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Monday, May 12, 2014

Maori and Indigenous (MAI) Review Vol. 3, (1)

Just out... five articles, one commentary and three book reviews in the MAI Review.

Tumanako Ngawhika Fa’aui and Te Kipa Kepa Brian Morgan examine the shipping disaster of the MV Rena grounding in “Restoring the mauri to the pre-MV Rena state”, discussing the significant environmental impacts upon social, economic and cultural well-being.

Fiona Cram in “Measuring Māori wellbeing: a commentary” describes developments in the culturally responsive measurement of Māori wellbeing while Annabel Ahuriri-Driscoll outlines a unique form of research, and the implications for engaging meaningfully with healing communities, in the context of the Ngā Tohu o te Ora research project and rongoā Māori.

Sheryl Lee Ferguson looks at mainstreaming E-education and Bevan Erueti traces the trajectory of mātauranga Maori into the New Zealand Olympic and Commonwealth games teams over a six-year period.
In his Commentary “Nā te hangarau tōku reo Māori i tāmi, mā te hangarau tōku reo Māori e hāpai”.

Joe Te Rito reflects on the interface between English language radio and the demise of the Māori language. He posits that over many decades the former has been instrumental in the decline of te reo. However, the advent and consolidation of Māori language radio and its associated technologies over the last 25 years has reinvigorated te reo.

The three book reviews are Helene Connor reviewing ‘Matters of the heart: A history of intermarriage in New Zealand’; Heather Came reviewing ‘Working as allies: Supporters of indigenous justice reflect’ and Margaret Wilkie reviewing the book ‘Ara mai he tētēkura—Visioning our futures: New and emerging pathways of Māori academic leadership’ in which myself and my great colleagues Jamie Ataria and Melanie Mark-Shadbolt have a chapter.

Enjoy.




Wednesday, May 07, 2014

Maori unemployment worsening

Latest Household Labour Force Survey shows an increase in unemployment for both Maori, to 13.2% from December 2013's 12.8% (sampling error of 1.6%).

Despite claims that the NZ economy 'is on fire', Maori are not able to fully participate.

This is shit.



Wider unemployment is flatlining at 6% (predictions were for 5.8%) although labour force participation is up. Wages are flat although hours worked are up 2.7%.

Interesting times. I suspect the net migration increase (cuzzy's coming back from Oz) means increased competition for still scarce jobs as well as inflation pressures although housing may be easing back. (Housing may be crashing...)


Tuesday, May 06, 2014

Maori wellbeing post-earthquake

We've been researching the impacts of the 2010-11 earthquakes on Maori in Christchurch since May of 2011.
As well as recording the terrifying and uplifting experiences of over 80 individuals including Maori first responders, parents, teachers, and tangata whaiora (mental health clients), we have accumulated raw data on self-reported wellbeing pre- and post-disaster.
The research has been presented a couple of times now and is to be published in November in a special Issue of the MAI Review which will be launched at this years Nga Pae's International Indigenous Conference.
Our results show that Maori resilience is neither automatic or improving, with supporting evidence from the third wave of CERA's Wellbeing Survey. which show an increase in the proportion of Maori less likely to view post-disaster life positively...
CERA Wellbeing Survey, 2012-13
While various definitions are held, there seems to be a reluctance to question the assumption that we are resilient by definition, as Indigenous Peoples.
I see two poles about which we swing. The first accepts resilience is like gravity: always there, unshakable, a 'given' in the universe.
The second pole argues that resilience is like democracy, a dynamic configuration of people and institutions with individual and collective actions never quite perfecting things but committed to a process through which empowerment is at least possible.
I argue for the second. And like democracy everywhere, resilience is a fragile thing, balanced on a knife-edge, easily lost and hard to regather.

Thursday, May 01, 2014

AAG Honors Five Geographers with 2014 AAG Enhancing Diversity Award

Great to see my old friend from UC Geography days, Jay Johnson, as well as Renee Pualani Louis acknowledged by the Association of American Geographers ...



AAG Honors Five Geographers with 2014 AAG Enhancing Diversity Award



Also Zoltan Grossman who helped organise one of the first NAISA I attended, Laura Smith, and Douglas Herman of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, who organised a panel I presented on at last years NAISA meeting in Saskatoon.

Ecuadorian issues

I rarely post or reblog more than a few of all the requests and protests I receive. This has just come through via the IPSG (Indigenous Peoples Specialty Group of the Association of American Geographers).

Brief synposis: 
  • The Ecuadorian government has recently detained several environmental leaders, and is threating more with the same charges of terrorism.  
  • They shut down one very well-respected environmental organization earlier this year (Pachamama Foundation) and others know their existence is in danger.  
  • The lack of transparency, accountability and fair play in the process that is currently happening to (in)validate the 700,000+ signatures collected asking for a general referendum so the Ecuadorian citizens can vote on whether or not to drill for oil in Yasuni is astounding.  I have a lot of friends involved in that effort and they have witnessed first-hand how government officials have "disappeared" certain documents which will invalidate thousands of signatures, making the Consulta a no-go, when the legal process to convoke a Consulta has been followed.
  • Drilling for oil in Yasuni is an issue of environmental and human rights concern as it is not only one of the most biodiverse places in the world, but there are 2 indigenous groups living in voluntary isolation there - it is their territory.  
  • Many of my friends have received threatening phone calls from government or military sources. 
  • Heres is up to the minute info on what´s happening around the Yasuni issue here:  https://www.facebook.com/YASunidos?ref=br_tf.  




Simon Lambert

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