Sustaining Indigeneity in New Zealand: Efforts to Assimilate the Maori 1894-2022

Sustaining Indigeneity in New Zealand is a revised collection of ten essays by Steven Webster that address national policies and indigeneity movements through a lens of class inequality. The essays cover topics such as the assimilation of the Māori, the Māori renaissance, neoliberal subversion of Māori fishing rights, the struggles of Nāi Tūhoe, and commodity fetishism. The book is of interest to activists, scholars, and students of anthropology, history, sociology, political studies, and ethnic studies.

Format: Unspecified
Length: 408 pages
Publication date: 31 August 2023
Publisher: Peter Lang Publishing Inc

Sustaining Indigeneity in New Zealand is a comprehensive and revised collection of ten essays by Steven Webster, all written since 1998. These essays collectively explore national policies and indigenous movements through the lens of class inequality. Webster delves into the efforts to assimilate the Māori since the introduction of neoliberal policies in the 1980s, with a particular focus on the ways the Māori and their supporters have resisted or subverted these policies.

The book addresses various topics, including:

• The historical suppression of Māori culture in the 1850s, which obscured their assimilation.
• The Māori renaissance of the later twentieth century, marking a resurgence of Māori identity and culture.
• The neoliberal subversion of Māori fishing rights, highlighting the challenges faced by Māori communities in preserving their traditional livelihoods.
• The struggles of Nāi Tūhoe, a tribe that won control of their ancestral lands under a benevolent administration but lost it under a predatory successor. However, they regained their lands in 2014 through legal battles and political activism.
• Commodity fetishism and the ways in which Māori resist and challenge commodification, both within their communities and in broader societal contexts.

This book offers valuable insights to activists, scholars, undergraduate and graduate students of anthropology, history, sociology, political studies, and ethnic studies. It provides a comprehensive examination of key episodes in Māori indigeneity movements and sheds light on the ongoing challenges and struggles faced by indigenous communities in New Zealand.

Weight: 716g
Dimension: 156 x 235 x 29 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781433198878
Edition number: New ed