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This collection houses research from Te Pua Wānanga ki te Ao - Faculty of Māori and Indigenous Studies, at the University of Waikato.
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Item Mormonism and the white possessive: Moving critical indigenous studies theory into the religious realm(Journal Article, The Whitestone Foundation, 2022) Simon, HemoperekiThis essay responds to the pressing need to pursue topics related to Mormonism from a research perspective that is at once critical, culturally affirming, and grounded in Indigenous views. The goal here is to provide a theoretical framework for Critical Indigenous Studies perspectives to emerge in Mormon and Lamanite Studies. I therefore submit the following questions as a contribution to and critique of Lamanite Studies within the broader fields of Mormon, Cultural, and Religious Studies: 1. Which theoretical frame(s) from Critical Indigenous Studies is/are best suited to address Lamanite and Mormon issues? 2. How might we reframe current Critical Indigenous Studies Theory to undertake research on Mormon and Western religious topics? To address these questions, the article first outlines its positionality as a basis for understanding Simon’s approach to the research. The bulk of the research here focuses on describing Lamanitism in terms of its relationship to racism and whiteness. The article therefore continues with a description of the figure of Hagoth in The Book of Mormon, with a particular emphasis on their relationship to Te Moana-Nui-ā-Kiwa. From there the article outlines Unger’s theorem of contextuality and considers how Lamanitism might be considered an “artificial context” from a Critical Indigenous Studies perspective. A discussion of the Doctrine of Discovery, Manifest Destiny, and Moana Jackson’s idea of the culture of colonization is followed by a description of the “Racial Contract” and its speculative extension to Indigenous adherents of the Mormon Church. The article then explicates important and interrelated tikanga values from Te Ao Māori such as tapu and mana. Lastly, the article identifies the “white possessive” as a key doctrine for Critical Indigenous Studies and undertakes a reworking of the doctrine for its application to the Mormon Church. More specifically, I transmute the notion “white patriarchal sovereignty” into “white patriarchal salvation” in order to tailor it to critical Indigenous discussions of the Church. In my conclusion I attempt to answer the question – What is to be done? I assert that the Church is in conflict with the cultural revival of Te Ao Māori and the idea of “original instructions.” The Church’s claim to salvific truth and thinking is contradicted by my very identity and culturally informed ontology. The ensuing discussion confirms that as a colonizing entity the Church operates parallel to the government as a co-invading force in Indigenous lands. The idea of a Lamanite people as Polynesians, which includes Māori is called into question. I provide a continuum model to explain Indigenous realities in relation to religiosity and decolonization and suggest some topics as case studies for further investigation. The true purpose of this article is to facilitate the integration of critical Indigenous with Mormon and/or Lamanite Studies to bring about much-needed dialogue, discussion, and debate on the place of indigeneity in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.Item Chris Finlayson and James Christmas, He Kupu Taurangi(Journal Article, Australian, Canadian, and New Zealand Studies Network (ACNZSN), 2022) Simon, HemoperekiTwenty-five years on from the Ngāi Tahu Treaty settlement this book authored by Former Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Hon. Chris Finlayson QC and Senior Ministerial Advisor James Christmas seems timely to capture the modern history and processes of the Treaty Settlement here in Aotearoa New Zealand. After all, the effects of these settlements is driving change economically, socially, environmentally, and politically, not only within hapū and iwi but nationally.Item Hoea te waka ki uta: Critical kaupapa māori research and mormon studies moving forward(Journal Article, York University Libraries, 2021) Simon, HemoperekiThe following is a reflective commentary on the place of Critical Indigenous Studies, with a focus on Kaupapa Māori Research, within Mormon Studies. Specifically, the piece explores the following questions: What does Kaupapa Māori Research look like when engaging in Mormon Studies? What positionality needs to be taken by Kaupapa Māori researchers and Critical Indigenous scholars when engaging in Mormon Studies? What are the main areas Critical Indigenous scholars and Kaupapa Māori scholars should engage when tackling issues around Mormonism? These questions are important in light of the growing importance of the cultural renaissance in Te Ao Māori and the rise of Kaupapa Māori Research.Item A Kaupapa Māori intervention on apology for LDS church's racism, zombie concepts, and moving forward(Journal Article, Informa UK Limited, 2023) Simon, HemoperekiThis intervention paper, based on the Kaupapa Māori writing inquiry, aims to offer an alternative path forward to the idea that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints should apologise for its racism. It argues that an apology is redundant to the Indigenous World. The goal is for better Church-Indigenous relations in the face of racism rooted in The Book of Mormon, Church Policy, doctrine, teachings, and theology. The author develops a positionality and outlines mahi tuhituhi as a Kaupapa Māori (post) qualitative writing inquiry. The Author then moves to contextualise these issues by framing them with what sociologists describe as Zombie Concepts. A brief overview of the Book of Mormon and its significance in Mormonism is provided. Following that, an understanding of the connection between Aileen Moreton-Robinson's white possessive and Lamanitism is provided. Hagoth and his relationship with Tāngata Moana (Māori and Pacific Peoples) is then addressed. Recent remarks by Thomas Murphy to help readers understand the racism in the Book of Mormon. Other issues for Indigenous Peoples are highlighted, with an emphasis on anachronisms and the Book of Mormon's plagiarism. The investigation then shifts to provide Veracini's commentary on settling to build relationality is discussed from the viewpoint of Aotearoa New Zealand. A discussion of the issues is followed by an outline of the research's consequences, which include seven issues that need to be addressed as part of the relationality building in order to create a collaborative future values-based project to move Church-Indigenous relations forward in a positive way.Item The critical juncture in Aotearoa New Zealand and the collective future: Policy issues in settler/invader colonial zombiism found in “biculturalism”(Journal Article, Queensland University of Technology, 2022) Simon, HemoperekiThis theoretical Kaupapa Māori writing inquiry study seeks to explore the settler colonial nature of Aotearoa New Zealand. The research finds that biculturalism, as a neo-liberal and settler-colonial construct does not provide for either tino rangatiratanga or mana motuhake. Indeed, biculturalism fails to provide for indigenous inclusion and actively suppresses the recognition of mana motuhake. Biculturalism is found to fit Beck’s definition of Zombie Concepts. These are social concepts that are dead and yet kept alive in their use by scholars and society to describe the growing fiction of traditional social institutions and in being kept alive maintain, in this case, settler colonial and colonial power structures. The main argument is that Biculturalism is neoliberal and settler colonial public discourse, that needs to be unpacked and then discarded because it does not provide for tino rangatiranga or mana motuhake.Item Everyday experiences of racism: Suppressing Māori cultural expressions in mental health(Report, Te Atawhai o Te Ao, 2022) Southey, Kim MarieTēnā kautau i runga i ngā tini āhuatanga o te wā. This publication has been produced as part of the He Kokonga Ngākau Fellowships, an initiative of Te Atawhai o Te Ao that seeks to support and contribute to our research projects, and grow Māori research capability that promotes Kaupapa Māori research. These fellowships have been established to support Māori postgraduate students, practitioners, community researchers, and writers in their writing on kaupapa that have relevance to our organisation and wider community. Dr Kim Southey (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kuia) draws on her doctoral research on re-presenting Māori and Indigenous understandings of being, and deconstructing the notion of mental illness. This publication focuses on how Māori and Indigenous expressions within the mental (and wider) health system are suppressed and restricted by a dominant (western) worldview. Dr Southey posits that the western insistence on representing things in the world through rational, logical explanations impacts on Māori cultural understandings, limiting how we can express ourselves. This is viewed by Dr Southey as a form of institutional racism.Publication Systemic racism and oppression in psychology: Voices from psychologists, academic staff, and students(Report, WERO and the University of Waikato, 2024) Waitoki, Waikaremoana; Tan, Kyle K. H.; Hamley, Logan; Stolte, Ottilie Emma Elisabeth; Chan, Joanna; Scarf, DamianPsychology must reassess its training approach, as the current monocultural paradigm not only causes harm, but also fails to equip psychologists with the knowledge needed to provide culturally appropriate care for Māori, Pacific, Asian, and other minoritised groups. Findings from this report contribute to the growing evidence of the urgent need to address barriers preventing Māori, Pacific, Asian, and other minoritised groups from participating effectively in professional psychology programmes. This report calls for action for everyone in psychology to embrace the changes needed to improve the cultural safety of the discipline and hold ourselves accountable for supporting the development of Te Tiriti-aligned psychology.Publication Ki te kapu o taku ringa - In the palm of my hand(Book, Rodrigo Hill and the authors, 2024) Hill, Rodrigo; Roa, TomThis publication accompanies the launching of our exhibition 'Ki te Kapu o Taku Ringa - In the Palm of My Hand' at the Ōtorohanga Museum in June 2024. The title is taken from a line of King Tāwhiao's song-poem 'Maioha mō Waikato'. Ejected from their homelands he and his Waikato brethren took refuge with their Maniapoto relations in Te Nehenehenui; parts of which are mentioned in the song-poem. Teh 'maioha' was composed expressing King Tāwhiao's love for his homelands, and his solastagic holding fast to those lands '...in the palm of his hand.'Publication Aroha(Composition, 2020-02-06) Maxwell, Te KahautuWaita Tira. Lyrics composed by Te Kahautu Maxwell, muscial score composed by Raharuha Mitai, Thomas Mitai, Renee Mitai. Performed by Ōpōtiki Mai Tawhiti (Kapa Haka group) (3mins) Waiata ā Tira: Aroha Whakaeke: Pinepine Te Kura Mōteatea: Tērā te haeata Waiata ā Ringa: Tiaho Mai Poi: E ia, e ia Haka: Ranginui Whakawātea: Te Tiriti o WaitangiPublication Ngā Pakanga mō Wāhi Tapu: Battles over sacred places(Chapter in Book, Otago University Press, 2011) Joseph, RobertWāhi tapu are the sacred places of Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand. All cultures have sacred sites such as cemeteries, significant battlefields, and places of spiritual significance. Standout examples internationally include the ‘Weeping Wall’ in the Holy Land, Stonehenge in Britain, Maraeātea in the Pacific, and Intihuatana at Macchu Picchu in Peru. But unlike these sites, wāhi tapu are rarely a visible structure but rather a site or area within the landscape with values so significant that restrictions are warranted. In law, wāhi tapu are defined as a ‘place of special significance according to tikanga Māori’ and ‘a place sacred to Māori in the traditional, spiritual, religious, ritual, or mythological sense’. As the aphorism above emphasises, Māori historically were willing to die for land (and for women of course!), and wāhi tapu are the most sacred of places. Many battles have been fought over actual or proposed transgressions of their sacredness. In earlier years, blood was shed and men did die; today battles tend to occur in the Environment Court, but are just as passionate. Recent decades have seen conflicts where wāhi tapu were threatened by new highways, railroads, airports, prisons, residential and commercial developments, wind farms, power stations and waste dumps. In this chapter, I discuss a number of the battles that have been fought over the development or preservation of wāhi tapu from first European contact up until the present time. I highlight the growing legal recognition of tikanga Māori in relation to these sacred landscapes, and conclude with a proposed pragmatic solution for all New Zealanders when negotiating developments over wāhi tapu. Having a background in law and tribal affiliations, I discuss these tensions from both legal and kaupapa Māori perspectives.Publication Te Tiriti o Waitangi(Composition, 2024-02-23) Maxwell, Te KahautuWhakawātea. Lyrics composed by Te Kahautu Maxwell. Performed by Ōpōtiki Mai Tawhiti (Kapa Haka group) Waiata ā Tira: Aroha Whakaeke: Pinepine Te Kura Mōteatea: Tērā te haeata Waiata ā Ringa: Tiaho Mai Poi: E ia, e ia Haka: Ranginui Whakawātea: Te Tiriti o WaitangiPublication Aroha(Composition, 2023-02-22) Maxwell, Te KahautuWaita Tira (choral), Lyrics composed by Te Kahautu Maxwell and Performed by Ōpotoki Mai Tawhiti (Kapa Haka group) Waiata ā Tira: Aroha Whakaeke: Pinepine Te Kura, Hau Te Kura Mōteatea: Te Ao o Te Pārerā Waiata ā Ringa: E pā to reo, Te Matatini, Herewini Parata Poi: E ia e ia Haka: Te Kōtiritiri, Te Kōtaratara Whakawātea: Ōranga Tōiti, tōnui kōreroPublication E ia, e ia(Composition, 2023-02-22) Maxwell, Te KahautuPoi, Lyrics composed by Te Kahautu Maxwell, Musical score composed by Te Whānau Mitai. Performed by Ōpōtiki Mai Tawhiti (Kapa Haka group) (3mins) Waiata ā Tira: Aroha Whakaeke: Pinepine Te Kura, Hau Te Kura Mōteatea: Te Ao o Te Pārerā Waiata ā Ringa: E pā to reo, Te Matatini, Herewini Parata Poi: E ia e ia Haka: Te Kōtiritiri, Te Kōtaratara Whakawātea: Ōranga Tōiti, tōnui kōreroPublication E pā tō reo e Te Matatini, Herewini Parata(Composition, 2023-02-22) Maxwell, Te KahautuWaita ā-ringa (action song) Lyrics composed by Te Kahautu Maxwell, Musical score composed by Te Whānau Mitai, Eric Kurei. Performed by Ōpōtiki Mai Tawhiti (Kapa Haka group) (3mins) Waiata ā Tira: Aroha Whakaeke: Pinepine Te Kura, Hau Te Kura Mōteatea: Te Ao o Te Pārerā Waiata ā Ringa: E pā to reo, Te Matatini, Herewini Parata Poi: E ia e ia Haka: Te Kōtiritiri, Te Kōtaratara Whakawātea: Ōranga Tōiti, tōnui kōreroPublication Pinepine te Kura(Composition, 2023-02-22) Maxwell, Te KahautuWhakaeke (entrance). Lyrics/Musical Score composed and choreographed by Te Kahautu Maxwell. Performed by Ōpōtiki Mai Tawhiti (Kapa Haka group) (3mins) Waiata ā Tira: Aroha Whakaeke: Pinepine Te Kura, Hau Te Kura Mōteatea: Te Ao o Te Pārerā Waiata ā Ringa: E pā to reo, Te Matatini, Herewini Parata Poi: E ia e ia Haka: Te Kōtiritiri, Te Kōtaratara Whakawātea: Ōranga Tōiti, tōnui kōreroPublication Te Kōtiritiri, Te Kōtaratara(Composition, 2023-02-22) Maxwell, Te KahautuHaka. Lyrics composed by Te Kahautu Maxwell. Performed by Ōpōtiki Mai Tawhiti (Kapa Haka group) (3mins) Waiata ā Tira: Aroha Whakaeke: Pinepine Te Kura, Hau Te Kura Mōteatea: Te Ao o Te Pārerā Waiata ā Ringa: E pā to reo, Te Matatini, Herewini Parata Poi: E ia e ia Haka: Te Kōtiritiri, Te Kōtaratara Whakawātea: Ōranga Tōiti, tōnui kōreroPublication Tīaho mai(Composition, 2024) Maxwell, Te KahautuWaiata ā Ringa (action song). Lyrics composed by Te Kahautu Maxwell. Performed by Ōpōtiki Mai Tawhiti (Kapa Haka group)Publication Āio(Composition, 2020-02-06) Maxwell, Te KahautuWhakawātea. Lyrics by Te Kahautu Maxwell. Musical score by Thomas Mitai. Performed by Ōpōtiki Mai Tawhiti (Kapa Haka group) Waiata Tira: Aroha Whakaeke: Haere mai rā Mōteatea: Te Pātere a Te Turuki Poi: Iarararararī Waiata ā ringa: Taku Mana Māori Motuhake Haka: Waiwharangi Whakawātea: ĀioPublication Waiwharangi(Composition, 2020-02-06) Maxwell, Te KahautuHaka. Lyrics/Musical score composed by Te Kahautu Maxwell. Performed by Ōpōtiki Mai Tawhiti (Kapa Haka group) (4mins) Waiata: Tira Aroha Whakaeke: Haere mai rā Mōteatea: Te Pātere a Te Turuki Poi: Iarararararī Waiata ā ringa: Taku Mana Māori Motuhake Haka: Waiwharangi Whakawātea: ĀioPublication Taku Mana Māori Motuhake(Composition, 2020-02-06) Maxwell, Te KahautuWaiata ā ringa (action song). Lyrics composed by Te Kahautu Maxwell. Musical score composed by Te Whānau Mitai, Te Kahautu Maxwell. Performed by Ōpōtiki Mai Tawhiti (Kapa Haka group) (3mins) Waiata: Tira Aroha Whakaeke: Haere mai rā Mōteatea: Te Pātere a Te Turuki Poi: Iarararararī Waiata ā ringa: Taku Mana Māori Motuhake Haka: Waiwharangi Whakawātea: Āio