review in terms of the development of

discourses on race.520 Looking firstly at Western notions of race from within Western

societies Jahoda identifies the construction of the ‘wild man’ as being key in subsequent

developments in regard to race. He argues that the images of the ‘Other’ as strange, exotic

and feared has been a constant feature in European history and has its ideological

foundations in early Greco-Roman traditions. The conceptualisation of difference as foreign

and fearful may be seen in ideas about the ‘monstrous races’. The ‘monstrous races’ he

argues were believed to have been located in Asia, Africa (then referred to as Ethiopia) and

remote parts of Europe. Relating writings by Adam of Breman in the 11th century Jahoda

identifies clearly that the construction of the ‘monstrous races’ was located very much in

notions of the ‘ferocious barbarian’ who were often recorded as being physically misshapen

and more often than not referred to as ‘flesh eaters’.

What we see in the early writings is the establishment of way in which physicality and beliefs

in cannibalism became defining characteristics of the ‘Other. These were to become

increasingly prevalent in the definitions and discourses that developed in relation to

Indigenous peoples. In order to show the prevalence of such constructions Jahoda has

518 Outlaw, Lucius ‘Toward a Critical Theory of “race”.’ in Goldberg, David Theo (ed) Anatomy of Racism, University of Minnesota Press, Minnesota, pp58-82 519 Outlaw identifies Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, James Cowles Prichard, Georges Cuvier, S.G. Morton, Robert Knox, Count Joseph Arthur de Gobineau as key figures in the early writings about race. 520 Jahoda, G. 1999 Images of savages: Ancients [i.e. ancient] roots of modern prejudice in Western culture, Routledge, London ; New York

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provided abundant references as examples, two of these follow as illustrations of the ideas

upon which more recent race theories are based.

In this sea are also very many other islands, all infested by ferocious barbarians… Likewise, round about the shore of the Baltic Sea, it is said, live the Amazons in what is now called the land of women. Some declare that these women conceive by sipping water. Some too, assert that they are made pregnant by the merchants who pass that way, or by the men they hold captive in their midst, or by various monsters, which are not rare there… And when these women come to give birth, if the offspring be of the male sex, they become Cynocephali; if of the feminine kind, they become the most beautiful women. Living by the themselves, the latter spurn consort with men and if men come near, even drive them manfully away. The Cynocephali are men who have their heads on their breasts. They are often seen in Russia as captives and they voice their words in bards… Palefaced, green and macrobiotic, that is, long-lived men called Husi, also live in those parts. Finally, there are those who are given the name of Anthropophagi and they feed on human flesh.521

And in those isles are many manners of folk of divers condition. In one of them is a manner of folk of great stature, as they were giants, horrible and foul to the sight; and they have but one eye, and that is in the midst of the forehead. They eat raw flesh and raw fish. In another isle are foul men of figure without heads, and they have eyes in either shoulder one, and their mouths are round shaped like a horseshoe, y-midst their breasts.In another isle are men without heads; and their eyes and their mouths are behind in their shoulders.522

In each of these accounts, which have been written two centuries apart, there is clear

indication of discourses about the ‘Other’ that include ideas about physique, sexuality, gender,

cannibalistic tendencies, barbarianism, aggression. The first account gives some insight into

the ways in which gender, sexuality and race have, from very early in Western ideologies,

intersected in ways that establish complex beliefs about the ‘Other’. According to Jahoda the

tendency to embellish accounts about adventures was common, as to was the practice of

developing chronicles from second or third hand descriptions. As Jahoda rightly indicates

such inventions present views to the world about the 'Other' that are developed through a

process that gave authors open licence to reinvent in line with their own belief systems.

The ‘wild man’ figure continued to be a significant influence throughout the 17th and 18th

centuries, alongside this existed earlier biblical notions that saw the descendants of Ham as

linked to evil. Jahoda argues that the link between the ‘wild man’ and blackness has been

determined through interpretations of the biblical stories of Ham and his descendants, noting

that the legend of Ham was seized upon to provide justification for the enslavement of

blacks.523 The defining of certain races in animalistic terms grew increasingly through the

many attempts to outline the ‘Great Chain’. This included many attempts to compare humans

521 Adam of Bremen 11th century, Trans. 1959 cited in Jahoda ibid.:1 522 Letts [1346?] 1953 Vol. 1, pp 141/2 cited in Jahod ibid.:2 523 Jahoda 1999 op.cit.:5 writes; "Saint Augustine identified Nimrod as a descendant of Ham and as responsible for the building of the tower of Babel and the subsequent fragmentation of

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with animals, in particular apes as a means of determining the evolutionary chain from which

humans descended. Discourses surrounding the relationship between apes and Black and

Indigenous peoples were powerfully expressed and the assertions made in respect to the

chain of creation are nothing less than sickening to read. Jahoda notes that author after

author sought to position Black and Indigenous peoples as ape-like in their process of seeking

a social order. A prominent example of this Jahoda contends is what he refers to as a

‘watershed publication’, that being Edward Longs’ ‘History of Jamaica’ published in 1774.

According to Jahoda, Long argued that there were close resemblances between apes and

‘Negroes’ [sic], however Jahoda himself although aware of Longs writings states that he

was not ready for “the shock of reading his distasteful rantings”524. In order to gain some

idea as to the thinking that pervaded writings regarding race and ideas of animality and

bestiality we need only look to some of Longs statements in the area.

The women are delivered with little or no labour, they have therefore no more occasion for midwives than the female orang-outang, or any other wild animal.

I do not think that an orang-outang husband would be a dishonour to an Hottentot female; for what are the Hottentots? They are… a people certainly very stupid, and very brutal. In many respects they are more like beasts than men.

[Orang-utans do not] seem at all inferior in their intellectual faculties to many of the Negro race; with some of whom, it is credible that they have the most intimate connexion and consanguinity. The amorous intercourse between them may be frequent; the negroes themselves bear testimony that such intercourses actually happen; and it is certain, that both races agree perfectly well in lasciviousness of disposition.525

In the context of slavery in Jamaica such discourses were accepted by many in the time as

they provided justification for the perpetuation of slavery that provided labour in the Jamaican

sugar plantations. It is also easy to be sickened by the vulgarness with which Long sought to

deny the humanity of Black peoples.

Seeking 'Scientific' Justification: Debating the Origins

A prominent area of debate throughout the development of race theories was that of the

origins of races, in particular surrounding the concepts of monogenesis and polygenesis.

Monogenesists believed that all race groups came from a single origin and therefore were

also able to reproduce across races. The basis of monogenesis belief was christianity with

the origins deriving from Adam and Eve and a firm belief in eugenesis, of the fertility of people

with each other.526 The polygenesis argument was that races had multiple origins. Stephen

humanity. Nimrod thus seems to have been one of the main sources of the myth of the Wild Man".524 ibid: 55 525 ibid. 526 refer Bolt, Christine 1971 Victorian Attitudes to Race, Routledge and Kegan Paul, London; Gould, Stephen Jay 1981 The Mismeasure of Man, Penguin Books, New York

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Gould notes that the polygenesist debate was considered part of the 'American School' of

Anthropology, which was not surprising, he advances, given that it was a nation that was

practicing slavery and actively dispossessing Native peoples from their lands.527 Louis

Agassiz a theorist of polygeny was first 'convinced' of the separate origins of the races after

immigrating to America and having contact with African-American people. His assertion of

polygeny is without doubt derived from his personal experiences in American, writing to his

mother he stated;

… all the domestics in my hotel were men of colour. I can scarcely express to you the painful impression that I received, especially since the feeling that they inspired in me is contrary to all our ideas about the confraternity of the human type (genre) and the unique origin of our species… What unhappiness for the white race - to have tied their existence so closely with that of negroes in certain countries! God preserve us from such contact!528

Polygenesists argued that sexual relations across races would be unable to reproduce

‘offspring’ and if they did it would mean a deterioration of the superior race.529 There was a

solid belief that any inter-racial mixing would inevitably mean the deterioration of the superior

race, producing what was viewed, by polygenesists, as a "vicious type of half-breed,

useless alike to himself and the world" 530 For Agassizi the idea of sexual relations between

races was explained as being an outcome of the 'overeager' sexual desires of young white

men and the 'sexual receptiveness' of Black women. He warned resolutely against the

'mixing' of races, arguing that it would be difficult to "eradicate the stigma of lower races" if

there was a continued 'mixing' of blood.

Origins of language provided both monogenesis and polygenesis arguments with ‘evidence’ to

support their claims. Monogenesists argued all languages derived from three primary

sources, Indo-European, Semitic and Malay, which then traced to a singular language that

had, conveniently, disappeared. Dismissal of this argument was not difficult, particularly

given the many varied languages that were supposed to belong to each category. The

plurality of languages was more conducive to the idea of plurality of ‘races’, the polygenesis

belief. The Darwinian process of evolution was important to the development of ideas

regarding race, especially the notion of ‘species’. There is some contention as to how Darwin

himself saw the relationship of his studies, of animal and plant species, to people. Lucius

Outlaw531 notes that Social Darwinism grew from some attempting to relate Darwin’s work

from the ‘Origin of the Species’ to people. He remarks that this is something that Darwin was

527 ibid. 528 Louis Agassiz to his mother, December 1846 cited in Gould, S.J. 1981 ibid:45 529 Bolt, C.,1971 op.cit..; Gould, S.J. 1981 ibid.; and Benedict, Ruth (1942) Race and Racism St. Edmundsbury Press, Suffolk 530 Bolt, C. 1971 op.cit.:10 531 Outlaw, Lucius ‘Toward a Critical Theory of race.’ in Goldberg, David Theo (ed) Anatomy of Racism, University of Minnesota Press, Minnesota, pp58-82

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hesitant to do. Christine Bolt, however, observes that Darwin hinted in ‘Origin of the Species’

at the relevance to that work to people and later accepted the application of his work to

studies regarding classification of people.532 This is more evident in his 1871 publication ‘The

Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex’, where Darwin refers directly to the

differences between

the highest men of the highest races and the lowest savages, are connected by the finest gradations533

In the role of 'naturalist' on board the Beagle, Darwin had opportunity to make contact with a

range of Indigenous peoples and he comments on those meetings, and his observations of

slavery, in his publication ‘Naturalists Voyage Around the World’.534 Darwin is, at least,

contradictory in his position in regard to both slavery and the positioning of Indigenous

peoples. He exhibits humanistic beliefs in regard to the treatment of ‘slaves’ noting with some

concern acts of degradation, however at no point does Darwin challenge or question the

underpinnings of slavery. In one discussion he goes as far to note in regard to those

enslaved at one particular estate that “on such fazedas as these, I have no doubt the slaves

pass happy and contended slaves”535. A comment easily made by a ‘free’ white man. In

general terms Darwin appeared to have been sympathetic in terms of treatment of peoples

but in both his writings and his theorising on the ‘origin of man’ [sic] he maintained dominant

oppressive beliefs in terms of where Black and Indigenous peoples were positioned in the

racial hierarchy. In his observations whilst on the H.M.S. Beagle Darwin refers to the ‘Indians’

as immoral, “like wild beasts”536 and described one groups of ‘Fuegians’ as follows:

These poor wretches were stunted in their growth, their hideous faces bedaubed with white paint, their skins filthy and greasy, their hair entangled, their voices discordant, and their gestures violent. Viewing such men, one can hardly make one’s self believe that they are fellow creatures, and inhabitants of the same world.537

‘Origin of the Species’ was published some 20 years after Darwin's experiences on the

Beagle and was clearly influenced by that journey. It was published as a abstract of what

had intended on being a significantly larger piece of work, and was reprinted on numerous

occasions which also gave him the opportunity to make changes to the text and to answer

criticisms.538 Where Darwin may have initially been cautious in taking his thesis from flora and

fauna to human classification there is no doubt that in following works such as ‘The Descent

of Man’ that this is exactly what he did. ‘The Descent of Man’ was developed for the express

532 Bolt, C. 1971 op.cit. 533 Darwin cited in Jahoda, G. 1999 op.cit.:pp57-58 534 Darwin, C., 1897 A Naturalist's Voyage : Journal of researches into the natural history and geology of the countries visted during the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle round the world, under the command of Capt. FitzRoy R.N., J. Murray, London 535 ibid:22 536 ibid:208 537 ibid:203 538 ibid:preface

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purpose of determining whether there was relevance of his earlier work to people. Here,

Darwin argues that there is as much diversity within races as there exists between races

and therefore intellectual abilities could not be accurately gauged solely be cranial

measurements. However, in saying that Darwin also very clearly articulates that races

graduate into each other and therefore exists as a part of the processes of human

development.539 Throughout his publications Darwin consistently infers the inferiority of the

‘natives’ and there is no doubt in my mind that the use of his writings on evolution, the survival

of the fittest, natural selection and sexual selection could readily be taken up by others who

wished to argue the inferiority of Black and Indigenous peoples.

Ruth Benedict540 notes that Darwin, a monogenesist, argued that ‘mankind’ [sic] did not

constitute groups of fully developed species as if this was the case then people of different

races would produce sterile offspring if they ‘mated’ (as argued by the polygenists). This

was clearly not the case so the concept of species required categorisation through

identification of other characteristics. Skin colour, eye colour, hair colour, hair form, shape of

the nose, cephalic index (measuring head shapes), and stature were the most common forms

used to distinguish anatomical features for racial classification, however these classifications

are all superficial in that the diversity within ‘races’ means that clear classifications are unable

to occur. Benedict contends that there is no doubt that the categorisation of people through

groupings such as Caucasoid, Mongoloid and Negroid represent a history of “anatomical

specialization”, however she argues that people can not be assigned to a singular category

on the basis of biological characteristics. To clarify this point she writes;

There are Whites who are darker than some Negroids; dark hair and eyes are common among all ‘races’; the same cephalic index is found in groups of the most diverse ‘races’; similar hair form is found among ethnic groups as distinct as native Australians and Western Europeans; blood groups do not define ‘races’.541

Moreover, she is clear that no one characteristic can determine categorisation and that any

emphasis on the superiority of one race that is justified through such categorisation is highly

flawed. Where she is without doubt placing a challenge to the racial superiority notion

Benedict continues to accept, if not maintain, the fundamental typologies and has been

criticised for that.542

The movement to identify physical differences between races as a means of determining

positioning in the order of things was highlighted even further through processes such as

craniometry. Craniometry was utilised in Europe and America as a means by which to

539 Darwin, C., 1910 The origin of species by means of natural selection. J.Murray, London 540 Benedict, R. 1942 op.cit. 541 Benedict ibid:28 542 Anthias, F., and Yuval-Davis, F., 1992 Racialized Boundaries: Race, Nation, Gender, Colour and Class and the Anti-racist Struggle, Routledge London & New York: 11

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determine physical differences as a basis for classification. Stephen Gould challenges the

fundamentals that underpin these forms of 'science'.543 He provides a depth analysis of a

range of measuring tools and their theoretical explanations regarding intelligence. What is

most useful is the careful deconstruction of a range of racially based theories in order to

reveal both the inadequacies of much of what has been present as valid science and whose

interests have been served. As such he has given considerable analysis to reveal the

inadequacies of much of what was presented as 'pure' science and drawn the connections

between works that asserted the racial superiority of white people to acts of oppression and

colonisation. Research supporting the notion of racial hierarchy are carefully deconstructed

by Stephen Gould, his findings being that either unintentionally or intentionally, either through

incorrect calculations or conscious manipulation of data, research undertaken by these

'leading scientists' was shaped by priori racial prejudices and conclusions.544

Christine Bolt argues that the danger of the term race came when it was located beyond a

biological concept to one where race and culture were directly linked, and cultural

characteristics were used as a means by which to classify divisions of races. 545 This points

highlights the connection between expressions of the existence of biological race and

ideologies of superiority as based on notions of cultural supremacy. The biological sciences

pertaining to race gave justification to supremacist ideologies, which in turn spawned the

need for the further development of the ‘sciences’ of race. In essence they became one in

the same, ‘science’ confirmed the stratification of peoples that in turned legitimated its own

existence. There can be no artificial separation as has been indicated by those themselves

who participate in such ‘science’, just as there can be no separation of the cultural and

political interests of those who control and drive such ‘sciences’. Christine Bolt indicates that

there was confusion in the articulating of the link between race and cultural characteristics.

In my view she is generous in her analysis. There was no ‘confusion’. Confusion implies a

lack of awareness. The legitimation of unequal power relationships through the ‘scientific’

premise that some ‘races’ are proven to be inferior occurred not due to confusion but

because it directly maintained the privilege of colonising nations.

Constructing Gender : The myth of a God-Given Order

Gender and gender relations are most pertinent to this thesis in understanding forms of social

relations and dominant worldviews that were inherent in the colonising process.

543 Gould. S.J. 1981 op.cit 544 ibid. This includes discussion of a range of approaches including Darwin, Francis Garlton Samuel Morton, Paul Broca, Cyril Burt and many others who were highly influential in the development of 'race' theories and intelligence testing. 545 Bolt, Christine 1971 Victorian Attitudes to Race, Routledge and Kegan Paul, London:9

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Conservative546 notions of gender emphasise that these relations are ‘ordained by god’ and

therefore is not only ‘natural’ but is the way ‘god’ planned it. Such arguments are concerned

with the conservation of dominant relations between women and men, in order to maintain

‘traditional’ gender relations e.g. that women’s roles are as mothers, wives, nurturers and

men as breadwinners, public figures, leaders etc. Conservative explanations also view

biological difference as 'proof' that traditional gender relations are expected and necessary in

order to maintain stability in society. Women and men, girls and boys, it is argued in a

conservative paradigm, are different both biologically and in a god-given order and therefore

must be socialised appropriately in to their traditional ‘natural’ roles in order to ensure societal

stability. To change the ‘natural’ order of things is to undermine the fabric of society. The

construction and maintenance of gender hierarchies are dependent upon the acceptance of

such ideological assertions as 'natural' and necessary.

Radical feminist writer Mary Daly relates the symbolism of 'Father God' within Judeao-

Christian beliefs as spawning in the 'human imagination' the validity of patriarchy.

Simultaneously, she argues, societal mechanism of oppressing women were viewed as

'fitting'.547 Quite simply Daly has identified the beliefs of God as male, God as ruling, God as

natural. To which I would add, God as white. She argues that if God is constructed as male

then it may be equally said that men are constructed as God, which is a state that then

functions to maintain the subordination of women by man/God. A similar argument is

proffered by Luce Irigaray,548 who argues that man549 is defined through his relationship to

God. She states that God is necessary to man in that God has been created from man.

Moving further she posits that not only is God defined as male, God is also infinite and

therefore man is able to locate himself as infinite, that is without limits. For women, however,

there is a denial of access to infinity, as a direct consequence of a denial of a woman-God.

For Irigaray the denial of a female trinity has culminated in a form of paralysis for women in

that women remain defined only through the mother relationship to the male-God thereby

maintaining the dominant Western representation of a male trinity God with a virgin mother. 550

The limited consideration of the ‘virgin mother’ and her alliance with the God-father contributes

to the ongoing reproduction of patriarchal, male-God ordering, and therefore the ongoing

positioning of women as subordinate. M ori woman academic Helene Connor argues that

one means by which this positioning is maintained is through the defining of Eve as the

546 It is important to note that where the examples given are primarily from a fundamentalist framework there are clearly more ‘liberal’ christian groups that would agree and endorse the basic ideas promoted in regard to gender roles as ‘ordained’. 547 Daly, Mary 1973 Beyond God The Father: Toward a Philosophy of Women’s Liberation,Beacon Press, Boston:13 548 Irigaray, L. 1993 Sexes and Genealogies, translated by Gillian C. Gill. Columbia University Press, New York 549 Irigaray is speaking directly of men 550 ibid.:62

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'temptress' who was seen as being morally inferior to Adam due to what was viewed as lack

of control.551 Interpretations of Eve as the ‘inferior’ being, the instigator of ‘sin’ and cause of

man’s (Adams) fall from divinity provided strong discourses that reproduced the overall notion

of the inferiority of woman, and the belief that such inferiority was a part of the God-given

order. As Helene argues, the 'curse' on Eve served to construct women as subordinate and

'morally inferior'.552 Drawing on the writings of Rosemary Ruether,553 Helene identifies the

‘theology of subordination’ as locating the subordination of women as a part of a divine and

‘natural’ order. This assumed order is clearly evident in Genesis:

Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy desire shall be to thy husband and he shall rule over thee.554

Helene argues that the maintenance of the hierarchy of patriarchal order was also dependent

of the maintenance of the dichotomy of the two Marys, those being the Virgin Mary and Eve.

This was particularly influential in the development of the notion of an ‘ideal’ woman. ‘Eve’

became woman as corruptible and as a corrupting influence, whilst Mary as Virgin mother

was that of the ‘divinely chosen’555. Marina Warner556 also brings to light the constructions of

Mary as Virgin that provide a basis for definitions of women-hood within Christianity. Marina

Warner raises critical questions about construction of Mary as the Virgin mother through

challenging dominant beliefs that surround the idea of virginity. She identifies that Christian

notions of virginity were reproduced through two fundamental discourses and that these

were affirmed through a range of practices, one of which included the process of

acknowledging the conferring of sainthood on select women.

First, the Fathers of the Church taught that the virginal life reduced the special penalties of the Fall in women and was therefore holy. Second, the image of the virgin body was the supreme image of wholeness, and wholeness was equated with holiness. For both these reasons, the defence of the virginal state was worth all the savagery to which saints like Catherine of Alexandria (d.c.310) and Maria Goretti submitted, and won for them the eternal accolades of the Church.557

To be a virgin was to escape the ‘Fall’. There were those that espoused virginity as a state

for women so they would not suffer the consequences of the ‘Fall’.558 Where men were also

551 Connor, Helene 1994 Ko te hononga mauri, ko te hononga wairua, ko te hononga mana o te wahine :The resurgence of Mana Wahine: A response to "prisonization", Unpublished Master of Arts Thesis, University of Auckland. Auckland:14. 552 ibid:14 553 Ruether, Rosemary 1987, cited in Connor, H., 1994. ibid. 554 Genesis, 3:17 cited in Connor, 1994:14. 555 ibid:14 556 Marina Warner, 1976 Alone Of All Her Sex: The Myth and the Cult of the Virgin Mary,Picador/Pan Books, London 557 Female matryrs had often been physically and sexually tortured and both Catherine and Maria died under torturous conditions which Warner notes highlights a focus on how “women’s torn and broken flesh reveals the psychological obsession of the religion with sexual sin”. Maria Goretti was murdered in 1901 at the age of eleven and was made a ‘Child of Mary’ on her death bed. She was canonized a saint in 1950. ibid:72 558ibid:73

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expected to be chaste, for women virginity was associated strongly with purity. Marina

Warner argues that women were presented with the belief that they had equal possibilities as

men as long as they adhered to the Christian code, specifically that of sex and childbirth. The

notion of purity is central to the notion of virginity as presented through the dominant Christian

ethic. This was supported through the positioning of Mary, the Virgin Mother, in opposition to

that of Mary Magdalene. The construct of such dualisms i.e. the Virgin and the harlot,

supported the maintenance of the more general concepts of purity and impurity. In the wider

context the idealising of the Virgin promoted conditions whereby the majority of women were

‘impure’. Marina Warner argues that in order to accept the Virgin as the ‘ideal purity’ required

all women to regard their own condition as impure. Mary Magdalene is one of a number of

women constructed as the ‘harlot’ figure. She provides the alternative to virginity, and is the

prototype of all that is impure and sinful. 559 However, even the harlot has possibilities for

redemption and this is fulfilled through the taking the Eucharist as a means by which their ‘sin’

is forgiven. The extremes within which women are located through notions of good-evil,

pure-impure, virgin-harlot, construct powerful discourses that define women’s positioning,

and which maintain the notion of female inferiority and male superiority.

The entrenched notion of male as superior and in particular the conceptualisation of God as

male (and therefore male as God) within Judeao-Christian beliefs is highlighted by the

resistance of any attempt to shift that paradigm, as feminist theologist Rosemary Radford

Ruether notes that the very possibility of referring to God as female, as 'she' is enough to

arouse intense responses that in her view exhibit a 'phobic response' and 'emotional

hostility.560 She argues that in a system of male monotheism there is an established

hierarchical order through which women relate to men as men relate to God. The hierarchical

God-man-woman ordering then serves to ensure the maintenance and reproduction of

processes that subordinate women, citing the following New Testament as one example of

this ordering:

But I want to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a woman is her husband, and the head of Christ is God..561

Gender relations become the basis for the denial of women’s direct relationship to God and

thereby provides the justification for the creation of dualisms that reinforce women as inferior

to men. Furthermore, she argues that male monotheism serves to reinforce patriarchal rule

and that women are connected to God not directly but only through men.562 This order is

further intensified with the notion of ‘evil’. I agree with Ruether’s argument that evil is spoken

of as ‘sin’. Sin, in her words, “implies a perversion or corruption of human nature”, and only

559 ibid:232 560 Ruether, R. 1983 op.cit.:47 561 1Cor. 11:3,7 in ibid:53 562 ibid:53

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humans can ‘sin’.563 The oppositional arrangement of good-evil is directly related to notions of

inferior-superior. The notion of ‘sin’ mediates these dualisms in that it provides mechanisms

for recognising ‘perversion’ and imposing judgement. The hierarchical ordering of gender in

Judeao-Christianity leads to notions of evil and sin being more directly related to women. This

is not to ignore the belief that ‘sin’ is expressed as being a part of ‘human nature’ but

recognises that the patriarchal hierarchisation of Christianity has directly associated origins of

sin with women. Mary Daly564 also highlights the notion of God as the 'Judge of Sin' as one

example of the process through whom women are judged as righteous or sinful, and that

women consistently receive messages that locate their subordinate position to men. 565 Mary

Daly is clear in her argument that women have suffered both physically and mentally under

the male-dominant God. It is through Christianity that Eve was elevated to the status of being

the ‘cause’ of the fall of Adam. Reuther highlights that the Hebrew ‘myth’ of Eve became

significant through Christianity, as it had not been considered with great seriousness in

Hebrew thought. In summary, Rosemary Ruether notes that it was not only Eve's supposed

'sin' but it was her mere existence that represented the 'fall' of 'man'.566 Stories like this then

reinforce the idea that the oppression of women is an outcome of her ‘primordial sin’.567

What is important to this thesis is the way in which Christianity defined what constituted

‘woman’, and that those definitions which derived from Judeao-Christian based notions were,

and I would argue remains so, directly reproducing subordinate roles for women. The

justification is clear, women were/are subordinate because of the acts of other women, Eve

as a particular example.

Domesticating Western Women: Gender in the Victorian Era

The notion of the ‘Victorian’ woman comes from an idea that certain values, practices,

expectations and roles of women were derived from the Victorian era. This era relates to the

rule of Queen Victorian spanning from 1837-1901. The Victorian era included the beginning

of major expansionism that was a part of the Industrial revolution. The rapid expansion of the

Industrial revolution brought about considerable change in terms of physical conditions and

philosophical positionings. For women, some of key changes in terms of roles can be argued

to be a direct consequence of the material shifts that occurred. In order to explain some of

these shifts it is important to look to writings that discuss the positioning of European women

pre-Victoria.

563 ibid:160 564 Daly, M., 1973 Beyond God The Father: Toward A Philosophy Of Women's Liberation.Beacon Press Boston 565 ibid:31 566 ibid:169 567 ibid:169

161

The writings of Anne Oakley explores the positioning of English women in the 17th Century.568

Oakley’s study ‘Housewife’ explores the roles of women in pre-Industrial society, claiming

that in non-industrialised societies work and family did not necessitate separation, and

therefore life was not divided into work and family but these were interconnected. Adults

roles in ‘work’ derived from identification within the family not separate from it. Where there

often existed some division of labour between the sexes the variation between societies was

considerable. For British women their involvement in pre-Industrial work was a necessity for

the economic well-being of the family, the key occupations being agriculture and textiles. The

inter-dependency of work and family enabled women to participate in the means of

production and in many areas of production they received equal recognition to men. What

constituted domestic labour for women therefore provided more possibilities. Oakley cites the

following quote, from Alice Clark, to highlight the many roles of the 17th century English

woman. 569

Under modern conditions, the ordinary domestic occupations of English women consist in tending babies and young children… in preparing household meals, and in keeping the house clean… In the seventeenth century it [the domestic role] embraced a much wider range of production; for brewing, dairy-work, the care of poultry and pigs, the production of vegetables and fruit, spinning flax and wool, nursing and doctoring, all formed a part of domestic industry.

Here ‘domestic industry’ incorporates the idea of the family as a productive unit and therefore

the reference is to a family industry, which Anne Oakley identifies as “the unit of production”.

The production process was an integral part of the family operations, with production for

family use being a part of the wider goal of production for sale or exchange. Oakley also

identifies that in the wider societal structures women’s involvement in production was

generally seen as appropriate. Her discussion of cotton and wool production gives us an

example of forms of division of labour by sex and also the wider economic possibilities for

women outside the family industry model.

Anne Oakley describes cotton production in the family as being “like a miniature factory”.570

Spinning was done by women and children, however women also participated in the

weaving and other parts of the production process. This contributed to the overall economic

well-being of the entire family. In the wool trade women had a range of potential ways to

participate including buying wool herself and selling the yarn or receiving payment for

spinning for clothiers. Oakley also notes there were some women “spinsters" who provided

totally for themselves through the wool industry. But roles of English women in production

were not confined solely to what could be consider more ‘domestic’ related activities but

reached into diverse occupation as is identified in the following quote;

568Oakley, A 1974 Housewife Pelican Books, Great Britain 569 Alice Clark cited in ibid:15 570 ibid:16

162

Work pursued by women in the seventeenth appears perhaps even less congruent with modern ideas of the feminine role. Women worked as pawnbrokers, moneylenders, shipping agents, contractors to the Army and Navy, as glassmakers and managers of insurance offices. They also owned ships and colleries.571

Marriage in the 17th century was viewed as a taken for granted means of ensuring the well-

being of the wider extended family unit. Marriage however was, as Oakley so succinctly puts

it, not generally undertaken until couples had 'established their fertility'.572 In this marriage form

women were expected to contribute economically, there was no idea that women would be

dependent on husbands. Such realities in the life of the 17th century English woman was in

sharp contrast to the Christian ethic such as that espoused in biblical terms.573 The

subjugation of women as preached by the church, was legitimated in ‘Common law’, however

Anne Oakley argues that the impact of this on women’s lived realities was minimal up to the

Industrial revolution as economics and production for the family determined relationships.

What is clear is that family relationships were altered considerably through Industrialisation.

With Industrialisation came a shift in the dynamics between work and family. Work became

located separate from the family, from the domestic unit. Drawing again on the example of the

cotton and wool industries, the introduction of the loom meant a change in the structure of

these industries. The loom required multiple spinners and so now the weaver would pay for

others (outside the family unit) to spin.574 Later, the machinery became too large and could

not be housed in the home. The introduction of exporting brought new roles in the process of

exchange, and with it the capitalist mode of production. It was no longer a matter of family

industry and direct exchange. The industry movement outside of the home and the growth of

large-scale factory production had brought a ‘new order’ that emphasised not production for

the survival of the family unit, but work as a separate activity that was then measured by its

monetary return. The family was soon redefined within which there rose the position of

‘husband as breadwinner’, on whom all in the family depended. This was not a rapid change

but was a shift that took place between the mid -17th to mid 18th century. Within the Victorian

era, Industrialisation was a critical event that contributed to changes in the roles of English

women.

The strength of, and resistance to, the denial of women to access activities outside the home

is evident in the writings of early British feminist Mary Wollstonecraft. Mary Wollstonecraft

gave depth discussion of the role of women in the 18th Century drawing together arguments

571 ibid:20 572 ibid:20 573 For example in Ephesians it was stated "Wives, submit yourselves unto your husbands...for the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church" Ephesians 5:23-24 cited in Daly 1973 op.cit.:132 574 ibid

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for the advancement of women, however she focused primarily on middle-class women,

through education. She argued soundly that women are ‘enslaved’ by men through the denial

of access to an education equal to men and that the subordination of women was linked

directly to Christian doctrine.575 Furthermore, she raised the notion that the promotion of

women’s, supposed, inferiority is in the interests of men. Her argument was one that men

benefit from the ongoing subordination of women and that this is reproduced in a range of

ways, originating in Christianity and maintained through notions of physical and intellectual

inferiority. What becomes clear in the discussions of the Victorian era, as an age of transition

in material and economic structures, is that the definitions of what constituted appropriate

positioning of British women did not necessarily equate to the realities of their actual

experience. What is significant in the defining of the Victorian-defined woman is that those

ideologies were not limited to expression within that era but extended beyond to reach into

the 19th and 20th Centuries, creating major changes in the roles of women both in Britain and

in the lands colonised by the British. These shifts are a consequence of patriarchy and

capitalism adjusting to each other in the creation of sets of hierarchy that enables the

domination of women. For this discussion the notion of patriarchy in collusion with capitalism,

in a British/Victorian context, is the key focus. What is needed is an analysis that

incorporates the many faces of oppression for women, there is worth in exploring the

patriarchy/capitalism alliance as it was played out in the Victorian era, as it enables us to

recognise some of the colonial/male dynamics that have taken precedence through

colonisation.

It may be argued that the influence of the economic shifts through Industrialisation, combined

with Christian discourses became a potent force in the oppression of women. It is evident

from the writings of both Oakley and Wollenstonecraft that it was not one ideology alone that

brought change for women but the interdependency of both Christianity and the economic

situation. In order to ensure societies adherence to the dependency of women in the home

the Christian ethic, which was previously marginal because of the economic need for women

to produce, gained favour. This was supported by the notions of privatisation and

domestication. The idea of privatisation grew as the separation between work and family

increased. Work became identified with the public sphere and home as the private sphere.

Because of its separation from the public sphere and the realm of ‘work’, the home became a

site within which the various ideologies could be reproduced. As Sandra Coney notes the

ideal Victorian woman was deemed a self-less woman. Her role as ‘the angel of the house’

was maintained through the Christian ethic of woman as virtuous. To be virtuous was to be a

575 Wollenstonecraft, Mary 1985 Vindication Of The Rights Of Woman, Penguin Classics, Edited by Miriam Brody, Penguin, London:109

164

‘good’ wife and to be following the ‘naturally ordained’ order.576 These combined ideologies

were soon to be imported Aotearoa as the colonisation of this country began to take full

force in the late 18th century as colonising countries were seeking expansion to both release

their own internal pressures and also to facilitate the expansion of capitalist intentions into the

colonies.

Colonial ideologies located women as chattels, the property of men and therefore inferior to

them. The espousal of Christian doctrine and biological theories, rather than debunking each

other, became a combined force. Women were now both spiritual and biologically devoid. All

that remained was the positioning of women as intellectually devoid in order to ensure an

holistic argument for the continued subjugation of women. This is further expanded by Ruth

Fry who highlights the debate surrounding what was considered as different levels of

intelligence of women and men.577 This development was connected directly to the biological

assertions of Darwinism and much of the argument for the intellectual inferiority of women

was grounded firmly in a mind-body relationship. That is biological arguments became the

foundation for ideals of intellectual inferiority.

For many years, there had been fascination with theories concerning the different mental capacities of men and women. The 'cranium theory' which had, through elaborate measurements, set out to prove that women's brains were smaller, lighter and less convoluted than men's were now [1880s] out of date. More fashionable were the gynaecological theories which dwelt on the dangers of upsetting bodily functions in adolescence.578

Capitalist oppression: Structuring Class

Class structures, like the ordering of race and gender, came to Aotearoa as yet another

unwelcomed element of Western ideology. Like other coloniser beliefs the notion of class and

the Western organisation of capitalism has assumed a universality that is reflective of the

fundamental imperialist belief espoused by colonising nations that they exist as a superior

form. The term 'class' tends to gain its contemporary usage from the writings of Karl Marx.

Arnold Kettle in his discussion of Marx's role in the development of 'modern communism'

states that class in Marxist terms refers to a grouping of people that have a common

relationship to the mode of production. In expanding this definition he writes;

The capitalist class is a class because all who belong to it are owners of productive enterprises who live by exploiting the labour of those they employ. What makes a person a member of the working class is not that he [sic] works or that he is comparatively poor... what makes a worker a worker is that he sells his labour-power for wages.579

576 Coney, S. 1993 Standing In The Sunshine: A History Of New Zealand Women Since They Won The Vote, Peguin Books, Auckland: 14 577 Fry, Ruth 1985 It's Different For Daughters, New Zealand Council for Educational Research, Wellington 578 ibid:33 579 Kettle, A 1963 Karl Marx: Founder of Modern Communism, Weidenfeld & Nicolson (Educational) Ltd., London:54

165

Avril Bell and Vicki Carpenter in their discussion of social class issues in education in

Aotearoa note a similar definition. Social class, they write, is related to the economic and

social relationships that exists for differing groups in relation to the economic system, the

mode of production.580 What is evident in discussion pertaining to the works of Karl Marx is

that the construction of class relations and the notion of class struggle are central.581

Karl Marx in the three volumes of 'Capital' outlines complex ways in which the capitalist

system establishes and maintains itself through the fundamental exploitation of labour-power

in order to gain surplus-value or profit.582 The mechanisms of capitalistic manipulation have

been, as a part of the colonial process, an imposition on Indigenous Peoples and have their

origins not in Aotearoa but in the struggles that have been engaged in Europe, in particular

France, Germany and Britain. In order to understand the origins of capitalism, and the internal

opposing forces of the bourgeoisie and proletariat,583 Marx indicates that bourgeoisie society

has grown from the 'ruins' of feudalism establishing new classes, new forms of oppressive

order and new forms of struggle. 584

In the 'Communist Manifesto' Marx and Engels identify the fundamental premise of capitalism in

its intention to exploit through a process of controlling the means of production and reducing

all people to a source of wage labour. The control of the means of production is essential to

an ability to control social relations. They state;

The bourgeoisie cannot exist without constantly revolutionizing the instruments of production, and thereby the relations of production, and with them the whole relations of society.585

580 Bell, Avril and Carpenter, Vicki 1994 'Education's Role in (Re)producing Social Class' in Coxon, E. et.al. The Politics of Learning and Teaching in Aotearoa/New Zealand, Dunmore Press, Palmerston North pp 112-147 581 refer Giddens, Anthony 1986 Sociology: A Brief but Critical Introduction Second EditionMacmillan Education, London; Blackledge, David And Hunt Barry 1985 Sociological Interpretations of Education, Great Britain; Berger, Peter and Luckman, Thomas 1966 The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge, Pelican Books, USA; Bedgood, David Rich and Poor in New Zealand, Auckland; Kettle, A. 1963 op.cit. 582 Marx, Karl 1967 Capital: A Critique of Political Economy, Volume One: The Process of Production, International Publishers, New York; Marx Karl Capital: A Critique of Political Economy, Volume Two: the Process of Circulation of Capital, International Publishers, New York; Marx Karl 1971 Capital: A Critique of Political Economy, Volume Three: The Process of Capitalist Production as a Whole, Progress Publishers, Moscow 583 In the 'Communist Manifesto' Marx and Frederik Engels define bourgeoisie and proletariat as follows: "By bourgeoisie is meant the class of modern Capitalists, owners of the means of socia l production and employers of wage-labour. By proletariat, the class of modern wage-labourers who, having no means of production of their own, are reduced to selling their labour-power in order to live." Marx, Karl and Engels Frederik 1913 Communist Manifesto, Charles H Kerr & Company, Chicago: 12 584 ibid 585 ibid:16

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The proletariat in this equation is thereby reduced to a commodity in the market, which is a

critical contribution to the bourgeoisie condition that is the formation and augmentation of

capital. This essential process of capitalism is outlined in more depth in the three volumes of

Capital. Here Marx identifies key tenets of capitalist systems and engages the relationship

between such tenets. Beginning with a discussion of commodity, Marx identifies a

commodity as that which value is determined by use, consumption and through exchange. A

commodity therefore has both use-value586 and exchange-value, the exchange value being a

quantitative relation in value of one article for another.587 He outlines that exchange value

must be able to be expressed in terms of something common, between those things being

exchanged, which may be expressed in greater or lesser quantities.588 Further to this the

exchange-value is reliant upon labour-time or labour-power. The value then of a commodity is

determined Marx writes by;

The amount of labour socially necessary or the labour-time socially necessary for its production.589

Therefore in simple terms those things that require more labour, for example by virtue of

production or because they are scarce, are considered more valuable. Hence, the social

division of labour is constructed through differential value being accorded to differing forms

of what is viewed as 'useful labour'. Marx describes this process of differentiation as

including both value of the commodity and use-value;

All labour is ' expenditure of labour-power' and in its character of identical abstract human labour, it creates and forms the value of commodities. On the other hand, all labour is the expenditure of human labour-power in a special form and with a definite aim and in this, its character of concrete useful labour, it produces 'use-value'.590

Given that a full discussion of Marxist theories of class is beyond this thesis, the importance

of this discussion is to identify the complexities through which capitalism expresses notions

of value. This is clearly evident in the writings by Marx and Engels. What is fundamental to

the expression of value, in particular when in search of surplus-value, or profit, is the role of

labour-power. Marx argues that in a capitalist system the labour-power of the labourer is

exploited in order for the bourgeoisie to gain profit or surplus-value, which is the fundamental

intention of a capitalist system in the accumulation of capital.591

In regard to the value of a commodity Marx argues that there is a process of establishing

relative form and equivalent form in determining exchange value, that is the value of a

586 Use-value being that the article fulfils some need or want or use. 587 Marx, K., 1967 Vol. 1 op.cit. 588 It is noted that articles can have use-value and not exchange-value and therefore not be a commodity, also something can be the product of labour and not be a commodity, i.e. if it is for own use. 589 Marx, K., 1967 Vol. 1 op.cit.: 35 590 ibid:46 591 Marx, K., 1967 Vol. 1 & 2, op.cit.; Marx, K. 1971 op.cit.

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commodity can be established in its relativity to a commodity of a different kind or in its

exchange value to a commodity of a similar kind. So fundamentally what is argued is that a

commodity can only be given exchange value when it is viewed relative to another

commodity. The example given throughout 'Capital' is that of 20yds of linen being of

equivalent exchange value to coat. Here the linen and coat are placed in relativity to each

other as commodities, then an exchange value is determined in terms of quantity of linen to

quantity of coats. The expansion of this equation leads us to a discussion of value

determined relative to a range of commodities, this Marx identified as leading to a commodity

assuming a 'universal equivalent form', which in turn enabled monetary exchange to be

entrenched.592 However, important to Marxist discussion of monetary form is that it is not

money that gives commodities value but it is labour-power that gives value, both use-value

and exchange value, which is represented in the form of money. Money itself is also a

commodity that can become the private property of an individual, whom in turn can

accumulate money or as Marx terms it 'hoard' money as private property. So in returning to

what constitutes or determines value, the fundamental defining factor is that of labour-power.

Those things that are produced from exploitation of labour-power and represent labour-

power in the abstract, such as commodities, money and capital are accumulated and

circulated in particular ways to ensure the interests of the capitalist system are achieved.593

The fundamental being the accumulation of profit, surplus-value by the capitalist. David

Bedgood outlines the notion of class and the complex relationships between value and labour

in relation to social relations as follows:

Class is used in no other sense than to mean relations of production. This is the economic base or infrastructure with a mode of production. It is the base because it is production which creates the material means of subsistence and therefore determines all other forms of social life. It is the base because class relations organise and develop the forces of production and therefore the whole 'progress' of human social evolution. In other words, human labour alone is capable of producing use-values, and the control of the labour process is the basis of the distribution of wealth, power and status. He [sic] who controls labour-power controls the use values of surplus labour and can expropriate the value produced.594

What David Bedgood identifies is both the determination, accumulation and circulation of

value. Where each of these elements are important to understand in terms of capitalist

exploitation, what is most critical is that each relies entirely on who controls the means of

production and the labour-power expended in the production of commodities, and ultimately in

the production of surplus-value. The capitalist buys labour-power from the worker or

labourer, who is productive in producing surplus-value for the capitalist and Marx notes is a

592 Marx, K. 1967 Vol. 1 op.cit. 593 A marxist analysis of these processes are outlined in detail in the three volumes of Capital by Karl Marx, 1967 and 1971, op.cit. 594 Bedgood, D., 1981 op.cit.:11

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part of the process of the expansion of capitalism.595 The labourer is a participant, however

Marx is clear in the assertion that the capitalist cares little for the labourer outside of what

they can produce:

Capitalist cares nothing for the length of life of labour-power. All that concerns it is simply and solely the maximum of labour-power, that can be rendered fluent in a working day… The capitalistic mode of production (essentially the surplus-value, the absorption of surplus-labour), produces this, with the extension of the working day, not only the deterioration of human labour-power by robbing it of its normal, moral and physical conditions of development and function. It produces also the premature exhaustion and death of its labour-power itself.596

Marx outlines that the need for, and exploitation of, labour-power is a key point of

contradiction in the capitalist system of social relations, whereby the bourgeoisie is regarded

as their own 'gravediggers', and thereby the victory of the proletariat was he believed

inevitable.597 The contradictory nature of capitalist systems produces the possibility for crisis

through which the proletariat can engage in struggle for change. The struggle for change

will be driven by the proletariat in becoming conscious of the exploitation of their labour.

Class then is both a definition in terms of social relations and how groups are positioned in

terms of labour-power and is a potential movement in terms of the potential for class

struggle.598 Marx argues that once the working class identifies the contradictions inherent

within, and the exploitative nature of, a capitalist system then class struggle is inevitable.

Class struggle he notes is a political struggle, therefore there is always possibility for change,

hence the reference to the bourgeoisie as being their own ‘gravediggers’.599

In seeing class struggles as political acts Marx also views the political context as critical in the

understanding of class oppression and exploitation. However, his analysis is one of its time

and illustrates much of the fundamental racist and sexist assumptions that dominated the

society within which his work is located. This does not come as a surprise given the

dominance of social Darwinism and the strength of Victorian ideologies. Statements

regarding ‘primitive’ societies appear through the texts of the ‘Communist Manifesto’ and the

volumes of ‘Capital’, as too do references to the ‘discovery’ of the Americas;600 descriptions

of China and Eastern nations as ‘barbaric’;601 ‘half-savage hunting tribes’;602 and clearly anti-

595 Marx, K. 1967 Vol.1 op.cit. 596 ibid: 265 Also in the series on Capital Marx provides numerous examples of the exploitation of people, in particular of children by industrial capitalists. 597 Marx, K. & Engels, F 1913 op.cit. 598 Thatcher, Ian D. 1998, ‘Past Receptions of the Communist Manifesto’ in Cowling, Mark 1998 The Communist Manifesto: New Interpretations, New York University Press, New York pp 63-76 ; Wilks-Heeg, Stuart 1998 ‘The Communist Manifesto and Working-class Parties in Western Europe’ in Cowling, Mark 1998 The Communist Manifesto: New Interpretations, New York University Press, New York pp 119-131 599 ibid 600 Marx, K., & Engels, F., 1913:13 601 ibid:17 602 Marx, K., 1967 Vol. 2 op.cit: 110

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Semitic references appear within the text.603 Kettle writes that Marx viewed ‘primitive

societies’ as not having developed to produce much more than needed, therefore there is no

commodity exchange, this is however located as a form of inadequacy in ‘tribal’ communities;

Marx pointed out that the main characteristic of primitive [sic] society is that men [sic] have not yet learned how to produce much more that what they need, their simple personal requirements. There is no commodity-production on a large scale for sale or exchange, for there is as yet very little division of labour, except perhaps within individual families. Therefore, although primitive societies may produce leaders – the strongest and most skilful men [sic] – and other individuals, like witch-doctors [sic], who because of their real or imagined cleverness have a special authority among the tribe, they do not produce class divisions until such a time as the people have learned how to produce a surplus above their immediate needs.604

In Kettles interpretation of Marx, there is a ‘lack’ in the ‘primitive’ tribal societies in terms of

production the outcome of which is the need for class based systems of exploitation are not

a necessity in such societies. The extension of that into racist descriptions of societal

structures that differ from those of Western capitalist societies. The basis for interpretation of

comparison is that of Western understandings, which indicates a eurocentrism that assumes

a superiority of the West as argued within social Darwinism and racial ideologies of Western

nations. It is not only issues of race and colonial supremacist constructions within Marxism

that gain critical attention. Mike Game notes that Marx avoids the issue of the gendered

nature of the working class and therefore falls short of identifying the act of the feminisation

of labour-power.605 He argues that Marx gives little to the discussion of gender and while in

Capital Volume One there is an indication that the labour of women and children was sought

by capitalists in terms of the use of machinery, Marx does not engage this issue in any depth.

As such Game argues that Marx continues to construct the working classes as male, when

in much of the period that Marx was writing the dominant participants in the working class

were in fact European women. The construction of the proletariat as male meant that Marx

did not then interrogate the role of industrialisation in the changing roles and exploitation of

women. Game indicates that this may also be attributed to the need to show the proletariat as

masculine, which may have been viewed as more conducive to the assertion that a working

class revolution would lead to the overthrow of capitalism. What is evident is that the notion

of class systems is not new however Marxism argues that a particular organisation of class

is manifested under capitalism that differs from earlier feudal structures. It is this construction

of class that was imported and transplanted,606 or using a term from Marx, immigrated, to

Aotearoa.

603 Marx, K., 1967 Vol 1 op.cit.: 154 604 Kettle, A 1963 op.cit.: 54 605 Game, Mike 1998 ‘The Communist Manifesto: Transgendered Proletarians’ in Cowling, Mark 1998 The Communist Manifesto: New Interpretations, New York University Press, New York pp132-141 606 Bedgood, D., 1981 op.cit.

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Summary

This chapter has provided analysis of forms of race, gender and class ideologies that were

transported to Aotearoa through the act of colonisation. An exploration of race, gender and

class explanations prior to colonisation are important to this thesis as they provide the basis

for how structures have been developed here by our colonisers. It is my view that in order

to understand more fully the existence of unequal power relationships in Aotearoa there is

a need to understand the ideological underpinning of those inequalities and the source of the

ideologies.

Each of the ideological constructions discussed in this chapter have clearly been developed,

maintained and reproduced as means for the justification and ongoing perpetuation of

oppressive systems. Those systems have been based within constructed categories that

themselves have been defined by those most likely to be served by such categorisations. In

Western thought, white men have been instrumental in the instigation and maintenance of

power structures in regard to gender with a range of reasoning utilised to justify the

positioning of women both as inferior and to be controlled by men. White nations more

generally sought to position themselves as superior races and ensure enslavement,

genocide and holocaustic actions against Black and Indigenous Peoples around the world.

They have also been instrumental in the global assertion of capitalist systems of abuse and

exploitation.

The categorisation of race as locating white men, followed closely by white women, at the

pinnacle of racial hierarchies is not a surprise to those of us located further 'down the

ladder' in such a process of societal organisation. Just as forms of christianity were used

to validate the position of white men in gendered order so to do have they been utilised to

legitimise white peoples place in the hierarchy just next to a white male god. In discourses

of race it is the 'barbaric' 'savage' 'inferior' 'Other' that is racialised, being white is not

engaged, rather being white is viewed as the standard from which all other peoples are

measured and defined. Adding class to the mix has provided the fundamental economic

justification for the foundation and continuance of processes of capitalism that maintain

processes of commodification of all things. When value is located solely in terms of capital

those who have been unable to accumulate value take their place in the inferior ranks by

virtue of an ideology that is based within monetary systems of greed and exploitation.

This chapter is a brief overview of some underpinning beliefs in regard to race, gender and

class. It is evident that just as the assertion of the inferiority of some groups is necessary to

the maintenance of societal inequalities, so too is the non-assertion of the privilege of other

groups, those who benefit, whose interests are served. In these paradigms women are

measured in their inferiority to men; Black and Indigenous Peoples as inferior to white;

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working classes as inferior to the middle and upper classes. These positions of inferiority

are not explained in relation to the benefits accrued to the dominant groups but are located

within the idea that such inequalities are part of either [white] 'god-given forms' or as part of

a 'natural' order. The importation of such beliefs was a part of what David Bedggood

identifies as the 'vertical slice' of British society that was transplanted to Aotearoa. That

vertical slice included ideologies that would serve to benefit the colonising forces and justify

their means of operation on Indigenous Peoples lands. In Aotearoa the impact of that

ideological transplantation has had immeasurable effect of M ori people and served to

provide the foundation for ongoing acts of colonial oppression that continue to this day. To

identify the strength of this ideological combination I move in the next chapter to look at

examples of how race, gender and class notions support the maintenance of colonial

assumptions and practices through the documentation of early ethnographers.

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CHAPTER SEVEN

HISTORICAL SOURCES

How they viewed us was tied up in their own need to assume authority over the whole world. It had little or nothing to do with us.607

Introduction

The importation of race, gender and class ideologies to Aotearoa is one part of a wider

more complex hegemonic process. In order that such ideologies take force within the

communities and lands of Indigenous Peoples there must exist a context that supports such a

development. That context includes not only ideological but also spiritual, physical and

material elements. It is beyond the scope of this thesis to engage the multiple sites within

which such ideologies gain their force and also are resisted, however it is important to

acknowledge clearly that the complexity of racist, sexist, classist discourses are grounded

within a context that is both multiple and overlapping. This can be seen in the ways in which

M ori people have been represented in historical documentation.

Much of the representation of M ori since colonisation has been controlled by P keh . This

has been the case since the documentation of those such as Abel Tasman and Joseph Banks

who gave the first recorded observations by non-M ori.608 Anne Salmond notes that early

contact between M ori and non-M ori can be traced to the arrival of Abel Tasman on

December 13, 1642 and two Dutch ships the Heemskerck and the Zeehaen. This

documentation brings to the fore the assumption on the part of the colonising empires to

represent 'others'. Mistakingly believing they had the right to re-name these lands, Abel

Tasman noted the name 'Staete Land', later to be referred to as Zeelandia Nova or New

Zealand.609 The name Zeelandia Nova relates directly to the Dutch province of Zeelandia or

the land by the sea. For Tasman, this 'newly discovered' land was the 'new' land by the

sea.610 Interactions between the Dutch and M ori were limited although there was an

exchange at Taitapu where deaths occurred. There is also documentation that Anne

607 Philip-Barbara, Glenis 2001 personal communication 608 Mead, L.T.R. 1996 op.cit 609 Anne Salmond notes that the term Staten Landt refers to South-land and was used by Tasman in following another Dutch navigator Le Maire who had earlier named the coast of Tierra del Fuego by the same name. She notes that the change to Zeelandia Nova was probably done by Blaeu the Amsterdam map-makers. Salmond, A. 1991 Two Worlds: First Meetings Between M ori and Europeans 1642-1772, Viking, Penguin Books, Auckland 610 Recently a friend, Ingrid Huygens, came and told our children the meaning behind the name 'New Zealand'. What is ironic is that the monolingual nature of P keh education in this country means that few people have any real understanding of the name 'New Zealand', and yet there is an avid protection of the name as 'the' identity of this country. I have also heard of M ori activists who while travelling to the Netherlands invited the Dutch to 'take back' the name.

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Salmond notes is quite probably referring to the arrival of Tasman. Written by Mohi Turei of

Ng ti Porou611, scribe for Pita K piti there is description of those on board as follows:

They were turehu [fairy people], punehunehu [misty looking], ma [fair], ma korako[pale, like albinos], whero takou [red, like ochre] - that was the way their faces looked… The local people knew that these were turehu [fairy people], patupaiarehe [fairies], aparangi [evil gods], atua kahukahu [still-born spirits], kowhiowhio [whistling spirits].612

Anne notes that not only was little about M ori life learnt from that voyage but that the

European records about Zeelandia Nova fell silent for 120 years.613 However, the belief in

Aotearoa as a part of 'Terra Australis Incognito' and the publishing of "various bowdlerised

versions of Tasman's voyage" in travel anthologies saw the beginning of the re-presentation

of the land and people. The arrival of James Cook to Aotearoa in 1769 broke the silence that

followed Tasman's voyage. Whilst not the first arrival of non-M ori, it is significant in that it

marks the commencement of what was to become a process of systematic colonisation. The

reflections of Horeta Te Taniwha give us some indication of how our ancestors responded

to the arrival of the Endeavour to the harbour of Whitianga. He describes P keh as

follows;

When our old men saw the ship they said it was an atua, a god, and the people on board were tipua, strange beings or 'goblins'. The ship came to anchor, and the boats pulled on shore. As our old men looked at the manner in which they came on shore, the rowers pulling with their backs to the bows of the boat, the old people said 'Yes, it is so: these people are goblins; their eyes are at the back of their heads; they pull on shore with their backs to the land to which they are going.614

According to Anne Salmond the reflection by Te Taniwha was located within his own

understandings of the world and that the descriptions of P keh as 'goblins' can be viewed

within the context of M ori assumptions. This too was the case for P keh observers.

Those who voyaged from Europe to Aotearoa carried with them their own understandings,

values, assumptions, beliefs, as Anne notes those travelling on the Endeavour 'mirrored' their

own society in both their accounts and the ways in which they interacted with M ori.615

Joseph Banks, a botanist, acted as recorder aboard Cooks ship the Endeavour, and

according to Linda Tuhiwai Smith provided detached observations of the land, flora and

fauna and the people, giving comparisons between M ori and other 'islanders' he had

observed.616 Banks along with others on the Endeavour sought to record as much about the

611 Ng ti Porou are a tribal group on the East coast of Te Ika a M ui, the north island. 612 Written by Mohi Turei, scribe for Pita K piti, Transcribed by Reweti Kohere from 'Te Pipiwharauroa' 1911. ATL MS189, File 63. Translated by Anne Salmond and MerimeriPenfold in Salmond, A. 1991 op.cit.:62 613 ibid:84 614 ibid:87-88, refer also Caselberg, John 1975 M ori Is My Name, John McIndoe Limited, Dunedin 615 Anne Salmond gives depth discussion to the background in England, which locates those upon the Endeavour within their own cultural experiences and understandings. ibid:89 616 Mead, L.T.R. 1996 op.cit.:127

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islands in the South as they could, in fact Banks had himself invested large sums of money in

both equipment and personnel.617

The role of the ethnographer in early documentation has been influential in the construction of

discourses pertaining to M ori women and our place in both M ori society and in a wider

colonised society.618 Early writers saw that it was a part of their role to record traditions,

Elsdon Best comments;

The M ori himself will never record such data, will never preserve his own traditions; it remains for us to do it to the best of our ability.619

As discussed in the previous chapter there has been a consistent reading of M ori society

through the lens of the coloniser. Those readings have been highly influenced by the cultural,

racial and gender beliefs of those in control of the process of documentation, the following

comment is an example of this, again from the writings of Best.

I have known M ori bush-workers, when they had the misfortune to break a timber-jack, return to their camp in a state of despondency for the balance of the day. European workmen, under similar circumstances, would have condemned their luck, but would have worked the harder to make up the loss. To sum up: in conditions of steady continuous work, demanding strength, endurance, and steady application, the M ori is not equal to the European settler. The discipline that produces these qualities is the product of more advanced civilizations, and is not a feature of the lower planes of civilization.620

Here Best draws upon his own cultural knowledge to interpret what is happening. In doing

so he assumes that the decision to not continue with the work is a reflection on levels of

endurance, application and discipline. However, a reading from a Kaupapa M ori base

would raise the point that in the event of a misfortune occurring in such work our people

would take the time necessary to reflect on why that had occurred and what protocols had

not been correctly followed. What we have, however, is an early documentation that would

later take the form in dominant representation of M ori as 'lazy' and 'undisciplined'.

What this chapter also highlights is that the writing of history is not an objective activity. Trinh

T. Minh-ha suggests that History is a process of reconstruction, she writes;

the historical analysis is nothing other than reconstruction and redistribution of a pretended order of things, the interpretation or even transformation of documents given and frozen into monument. 621

617 Anne Salmond notes that one source estimated that Joseph Banks expenses were around 10,000 pound. 1991 op.cit. 618 Yates-Smith, Aroha, 1998 Hine! E Hine! Rediscovering The Feminine in M ori Spirituality,Unpublished Doctorate of Philosophy thesis, University of Waikato, Hamilton 619 Best, E. 1924 (a) The M ori As He Was: A Brief Account of M ori Life as it was in Pre-European Days, Dominion Museum, Wellington :xiv 620 ibid:6 621 Trinh T. Minh-ha 1989 Woman, Native, Other : Writing Postcoloniality And Feminism. Indiana University Press, Bloomington:84

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This is a powerful statement that moves the notion of History from being considered objective

documentation to one that reveals the constructed nature of how things are ordered and

interpreted. The way in which History has been produced, recorded, discussed is a set of

social and cultural constructions or reconstructions. Historical analysis and therefore the

discipline of ‘History’ can not be taken for granted but is both contested and struggled over.

The way in which History has been constructed in Aotearoa has been highlighted by a

range of writers. Judith Binney writes that we should not be surprised by the idea that the

colonised and the coloniser have different perceptions of the past, she does however

express concern that it has taken many historians some time to realise that is the case. 622

What Judith Binney raises in her writing is a point that the construction of the past and even

the notion of the past is both socially and culturally bound and therefore the presentation and

representations by the colonised and the colonisers can not be expected to be the same but

there can exist not only contradictions but also conflicts. More recently Linda Tuhiwai

Smith623 has provided a depth analysis and critique of the Western constructions of History.

She argues that indigenous people have for some time provided critique of the way in which

History, and often their histories, have been told from the perspective of the coloniser. In her

discussion Linda also highlights that the notion of history is important to Indigenous peoples

however the construction of what that is, of what it looks like differs considerably from the

Western ideas of what constitutes history.624

Early historical representation has shaped many understandings regarding M ori. To

understand the relationship between race, gender, class ideologies and their expression

within historical representation I examine in this chapter some selected representations of

M ori women. Examining documentation provides some indication of how discourses related

to Mäori women are articulated. I am not trying to outline a comprehensive literature review,

but rather have selected particular writings as examples to highlight that many dominant

representations of M ori women are sourced in material that is over one hundred years old.

The extent to which we have internalised dominant notions is an indication of the powerful

hegemony at play through colonisation. Hegemony that was supported and reproduced

through much of the historical data presented to us.

622 Binney J., Bassett J., Olssen, E. 1990 The People And The Land- Te Tangata Me Te Whenua:An Illustrated History Of New Zealand, 1820-1920, Allen & Unwin, Wellington 623 Mead, L.T.R. 1996 op.cit. 624 Linda identifies nine key elements that she notes are integral to the foundation of Western modernist ideas of History. These elements are; the idea that History is a totalising discourse; the idea that there is a universal history; the idea that History is one large chronology, the idea that History is about development; the idea that History is about a self-actualising human subject; the idea that the story of History can be told in one coherent narrative; the idea that History as a discipline is innocent; the idea that History is constructed around binary categories; the idea that History is patriarchal. The ways in which Indigenous Peoples 'histories' are written are often constructed within these notions each of which are problematic. ibid

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Ethnography and historical representation

Trinh T. Minh-ha cautions us in our consideration of the works of ethnographers. In her film

'Reassemblage' Minh-ha brings powerful statements to the discussion of how the

ethnographer sees 'himself'.

Filming In Africa means for many of us Colorful images, naked breast women, exotic dances and fearful rites. The unusual First create needs, then, help Ethnologists hand the camera the way they handle words Recuperated collected preserved The Bamun the Bassari the Bobo What are your people called again? An ethnologist asks a fellow of his625

With this in mind, this chapter gives insight into the constructedness of the ethnographic

material provided by Elsdon Best, in particular, and the consequent recycling of those

understandings by other authors.

In the preface to 'Polynesian Mythology' Grey uses the following terms to describe 'the native

race' - 'heathen'; 'barbaric or semi-barbaric'; 'savage'. The traditions of which were described

as 'puerile'; 'barbarious mythological systems'; 'superstitions'; 'cruel and barbarous rites'.626

Elsdon Best varies in his descriptions from regarding M ori as possessing a 'vertiable

genius' when referring to 'myths'627 he maintains the dominant descriptions of M ori as

'savage', 'barbaric', 'uncivilised'.628 In his own discussion of early writers, Best provides a

range of reflections, commencing firstly with his own reflection as follows;

Our own point of view differs so widely from that of neolithic man that we must ever experience considerable difficulty in understanding his views with regard to the supernormal. Behind this fact lies the cause of all such difficulties and differences - namely, the gulf that lies between the mentality of the Maori and that of our own folk. It is not a case of differing degrees of intelligence, for the Maori is a remarkably intelligent person; but of difference in outlook on life, on matters normal and supernormal, especially the latter. With regard to ordinary affairs of life no one is more shrewd than your Maori;but when any transaction or activity impinges on his superstition, it is then that you see revealed the peculiar mentality of the neolith, the undisciplined mind of barbaric man.629

Other comments made by early writers are documented by Best as examples of views of

M ori intelligence, which, in order to further illustrate how M ori were perceived more

generally by early ethnographers, warrant discussion here. According to Best, observer

William Brown considered M ori wanting not because of being inferior but because of

625 Trinh T. Minh-ha 1992 Framer Framed, Routledge, New York:98; Trinh T. Minh-ha 1982 Reassemblage, Oakland, California 626 Grey, G. 1922 Polynesian Mythology and Ancient Traditional History of the New Zealanders,George Routledge and Sons Ltd., New York: pp vi-xiv 627 Best, E. 1924 (a) The Maori As He Was: A Brief Account of Maori Life as it was in Pre-European Days, Dominion Museum, Wellington :xii 628 Best, E. 1924 (c) M ori Religion and Mythology, Part One, Dominion Museum Bulletin 10, Wellington

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requiring knowledge. Shortland, he states, stressed that M ori motives were quite different

from those of P keh and that the colonist needed to understand that. Also, Best writes,

Shortland saw M ori as having limited knowledge of the abstract. Rev James Buller is

regarded by Best as narrow minded and drawing a 'deplorable' picture, highlighting the

following excerpt as an example of this;

Their moral side was a dark picture; it was relieved by only the faintest gleams of light; selfishness, in some form or other, was the base-line of it. Their conversation was sensual, their ideas filthy, and their language obscene. Chastity was rare, if known at all. They were given to sorcery, witchcraft, murder.630

Best notes that Colenso regarded M ori as intellectual however also referred to M ori

intellect being 'stunted', 'warped' and 'debased' through 'customs', 'habit' and 'strong or

unrestrained animal propensities'.631 Best, himself, is contradictory in his statements in regard

to how he views M ori. At one point he notes that M ori are 'mentally acute' and possess

'remarkable powers of comprehension'632 and then goes on to say that sustained effort is not

of appeal to M ori and that many of the failings of M ori is an outcome of irresponsibility,

lack of training, lack of discipline. Yet he cites the example of one kaumatua from Tuhoe

reciting 406 waiata. This alone shows the ridiculousness of such statements.633

It is not only P keh men who viewed M ori in such ways., but equally P keh women

documented a similar view. In the preface to 'Lady Missionaries in Many Lands' E.R. Pitman

outlines the lack of impression made on M ori women by male missionaries due to their lack

of access. Pitman states that it was the role of 'Christian women' to teach the 'heathen

women'.634 In discussing the missionary work of a Mrs Margaret Cargill Pitman notes her first

impression of arriving in Aotearoa on the way to Fiji.

On landing at the Bay of Islands New Zealand on the 2 nd day of January 1834, Mrs Cargill saw for the first time some specimens of the dark and depraved heathen people amongst whom she had to labour. Both men and women presented a wild and savage appearance, while almost everything reminded her of the fact that she was a last in a thoroughly heathen land.635

The fact that ethnographers readings of M ori society are influenced, and in some cases

blinded, by their own cultural and political understandings is not a new contention. In her

book 'Victorian Attitudes to Race', Christine Bolt highlights that through the mid 1800s there

was contention in terms of how journeys to other lands were being documented. She notes

that writer, Sir John Lubbock identified that any judgement in regard to race was "at least as

629 ibid:34 630 Rev. James Buller cited in Best, E.; ibid.:35 631 These are descriptions given by Colenso as cited in Best, E. ibid:35 632 Best. E 1924(c) op.cit.:8 633 ibid. 634 Pitman, E.R. (n/d) Lady Missionaries in Many Lands, Pickering and Inglis Ltd., London 635 ibid:170

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much on the character of the writer as on that of the people".636 Other writers, such as Max

Muller and Alfred Haddon, argued that it was critical that anthropologists spend time amongst

those they are documenting in order to work against the possibility of misrepresenting what

they saw. This however, Bolt states "long remained simply an ideal".637

This relates to the notion described by Linda Tuhiwai Smith as 'The construction of History as

innocent'.638

This concept locates discipline of History as objective and devoid of power

relations. It assumes that facts speak for themselves and historians merely assemble facts. This

idea denies the existence of power relationships and who controls the discipline. It also denies

that Historians bring with them their own perceptions and interests to their writing. This idea

denies the existence of power relationships and who controls the discipline. It also denies that

Historians bring with them their own perceptions and interests to their writing. As Fritz Stern

notes:

To the cultural differences must be added the human factor, the obvious individual differences among Historians. These differences are decisive in determining the writing of History, even after the discipline of History has been firmly established and even after it has made its uniform demands on Historians. In the last analysis what will shape a particular history is the historians conception of the past, whether or not he (sic) is fully conscious of it.639

The concern over representation of colonised by their colonisers is held by many Black and

Indigenous peoples around the world. Vine Deloria Jr. writes that

For most of the five centuries … whites have had unrestricted power to describe Indians in any way they chose.640

This point is further explored in the anthology 'Native and Academic: Researching and Writing

about American Indians', where Devon Mihesuah brings together a collection of writings that

not only challenges early documentation from white historians and white academics but also

brings an extensive discussion of many of the works that continue to influence more recent

writings about Native American peoples. What is evident in reading this collection is the

extent to which white historians have documented American Indian life with little or no

consideration for what the people themselves have to say or contribute. Another point that

is significant is that of the current thrust by white anthropologists to discredit Indigenous

accounts. In terms of Native American history Vine Deloria notes that the collection edited by

636 Lubbock, J. cited in Bolt, Christine 1971 Victorian Attitudes to Race, Routledge and Kegan Paul, London: 2 637 ibid:2 638 Mead, L.T. 1996 op.cit. 639 Stern, Fritz 1956 The Varieties Of History, From Voltaire To The Present. Meridian Books, New York:13 640 Deloria, Vine Jr 1998 'Confortable Fictions and the Struggle for Turf: An Essay Review of The Invented Indian: Cultural Fictions and Government Polic ies' in Mihesuah, Devon A. ed, Native and Academics: Researching and Writing about American Indians, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln:66

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James A. Clifton titled 'The Invented Indian: Cultural Fictions and Government Policies' is one

example of this. Key to his challenge of the collection is a discussion of the notion of

objectivity.

The first point which we must consider in reviewing any set of essays that pretends to offer an objective point of view regarding Indian affairs is that there never has been an objective point of view regarding Indians and there never will be. Conflict between red and white has been the predominant characteristic of race relations for half a millennium and will continue to influence all efforts to bring about an interpretation of what the invasion of this continent has meant - to both Indians and non-Indians.641

Where there are many examples in Aotearoa of this perhaps the most prolific ethnographic

writer was Elsdon Best who held a belief that M ori were natives that were worth studying.

In his Introduction to 'The M ori As He Was' Elsdon Best wrote;

Among existing races of the barbaric plane of culture we have probably no more interesting people to study then the Maori of New Zealand.642

This comment was because of what Best saw as the achievements of M ori in the past, in

particular migration, exploration and skill in seafaring. Another point of intrigue for Best was

his belief that M ori ideas of 'mythopoetic conception' and religion set a pathway that

indicates that M ori religion was in a stage of development that was leading to monotheism.

M ori therefore in his terms were capable of moving toward a religion that encompassed

"two distinct spirit worlds", in other words were seen as moving toward a religious

framework that was more consistent with his own. The comparative made by Best

between M ori spirituality and European religion is important to observe in that the dualisms

of European religion significantly influence his reading of M ori contexts and knowledge.

This occurs throughout Best's work even though he himself states that for M ori dualistic

notions such as good and evil are not a part of M ori understandings. The contradictions

inherent in Best's interpretations of M ori narratives is evident in the following quote where

Best defines the relationship between Tane and Whiro643 in oppositional terms, however

again contradicting earlier statements he extends further to note that the dualistic

constructions between good and evil are not M ori.

Now there came about the first great contest known in the world - the fierce, long-continued struggle between Tane and Whiro. This is but another version of the old Persian myth, wherein Ormuzd and Ahriman strive for mastery, the one personifying light and goodness, the other darkness and evil. In Whiro we have the personification of evil, darkness and death; while Tane represents light and life, but he cannot be said to personify goodness. The clear contest between good and evil was not a Maoriconcept.644

The dualisms that arise from Bests recital of the relationship of T ne to Whiro are many:

darkness - light, evil - good, death - life, Rarohenga - Te Ao M rama. These are each in

641 ibid:66 642 Best, E. 1924 (a) op.cit.:xiii 643 Both T ne and Whiro were engaged in the pursuit of bring three kete of knowledge back to earth from Io-matua-kore.

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line with a world-view that has at its own centre opposition and dualistic relationships. As

Best hinted in the last sentence of the previous quote such constructions are not of a M ori

world-view. He did, as I have noted earlier, have a fundamental belief that M ori were on

the way to developing such a world-view. Best asserts that M ori had developed a belief in

two distinct spirit worlds and that this would in time have evolved into a 'heaven and hell'

scenario. To support his contention he notes that both good and evil went to the underworld

but some also went to Io and there was no evil there. The division into a dualistic structure

appears important to Best in that he continues to state that although there did not exist the

notion of punishments or rewards in death he argues that the development of a heaven and

hell was unavoidable. In order to more fully appreciate the contradictions with which Best

writes in this area it is worth quoting him directly.

Now, the Maori had never evolved or borrowed the belief in punishment of the human soul after death, neither does he appear to have developed a clear, universal role of ethics. Hence there was no system of rewards and punishments in the spirit-world, nor were there separate realms for the spirits of good and evil persons. Yet the belief in two spirit-worlds existing, while in the underworld forces of evil existed under a personified form of evil. Thus the Maori had advanced far in his search for knowledge in this direction, the destination and fate of the human soul. Greater power in priestly hands, and better recognition of the forces of good and evil, would probably have given him a hell and heaven such as ours.645

A critical element here is the issue of definition of M ori people through the construction of

dualisms. Binaries are constructed that locate the colonised and coloniser relationship. Some

examples of this are;

Discovered - Unknown

Savage - Civilised

In the Dark - Enlightened

Immoral - Moral

Illiterate - Literate

Inferior – Superior

Myth - Fact

Heathen - Christian

Each of these binaries locate colonised peoples as consistently lesser than their colonisers

and provides justification for ongoing subjugation. Such binaries are constructed as a result

of a colonial need to locate themselves as superior and therefore enable them to argue their

responsibility and obligation to govern over others. Furthermore, in order to sustain ideologies

of dominance the colonising forces required the development of a whole raft of

understandings and beliefs that would undermine Indigenous peoples positioning whilst

simultaneously ensuring their dominance. A system of binary oppositions proved to be what

was required to accomplish such a task. Furthermore, the impact of binary constructions

influences the ways in which the roles of M ori women were defined and recorded, or not

recorded.

644 Best, E. 1924(a) op.cit.:36 645 ibid:40

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The marginalisation of M ori women in accounts by anthropologists and historians has been

a critical element in our representation of M ori women. Aroha Yates-Smith has provided

depth discussion in regard to the ways in which early ethnographers marginalised M ori

women's position and status.646 Aroha argues that this can in part be attributed to the

ignorance of early writers to the ways in which M ori society was structured and therefore

who did not have a basis from which to comprehend M ori social relations. Furthermore, not

only were P keh ethnographers ill equipped to compare M ori society but they created

their own mythologies by making assertions from their own frameworks. Ethnographers were

operating within their own cultural and gender frameworks.647 Aroha continues throughout

her doctoral thesis to raise key issues in regard to the influence of P keh ethnography on

the ways in which M ori history has been constructed. It is her contention that although

original informants were M ori and some original material was written in M ori by M ori,

the publication of that material was done by P keh men which raised two key major

problems, that of interpretation and censorship. She argues that both the processes of

interpretation and censorship severely distorted the picture presented of M ori women and

atua w hine in particular. For example, aspects of k rero that were viewed as

extravagant by those recording were altered so that different stories resulted which are now

considered authentic.648 The Preface of George Grey's 'Polynesian Mythology' gives an

indication of the deceptive ways through which documentation took place. Grey notes that in

collecting writings for this publication he undertook a range of processes that were

problematic but which served to provide a collection conducive to the 'European reader'.

Commenting on the particular needs of P keh readers Grey noted:

It is almost impossible closely and faithfully to translate a very difficult language without almost insensibly falling somewhat into the idiom and form of construction of that language, which, perhaps, from its unusualness may prove unpleasant to the European ear and mind, and this must be essentially the case in a work like the present, no considerable continuous portion of the original whereof was derived from one person, but which is compiled from the written or orally delivered narratives of many, each differing from the others in style, and some even materially from the rest in dialect.649

Aroha Yates-Smith critique of such manipulation of k rero M ori is essential in a process

of seeking to identify historical sources of mis-representations of M ori women. She

asserts the argument that the cultural and ethnocentric focus of the early recorders of M ori

history operated against the interests of M ori women in the expression of our status and in

the maintenance of knowledge about our atua w hine.

646 Yates-Smith, A. 1998 op.cit.:pp 44-45 647 ibid:45 648 ibid:27 649 Grey, G. 1922 Polynesian Mythology and Ancient Traditional History of the New Zealanders,George Routledge and Sons Ltd., New York:xii

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As noted previously, dualisms abound in Bests writings. Throughout his texts we are

continually exposed to statements that are based within oppositional constructions. As I have

outlined in Chapter six this then creates a situation whereby M ori women's roles are

viewed in opposition to those of M ori men, and where assertions are made based upon the

construction of dualisms that in fact have little relevance to tikanga M ori. This is further

highlighted in the ways in which Best discusses the events that took place between Hine-

nui-te-p and Maui, when Maui sought immorality. Best expresses that as being a "contest

between light and darkness, but the darkness of death triumphed".650 Hence, Hine-nui-te-

p is constructed as the 'darkness of death' which is further related to the notions of good

and evil, with darkness located alongside the realm of evil. What it says about M ori women

is disturbing in that it locates M ori women in the realm of evil. This construction fits neatly in

the context of western notions of gender and women as immoral. M ori women are

repositioned into the colonisers' conceptualisation of women as evil. The assertion of the

underground as essentially evil is noted by Best,651 however this is contradicted in his

recitation of the k rero regarding Mataora. According to Best, Mataora meets Niwareka,

described as a Turehu from Rarohenga652, but he beats her and she leaves him. Mataora

follows Niwareka to Rarohenga to ask her to return to him, however he encounters

Uetonga who is engaged in T Moko. The people of Rarohenga object to the treatment of

Niwareka by Mataora and question the beating of women. Best goes on to quote the 'native

informant' as saying

Observe well the words of Uetonga . Here in the upper world alone are evil deeds known; this is truly the realm of darkness. As to the underworld, no evil is there known, nor darkness; it is a realm of light and rectitude. And this is the reason why, all of the spirits of the dead, from the time of Hine-ahu-one even unto ourselves, no single one has ever returned hither to dwell in this world.653

This raises two critical points, firstly that the underworld was not considered 'evil' and that in

fact it was the 'upper world' within which 'evil deeds' were considered located and secondly

that the beating of women was seen as unacceptable. The underworld realm of Hine-nui-

te-p is regarded here as the realm of rectitude not a realm of evil as is the dominant

representation. The dominant colonial representation of Rarohenga is one that assumes a

comparative with the western notion of 'hell' and as a consequence early writers construct

M ori concepts in line with their own beliefs in 'hell' as 'evil'. Best outlines the obsession

with identifying two realms with the following statement;

Maori religion, again, was in a very interesting stage of development in relation to the concept of a Supreme Being, the initial step taken toward monotheism, and the expressed and half-developed faith in two distinct spirit-worlds. The graded group series of gods, as suited to different mentalities, and the peculiar control of the cult of the Supreme Being, by

650 Best, Elsdon 1924(b) The Maori, Volume One, Memoirs of the Polynesian Society Volume V., Published by the Board of Maori Ethnological Research, Wellington:43 651 Best,E 1924 (a) op.cit.:63 652 Rarohenga refers to the underworld. 653 ibid:48

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means of which the purity of the concept was conserved, are matters of deep interest to anthropologists, and throw light on the evolution of religions.654

Alongside the assertion that M ori were moving to a two tiered spirit world, Best also

emphasises the existence of a singular supreme being and within his writings that being is

clearly defined as male, in line with western christian beliefs in a singular male God. Best

finds the notion of a Supreme Being as a 'remarkable achievement', clearly because he is able

to locate such a notion in line with his own beliefs in a patriarchal driven religion. The

construction of Io as Supreme and male is identified throughout Best's writings of which the

following is one example.

Here then, among a barbaric and cannibal folk living at the ends of the earth, we encounter a remarkable concept of the Supreme Being. He is called Io the Parentless because hewas never born of parents. He was Io the Parent because all things originated from him , or through him, albeit he begat no being. He was known as Io the Permanent because heis eternal and unchangeable, and as Io-te-waiora because he is the welfare of all beings and all things in all realms.655

In regard to the status of M ori women, Best is explicit in his belief that M ori women have

'less mana',656 that M ori women destroy tapu,657 and that M ori men only are referred to

as rangatira and ariki.658 However, as already identified contradictions appear consistently

through Bests writings. We would be hard pressed to find a more explicitly contradictory

statement in regard to M ori women than that made in regard to tohi,

As a rule such honorific treatment was not accorded to female infants, but only to the more important males. Occasionally a female child of rank was so honoured.659

Best's rejection of M ori women as rangatira is also contradicted in his own writings.

Examples of this being his own noting of w hine tapairu, the first born female of high

ranking families; Mareikura, women of high ranking in Ng ti Kahungunu and his own

abundant references to atua w hine. He also refers to the role of women in Tuhoe who

were prominent fighters with Te Kooti.660 In a more general reflection on M ori women and

warfare, Best notes;

A remarkable feature in Maori life was the fact that women accompanied warlike raids and in a few cases are said to have been energetic fighters.661

In yet another context, that of the handling of a new net, he notes that a 'ceremonial feast'

was held with two fires where at one fish was cooked for the 'tapu men' and at the other for

654 ibid: xiv 655 Best. E., 1924(b) op.cit.:235 The italics are mine to emphasise Best's gendering of Io as male. 656 Best, E., 1924(a):92 657 ibid:182 658 ibid:88 659 ibid:101 660 ibid:129 661 ibid:129

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'influential women'.662 The choice of language used by Best illustrates his own thinking in

regard to M ori women. His descriptions of M ori women are done in such a way as to

diminish the importance or position of M ori women. The example given here in regard to the

new nets is indicative of this approach, M ori men are referred to as 'tapu' and M ori

women as 'influential'. In regard to atua, female atua are, on the whole, described as

'assistants' to male atua. Again contradictions abound. In Volume One of 'The M ori', Best

notes that the ocean is personified by Hine-moana, but is 'controlled' by Kiwa, also that

Tangaroa controls the tides and is 'assisted' by Rona.663 However, in the publication 'The

M ori As He Was' Best associates the role of assistant to Tangaroa.664

In his writings Best locates M ori women as lesser and inferior to M ori men. This, he

states, is part of M ori thinking and he seeks to locate it within M ori cosmology. In 'The

M ori Volume One', Best discusses a Waikato rendition in relation to the origins of people,

within this discussion it is noted that Papat nuku descends from Te P , and that Ranginui

descends from Te Ao M rama. Taking this k rero, Best then places his own eurocentric

dualistic reading as interpretation, he writes;

The crediting of light to the male line, and of darkness to the female line, is quite in accordance with Maori views, forever in native myth and belief the female sex is given an inferior position. Woman is allied with misfortune and inferiority as among other barbaric races. The word Po is explained below, while ao denotes day, to dawn and as an adjective, bright.665

Here light, as associated with maleness, is presented as day and bright, it infers a superior

positioning to that of darkness. Darkness, as associated with femaleness, is then relegated to

the inferior. These descriptions of female and male positions are more in line with dualistic

western christian patriarchal beliefs, than those of M ori. In a further attempt to locate a

patriarchal hierarchy within M ori cosmology, Best also argues that M ori have seen

women as inferior since Hine-ahu-one, he writes;

We are told the pagan semites identified the active force in Nature with the Sun, and the passive force with the earth. This is precisely the Maori concept, but ever he deemed the female sex somewhat inferior to the male. The male sex originated with the gods, is of supernatural origin, but the first female of the ira tangata was fashioned from a portion of the Earth mother; ever does woman bear the brand of her inferior origin.

This particular statement is loaded with colonial assumptions in particular the notion that male

is godly and therefore superior, and consequently dominant, and women are of inferior origin.

This is based upon an assertion that the male sex originated 'with the gods', a fundamental

flaw in this argument being that Best locate men with originating from the 'gods' however it is

not the case as all ira t ngata originate from Hine-ahu-one and therefore males are of no

662 ibid:249 Hinemoana, Kiwa, Tangaroa and Rona are all atua associated with the oceans. 663 Best, E., 1924(b) op.cit. 664 Best, E., 1924(a) op.cit.:47

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more 'godly' origin that females. The view held by Best also appears to be linked to the idea

that all children of Papat nuku and Ranginui were male, and that the extension from that

in Best's writings is that all things male are more godly than female. The problem with such a

position is that it disregards the existence of tua w hine. There is a critical question that

needs to be explored more fully in future research in this area, which is; if all the children of

Ranginui and Papat nuku were male where did the atua w hine originate?

In denying the existence of atua w hine Best denies the status of Papat nuku, instead he

regards Papat nuku as a 'passive force', not of godly status and therefore inferior. This

position disregards the centrality of Papat nuku within M ori society, not only is

Papat nuku of the atua realm, she is also simultaneously the nurturer, giver of life and the

claimer of life in that all living things return to Papat nuku. The term whenua clearly

articulates the relationship of Papat nuku to life, whenua is both land and placenta. The

connection between life and land is synonymous with references to Papat nuku.

However, in these roles Best further locates Papat nuku as passive, or in his words;

… the whare moenga, the receptive female element acted on by the fertilizing-power represented by Tane.666

The whole construction of M ori female sexuality here is disturbing, but again in line with

colonial Victorian notions of the woman as sexual servant, there to be 'acted on'.667 Such

notions serve to place M ori women in not only passive roles but as subservient. Ngahuia

Te Awekotuku argues that the impact of colonisation on the construction of sexuality has

had a significant impact on how M ori perceive ourselves. Ngahuia, who has worked to

make visible M ori lesbians and gay men, has highlighted the detrimental effects on M ori of

colonial Judaeo-chrisitian beliefs.

The practice, the carrying through, the acting out of one's inner self, even the very acknowledgement of it without the acting out, has mean too often shame, condemnation, dismissal, hatred, ostracism, hopelessness, and despair. The Judaeo-Christian legacy of guilt and punishment, of judgement and mortification has flourished on these islands. Despite the indigenous traditions of the Maori, despite those old, old beliefs, despite their continual rebirthing. Over the decades of colonization the homosexual, and more certainly the lesbian, became invisible.668

Clive Aspin, in his doctoral research, also comments on the impact of colonisation in the

defining for M ori sexuality. He argues that colonisation had such a profound effect that

among many Indigenous cultures the diversity of sexuality has been actively suppressed. As

such Clive notes that any deviation from a colonial defined sexuality, ie. heterosexuality, was

665 ibid:93 666 Best, E., 1924(c) op.cit.:88 667 Discussion of the 'domestication' processes of colonisation is provided in the following chapter on Native Schooling 668 Te Awekotuku, N. 1991 op.cit.:37-38

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promoted as sinful and profance.669 A similar contention is made by Stevan Eldred-Griggs in

the publication 'Pleasures of the Flesh', who also highlights that sexuality as constructed

through Victorians value systems differed significantly from that held by M ori and that

through colonisation missionaries actively disrupted the 'sexual code' of M ori society in their

view that M ori morality was 'devilish'.670 The colonisers redefining of what was deemed

appropriate sexual behaviour and relationships is a part of the wider gender reorganisation

that was integral to a colonising agenda to transform M ori society. It was also influenced

by racial notions of sexuality where Indigenous expressions of diverse sexuality was

consider uncivilised and savage.671 Patricia Johnston and I noted that the intersections of

race and gender are visible in early descriptions of M ori women as sexually promiscuous

and as objects available for the sexual gratification of white men.672 A colonising drive to

redefine sexuality of Indigenous Peoples is founded upon each of the oppressive ideologies

of race, gender and class. The notion that capitalist expansion is reliant on labour-power

means too that such expansion is reliant on the maintenance of the heterosexual, colonial

nuclear family structure and any expression of sexuality that challenges that structure is

actively attacked by white, colonial, supremacist, patriarchal institutions. This then adds

further context to the works of Elsdon Best as a lead writer for the colonising forces. The

marginalisation and attacks on the roles and positions of M ori women fit neatly into the race,

gender and class agendas of the colonisers.

Throughout Bests' writings these processes of marginalisation and dismissal of M ori

women are evident. In discussing the system of Whare W nanga, Best refers to M ori men

only. Rangatira are referred to as 'Chiefs' and any general reference to rangatira is male.

This is done consistently even in light of evidence to the contrary. For example in asserting

that men are considered superior, Best then states that the term tapairu referred to women

of superior rank and that in Ng ti Kahungunu the term Mareikura also denoted women of

rank.673

As in most other barbaric lands, we find that women were looked upon here as being inferior to men. At the same time, a woman endowed with initiative could acquire influence, and some of superior families have attained commanding positions. Children possessed an interest in land derived from both parents, so that added somewhat of dignity to the position of the women. Rank also was transmitted through both parents, and consanguineous relationship counted through both. On the whole, the Maori leaned to

669 Aspin, Stanley Clive 2000 Trans-Tasman Migration and M ori in the time of Aids,Unpublished Phd Thesis, University of Otago, Dunedin: 9-10 670 Eldred-Grigg, Stevan 1984 Pleasures of the Flesh: Sex & Drugs in Colonial New Zealand 1840-1915, A.H. & A. W. Reed Ltd., Wellington 671 Aspin, C. 2000 op.cit.; see also discussions by Anne Salmond in terms of how early P keharrivals to this land viewed M ori women and their expression of sexuality. Salmond, A., 1991 op.cit. 672 Johnston, P. & Pihama, L 1995 'What Counts as Difference and What Differences Count: Gender, Race and the Politics of Difference' in Irwin, K., Ramsden, I. & Kahukiwa, R. (eds), 1995 Toi W hine: The Worlds of M ori Women, Penguin Books, Auckland 673 Best, E., 1924(a) op.cit: 88-89

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agnatic filiation, the male he possesses greater mana that does the female, for is not man descended directly form the gods, while woman had to be created from earth!674

In regard to birth Best diminishes M ori women by stating that the tapu of M ori women is

somehow a negative form.

In this connection tapu may be said to be equivalent to the condition termed 'unclean' in the Scriptures. A woman was tapu in this sense when giving birth to a child, and for some days after, hence she was segregated for a certain period.675

Examples of the process of diminishing Mäori women's roles pervade Best's work such as

his description of Maui's attempt to claim immortality, by entering the vagina of Hine-nui-te-

p , as a 'contest' between 'Light and Darkness'.676 The 'Darkness' being Hine-nui-te-p , the

female element. In regard to haka,677 Best notes that both women and men were involved,

however he again presents M ori women in a derisive manner, stating:

Old women were often very prominent in these performances, and few uglier sights could be imagined than these old hags when leading a haka or war-dance.678

This for Best extended also to tohi ceremonies that occurred at birth, again however the

contradictions are self-evident.

As a rule such honorific treatment was not accorded to female infants, but only to the more important males. Occasionally a female child of rank was so honoured.679

Given that rank was considered important in determining particular rituals and that the tohi

was performed in relation to rank we could well expect that the nature of a female child being

honoured in such as way was 'occasional'. It is apparent in Best's work that the way in

which tapu is defined plays a key role in the positioning of M ori women within the

documentation. Best regards tapu as

Prohibition, a multiplication of 'thou shalt not'. These may be termed the laws of the gods and they must not be infringed.680

M ori women he regards as being able to 'pollute' and therefore 'destroy' tapu. That

becomes the basis for an argument for the 'restriction' of M ori women in certain situations.

Best makes the following contentions;

In regard to waka681;

674 The exclamation mark is from the original text indicating Best's denigration of M ori women's status. ibid:93 675 ibid:93 676ibid:99 677 haka is referred to by Tïmoti K retu as "a generic name for all M ori dance". K retu, T. Haka: The Dance of a Noble People, Reed, Auckland:24 678 ibid:134 679 ibid:101 680 Best, E. 1924(b) op.cit.:251 681 waka refers to canoe

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No unauthorised person was allowed to visit the spot. Should a woman visit the place it meant a serious pollution of tapu and the gods under whose aegis the craftsmen were working, would at once abandon the place.682

In regard to tapu persons;

Persons who were heavily tapu ate their meals alone. Even ordinary persons when under special tapu, such as that pertaining to war gods, would not eat with women.683

The process of whakanoa or the lifting of tapu was also regarded as Best as a negative,

destructive force, which was held by women.684 What is also evident is that the way in

which Best regards tapu is altered when it is M ori women who hold tapu. Tapu in relation

to childbirth is defined by Best as 'unclean'.685 Again there are serious contradictions in the

ways in which women's roles are discussed. The role of ruahine is noted as essential in

many situations of lifting tapu. The rituals of which Best describes as 'elaborate' and

'spectacular'. In important ceremonies of lifting tapu Best states that the tapu is transferred

to the ruahine who

Represents the tapu spirits of ancestral beings. A woman was always the first person to cross the threshold of a new and tapu house during such a rite. The very fact of a woman passing over a tapu spot would pollute or destroy its sanctity, for such is the effect of that sex.686

In this description M ori women are simultaneously regarded the embodiment of the

ancestors and a form of pollutant. Tapu and noa are positioned in a negative opposition and

in locating M ori women as destroyers or polluters of tapu, Best effectively places M ori

women as oppositional to the notion of tapu. Manuka Henare argues against such a

positioning. He states that tapu originates from the gods and that tapu is a state of 'being' not

of 'having'. According to Manuka all people have their own intrinsic tapu and that in social

terms tapu may be regards as follows;

As potentiality for full realisation; to have influence, to evolve, to control, that is to be more Maori, more human.687

Noa, he describes as 'freedom' from tapu and 'normality'. What Manuka provides in his

discussion of noa is a definition that locates the process of whakanoa as one that works to

prevent the extension of tapu to people, rather than one that opposes intrinsic tapu. This he

states is a difference that has been lost in past interpretations.688 It is without doubt one that

is lost in Best's interpretations. Utilising the interpretation provided by Manuka, noa is

viewed as a form that operates to serve the benefits of being in enabling a use of tapu

682 ibid:255 683 ibid:256 684 ibid:182 685 ibid:104 686 ibid:261 687 Henare, Manuka 1988 op.cit. 688 ibid

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objects. In this interpretation it is not the intrinsic tapu of objects that is removed but the

possibility of the extension of that tapu to people. Here too, the role of women is written in a

substantially different vein to that of Best.

Women are especially powerful in making things and activities noa. Women have a particularly important task in ensuring that the extension of tapu on buildings does not apply to the users. They therefore make buildings safe for use or habitation. This is the mana and tapu of women, in that they have the ability to free areas, things and people from restrictions imposed by tapu. Women are not noa, as is often thought, but they are agents to whakanoa - to make noa. This is their tapu, and they are tohunga because of their own specific areas of activity.689

Rangimarie Rose Pere presents definitions of noa that do not support such representations

of M ori women. Rangimarie writes;

The influence and power of noa is very significant to the physical well-being of people by freeing them from any quality or condition that make them subject to spiritual and/or ceremonial restriction and influences. The concept of noa is usually associated with warm, benevolent, life-giving, constructive influences including ceremonial purification.690

What Rangimarie presents is a discussion of noa that is directly related to our wellbeing

and that is a constructive and necessary part of M ori life. To accept such a definition is

then to call into question the dominant representations of M ori women. Such a position has

been taken by an increasing number of M ori women, who will no longer abide by the notion

that M ori women are considered somehow inferior to all others. An example of this is

provided by Ani Mikaere, who argues powerfully against such constructions by

deconstructing documentation that locate M ori women as 'common' 'profane' and in doing

so challenges the notion that M ori women are inherently 'destructive'. To further illustrate

the powerful roles of M ori women, Ani recalls the story of the actions of Te Rangikoaea.

Being pursued by some of his Waikato enemies, Te Rauparaha sought the assistance of Te Heuheu at Taup . On Te Heuheu's advice, he went to Rotoaira and there asked Wharerangi to help him. Wharerangi told Te Rauparaha to jump into a k mara pit, over the mouth of which he sat his wife, Te Rangikoaea. When Te Rauparaha's pursuers arrived and asked whether their enemy had been seen, Wharerangi replied that he had been and gone. The Waikato ope nevertheless conducted a thorough search of the area, led by their tohunga who chanted karakia to assist the search. They approached the k mara pit, but the karakia were rendered powerless by the presence of TeRangikoaea sitting over it. Te Rauparaha therefore remained undetected, hence the composition of the haka, a celebration of his surviving an extremely close brush with certain death. There are at least two possible interpretations that can be placed on the role of the woman sitting over the pit. One is that her presence made the tohunga's karakianoa, and therefore ineffective. But another is that her presence over the pit made TeRauparaha tapu, and therefore placed him beyond the reach of the tohunga's karakiaand the keen eyes of the rest of his pursuers. 691

689 M ori, M. 1988 op.cit. 690 Pere, R. 1982 op.cit.:38 691 Mikaere, Ani 1996 The Balance Destroyed: The Consequences for M ori Women of the Colonisation of Tikanga M ori, Unpublished Master of Juriprudence thesis, University of Waikato, Hamilton:pp27-28

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The intention of this discussion is not to entirely reject the writings of Elsdon Best, as there is

much valuable information provided in the writings. Rather it is to highlight the need for critical

readings of these early writings and the interpretations that are provided within. Elsdon Best

has had a major influence on the ways in which discussions of M ori women's roles and

status are framed, through influencing the creation and maintenance of discourses about

M ori women. The writings of Berys Heuer provides a definite example of the influence of

the types of discourses promoted by Elsdon Best, in particular her publication 'M ori

Women'.692

Berys Heuer 'on' M ori women

The dominance of early ethnographic constructions of M ori women continues in the works

of anthropologists and ethnographers that followed the first wave of Best, White, Smith and

others. P keh women writer Berys Heuer provides a prime example of the unproblematic

acceptance and use of those writers. Heuer opens her work 'M ori women' with the

assertion that sex permeates all aspects of M ori life. Drawing on terminology in te reo

M ori she seeks to demonstrate her belief in the inferiority of M ori women and superiority

of M ori men within M ori society. For example, Heuer argues that the terms

taitamawahine (east coast tides) and taitamat ne (west coast tides) indicate a gender

inferiority of women because the east coast seas are calmer than the west coast. Heuer's

approach to M ori sexuality is best noted in her response to whakairo and the

representation of both M ori women and men. She describes whakairo as follows;

Symbolic sexual representation was commonly found in carving motifs. House and fortifications were decorated with figures representing men and women with grotesquely distorted sexual organs.693

The conservative nature with which Heuer views M ori society is clearly identifiable within

this statement and permeates throughout her work. Heuer describes M ori women as

'subordinate'; 'defiling'; 'unclean', each of which is based upon her own cultural readings of

how M ori society operates and her definitions of sexuality and what is deemed appropriate

sexual expression. Heuer locates her assertion of the inferiority of M ori women within

what she describes as the 'mythological origins' of M ori women. She outlines the role of

T ne in seeking the female element whilst disregarding the role of atua w hine in particular

Papat nuku from whom Hineahuone originated. Heuer states that creation stories such

as this act as indicators of male superiority. She writes;

This account shows the culturally all-pervasive conception of man as provider of the creative fertilising elements, the life spirit. Concomitantly woman is seen as the passive

692 Heuer, Berys 1972 M ori Women, Published for the Polynesian Society by A.H. & A.W. Reed, Wellington 693 ibid: 9

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shelterer and nurturer , the receptacle of whare moenga, of the life principle implanted by man.694

M ori women are referred to as 'passive recipients', whilst simultaneously being presented

as destructive forces. Heuer refers to the story of Hinenuitep to example the destructive

element.

In the continuation of the legend, Tane married Hine-ahu-one, the woman he had created, and later married their daughter Hine-Titama. The latter inquired one day as to the identity of her father and, on learning the truth, fled horrified to the underworld to take a position at the doorway through which all of her earthly descendants would eventually pass. In this portion of the legend come the emphasis upon woman as destructive. The concept is most clearly illustrated in the actions of the demi-god Maui who attempted to conquer Hine-titama (or Hine-nui-te-p as she became known after her flight from her incestuous union) but who was himself defeated and killed. Thus death and destruction were brought permanently into the world. The female reproductive organs were termed whare o aitua or whare o te mate, house of misfortune and disaster.695

The interpretation given by Heuer again echoes the western colonial thinking of women as

lesser and inferior. Furthermore, she advances women as destructive and in doing so

demote women to the realm of evil and creators of misfortune. An interpretation of M ori

women as powerful is beyond comprehension in such works, yet as Ani Mikaere reminds

us there are interpretations that would locate the power of women's genitals as central to

these stories rather than as destructive.696 As with the writings of Elsdon Best, Heuer

promotes contradictory example all the way through her text. In regard to M ori women and

tapu, on one hand she notes M ori women stepping over a man or boy was a danger,

associated with womens 'incautious' actions, whilst on the other hand she provides the

example of M ori women stepping over men as a means of avoiding danger.697 These

contradictions then bring rise to a need for much more complex analysis to be undertaken. It

can not continue to be argued that M ori women are destructive when we have clear

indication that being women brought a powerful force for change and transformation that is

fundamentally about clearing danger.698

M ori women's clothing and resting places are considered by Heuer as 'unclean' and

'defiling' due to menstral flow. M ori women's bodies and reproductive cycles are deemed

destructive and unclean, all this within a culture that values whakapapa as a critical element

in societal relations, which relies heavily upon the wellbeing of M ori women. Inherent in the

writings of Berys Heuer is the continued defining of M ori women's roles through a P keh

women's worldview. If we invert the meanings of menstruation to be more in line with the

value of future generations as is a part of whakapapa and whanaungatanga then we do

694 ibid:10 695 ibid:10 696 Mikaere, A., 1996 op.cit 697 Heuer, B., 1972 op.cit.

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not view menstruation as some act of 'defilement'. Times of menstruation are then viewed as

tapu, given the flowing of blood. There is no doubt that within creation stories M ori

women's genitals are presented as powerful. This is presented in the exact stories that

Heuer refers too, but which she however choses to interpret solely in line with her own race

and gender beliefs. To view menstruation as a powerful time for M ori women, because

M ori women give life, is much more in line with a society that depends upon whakapapa.

This is also discussed by Huia Jahnke, who argues that the writings of Berys Heuer are

reliant on victorian interpretations presented by white male ethnographers and economists.699

As such she argues that Heuer maintains colonial views of M ori women. Furthermore,

Huia contends that Heuer 's work is reliant on generalisations that deny the diversity of

M ori women within hap and iwi. Those generalisations also deny the many leadership

and central roles carried by M ori women, she writes;

Generalisations by Heuer about the position of Maori women in customary society not only overlook important tribal differences but are described in gendered terms embedded in Western patriarchal assumptions. Her descriptions of Maori women as 'passive receptacles for the dominant male spirit' or as being ' responsible… for the greater number of Maori wars [sic]', and highborn women are 'not eligible for leadership' do not account for the life and works of women such as Hinematioro or Ngati Porou, Makareti of TeArawa or Te Puea Herangi of Waikato.700

This statement from Huia reflects assertions made by Native woman writer Marie Anna

Jaimes Guerrero, who argues that the presentation of the role of her women does not at all

relate to her understandings of their roles and status.701 Commenting on the representation of

Native women she asserts that western paradigms have been unable to provide an

understanding of Native People's histories or the roles of Native women. She argues that

there has been a 'clouding' and 'erasing' of Native women's roles both inside and outside of

their tribes. This in effect is what is presented by Berys Heuer, a clouding and erasing of

M ori women's roles inside and outside their wh nau, hap and iwi, through a process of

locating M ori women as inferior and destructive whom are positioned within subjugated

roles.

The influence of Berys Heuer can be seen in more recent literature. In her discussion of the

history of girls schooling, Ruth Fry states that in colonial times M ori girls a range of

obstacles to deal with. Drawing on the writings of Heuer, she writes;

Not only were they, together with their brothers, at least a lap behind Pakeha youths in their families' acceptance and understanding of formal education; they were also bound by

698 Refer Mikaere, A, 1996 op.cit. and Jenkins, K., 2000 op.cit. 699 Jahnke, Huia 1997 'M ori Women and Education: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives' in Te Whaiti, P., McCarthy, M., Durie, A., 1997 Mai i Rangiatea: M ori Wellbeing and Development, Auckland University Press & Bridget Will iams Books, Auckland pp96-112 700 ibid:pp97-98 701 Guerrero, Marie Anna Jaimes 1997 'Civil Rights Versus Sovereignty: Native American Women in Life and Land Struggles' in Alexander, M. Jacqui and Mohanty, Chandra Talpade (eds) Feminst Genealogies, Colonial Legacies, Democratic Futures, Routledge, New York & London

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long-established tribal traditions which prescribed what a woman could and could not do. In Maori attitudes towards a woman's place, there was, on the surface, little conflict with the Victorian espousal of a limited domestic sphere.702

Following Heuer, Ruth Fry then makes a range of conclusions about the role of M ori women

as subjucated, overworked and unable to enter whare w nanga. Here s weeping

generalisations are made and presented as factual representations of M ori women's roles

and status. These included the assertions that girls were not admitted to whare w nanga;

that girls were to acquire 'certain attitudes' towards childrearing, and it is implied that M ori

girls and women have a domestic role in the wh nau similar to that of P keh girls and

women. Ruth Fry's opening statements regarding M ori women illustrate the ways in which

dominant discourses pervade. As an academic working in the area of gender analysis she

does not, in her chapter regarding M ori girls schooling, provide critical reflection on earlier

works. But the influence of the works of Elsdon Best and students of his work, such as

Berys Heuer, is not reproduced solely by P keh academics, but appears also in writings by

M ori. This is indicates the strength of the ideologies that underpin such writings, that as

M ori people we can also internalise and recycle dominant beliefs.

Recycling colonial discourses

An example of the influence of the work of Berys Heuer can be seen in the writings of M ori

author, Witi Ihimaera, specifically the book 'The Matriarch'. 'The Matriarch' is a book that

received some sharp comment from M ori women critics, in particular Atareta Poangana

who referred to the book as misogynist. In reading the publication, elements of Berys Heuer

are clearly included, again with little critical reflection. The point being made is that dominant

discourses are privileged within dominant society and as a consequence can become

integrated into our own representations. Ani Mikaere reviews a range of literature in regard

to M ori women, tapu and noa. What she finds is that there is an often uncritical usage of

early definitions of M ori women's roles and status, as defined by early ethnographers.703

As shown in the previous chapter, dominant discourses are maintained through the power of

their articulation. In such an analysis the author themselves are not necessarily the focus,

rather the focus is upon the discourse. This is no doubt the case in regard to the

representations related to M ori women and the ongoing perpetuation of anthropological and

ethnographic understandings that marginalise the role and status of M ori women.704 As an

undergraduate student in Anthropology I too reproduced such notions, arguing in one

assignment that the relationships of M ori women and men are inherently complementary

702 Fry, Ruth It's different for Daughters: A History of the Curriculum for Girls in New Zealand Schools 1900-1975, New Zealand Council for Educational Research, Wellington:156 703 Mikaere, Ani 1996 op.cit. 704 ibid.

194

and therefore M ori women speaking rights are defined within that construction. It is a

simplistic position to take, given the differing roles of M ori women in different hap and iwi.

However, it was an acceptable one to take at the time. What disturbs me most about that is

the apparent ease with which such beliefs are maintained and the role that M ori academics

can play in the reproduction of beliefs that in fact require much more indepth analysis. An

example of this appears in the writings of M ori academic and spokesperson Ranginui

Walker.

Ranginui is one of the most prolific M ori academic writers of the past 20 years. He has

actively engaged critical issues pertaining to M ori throughout the various resistance

movements from the 1970s through to the present time. His contributions are not only

significant to the academy but provided, weekly columns to what may be deemed

'mainstream' magazines such as Metro magazine, and The Listener. Where these magazines

can not be seen in the same vein, each reach a large number of people in Aotearoa. As

such, articles written by Ranginui Walker have often reached people who are not

necessarily supportive, or knowledgeable of, M ori struggles. This has been an important

contribution.

As a M ori academic, Ranginui has been active in putting forward radical M ori voice in

the academy and in the wider community. He has been key in the articulation of M ori issues

and dissatisfaction with the ongoing acts of colonisation perpetuated by successive

governments. This is highlighted in his two books; Ka Whawhai Tonu Matou: Struggle

Without End705 and Nga Pepa a Ranginui: The Walker Papers.706 In each of these

publications Ranginui meticulously deconstructs many myths that have become dominant

regarding M ori history. The myth of the 'great migration' as articulated by writers such as

Percy Smith are dismissed as absurd and more complex discussion of migration and the inter-

relationship between various groups of M ori is presented. The need to undertake

processes of deconstruction and reconstruction is apparent in Ranginui's writing as it is

insufficient to deconstruct such mythologies if we are not going to provide alternative

explanations and understandings. This is clearly a Kaupapa M ori agenda. However, what

is missing in these writings is a critical reflection on the positioning of M ori women within

the colonial mythologies. Where other aspects receive active critique the colonial

mythologising of M ori women remains intact.

705 Walker, Ranginui 1990 Ka Whawhai Tonu Matou: Struggle Without End, Penguin Books, Auckland 706 Walker, Ranginui 1996 Ng Pepa a Ranginui: The Walker Papers, Penguin Books, Auckland

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In Ranginui's discussion of mythology, is a rendition of M ori epistemology. We are

reminded that Te Ao M rama is the third stage of existence, moreover it is expressed that

the act of bringing light to the world was analogous to biblical notions. As Ranginui writes,

Letting light into the world brought with it knowledge of good and evil and was the analogue to the biblical tree of knowledge and its forbidden fruit. The binary opposition of good and evil is one of the central themes underlying Maori mythology. The gods played out this theme in their disagreement over the separation of their parents .707

The locating of M ori themes as binary oppositions effectively places both the writing and

reading of M ori stories within such a paradigm. This has major implications for the ways in

which we locate ourselves. As has been outlined previously the construction of binary

oppositions serves the interests of those in dominance. It has also been a means through

which colonisers have been able to redefine the world views of Indigenous peoples, through

processes of simplification into binaries rather than engaging the complexities of, in this case,

M ori relationships. In this discussion each of the children of Papat nuku and Ranginui

are male. The key sources for this rendition are the works of Governor George Grey. This is

itself problematic given the colonial beliefs of Grey. The issue is not only one of the gendering

of all the children, when there is no indication that all are in fact male, but also the way in

which the construction of maleness is represented. The descriptions of Tanem huta,

T whirimatea, Tangaroa and T matauenga are sufficiently aggressive and violent to

indicate the fervour by which the natural forces can reek havoc on the land, and indicate the

knowledge of our ancestors of those forces. There is a danger however in then attributing

these characteristics directly to people, and in this instance to M ori men. The following

paragraph highlights such a problematic;

Tu as the god of war and ancestor of fierce man encompasses in his name the aggressive characteristics of the warlike nature of human beings. Tumatauenga sought utu from his brothers for leaving him to face Tawhirimatea alone. First, he attacked the children Tane and asserted his mana by debasing them and converting them to common use. From trees and vines he fashioned spears and snares to kill and trap Tane's birds. He also made nets and canoes to catch the children of Tangaroa. By his actions of using the children of his brothers as food and common objects. Tumatauenga negated their tapu, thereby making them noa. In this way the basic dichotomy in Maori life between the sacred and profane came into being. Tu's assertion of mana over his brothers was the rationale for the superior position of human beings in the natural order.

Here we are presented with the notion of the 'fierce man' that links to the discourse of M ori

men as 'warrior' and inherently aggressive, and the idea of the dichotomy of tapu and noa as

binary opposites of sacred and profane. This construction, of tapu and noa, has particular

impact on M ori women and M ori men and the ways in which our roles and relationships

are represented. We are further presented with a rationale that tangata are inherently

superior to all other beings. This rationale denies the teina status that we as humans hold in

relation to our environment and the tamariki of the many atua w hine and atua t ne. The

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positioning of M ori in relation to all other beings is important in that an interdependency

exists with all wh nau and whanaunga. This is common to many Indigenous Peoples.

Winona La Duke refers to the Native American term ‘all our relations’ when exploring the

complex interactions between people, all living things and our environment.708 According to

her writings it is the interconnectedness of all living things that ensures our survival. We are

all related.709 The personification that is critical to our tikanga also challenges the notion that

we as people are superior, rather we are constantly in relationship with all beings.

What is evident throughout Ranginui Walkers discussion of mythology is that M ori women

appear primarily as an adjunct to M ori male characters. Whether it be T ne or Maui, the

M ori women in those stories are the acted upon or deceived or passive. The knowledge of

M ori women is rarely validated and is often diminished comparatively to the M ori men in

the korero. As such there is little movement beyond the dominant P keh telling of such

stories. Ranginui Walker does refer to the manuscripts of Te Rangikaheke, however this

tends to be in a context of defining what constitutes an act of 'sin' on the part of our t puna.

Given the biblical definitions of sin and the powerful discourses the are a part of the

construction of what is sin and who is sinful, it is highly problematic to begin to define actions

in M ori history as being examples of 'sin'. Such a process moves the discussion and

interpretation into strictly Western colonial definitions that have nothing to do with the

fundamental values of M ori society. The re-telling of M ori 'mythology' in such as way

continues the marginalisation of M ori women and the reproduction of gendered notions that

have been defined by the colonisers of this country.

The construction of leadership as a male domain is articulated throughout these writings, with

the occasional exception to the rule being referred to more often than not in passing. Most of

the M ori women referred to are included as 'the wife of' and few are given more than the

slightest mention. The marginalisation of M ori women in writing such as this is not

unexpected given that early writers were both eurocentric and androcentric in their

representation of M ori. In 'Ka Whawhai Tonu Matou' the way in which M ori women

are written about, as much as the content, has an impact that is disturbing. M ori women

are located continually as passive recipients, where tikanga is almost 'done to' them and that

there is no real active participation by our women, or that our women have ever really had

any choice in the kinds of interactions and alliances that were developed between groups. I

find this extremely hard to contemplate. I can not believe in an idea that our t puna w hine

were passive, there are too many indicator to say otherwise. What we have in Ranginui's

707 Walker, R. 1990 op.cit.:12-13 708 La Duke, Winona 1999 All Our Relations: Native Struggles for Land and Life, South End Press, Cambridge, MA 709 ibid

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writings is a androcentric view of M ori society that does not attempt at all to question how

gendered ideologies may have both informed the anthropological work that is referenced and

influenced the way in which M ori women are written into the work. There are numerous

examples to draw upon. In discussion of social rank Ranginui writes in terms of status

At the head of the rangatira class was the ariki, who was the first born in the senior male line. His teina, or junior brothers, were the rangatira. As ariki was respected for the qualities of tapu, mana, ihi and wehi (awesome power) which he inherited from his ancestors. However, these qualities could be increased by prowess in war, wise rule and generous behaviour to his people. On the other hand, they could easily be diminished by mean behaviour or unwise rule. A first-born female in the senior line was known as an ariki tapairu. She had certain ceremonial functions attached to her high rank as well as being the custodian of some rituals. Like the ariki, she was an extremely tapu person and was accorded the respect that one would associate with a princess or Queen. In some instances, a chiefs daughter was also accorded the status of a puhi maiden, a virgin princess. Her virtue was guarded day and night by female attendants. This made her more desirable as a bride when her father sought a political alliance with a powerful chief.710

In this example M ori women, including ariki tapairu are passive recipients of a system that

virtually denies their existence in terms of notions of status, or when status is recognised the

real value is placed in an idea of virginity. Not unlike the virgin Mary one could argue.711 The

position of the ariki tapairu is diminished to purely ceremonial with the possibility of holding

'some' rituals, but fundamentally for the 'chiefs daughter' the role is maintaining virginity for the

future sexual gratification of M ori men. There is some relief later in the chapter where

Ranginui mentions that some "headstrong women escaped betrothal" citing Hinemoa as one

example. Irrespective of this however, the ceremonial, objectified 'available to be traded'

M ori woman that appears in earlier writings of, Elsdon Best and Berys Heuer also appears

here. What is most disturbing about this is that much of the writing that appears alongside

this statement can be considered anti-colonial work, this then makes the statements regarding

M ori women all the more problematic as they are more likely to appear authentic. The

tohunga is also represented as male, although this is more indirectly done through the use of

the male pronouns 'he' and 'him' and through statements such as

Women and children were prohibited by tapu from going near tohunga whakairo while they were at work. 712

Tapu is also represented in ways that focus on M ori women though little explanation is

given and we are left with examples, which echo particularly androcentric ideas. Ranginui

argues that tapu has three dimensions of (i) sacredness: such as people of rank or sacred

places, (ii) prohibition: women and children prohibited from being near tohunga whakairo

and (iii) uncleanliness: M ori women during menstruation being kept away from gardens or

tohunga t moko as blood would flow during the process. Given ideas of rank have been

710 ibid:65-66 711 This notion was engaged in chapter Six 712 ibid:67

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articulated as male, we have little that provides M ori women with any specific place in

terms of tapu, this is further exacerbated by the statement made that anything that is not

considered tapu is noa. Noa is defined by Ranginui Walker as "common or profane".

Rangimarie Rose Pere strongly rejects the notion that menstruation is places M ori women

as 'unclean', stating;

Some written research suggests that the Maori concept of menstruation likens it to the Jewish religion of being "unclean and contaminated". This likeness is quite incorrect. Within the M ori context, the continuity of descent-lines and the flow of ancestral blood through the generations is of the utmost importance. Any suggestion, therefore, of the tangible evidence of ancestral blood as "contaminated and unclean" is quite incongruous with Maori thought. If a woman conceives then the menstrual blood remains in the womb, and has a vital role in the development of a future ancestor. The expression 'he tapu, tapu, tapu rawa atu te wahine' refers to the very special quality that women have in regard to their role as "whare tangata" (houses of humanity). A healthy culture and economic activity are dependent on the total health and well-being of the people.713

In regard to M ori womens roles in p whiri714, Ranginui Walker has, as shown in other

examples, constructed M ori women as in opposition to M ori men and he also contends

there are dual powers held by M ori women that are indicated in the positioning of a female

figure on the lintel above the door. This positioning he writes is to ensure that any tapu

remaining after the p whiri process is negated by Mana Wahine, that is by people moving

into the whare under the female figure. Furthermore he states;

This binary opposition in the female genitals is conceptualised as te whare o te tangata(the house of men) and te whare o aitua (the house of death). The womb and the female sex are the house that both created and destroyed the culture hero Maui.715

Not only do we see a redefinition of tangata as 'men', which is in line with dominant gender

discourse of the time, but the position of M ori women is viewed solely in relation to M ori

men. The primary roles of M ori women are, it appears, to birth or kill M ori men. As a

mother of two M ori boys I find these particularly unbelievable and the perpetuation of it quite

unacceptable. If we are to accept such constructions then the prime focus for M ori

women is defined in terms of sexual relationships to M ori men, whom we create or destroy.

These notions are based upon definitions of women's role proposed by Best, Heuer and

others.

The supposed control over M ori women is further expanded in a discussion of utu. Utu is

also related to in terms of M ori women, this time in regard to ideas of ownership and

control. Here Ranginui describes utu as a process of compensation and in the case of a

transgression between hap he writes;

713 ibid:26 714 p whiri refers to the process of welcome and ritual encounter. 715 Walker, R. op.cit.:74

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Utu between sub-tribes and tribes by making war was one way of regulating their relationships concerning territory and rights over the reproductive power of women. That these were the major 'take' or causes, of war, is emphasised in the proverb that 'women and land are the reasons why men perish.716

Firstly, there is quite a substantial leap between talking about territory to that of 'rights over'

women, and in the context of the discussion this seems to almost appear from nowhere. The

whakataukï717 that is referred to at the end of this quote is that which states 'he wahine

he whenua i ngaro ai te tangata'. The translation and interpretation of this whakataukï is

highly problematic. I state this in recognition that it is not only M ori men who translate this

whakataukï in the way that is noted above. This example raises critical questions about

translation and the ways in which the English language has impinged upon M ori

understandings and interpretations of our own language. The strength of whakataukï is in

the need to interpret, to gain meaning from drawing upon a wider philosophical knowledge. In

an article published in 'Te Pua' Waireti Norman identifies a range of versions of this

whakataukï as follows;

He wahine he whenua i mate ai te tangata

For women and land men die

He wahine he whenua i ngaro ai te tangata

Women and land are the reasons men die

He wahine he whenua a ngaro ai te tangata

For women and land men will die

He wahine he whenua ka ngaro te tangata

For women and land men die (are lost to the tribe)

He wahine he oneone i ngaro ai te tangata

Women and the land (the earth) are the reasons men die

He wahine he whenua i ea ai te pakanga

By women and land the battle is assuaged718

Where Waireti outlined how the interpretation of this whakataukï varies she also indicated

that each construction of this whakataukï remain contextually the same. In engaging the

interpretation Waireti showed how that variation is highly influenced by gendered beliefs and

the ways in which people translate certain kupu M ori719. The interpretations did not for

716 ibid:69-70 717 Whakataukï refers to proverbs or sayings however Waireti Norman states; "when defining meaning from an actual Mäori term, 'whakataukï' can be so rendered as to seem to set something down and bring it to rest 'whakatau', in speech with 'ki' taking the meaning of speak, talk or tell; to say or utter something, so that the saying, the proverb, the aphorism may be remembered in the oral record of an iwi for generations to come." Norman, Waireti 1992 He Aha Te Mea Nui in Smith, L.T. (ed) Te Pua, Vol. 1. No. 1, The Journal of Te Puawaitanga, University of Auckland, Auckland pp1-9 718 ibid. 719 kupu M ori refers to M ori words.

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Waireti provide a view in line with her understandings and beliefs pertaining to the powerful

role of M ori women or the power of Papat nuku, which in turn led to her contention that

a more appropriate translation would be

Without women, without land mankind would die. He aha te mea nui, he wahine, he whenua.720

The complexities of translation and interpretation are located in this discussion as central to

the misrepresentations of M ori womens positions. For example one of the kupu used in

the translations provided that is clearly challenged by Waireti's interpretation is 'tangata'.

Within each of the translations given the term 'tangata' was translated as 'man' rather than as

'person', the consequence of this is the reconstruction of gendered relationships. The

translation of the word 'tangata' as 'man' denies and negates the position of M ori women

by focusing on M ori women again as reasons for destruction, and in this case the reason

for the loss of M ori men. The re-interpretation of terms such as tangata do have real

impact on M ori social relations in that this process redefines relationships and roles. Further

examples can be seen in the discussion Waireti provided in regard to the terms 'te whare

aitua' and te whare mate'. In a challenging of the fundamental belief that such terms

'prove' an inferior position of M ori women Waireti noted definitions that move beyond such

constructions. She highlights the following complexities as follows:

In its traditional context, this 'whakataukii' conjures up quite powerful negative images of death, the 'wharemate' or 'whare aitua', the houses of death and misfortune, and Hine-nui-te-po, female guardian or 'kaitiaki' of the night realms, 'nga po', who symbolises death. This image is reinforced by the act of copulation between 'taane' and 'waahine',male and female, where, in particular, the male reaches climax. This moment is described by men as the 'moment of death', hence the momentary loss of the senses to the outside world; to 'te whare o te mate' (in reference to the female organs). The traditional belief is that this is also the moment when conception is likely to take place. 'Mate' in connection to 'te whare o te mate' the term commonly known as death, has many other abstractions; it can for example mean ailing with an affliction of some kind. 'Matewahine', a further example, refers to and describes a man who greatly and most fervently desires a woman, similarly, its antonym, 'mate taane' or 'wahine mate taane'describes a woman who greatly and fervently desires a man. 'Mate' also acts as an intensifier on certain verbs eg; 'mate kai', hunger or 'e mate ana au i te hiakai', I am really hungry.721

Linda Tuhiwai Mead722 refers to processes such as this as 'dis-ordering'. Colonisation, she

argues, has dis-ordered M ori relations in ways that have been highly detrimental to the

positioning of M ori women. In responding to the disordering, the colonial disruptions and

disturbances, Waireti provided a powerful example of deconstruction that indicates ways of

720 ibid:9 721 ibid:pp6-7, I would add that 'mate wahine' could also refer to a woman desiring a woman, and 'mate taane' a man desiring a man. 722 Mead, L.T.R. 1996 op.cit.

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reading or interpreting events and beliefs which affirm M ori women rather than diminish our

status.

Summary

This Chapter has focused on identifying processes by which dominant discourses pertaining

to M ori women are grounded in historical sources. Where it may be argued that the author

of the discourse is not as critical as the discourse itself, it is necessary when examining the

representation of Indigenous Peoples, by our coloniser, to recognise that the author does

indeed have a particular interest in the perpetuation of certain discourses. The importance of

this to the thesis is that for M ori women to engage fully the reproduction of colonial

ideologies there must be challenge of the perpetuation of those discourses within existing

literature. The sources identified here provide examples only, they do not constitute the only

authors that have documented in such ways. The argument here is that we can trace origins

of particular discourses to sources that have been constructed in ways that are often

oppostional to M ori expression and beliefs. As such those sources must be read critically

and can not be privileged over and above M ori understandings.

The works of Elsdon Best and Berys Heuer as two P keh scholars highlight the problematic

of documenting one world view through the understandings of another. There are

fundamental flaws that underpin not only the content but also the attitude towards M ori

women, our roles and status within M ori society. The fragmentation of the documentation

further brings into question the validity of many of the findings in regards to our t puna

w hine. To assert ideas that M ori women are common and profane are abhorrent to me.

Such assertions have been made in line with colonial patriarchal misogyny that has

disregarded the many examples that not only contradict such statements but which totally

reject them. It is critical to the notion of Mana Wahine that in asserting our rightful positions

as M ori women that we ensure that the colonial beliefs are not only dispelled but are

actively resisted. This chapter has highlighted the entrenchment of colonial constructions of

M ori women through indicating that there continues to be uncritical use of such material by

contemporary academics. It is argued that those works must also be analysed and

challenged in their reproduction of beliefs that are fundamentally colonial and have no basis in

M ori understandings.

Where the sexualised positioning of M ori women by early P keh male, and later P keh

female, anthropologists continues to influence M ori writings, including those of radical

M ori male academics, many M ori women have actively called for M ori men to reflect on

their historical and contemporary compliance with white patriarchy. Linda Tuhiwai Smith

highlights the historical cooption of M ori men by early P keh male missionaries and

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colonial administrators.723 The imposition of white patriarchy was to be maintained through

not only the domestication of M ori women and men into dualistic gendered roles but through

an undermining of the fundamental structures of M ori society and the denial of M ori

women access to key roles that were in fact theirs.724 Where this chapter has provided

some examples of the construction and reproduction of dominant discourses regarding M ori

women, the following chapter outlines one site in which those discourses were further

entrenched, that of native schooling.

723Smith, L.T. 1992(a) op.cit. 724 Pihama,L. & Mara, D., 1994 op.cit.; Johnston, P. & Pihama, L. 1995 op.cit; Kupenga, V., Rata, R., Nepe, T. 1988 'Whaia te Iti Kahurangi: M ori Women Reclaiming Autonomy' in Saunders, P & Jamrozik (eds) Proceedings of Joint Conference with the New Zealand Planning Council, Social Welfare Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Australia. Also published in Puna Wairere: Essays By M ori, 1990 New Zealand Planning Council, Wellington; Jenkins, K. 1992 op.cit.; Mikaere, A., 1996 op.cit.

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CHAPTER EIGHT

M ORI GIRLS EDUCATION & NATIVE SCHOOLING

1840-1940

Children were taught 'correct' British values and beliefs while having their own destroyed. The oppressor was naming the world and defining how others should live in.725

Introduction

There is a growing body of literature related to M ori involvement in P keh schooling.726

The same may be said in regard to girls schooling.727 Where academics from a range of

disciplines have discussed, analysed and provided critique of P keh schooling for M ori, it

remains that only a small group of, predominantly M ori women academics have sought to

engage with the ways in which M ori girls schooling has been constructed historically.

Whilst I don’t wish to go over already well walked ground I do wish to look at two specific

components of Native Schools and the impact and influence of those on the maintenance and

perpetuation of particular discourses pertaining to M ori women. These two areas are (i)

the development of policies and legislation by the colonial settler Government which

perpetuated western gender ideologies and (ii) the role of the Native Schools curriculum in the

development and entrenchment of western gender ideologies. It is my belief that each of

these two components have been instrumental in the establishment of discourses that have

subsequently undermined the position of M ori women within their communities and in more

contemporary times within wider M ori society on a national level.

Historical writings related to M ori and schooling have tended toward general discussions of

the ways in which the colonial powers established schooling as a vehicle for the ‘ civilising’,

725McArdell, P. 1992 'Wh naupani' in Du Plessis, R. (ed.) with Bunkle, P., Irwin, K., Laurie, A., Middleton, S., 1992 Feminist Voices: Women's Studies Texts for Aotearoa/New Zealand, Oxford University Press in Feminist Voices:85 726 For some examples refer: Simons, J. (ed) 1998 Ng Kura M ori: The Native Schools System 1867-1969, Auckland University Press, Auckland; Smith, G. H. 1997 op.cit.; Simons, Judith 1994 ‘Historical Perspectives on Education’ in New Zealand in Coxon,E. et.al., 1994 The Politics of Learning and Teaching in Aotearoa New Zealand , Dunmore Press, Palmerston North pp34-81; Simon, J., 1990 European Style Schooling for M ori: First Century, Unpublished Doctor of Philosophy Thesis, University of Auckland, Auckland; Beaglehole, T.H. 1970 ‘The Missionary Schools, 1816-1840’ in Introduction to M ori Education, Ewing, John L. & Shallcrass, Jack (eds), New Zealand University Press, Wellington pp 21-25; Barrington, J.M. and Beaglehole, T.H. 1974, M ori Schools In A Changing Society: An Historical Review, New Zealand Council for Educational Research, Wellington:2 727 Fry, Ruth 1985 It's Different For Daughters, New Zealand Council for Educational Research, Wellington; Mathews Kay 'Pakeha Women's Experiences of Primary Schools in Hawkes Bay 1880-1918' in Middleton, S. (ed) Women and Education in Aotearoa, Allen & Unwin, Port

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and social control, of M ori people, and the complex ways in which these have impacted

upon wider societal issues for M ori. The history of M ori girls schooling has tended to be

located as the ‘add-on’ chapter at the end of books on the history of girls schooling, or, in the

discussion of Missionary and Native schooling, has tended to be ignored. In many instances

the documentation of M ori girls schooling has been seriously flawed728. Barrington and

Beaglehole have provided some key descriptions of early schooling for M ori, including

references to M ori girls.729 Where their text is invaluable in the depth of description it does

not provide any strong critical analysis or reflection. More recently the International Research

Institute for M ori and Indigenous Education has developed a pictorial text on the Native

Schooling system, this text provides description and analysis730, it is however an introductory

publication that is targeted at a general public audience and therefore the written text has

been kept to a minimum.

As M ori people move increasingly to tell our own stories and relate our own histories there

is a growing trend amongst M ori women, in particular, to bring forward the stories of our

t puna w hine.731 Those that have provided in-depth writings or documentation related to

the schooling of M ori girls have tended to be M ori women who, due perhaps to their

direct interest in the field, have sought to outline some of the historical ideologies and

structures within which M ori girls schooling has been located.732 This chapter provides an

overview of the literature regarding M ori girls schooling and schooling for M ori girls. It

serves as a case study of the ways in which the intersection of race, gender and class in

colonial Aotearoa has real material implications for M ori women. The major focus for this

chapter is to explore the ways in which beliefs pertaining to M ori girls and women have

been constructed within Missionary and Native schooling systems.

Mission Schooling

T.H Beaglehole writes that in 1814 the Church Missionary Society indicated the intention to

begin a system of schooling by noting that “a separate fund for the establishment and

Nicholson Press, Wellington pp 20-30; Jones A., McCulloch, G., Marshall, J., Smith,G.H., Smith, L.T., 1990 Myths And Realities: Schooling In New Zealand, Dunmore Press, Palmerston North 728 Two key cases of this may be seen in the works of both Berys Heuer and Ruth Fry, discussed in the previous chapter. 729 Barrington, J.M. & Beaglehole, T.H. 1974 op.cit. 730 Simons, J. (ed) 1998 op.cit. 731 Sykes, Annette 2000 'Constitutional Reform and Mana Wahine' in Pihama, L. (ed) Te Pua:Special Issue, The Journal of Te Puawaitanga, University of Auckland, Auckland; Mikaere, A.1995 op.cit. 732 Pere, R. 1988 op.cit.; Te Awekotuku, N., 1988 op.cit., 1991 op.cit.; Pihama, L. & Ka'ai, T. 1988 op.cit.; Irwin, K. 1992 op.cit.; Smith, L.T. 1992 op.cit; Jenkins, K.; 1992, op.cit., 2000 op.cit.; Johnston, P. & Pihama, L 1995 op.cit.; Jahnke, H, 1997 op.cit.; Waitere-Ang, Hine-Tu-Whiria-O-Te -Rangi Jane 1999 Te Kete, The Briefcase, Te Tuara: The Balancing Act - M ori

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support of schools among the heathen” had been opened. Schooling was seen as an

essential part of the Society’s work to bring ‘divine truths’ to the ‘heathen.733 Judith Simon

records that under the leadership of Samuel Marsden there was a clear missionary agenda to

bring christianity to M ori through a process of civilisation. The relationship between the

notions of christianity and civilisation were important to the overall agenda of the missionaries,

Judith expresses this well;

While christianity and ‘civilization’ were perceived as interdependent and virtually separate, Marsden believed that giving prior emphasis to the ‘civilizing’ of M ori, would enable the teachings of Christianity to be more favourably received. Thus with artisans as his missionaries he set out to introduce to the M ori the ‘mechanical arts’ particularly the skills of agriculture and carpentry. Furthermore, he planned, through the ‘civilizing’ process to create ‘artificial wants to which [the M ori] had never before been accustomed and which … must act as the strongest excitement to the exercise of their ingenuity’. By this means, he hoped to bring about the restructuring of ‘the whole system of [the M ori]internal economy (Nicholas, 1812:16-17).734

Judith argues that the ‘replacement’ agenda held by the missionaries involved both the

removal of M ori institutions, practices and values and the replacement with European

institutions, of which capitalism was an integral part.735 Practices of ‘civilising’ and

‘christianising’ operated hand in hand in collaborative ways to instigate changes within M ori

society. Judith Binney writes that there was a definite belief held by the Church Missionary

Society (CMS) that in order to bring christianity to M ori there must be an ‘improvement’ of

conditions.736 She writes powerfully about the role of the civilising agenda as espoused by

the CMS.

The conversion of the heathen was to be combinged with an attack on the social practices of the indigenous people, usually called their ‘abominations’. They intended specifically to transform, indeed eradicate, by their actions and their words, the existing structure of M ori society. Such assumptions were part of the belief that ‘social progress was inextricably bound up with the message of atonement’. Christianity was to be accomplished by the ‘transformation of primitve society to civilized society’. It was according to the missionaries, a very simple change.737

The establishment of Mission schooling was to provide a formalised context within which

these practices could be inculcated into M ori communities.738 The beginning of Colonial

Women In The Primary Sector, Unpublished Master of Arts Thesis, Massey University, Palmerston North. 733 Beaglehole, T.H. 1970 ‘The Missionary Schools, 1816-1840’ in Introduction to M oriEducation , Ewing, John L. & Shallcrass, Jack (eds), New Zealand University Press, Wellington pp 21-25 734 Simon, J., 1990 op.cit.:62 735 ibid. 736 Binney notes that this was in opposition to the philosophy of the London Missionary Society who in that time believed that if christianity was taken to the ‘natives’ they would then aspire to ‘civilisation’. The Church Missionary Society however held to their view that a civilising agenda must be central and that “good manners and social discipline must precede the gospel”.Binney, J., 1968 The Legacy of Guilt: A Life of Thomas Kendall, Oxford University Press, Christchurch: 8 737 ibid.:13; Simon, J., 1990 op.cit. 738 ibid.

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forms of schooling for M ori has been identified as being in Rangihoua in 1816. This the

first mission school was developed by Thomas Kendall and began the infiltration of colonial

thinking, attitudes, practices, knowledge, systems into M ori communities.739 Documentation

highlights the tenuous existence of this school due to the tenuous relationships between

P keh and M ori.740 Judith Simon notes that the school at Rangihoua was open for only

two years, however in the 1820s and 1830s M ori enthusiasm for schooling grew.

Barrington and Beaglehole write that the missionaries arrived in Aotearoa with a very clear

purpose, that being to spread the word of christianity and in doing so to “show the natives the

way to salvation”.741 The translation of the bible into te reo M ori meant that from a very

early stage in the colonisation of this country christian doctrines were readily available to

M ori communities. This was to have a key influence on the infiltration of colonial ideologies.

This was the intention, to utilise schooling as a means of introducing christian ethics and

practices to the ‘natives’. For the Missionaries schooling was seen as an integral part of

their duty in the processes of bringing a heathen people to christianity. This was precisely

why Thomas Kendall had come to Aotearoa. Kendall had, in 1805, ‘found grace’ in the form

of Reverend Basil Woodd through which he stated

My attention was arrested as out of a long slumber during the solemnity if the service and particularly when I was told so plainly what was the only remedy for sin and misery.742

Binney notes that after having read in the 1808 Church Missionary Society Report of the

“deplorable state of the heathen world”743 Kendall converted to the missionary vocation.

Evangelical thought located ‘sorrow’ and ‘depravity’ as a consequence of sin and that if the

‘heathens’ were ‘perishing’ it was their role to ‘save’ them. This is the context from which

Kendall was operating. According to Binney, Kendall saw himself as a ‘divine instrument’ and

was eager to be a part of the mission to Aotearoa. It appears from his correspondence that

on his arrival in Aotearoa that his view of M ori as ‘heathens’ and ‘savages’ were affirmed

and he wrote the ‘New Zealanders’ “must indeed be sunk to the lowest pitch of human

degradation”.744 However, having said that he was also convinced that M ori were an

intelligent people who could be converted.

Assimilation was not solely limited to a missionary intent but was a part of the wider Native

Policy that would be developed by colonial settler Governments. With colonial schooling

beginning in Aotearoa with such a focus there is little doubt that the assimilatory function of

schooling was essential to the overall thrust of Native Policy. In early Mission schools this

739 Barrington, J.M. and Beaglehole, T.H., 1974 op.cit.; Binney, J., 1968 op.cit. 740 Simon, J., 1990 op.cit. 741 Barrington, J.M. and Beaglehole, T.H. 1974, op.cit.:2 742 Kendall to Woodd 23 January 1813, ms.54/1 cited in Binney, Judith 1968 op.cit.:4 743 ibid:5 744 ibid:6-7

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was facilitated through te reo M ori, with missionaries teaching initially in te reo.745 The

translation of the bible and the enthusiasm of many M ori people to develop literacy worked

to complement the development of Mission schools.746 According to Beaglehole it was the

belief of the missionaries that ‘God’ revealed truths in the bible and therefore it was their role

to create the conditions for the ‘heathens’ to read and attain ‘Gods’ word. Having noted this

as the intention of the missionaries, Beaglehole validates the objectives stating that in every

way M ori contact with the missionaries was ‘educative’, providing experiences and

modelling of missionary life. Finally, he writes that it is perhaps just that it be the missionaries

who act as the ‘advance guard’ to a process of civilisation that would in turn mean the death

of many M ori, as they had come “to show the way to eternal life”.747

Much can be said about comments such as that made by Beaglehole although it can be best

summarised in stating that such statements reflect a lack of analysis of the cultural

oppression and colonisation, which must be engaged in any discussion of early schooling for

M ori. In the extended version of the Beaglehole article, rewritten with J. Barrington, the

strong paternalism is not as evident and we are provided with more specific information about

the Mission schools themselves.748 Barrington and Beaglehole note that the school at

Rangihoua, although only open for a short period, revealed much that would become

characteristic of later Mission schools. The racial ideologies of the time were no less evident

than in the physical arrangements of Kendalls school at Rangihoua which include a raised

platform of approximately seven inches above the floor for the ‘European’ children. The

number of students in attendance went from 47 in 1816 to 70 in 1817, with there initially being

significantly more girls. In 1817 however the numbers of girls equalled the number of

boys.749 This is an important situation to note as it indicates that M ori wh nau were in fact

sending their girls to school in equal numbers to boys and therefore schooling was seen as

something that was a possibility for all children. The missionary idea that there was a need

for separation of girls from boys is inferred in the Barrington and Beaglehole text by Kendall

who wrote that he was awaiting the return of William Carlisle who would then “assist me to

keep the boys apart from the girls”.750 A reason for why the girls and boys should be

separated is not given. One can only assume that the need for separation is to ensure that

colonial gender ideologies are more able to be promulgated. This is more adequately

745 Smith, L.T. & Smith, G.H. 1990 ‘Ki Te Whai Ao, Ki Te Ao Marama: Crisis and Change in M ori Education’ in Jones, A. et.al Myths and Realities: Schooling in New Zealand’, Dunmore Press,. Palmerston North 746 Jenkins, K.E. H., 1991 'Te Ihi, Te Mana, Te Wehi O Te Ao: M ori Print Literacy from 1814-1855: Literacy, Power and Colonisation, Unpublished Master of Arts thesis, University of Auckland, Auckland 747 Beaglehole,T.H. 1970 op.cit.:25 748 Barrington, J.M. and Beaglehole, T.H. 1974 op. cit. 749 ibid. 750 Thomas Kendall cited in ibid:12

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illustrated by Kendalls book ‘A Korao no New Zealand751: or the New Zealander’s First Book;

being an Attempt to Compose some Lesson for the Instruction of the Natives’. The content of

this book, although poorly written in te reo M ori, gives an example of the assimilatory

nature of the school.

1. Kadidde God, kena tungata keno 1. God is angry with bad men

2. Koea ta tungata pi karungho eta koraro no God

2. Thou art a good man to hear the word of God.

3. Koea ta tungata keno aquorrhe arungho ta koraro no God

7523. Thou art a bad man not to hear the word of God.

753

The gendered nature of the translations also shows that the manipulation of te reo M ori

began very early with contact between the missionaries and M ori. The term ‘tangata’ here

is translated as ‘man’ rather than as ‘person’. This is in line with the overall social context of

the time where the use of the English language was such that references to people was

done though the terms ‘man’ or ‘men’. It is not surprising then that Kendall began to develop a

gendered curriculum that had the girls making clothes and the boys making fences and

working the land. The curriculum for Missionary schooling was based in the notion that

christianising and civilising went hand in hand, and that the roles of M ori girls and M ori

boys were to be determined by the racialised and gendered ideologies of the missionaries.

Mission schools were taught entirely in te reo M ori through the early part of schooling

developments in Aotearoa. The dual need of missionaries requiring to know the language of

Indigenous peoples for both their own survival and to increase their ability to disseminate the

word of their god is evident. The active engagement of with both M ori and English literacy

forms has been researched by Kuni Jenkins and Margie Hohepa.754 With the initial

development of print literacy for M ori being focused upon the bible, and books such as

those written by Kendall, it is little wonder that gender ideologies of our colonisers became

quickly entrenched. This was not only facilitated through the missionaries but was a part of

the wider colonial development.

The school day was ordered around the community and the need to gather food, commencing

just after daybreak, with a break in the day during which the missionaries taught their own

children. M ori children returned in the evening for further lessons. Attendance was largely

751 This would more likely be written in current written M ori language as: He Korero no New Zealand 752 In current spelling of te reo M ori the phrases may look more like this: 1. Ka riri a God ki ena tangata kino; 2. Koia te tangata pai ka rongo e te korero no God; 3. Koia te tangata kino kahore i rongo te korero no God. 753 Kendall, T., 1957 (Reprinted) A Korao No New Zealand, Or, The New Zealander's First Book : Being An Attempt To Compose Some Lessons For The Instruction Of The Natives, Auckland Institute and Museum, Auckland

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dependent on the availability of food and when provisions ran out the school was closed

down until further supplies were available. The lack of provisions that finally saw the school

close completely in 1818.755 Judith Simons states that M ori interest in schooling was

directly related to an interest in the new technologies brought by P keh .756 New

technologies and knowledge were clearly welcomed and were put directly into use for the

benefit of wh nau, hap and iwi. However, not all technologies were beneficial for all. The

introduction of the musket, alcohol, diseases, various animal and plant species, tobacco and

other goods proved deadly for M ori. The musket upset the dynamics between M ori and

brought to those in possession of them a power that had never before been known in inter-

tribal warfare. The Missionaries were not removed from the trade in goods and some were

instrumental in making muskets accessible.757 Hence, the interest in the Mission Schools, and

later Native Schools, was not merely located in a desire to read and write but was at the

same time to gain access and knowledge of key instruments that would support the overall

interests of the hap or iwi.

As Judith has written there was a distinct difference in the intention of M ori and of

P keh . For M ori people engagement with P keh knowledge and education was

considered a form of expansion and adding to existing knowledge. For the colonial settlers

however it was to produce a situation that not only encouraged but actively advocated the

replacement of M ori knowledge with P keh knowledge. This intention is clearly evident in

the Native Schools records, in particular in the reports of early inspectors. Added to this was

the ongoing objective of the missionaries to bring christianity to M ori.758 A range of authors

have highlighted schooling as a key mechanism in processes of assimilation.759 Patricia

Maringi Johnston writes that the notion of assimilation derives from racial ideologies that

advanced a belief that the 'inferior' races needed to be assimilated into the 'superior' culture in

order that they be ‘civilised’.760 This is also identified by Barrington and Beaglehole as being

the primary intention, citing from the Missionary Register they note;

The schools were to play a key part in the Society’s work, for they were to be the means by which the children could be ‘trained up in the knowledge of those divine truths, by

754 Jenkins, K.E.H. 1991 op.cit.; Hohepa, M.K. 1990 op.cit. 755 Binney, J. 1964 op.cit. 756 Simons, Judith 1994 ‘Historical Perspectives on Education’ in New Zealand in Jenkins, K. et.al.The Politics of Learning and Teaching in Aotearoa New Zealand , Dunmore Press, Palmerston North pp34-81 757 Jenkins, K.E.H. 2000 op.cit. 758 The 1847 Education Ordinance saw the instigation of a state controlled education system. However, it was not to be entirely operated by the colonial state as Governor George Grey, for expediency, developed the system based upon the existing Mission Schools. Given that Mission Schools were already well established it was advantageous to utilise those as the foundation for a state system. This was the beginning of the state controlled Native Schools. 759 Smith, L.T. 1986 op.cit; Ka'ai, T. 1988 op.cit; Simon, J. 1990 op.cit.; Jenkins, K.E.H. 1991 op.cit, 2000 op.cit; Coxon, E. et.al. 1994 op.cit.; Johnston, P.M. 1998 op.cit 760 Simon, Judith 1991 op.cit.

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which, under the blessing of God, they will be rendered useful members of the Society, and heirs of glorious morality’.761

Native Schooling

Schooling has been identified as a key vehicle for the assimilation of Indigenous peoples. A

key assumption of assimilation policies was the notion of the existence of a hierarchy of

civilisations, within which the coloniser is located as 'superior'. The coloniser when

established in the position as the dominant group then control what is defined as appropriate

ways of being including language, knowledge, customs, relationships and general life-style.

What this has meant in Aotearoa is the suppression of M ori worldviews and ways of

living and the development of a determined effort by the colonial forces to replace those with

what was deemed appropriate for the Natives of this country. The P keh education

system has been instrumental in these processes. It has been constructed to facilitate the

maintenance and reproduction of selected knowledge. This has occurred through the

construction of particular forms of pedagogy, curriculum, methods and content of

examinations, credentials etc. The colonial education system was established not on any

principle of benefiting M ori people, but was premised on the assimilation of M ori serving

the interests of the immigrant settlers, of benefiting the dominant group.

The colonial schooling system is one example of a colonial institution established specifically

to aid in the assimilation of M ori. This chapter outlines the role of the Native Schools system

in the development and entrenchment of discourses that promote the domestication of M ori

women. The term domestication is used in a sense that encompasses both the

patriarchalisation of M ori society and the diminishing of M ori womens status within our

own communities. As a system founded on the ideological belief that M ori people required

both civilising and christianising, the Native Schools were viewed as instrumental in bringing

about the desired change.

The key aim of this chapter is to continue to highlight the role of the colonial state in the

perpetuation of western colonial ideologies that contributed to the denial of M ori women

fundamental rights within M ori communities and in doing so the diminishing of M ori

women's voices in wider decision making processes. The process of entrenching western

patriarchal beliefs over m tauranga M ori was multi-levelled. It operated at both the macro

state institutional level where policies developed were clearly antagonistic to the interests of

M ori women and at the micro level of the school and the classroom. Policy and legislative

development by the colonial settler Government highlighted the clear intention to reduce the

role and positioning of M ori women in decision-making processes. This chapter focuses

761 Barrington, J & Beaglehole, T.H. 1974 op.cit.:8

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also on how the wider ideological thrust of the coloniser was introduced into Native Schools

and the implications of that for M ori women.

Legislative Developments and Colonial Discourses of Race and Gender

Legislative and policy moves contributed to the ongoing marginalisation of M ori girls and

women within the state education sector. This section will examine some of the historical

pieces of legislation that have influenced the marginalisation of M ori women.

1844 Native Trust Ordinance

The 1844 Native Trust Ordinance highlighted formally the intent of the colonial government as

follows;

And whereas great disasters have fallen upon uncivilized nations on being brought into contact with Colonists from the nations of Europe, and in undertaking the colonization of New Zealand her Majesty’s Government have recognized the duty of endeavouring by all practicable means to avert the like disasters from the Native people of these islands [New Zealand] which object may be best obtained by assimilating as speedily as possible the habits and usages of the Native to those of the European population.

The 1844 Ordinance was packaged as an obligation on the part of the British to assimilate and

'civilise' the 'natives', which according to Hariata Huata provided the basis for an ideology of

British cultural supremacy.762 Alan Ward writes that in a context where ‘amalgamation’ of

M ori was a focal point, the Ordinance was written to promote M ori welfare.763 The

object of assimilation was he posits to promote economic development to avoid M ori

becoming economically vulnerable. Where he identifies a number of flaws in the Ordinance

he argues that the most serious was the colonial assertion of racial or cultural superiority and

the ‘pandering’ to the prejudices of settlers which meant the positioning of M ori beneath

P keh . What this meant, Ward states, was that the potential for state building where M ori

were actively involved was not realised.764 Judith Simon notes that policies such as this

served the assimilation agenda whilst also seeking to bring M ori under the British Law as a

means of social control.765 Barrington and Beaglehole note that the Ordinance itself

generated little interest and was not gazetted. However, despite that they state the general

thrust of the Ordinance was to be influential in educational policy for nearly 100 years.766

1847 Education Ordinance

Through the 1847 Education Ordinance the Crown provided their support to the existing

missionary schools by creating a national system of Native schools whilst at the same time

legitimating the structures and curriculum under missionary control. Governor George Grey

762 Huata, H.N. 1992 Tino Rangatiratanga: The M ori Struggle Within Education, Unpublished Master of Education Dissertation, University of Auckland, Auckland:27 763Ward, Alan A Show of Justice: Racial Amalgamation in Nineteenth Century New Zealand,Auckland University Press, Auckland:39 764 ibid. 765 Simon, J. 1990 op.cit:67

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viewed it as expedient to retain the existing system as opposed to the establishment of a

totally new system. Hence, it may be stated that the Crown, through the 1847 Education

Ordinance, was then legitimating the missionary agendas, in regard to M ori people generally

and M ori girls and women in particular.767 The Native Schools Act of 1847 brought to

Aotearoa a formalised P keh education system through the formal recognition of the

Missionary schools. Governor George Grey viewed it as an act of expediency to formalise

the role of the Mission schools rather than attempt to instigate a new system of Native

Schools. The funding of the system was dependent upon the achievement of the key

objectives and is summarised by George Grey as follows;

All schools which shall receive any portion of the Government grant, shall be conducted as heretofore upon the principle of religious education; industrial training, and instruction in the English language, forming a necessary part of the system in such schools.768

As the first piece of legislation related directly to the development of a national P keh

system of education in Aotearoa, the 1847 Education Ordinance may also be viewed as the

first legislative expression of P keh male control of the education system. The Ordinance

provided for the supervision and management of each school by "one of the persons named

of referred to in the schedule hereunto annexed". Those named in the schedule were as

follows;

The Bishop of New Zealand. The Bishop or other the Head of the Roman Catholic Church in the Colony of New Zealand. The Superintendent of the Wesleyan Mission. The Head or Minister of any other Religious body, who shall have engaged in the Education of Youth in the Colony of New Zealand.

That such positions in the time were held only by P keh men requires little discussion and

the assertion is validated within the Ordinance itself as noted;

6.The Teachers of every such school shall be appointed by the person under whose superintendence and management the same shall respectively be placed as aforesaid, and shall be removable by him at pleasure.

The impact of the Education Ordinance on M ori women is described by Pania McWhannell

as providing a foundation of sexism and racism upon which P keh schooling for M ori

was based. M ori women’s opinions and concerns were ignored by P keh officials.769

This operated alongside the assimilatory aims of the Ordinance, the key principles of which

Barrington and Beaglehole identify as being;

766 Barrington, J.M. & Beaglehole, T.H. 1974 op.cit.:40 767 ibid. 768 Letter from Sir George Grey to the Bishop of New Zealand cited in AJHR 1865 E-No.3,W.Martin Esq., to the Hon. the Native Secretary, Auckland 6th May 1964, Government Printer, Wellington:1 769 McArdell, P. 1992 'Wh naupani' in Du Plessis, R. (ed.) with Bunkle, P., Irwin, K., Laurie, A., Middleton, S., 1992 Feminist Voices: Women's Studies Texts for Aotearoa/New Zealand, Oxford University Press, Auckland:85

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There must be religious education. There must be industrial training. There must be instruction in the English language. The Government was to appoint inspectors who should inspect and examine the schools annually.770

The Ordinance itself was developed to provide for the education of all youth, however Grey sought

firstly to apply it to M ori children. The idea of education for all youth together was not readily

accepted and an article in the Wellington Newspaper ‘The Southern Cross’ noted

…no system of education can work well in this Colony which proposes to combine in one plan the education of children of both European and native races. The principle of amalgamation is attractive in theory… but it is absurd to imagine that European parents would at present send their children to the same school with natives… The European and native youth cannot be educated together.771

This attitude toward the mixing of M ori and European children was not only confined to the

1847 Ordinance but was repeated on numerous occasions in Inspectors Reports on the

Native Schools.772 The focus of the Ordinance was upon M ori and ‘half-caste’ children

whilst the development of schooling for P keh children operated from the time of the 1852

Constitution Act at a regional level until the 1877 Education Act.773 The 1847 Ordinance also

reflected the wider assimilatory native policies in its focus on the provision of English, upon

which funding was dependent, and the inclusion of both religious and industrial training. This

was again to locate M ori, as Ward referred to in regard to the 1844 Native Trust Ordinance,

in ‘menial’ positions.

1867 Native Schools Act

With the 1867 Native Schools Act came the move to secular schooling, although in many

ways this is somewhat of a misnomer for M ori education in that the Boarding Schools

remained very clearly under the control of the various religions. Admittedly the Boarding

Schools were considered ‘private’ schools, however those schools had significant impact on

M ori society and as such as a part of the wider colonial state must be included in this

discussion. A clear example of the ways in which early colonial policy and legislation were

constructed through eurocentric gender belief systems can be seen in Barrington &

Beaglehole's discussion of the 1867 Native Schools Act. According to these authors the

establishment of Native Schools within M ori communities could only occur if a;

considerable number of the male Maori inhabitants of a school district wrote to the Colonial Secretary asking for a school.774

770 Barrington, J.M & Beaglehole, T.H. 1974 op.cit.:44 771 The Southern Cross10 June 1848 cited in Barrington,J.M. & Beaglehole, T.H. 1974 op.cit.:pp 44-45 772 Refer Native Schools reports in the Appendices to the Journals of the House of Representatives (AJHR), 1840-1960773 Simon J. 1994 op.cit. 774 Barrington, J.M. and Beaglehole, T.H. 1974 op.cit.:101

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The following section from the 1867 Native Schools Act shows that this position is provided

explicitly within the Act and may be clearly interpreted as a method through which the Crown,

via state mechanisms such as legislation pertaining to Native schooling, put into place

structures which alienated M ori women from key decision-making positions within M ori

communities. Sections 5 and 6 state;

5. Upon the memorial of any considerable number of the male adult native inhabitants of any locality or district where no native school already exists praying for the establishment of a school and in which memorial are defined the boundaries of such a locality or district the Colonial Secretary shall by notice in the Kahiti or by such other notification as he shall think fit call a meeting of male adult native inhabitants of such a locality or district at such time and place as may seem desirable and shall name a person who shall preside over the meeting.

6. If the meeting so called shall by vote of the majority of the male adult natives inhabiting such district then present declare that they are willing that the district shall be constituted an Educational District and shall further declare that they are willing to provide a proportion of the expenses of the establishment and maintenance of a school in accordance with the provisions of this Act the meeting shall thereupon proceed to elect a committee consisting of not less than three nor more than seven persons the majority of whom shall be aboriginal natives who shall thereupon elect a chairman and report the proceedings of the meeting to the Colonial Secretary shall notify in the kahiti that such district is an Educational District under this Act and the committee elected as aforesaid shall be called the District School Committee of such district.

As mentioned earlier these sections of the 1867 Native Schools Act provide overt examples

of aspects of legislation that served to isolate M ori women from crucial areas of decision-

making and therefore from actively exercising their rangatiratanga in respect to the access

of M ori children to schooling and to the structures (i.e. committees) which then served to

provide for the establishment of native schools within their areas. Furthermore, the

introduction of State, controlled and operated, schooling did not alter the way in which the

curriculum was constructed to achieve the domestification of M ori girls. M ori girls were

expected to learn the 'appropriate' values and skills of 'civilised young ladies' and this task

was linked explicably to the expectation that they would be considered more suitable and

attractive to men; M ori men. In order to clearly illustrate the dominant prevailing ideologies of

the time the following quotes have been taken from the Appendices to Journals of the House

of Representatives. Selected from a range of reports and letters these statements show

emphatically that the marginalisation of M ori girls and women, through P keh schooling,

occurred systematically through the imposition of domestication and assimilation agendas.

A key process through which these were imposed were through the construction of

curriculum. M ori girls and women were taught domestic skills which often included the

making of clothing for the school775 , cooking, washing, ironing, embroidery and other skills

deemed appropriate for girls.776 In the 1860 report on K hanga School in Waikato it was

775 The Three Kings School AJHR 1860 E4, Government Printer, Wellington 776 St. Annes School,Freemans Bay AJHR 1860 E4, Government Printer, Wellington

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noted the girls were “thoroughly instructed… in every branch of domestic usefulness”.777 A

general summation of the attitude to M ori children’s education in the report on Otawhao

School in 1862.

I feel anxious to train the children in industrial pursuits, especially in sheep farming and the management of cattle. Simply to fill the head with knowledge, without imparting industrious habits, would in my opinion, prove rather injurious than beneficial to the Maori race. Every boy educated in the school ought to leave it possessed also of a knowledge of the management of sheep and cattle, and of ploughing, reaping, mowing, sewing, &c. Unite education with industrial training; prepare the boy or girl for the position you expect them to fill in life, and under such management there is reason to believe that our exertions will not be thrown away; the schools will become centres for the promotion of Christianity and civilisation amongst the surrounding tribes.778

1880 Native Schools Code

The 1880 Native Schools Code saw a shift in the 1867 requirement which required that a

"considerable number of the male adult native inhabitants" request the establishment of a

native schools to one which provided for "at least ten Maoris, actually residing in any

locality, petition the Minister of Education for a Native School" and if those petitioners

provided at least two acres of land and committed to contribute toward building costs as

required by the Government. The change in wording however did little to shift the wider

colonial ideologies of assimilation and social control agendas. The continued assumption of

the male makeup of the committees is shown in the following extract taken from the Code

(1) In every district there shall be a committee of five persons, elected annually by the parents of the children in the district. The committee-men shall all be Maoris or half-castes, unless it be otherwise allowed by the government.779

Although removing the explicit legislative requirements there continued the more insidious

ideological assertions of dominant P keh gender beliefs through the assumption that those

on the committees would be men and that M ori girls and women be provided with domestic

training. Furthermore there existed, within the code, a contention that those appointed to take

charge of the schools would be "a married couple, the husband to act as master of the

school, and the wife as sewing mistress” and that the ‘master’ and ‘the wife’ would model

appropriate behaviour both within the school and the wider community in order to exercise a

“beneficial influence on all the natives in their district”.780A memorandum outlining

expectations for Native Schools teachers was circulated to all Native Schools and outlined the

requirement that teachers prioritise their role in the assimilation process. The memorandum stated;

Besides giving due attention to the school instruction of the children, teachers will be expected to exercise a beneficial influence on the Natives, old and young; to show by their own conduct that it is possible to live a useful and blameless life, and in smaller matters, by

777 Kohanga School, Waikato AJHR 1860 E4, Government Printer, Wellington 778 Otawhao School, AJHR 1862 E4, Government Printer, Wellington 779 The Native Schools Code AJHR 1880 H1f, Government Printer, Wellington 780 ibid.

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their dress, in their houses, and by their manners and habits at home and abroad, to set the Maoris an example that they may advantageously imitate.781

The role of the teacher and their family as models for M ori was well entrenched by the

Code, with the conduct of the teacher being regarded as essential in order to ensure that

P keh values and customes become embedded into M ori thinking and practices. The

curriculum content expected was to maintain the already established policy that English be the

language of instruction and continue the industrial training objective which although not

outlined clearly for boys was again made explicit for M ori girls, who were expected to

move through various levels of proficiency in sewing.782 This was further extended by the

notification that M ori girls could be ‘received’ into the homes of married teachers where they

would learn “the work of the house” for a period of three to six months.

Schooling as Colonial Trojan Horses

According to Linda Tuhiwai Smith783

schools were placed in the heart of M ori communities

like Trojan horses as a part of the wider assimilation and social control agendas. Their task was

to destroy the less visible aspects of M ori life: beliefs, value systems and the spiritual bonds that

connected people to each other and their environment. They were to be replaced by another set