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Contested realities
McIntosh, Tracey
McIntosh, Tracey
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dmcintos.pdf
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Abstract
"This form of questioning contains an interesting policy dimension. As a young person it was asked of me within the context of assimilation. If I could pass as Pakeha3 then why persist in being seen as Maori if this serves only to act as an obstacle to my becoming a full, contributing member of New Zealand society . A call for all to be New Zealanders was a call for Maori to embrace Pakeha values and societal structures while carving out a space of inclusion for (non-threatening) aspects of Maori culture. To sing Pokarekare Ana4, even if you did not know what the words meant, was seen, particularly by Pakeha, as signifying the unity and particularity of our joint cultures. It was portrayed as a token of the way we embraced each other s culture. Actually, it only signified tokenism. The question posed in this context reflected a belief that New Zealand had the best race relations in the world. As Ranginui Walker has noted the ideology of one people functioned to hide the relationship of Pakeha dominance and Maori subjection (Walker 1990:186). Later I was asked the same question laced with suspicion and cynicism. Framed within a heightened awareness of historical grievances and Maori claims my self-definition as Maori was thought by some to be about accessing resources and privileges reserved for Maori. Calls for us to be one people now come from those who believe that Maori have preferential treatment at the expense of non-Maori. For many Pakeha any initiative that seeks to redress Maori disadvantage is seen to be at the great cost of ordinary (read non-Maori) New Zealanders. This has meant that most state social policy has steered away from using affirmative action rhetoric, instead speaking of targeting Maori problems rather than redressing systemic disadvantage. The stigmatizing of the Maori condition leads to further individual and collective degradation. The different ways my Maoriness has been perceived over time mirrors current political and policy debates. The way I understand myself as Maori may have little in common with ways that non-Maori understand me. This raises a number of issues, particularly in regard to notions of homogenous ethnic identity. While not disputing the idea that to be Maori means that one would recognize or acknowledge the significance of certain things (for example, whakapapa, iwi/hapu affiliations, te reo, kawa, tikanga)5 it does not mean that to identify as Maori means that one is absorbed into an undifferentiated ethnic mass. My identity as Maori is inextricably caught up with my working class background and the fact that I am a woman."(pg 4)
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2001-09-03
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With permission of the license/copyright holder