We never went to the supermarket: A whanau oral history in kai reclamation in the Waipā

Abstract

Food is an essential part of life and identity; kai forms the foundations of our relationships with one another and with the natural world. In this research I explore my whānau relationship with kai and kai sovereignty to better understand long lasting effects of urbanisation, industrialisation and colonisation. This thesis centres oral histories and lived experiences of multiple generations of my whānau, from the 1950 onwards. This research comes from a personal desire to understand the roots of my relationship with kai and my Māori identity. By examining the forces that have reshaped the Waipā into a farming dominated landscape, I consider the impacts of colonisation on mahinga kai practices and in turn on kai sovereignty within my own life and that of my whānau. Through these intergenerational kōrero, I highlight that kai sovereignty is not only a critical response to food insecurity, but also a pathway toward cultural renewal, strengthened autonomy, and collective wellbeing. Although kai sovereignty is grounded in community driven systems and shared reasonability, it is equally enacted through small, everyday practices, gardening, cooking, hunting, fishing sharing kai and other activities that sustain māuranga, reinforce whanaungatanga and reaffirm Māori self-determination over the ways we gather grow, prepare and value our kai.