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Unsettling Pākehā Fragility

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Unsettling Pākehā Fragility Copyright is owned by the Author of the thesis. Permission is given for a copy to be downloaded by an individual for the purpose of research and private study only. The thesis may not be reproduced elsewhere without the permission of the Author. UNSETTLING PAKEH¯ A¯ FRAGILITY A THESIS PRESENTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTEROF ARTS IN POLITICS AT MASSEY UNIVERSITY,NEW ZEALAND. Penny Leach September 4, 2020 Ethics statement This project has been evaluated by peer review and judged to be low risk. Consequently it has not been reviewed by one of the University’s Human Ethics Committees. The researcher(s) named in this document are responsible for the ethical conduct of this research. If you have any concerns about the conduct of this research that you want to raise with someone other than the researcher(s), please contact Professor Craig Johnson, Director (Research Ethics), email [email protected]. ii Abstract In this thesis, I explore the way that Pakeh¯ a¯ (settler) identity can act as a barrier to, or alternatively, as motivation for, engaging with colonialism and decolonisation in Aotearoa New Zealand. I also discuss Pakeh¯ a¯ conscientisation, and how Pakeh¯ a¯ can continue to hold ourselves accountable on this non-linear journey. I construct a composite epistemology drawing from interpretivism with an explic- itly structural element, critical feminism and action research with a Baradian twist. This is used to explore the journeys of seven participants grappling with being Pakeh¯ a,¯ discovering their complicity in colonial structures and practices, and imagining differ- ent ways of being and decolonised futures. I search for their edges of comfort, and at times, our conversations enable an evaluation of previously uninterrogated positions. As a Pakeh¯ a¯ researcher, studying other Pakeh¯ a,¯ while trying not to re-entrench colonial structures, I am conscious of the need to try to engage ethically in this topic alongside my participants as we work on ourselves and each other. The Baradian ac- tion research element imagines participants as accomplices in a broader project of understanding our complicity in colonialism and disrupting our own Pakeh¯ a¯ defen- siveness. This approach accounts for the inevitability that our encounters facilitate change, in both the researcher and the participants, through involvement in the thesis. I draw heavily on literature across the themes of whiteness, white fragility, settler colonialism, Pakeh¯ a¯ identity, ignorance, uncertainty, discomfort and ethical engage- ment. I find that there is a high degree of alignment between the theory and the experi- ences of my participants. This holds both in terms of the problem space they recognise in Aotearoa, and the way they navigate complicity, seek to make space, catch ongoing colonial processes in their own ways of being and reach toward uncertain futures. iii Acknowledgements During the editing of this thesis, one of my editors said to me, “writing is a collabora- tive process”. While this is an absolutely true statement, I would extend the scope to include not just writing, but the entire masters journey. With that in mind, I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to the following people: To Elizabeth Kerekere, Jack McDonald, Kelsey Lee, Marama Davidson and Wiremu Winitana, who over the years have generously shared with me their perspectives on colonialism from a Maori¯ point of view, and have been patient and gentle with my questions and challenged and pushed me when I needed it. To my participants, for sharing their experiences and thoughts with me so openly and with such insight and thoughtfulness, at times sitting in discomfort and then delv- ing into where it came from and telling me. To Michalia Arathimos, my shining example of the possibility of juggling academia with parenting and everything else, and for all the complicated, messy, challenging conversations we have had. To my colleagues, Ann Shacklady-Smith, Gwen Shaw and particularly Wiremu Wini- tana, who picked up the slack for me on days I was concentrating on writing. To Elizabeth Kerekere and Michalia Arathimos, for the time, love and energy they put in to editing this thesis, being brutal and making me kill my darlings. To my supervisor Bethan Greener, for picking me up when I was supervisorless, being staunchly beside me when I was buffeted, and keeping me tethered to the di- mension of the possible, always with humour. To my parents Foss Leach and Janet Davidson, husband Martin Krafft and daugh- ters Veronika and Melanie, for childcare, closed doors, absent weekends, support, love, printing and cheering on. Thank you all so, so much. iv Contents Contents v 1 Introduction1 1.1 Purpose....................................... 1 1.2 Research objectives ................................ 2 1.3 Background..................................... 3 1.4 Structure of the thesis............................... 5 2 Literature Review6 2.1 Introduction .................................... 6 2.2 Whiteness, white privilege and white fragility................. 6 2.3 Settler colonist states and identities....................... 8 2.4 Pakeh¯ a¯ identities..................................11 2.5 Uncertainty and ignorance............................14 2.6 Discomfort .....................................16 2.7 Anti-racism, allyship and ethics.........................18 2.8 Conclusion .....................................21 3 Epistemology 22 3.1 Introduction ....................................22 3.2 Interpretivism ...................................22 3.3 Critical feminist epistemologies.........................24 3.4 Action research...................................25 3.5 Conclusion .....................................28 v Contents vi 4 Method 29 4.1 Introduction ....................................29 4.2 Participants as accomplices ...........................29 4.3 Sampling ......................................31 4.4 Interviewing ....................................32 4.5 Participants.....................................32 4.5.1 Andrew...................................33 4.5.2 Beatrice ..................................33 4.5.3 Charlotte..................................33 4.5.4 David....................................33 4.5.5 Eddie....................................34 4.5.6 Fabienne..................................34 4.5.7 George ...................................34 4.6 Data management.................................35 4.7 Analysis.......................................35 4.7.1 Familiarisation ..............................35 4.7.2 Initial codes................................36 4.7.3 Searching for themes...........................37 4.7.4 Reviewing themes ............................37 4.7.5 Defining and naming themes......................37 4.7.6 Report ...................................38 4.8 Ethics ........................................38 4.8.1 Considerations for participants..................... 39 4.8.2 Considerations for myself........................40 4.9 Conclusion .....................................41 5 Participants: The problem space 42 5.1 Introduction ....................................42 5.2 On a monolithic identity .............................42 5.3 Myths ........................................43 5.4 Barriers .......................................45 Contents vii 5.5 Privilege, power, and racism...........................47 5.6 Conclusion .....................................50 6 Participants: Formative experiences 51 6.1 Introduction ....................................51 6.2 Living overseas...................................51 6.3 Seeing our complicity...............................52 6.4 Relationships....................................54 6.4.1 Learning from Pakeh¯ a¯..........................54 6.4.2 Learning from Maori¯ ...........................55 6.5 Family influences or childhood experiences.................. 61 6.6 School experiences and learning our history .................63 6.7 Activism and workplaces.............................64 6.7.1 Activism ..................................64 6.7.2 Career and workplace influences.................... 65 6.8 Personal accountability..............................66 6.8.1 Recognising mistakes and catching thoughts ............66 6.8.2 Actions versus thoughts.........................67 6.8.3 Innate ways of being...........................68 6.9 Conclusion .....................................69 7 Participants: Themselves 70 7.1 Introduction ....................................70 7.2 Identity-making for participants......................... 70 7.2.1 An absence of culture ..........................71 7.2.2 Hybridity..................................72 7.2.3 Routes versus Roots ...........................72 7.2.4 Te Tiriti as grounding........................... 73 7.2.5 Nation based identities .........................73 7.2.6 Other avenues to identity ........................74 7.3 Specificity of ‘Pakeh¯ a’¯ ...............................75 Contents viii 7.4 Motivations and the fluidity of identities and politics ............76 7.4.1 Redemption................................78 7.4.2 Emotionality................................79 7.5 Levels of comfort..................................82 7.6 The non-linearity of the journey......................... 84 7.7 Conclusion .....................................85 8 Participants: Possibilities and futures 86 8.1 Introduction ....................................86 8.2 Far more honest grappling............................86 8.3 Cultural
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