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New Zealand's indigenous Māori were colonized by the British (now referred to as Pākehā). Scant systematic investigation addresses bicultural/biracial identity for Māori who identify with ethnic groups other than Pākehā. Taking a narrative approach and applying thematic analysis, this paper explores interviews with forty-four Māori Italians, conducted in New Zealand in 2013. We show how Māori Italians negotiate the challenge of constructing positive ethnic identities in a milieu where ethnic hybridity has been defined primarily in relation to the Māori-Pākehā colonial encounter. Focusing on racism and stigma, we demonstrate that Māori Italians run a gauntlet of identity challenges shaped by socio-political contexts. Conversely, Māori Italians draw boundaries between themselves and the dominant Pākehā culture and draw from both Māori and Italian identities to buffer discrimination from Māori, Pākehā, and Italians. Our analysis reveals a multiplicity of interpretations of Māori-Italian identity not yet articulated in social psychology or New Zealand literature.

This article discusses intergenerational transformations in personal identity for New Zealand's indigenous Māori and links these to macro-societal (political, economic and cultural) changes in New Zealand society. Data is drawn from the life stories of 35 Māori women aged 18 to 78. Women born prior to 1950 and raised in traditional Māori communities interpreted Māori identity as related to communal economics, resourcefulness and Māori spiritual beliefs. Those born after 1960, raised in urban (multi-cultural) communities struggled to form a positive sense of being Māori during their formative years and reported ‘dislocation’ from their Māori identities as adults. Those born after the 1970s expressed strong political views that reflected their early exposure to affirmative ideologies regarding Māori rights to equality. Marked differences in women's stories highlight the overarching influence of Māori identity politics at a collective level for personal interpretations of what it means to be Māori.

A diversity of perspectives and wide variety of cultural and social features characterize Māori society and there is no one consensus view held by Māori in relation to gender roles, political orientations, or Māori/government (or state) relations. Both Māori women and men have shared in the struggle to assert Māori resistance to colonial encroachment and one gender cannot be elevated over the other. Moreover, Māori views and perspectives on the different roles of Māori men and women are contested and differ tribally and between individuals. This entry describes aspects of precolonial Māori society that shaped traditional values and discusses key sociohistorical factors shaping gender roles among Māori. A focus on the contribution of Māori women to Māori development and advancement is offered. The relationship between Māori identity, culture, and the New Zealand government (or state) is highlighted throughout.

This is a collection of papers by senior Maori academics who are experts and have considerable mana in their chosen fields. The ten contributing authors, who are academics at Massey University, discuss the Maori language, marae, religion, the Treaty of Waitangi, the State and Maori, citizenship education, mental health, the health workforce, kaitiakitanga and horticulture. The book discusses Maori development and contemporary issues concerning Maori, both from the authors' perspectives and across different disciplines.

"Documenting the early days of the Rapaki Maori Women's Welfare League, this recollection strives to authenticate the oral histories of the early members that created the opportunity for Maori and Pakeha women to meet and trade skills. As membership of the branch changes, fewer and fewer people can speak with authority on the league's evolution, but this history chronicles the available facts and anecdotes that demonstrate the development of this important union."

This paper explores the theoretical perspective of a Maori world view as it relates to power relations between men and women and the role of women in customary society. It is argued that insights regarding the nature of power relations may be gained from an analysis of the cosmological narratives. Such analysis provide theoretical understandings about the position, status and role of Maori women in customary society. The position of women as powerful, autonomous, independent beings and as bearers of knowledge are recurring themes that continue to have relevance today. Definitions of mana wahine and mana whenua are discussed drawing extensively on an analysis of the cosmological narratives. This provides the basis for a discussion on the development of Maori Women's theories. It is concluded that mana wahine expresses what counts as feminism for Maori women and that western feminisms do not adequately address the needs of Maori women. Finally, some comparative perspectives with indigenous women from Australia and North America are outlined.

To standardise the use of a single factor measure of cultural identity based on the cultural indicators developed by Te Hoe Nuku Roa (1996). The single measure of cultural identity proposed in this paper was supported by statistics drawn from a longitudinal study of Maori households, Te Hoe Nuku Roa (n = 650). The measure of cultural identity displayed a normal distribution with a theoretical range of 0 to 18 (where a higher score is consistent with a more secure identity), a mean of 11, and a SD of 2. 7. The measure is expected to be particularly useful in understanding Maori cultural identity within a statistical framework.

The Local Government Act 2002 explicitly requires Māori contributions to local authority decision-making processes. Seven years on, it is timely to review the outcomes of the new statutory provisions and to consider Māori aspirations in relation to local political participation. This paper describes research that was carried out to investigate Māori participation in local elections and other forms of decision-making. Focus groups were conducted with four main types of Māori electors: urban Māori and rural Māori aged 25 years and over, and 18-24 years old Māori engaged in tertiary education or the workforce. The focus groups were part of a wider project on local political participation which explored linkages between what people know about local government and their participation in local government. Focus groups (hui rangahau) proved to be a particularly valuable vehicle for engaging with Māori youth (rangatahi Māori) about their participation in local authority decision-making. The purpose of this paper is to report the findings on the views of rangatahi Māori about local political participation, and offers reflections on the utility of the focus group methodology. The research highlights a number of strategies that local authorities can deploy to reduce the barriers to voting and other forms of participation experienced by Māori youth. Improved engagement with Māori youth is vital to ensure that Māori contributions to decision-making processes do not remain under-developed in future.

Within the indigenous paradigm lies a paradox over what constitutes legitimate Māori authority: Iwi structures are legitimated and recognised by the state, and traditional forms (for example, Hapū and Māori women), have had their authority diminished. Iwi authorities are colonial constructs that diminish the rights of Hapū and Māori women. The manner in which such constructs have come about generally has not involved tribewide debate over important issues in which Hapū and Māori women have an interest. For their legitimacy, emergent self-governing structures will need to be grounded in principles that ensure legitimate representation of Māori people and not socially constructed hybrids of a colonial past. Structures need to recognise Hapū and Māori women in the formulation, anything less than this will trigger a legitimation crisis.

"Since colonisation, New Zealand has been mythologised as a 'land of milk and honey' - a promised land of natural abundance and endless opportunity. In the twenty-first century, the country has become literally a land of milk and honey as agricultural exports from such commodities dominate the national economy. But does New Zealand live up to its promise? In this introductory textbook for first year sociology students, some of this country's leading social scientists help us to make sense of contemporary New Zealand. In 21 chapters, the authors examine New Zealand's political identity and constitution; our Māori, Pākehā, Pacific and Asian peoples; problems of class, poverty and inequality; gender and sexualities; and contemporary debates around ageing, incarceration and the environment. The authors find a complex society where thirty years of neoliberal economics and globalising politics have exacerbated inequalities that are differentially experienced by class, ethnicity, gender, sexuality and age. These social divides and problems are at the heart of this text. For sociology students and for a wider audience of New Zealanders, A Land of Milk and Honey? is a lively introduction to where we have come from, where we are now, and where New Zealand society might be headed."

"This volume explores mixed race/mixed ethnic identities in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Mixed race and mixed ethnic identity are growing in popularity as research topics around the world. This edited collection looks at mixed race and mixed ethnic identity in New Zealand: a unique context, as multiple ethnic identities have been officially recognised for more than 20 years. The book draws upon research across a range of disciplines, exploring historical and contemporary ways in which official and social understandings of mixed race and ethnicity have changed. It focuses on the interactions between race, ethnicity, national identity, indigeneity and culture, especially in terms of visibility and self-defined identity in the New Zealand context. Mana Tangatarua situates New Zealand in the existing international scholarship, positioning experiences from New Zealand within theoretical understandings of mixedness. The chapters develop wider theories of mixed race and mixed ethnic identity, at macro and micro levels, looking at the interconnections between the two. The volume as a whole reveals the diverse ways in which mixed race is experienced and understood, providing a key contribution to the theory and development of mixed race globally."