Kua Riro Ki Wīwī, Ki Wāwā the Causes and Effects of Māori Migration to Southland
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Kua riro ki wīwī, ki wāwā The causes and effects of Māori migration to Southland By Karyn Paringatai A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy At the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. June 2013 ii For my two dads Mautini Paringatai (12-11-1950 – 05-04-2007) and Tiria Monga (Ritchie Raro) (12-06-1951 – 01-06-2005) They both loved me unconditionally and I miss them every day. iii Abstract The urbanisation of the Māori population after World War Two saw the rapid movement of a mainly rural people to a number of urban centres around the country. The social, economic and political push-pull factors involved in this migration flow have been described in a number of publications. This research is usually conducted within North Island locations, particularly Auckland, where the Māori population is considerably larger and the Māori population increase of urban centres more noticeable. Of little interest to those who researched this topic, but still duly noted, is the movement of North Island Māori to the South Island. As a result, there are only a few publications that mention the statistical changes that occurred in the Māori population of Southland and only a couple look at the social changes that ensued as a result. This research has been largely empirical and generalises about these people’s experiences based on the trends that have emerged from research based on North Island communities. This thesis addresses the gap in the research and locates itself firmly in Southland. It looks at the causes of Māori migration to Southland during the mid-twentieth century from the perspective of the migrants involved. A number of Māori who moved to Southland chose to stay, become permanent residents, and raise their children there. Their decision to settle permanently in Southland and live outside of their tribal area affected their children’s Māori identity development. This thesis therefore also looks at the effects of this migration flow on the Māori identity development of the children of North Island Māori migrants. These children all have one Māori and one non-Māori parent. They described their upbringing as largely Pākehā; reflective of the different Southland communities they each grew up in. The transfer of Māori cultural knowledge from their parents iv was minimal and regular return visits to their tribal area for the majority did not occur or were irregular at best. Most of the participants did not grow up within Māori social institutions that foster Māori identity. However, when they began socialising outside of their family network they began being defined and stereotyped ethnically with mixed results on each of the participants’ attitudes towards their Māori identity. Comfort was found amongst peers whose socio-cultural background reflected their own. It was within these friendships that they reconciled being Māori with their reality of growing up in Southland. Other studies tend to look at migration and identity as two separate areas of study. This thesis uses interviews combined with secondary literature to investigate how one has impacted on the other. The research conducted here is qualitative in that it allows me to enter the subjective world of my participants and gain descriptions about their experiences that I would not be able to achieve using any other method. There are a number of studies on migration and identity development that use large cohorts of participants from which to draw out similarities or differences to theoretical constructs. This thesis differs in that a narrow sample has been selected to focus on individuals and their life narratives. The first part of this thesis consists of four chapters. Chapter One gives an introduction of Southland as the geographic and demographic landscape in which this research takes place. Chapter Two provides a theoretical understanding of the migration process in relation to Māori urbanisation within New Zealand, to the South Island and Southland. The following two chapters introduce four migrants, who all moved from small, rural North Island Māori communities to Southland in the 1960s, and three spouses. Chapter Three looks at the migrants’ experiences of migration, their integration into the Southland community, and their thoughts of return migration v back to their home community. Chapter Four looks at the interracial marriages that took place and the experiences of both the migrants and their spouses. The second part of this thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter Five reviews literature as it pertains to the processes and factors involved in the construction of someone’s identity. It also looks at ethnic and mixed-ethnic identity development. Chapter Six investigates Māori identity formation and looks at aspects of Māori culture that are said to be the main contributors to the formation of a secure Māori identity. Chapter Seven introduces six children of Māori migrants and looks at the way in which the participants became aware of their Māori ethnicity, the input of their parents, their ethnic identity choices and the outcomes of their decision to identify as Māori. Chapter Eight looks at what role the participants’ whānau played in contributing to their Māori identity. The final chapter looks at the role the school environment played in assisting the participants to develop their Māori identity. vi Acknowledgements This research topic originated purely out of self-interest. I wanted to tell my father’s story of moving from the East Coast to Southland, my mother’s story of being a Pākehā Southlander in an interracial relationship, and the story of my sister and I as we struggled to find our place as persons of Māori descent in Southland. I soon realised that aspects of our lives were reflected in the lives of others around us. As I began musing out loud to these people as a way of tentatively broaching what could be a sensitive topic, I soon realised that they were as eager to tell their stories as I was to listen to them. As a result, I owe my biggest gratitude to my participants who shared with me stories about their lives, without which this thesis would never have happened. You opened up your homes and your hearts to me and I will be forever grateful for the privilege you have given me to share your lives with others. My fear was that our stories would be absorbed into the landscape and forgotten about, but with your support and encouragement we have collectively ensured that this will never happen. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. There are two people who have been through this whole process with me, my supervisors, Professor Michael Reilly and Associate Professor Poia Rewi. You are two of the most humble people I have ever met whose dedication and commitment to advancing Māori scholarship is always a priority. I have and will always appreciate the invaluable advice, guidance and gentle critique you have provided me since we have been colleagues. I appreciated your faith in my research and writing abilities even when I seriously doubted my mental capacity to do both. I thank you for the time and effort you have put into developing me academically and personally. My parents were the inspiration for this research. To my mum and dad, I thank you for having the courage to take a chance on each other. In a 1970s Southland Pākehā community I can vii imagine it was not an easy thing to do. Without the choices you made there would be no thesis. You each played a pivotal role in guiding me in to the woman I am today and I thank you for everything you have done for me. To my older siblings, Lana, Dione and Darren and your families, I can never repay you for all your support and encouragement throughout my entire life. From the moment I was born you have loved me unconditionally and looked after me. I know that you do not understand fully why I am ‘still at school’ but I hope this helps make things a little clearer – I have actually been working for the past 12 years too! I was also fortunate that throughout my childhood I grew up with one of my best friends. To Manu, my ‘twin’ little sister, we have struggled together to reconcile who we are as Ngāti Porou children/teenagers/women with our reality of living in Southland. We have had to negotiate this process ourselves and, while it has not been easy, we have always had and will always have each other for support and help. Ever since I was a child my grandmother would ask me “What do you want to be when you grow up?” My standard reply to this question was, “I want to be a teacher.” I am lucky that she planted this seed in me from such a young age and that it became a reality. I am privileged to work with an amazing group of people. To my colleagues in Te Tumu and the wider University community, I have appreciated your words of encouragement and support over the past few years. Your concern for my well-being has been humbling. I would especially like to thank my colleagues on ‘the third floor’, who have made me laugh, cry, think about the world in a new way and helped me grow as an academic. I owe a special thank you to Suz, who has filled the past couple of years with laughter and mockery – often at our own expense. I also want to acknowledge all of those who I have had the pleasure to teach, many of whom have become dear viii friends. I thank you for challenging me, asking the tough questions for which I sometimes have no idea what the answer is, making me laugh and cry, and keeping me invigorated to finish this – you are a breath of fresh air that I need every year.