Raranga Wha: Mana whenua, mana moana and mixedness in a Māori/Pacific whānau.

Abstract

Pacific migrants have arrived on the shores of Aotearoa/New Zealand in significant numbers since the 1940s. Many sailed Te Moana Nui a Kiwa (the Pacific Ocean) searching for the possibility of a better life, educational opportunities and an envisioned future. Some Pacific migrants intermarried with indigenous Māori, and produced mixed ethnic Māori-Pacific offspring. In this chapter, the intergenerational identities of one mixed Māori/Fijian/Samoan/Pākehā whānau (family) are explored through the narrative lens of three generations of individuals. Māori and Pacific research models, including decolonizing methodologies and talanoa, underpinned the research process. Whānau members discussed their intergenerational migrant journeying, their fluid identities and their rich cultural heritages. Using an auto-ethnographic methodological approach, the intergenerational whānau engaged in critical dialogue within a ‘safe space’ where multivoices were acknowledged and embraced. As narratives were deconstructed, questions and new meanings emerged, and differing perspectives were co-reconstructed.