Te Tiriti Blog

March 13, 2014

Reconfiguring Racism: Conference Review #2

This is part two of a three part series by Elena Meredith about Reconfiguring Anti-racism; Tolerance, Harmony, Inclusion or Justice – an international conference hosted by the Centre for citizenship and globalisation at Deakin University, Melbourne December 2013. Post one summarised her views on the conversation around conference themes ‘Tolerance’ and ‘Harmony’. Part two discusses her experience of the conference discourse around ‘Inclusion’ and ‘Justice’.

Inclusion

Being based in Australia, much of the focus on this aspect was couched in conversations about and experiments on promoting multiculturalism (the “M” word) which was described in populist and political contexts as “being in crisis”. Allan Lentin suggested that this “Australian” view is “the contemporary articulation of racism”. She explored the concepts of:

“good diversity” which is seen to add colour, richness and individuality and can become a USP (Unique Selling Point) and
“bad diversity” which is seen to impede progress, based on the belief that society has been “too tolerant of difference”.

Lentin’s fear is that with an orthodoxy uniting left and right, society may be “sleepwalking to segregation” with a focus on a return to “national values” and a positive teaching of the colonial past. This resonated for me as a familiar scenario and likely outcome in Aotearoa also.

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Reconfiguring Racism: Conference Review #1

This is part one of a series of three posts reviewing Reconfiguring Anti-racism; Tolerance, Harmany, Inclusion or Justice – an international conference hosted by the Centre for citizenship and globalisation at Deakin University, Melbourne December 2013 attended by Elena Meredith.

Associate Professor Yin Paradies, Chair of the organising committee, noted that “this multidisciplinary conference brings together scholars from disciplines as diverse as anthropology; applied theatre….social work; and sociology……[to] debate epistemologies, theories, policies, practices and aporias pertaining to anti-racism as a global phenomenon” (Conference Programme, p3).

The possibility of exploring this continuum in an Australian context, where I myself had never had or heard such a discussion in either personal or professional contexts, both intrigued and attracted me. As a member of Treaty People Network and as an educator for early childhood teachers, I was keen to extend and broaden my understanding of both current research and thinking on anti-racism, as well as meeting and “debating with” a broader range of peoples actively engaged in anti-racism work. So did we one-hundred or so ‘delegates’ find this event “insightful, thought-provoking and even inspiring” (Ibid)?

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February 23, 2014

Talk Matters #2 – Actions not Words – does everyone think this?

“Words, Words, Words, I’m so sick of words. I get words all day long, first from him now from you, is that all you blighters can do?” (Liza Doolittle).[1]

Furious at her treatment by Professor Higgins, Liza erupts when her would-be boyfriend Freddy talks of love. She wants action, NOT words, and demands he – ‘Show me’. Liza is not the only person who wants action not words, who assesses people by what they do rather than what they say.

If, like me, you’re an English speaker, you’re surrounded by pat phrases and familiar comments that encourage you and everyone else to see actions as ‘doing’, as meaning that something is being or has been achieved. Take a pause – how many such phrases or sayings come to mind? Examples off the top of my head are: ‘just a talk shop’, ‘all hot air’, ‘not walking the talk’… and when I ask others, they provide lots more. The ditty that was and apparently still is offered as a response to bullying: ‘Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me’ is a particularly clear example of the encouragement English speakers get to trivialise the power and effects of talk.

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February 14, 2014

Précis of the Constitutional Review Panel Report

A report on a Conversation: He Kōtuinga Kōrero mō Te Kaupapa Ture o Aotearoa

As we had predicted (and hoped), the main outcome seems to be an indication that there needs to be a much longer time span for constitutional conversations to take place, and the Panel indicates a number of ways these conversations could be resourced. ‘The strongest message the Panel heard is that the Government should actively support a continuing conversation about our country’s constitution. The Panel recommends the Government does this by promoting civics, Treaty of Waitangi and citizenship education in our schools and communities and by supporting people to inform themselves about the options for our constitution….. The Government needs to ensure people can find out more about the current constitutional arrangements and options for the future.’

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2014 Joan Cook Memorial State of the Pākehā Nation Essay

Reverend Joan Cook was a well-respected and feisty feminist and Pākehā Tiriti educator who passed away late 2009. She was a founding member of Network Waitangi Whangarei in 1987 and was instrumental in education around Tiriti-based changes to the constitution of the Anglican Church. She was also a member of the Waitangi Action Committee and was arrested at Waitangi in 1983 while delivering a sermon. Joan was the only Pākehā Treaty educator in Northland for many years, reaching out to thousands of community workers.

Each Waitangi Day, a State of the Pākehā Nation essay is commissioned in her memory to reflect on race relations in this country. This year’s Joan Cook Memorial essay Bush whacking for Tiriti Based Justice was penned by Heather Came. Her essay focuses on potential areas of focus for Pākehā wanting to affect change: a) constitutional transformation b) resisting globalisation and the Trans Pacific Partnership c) eliminating institutional racism within the public sector. Heather joins other State of the Pākehā Nation contributors, such as Mitzi Nairn and Jane Kelsey and last years contributor Susan Healy. Previous years essays can be found here.

February 13, 2014

Talk Matters #1 – Taken for granted assumptions

This is the first of a series of postings that are concerned with talk – language in use. The focus of the series is the language that masks the institutional racism imposed by colonists making it seem a natural state of affairs that we can do nothing about. For that reason I start by sketching why language in use is important.

It’s very easy to overlook the effect of words – most of us do that most of the time. It’s as if we think words and language are simply convenient labels for people, events and situations that we already know about. That way of thinking about words and language makes sense, so much so it seems obvious yet there are serious problems with it. Most important of those problems is the presumption that our knowledge about a person, an event, or a situation is separate from or exists apart from any talk about it.

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February 12, 2014

White-washing History with Monuments

This land war monument stands on Symonds St, Auckland, in a triangle of grass and trees at the top of Wakefield Street. As I recall, the lady used to be holding up a laurel wreath, which must have fallen victim to protest or student humor.

When I first encountered it I should think I must have been five years old. I was excited to be in a city where even the buildings had writing on them! I was into reading in a big way, and my patient mother was no doubt glad of a few minutes to pause in front of a whole page of challenge.

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January 28, 2014

New Zealand Exemplars of Anti-Racism Best Practice

Tāmaki Tiriti Workers recently responded to a request from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) to submit an exemplar of anti-racism best practice. The OHCHR works to promote and protect the human rights that are guaranteed under international law and stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Within our submission we highlighted a range of work carried out by Treaty workers across New Zealand including:

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December 23, 2013

Belated Response to Muriel Newman on Institutional Racism

I recently stumbled upon a disturbing blog posted on 14th July 2013 by Dr Muriel Newman from the right-wing think tank New Zealand Centre for Political Research. It was about a subject I am passionate about – institutional racism. Her post is riddled with misinformation and factual inaccuracies that, in the interests of informed debate, I feel moved to unravel for the discerning reader.

The following points address only a handful of the inaccuracies in her post.

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October 11, 2013

Colonial Myths: ‘He iwi kotahi tātou’

On 6^th February 1840, Governor Hobson is reported to have first proclaimed the famous words “he iwi kotahi tātou” to Māori rangatira as they signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi. These words have often been translated to mean ‘we are one people’ and have had an enduring impact on our colonial relationships.