A Fire in the Belly of Hineāmaru: Celebrating Ngā Puhi Identities

• In Event: 25.083 - MTCC Roundtable Session Eight
  In Roundtable Session: 25.083-11 - Setting the Record Straight in the Post-Truth Era: The Importance of Indigenous Research and Praxis II

Abstract

In what ways do the distinctive attributes and qualities of Ngā Puhi endure in contemporary times? This presentation outlines the ways Ngā Puhi have responded – and continue to respond – to adversity over many generations. Narratives from a range of iwi-centred written and oral sources, interviews with elders, and televisual interviews are interwoven to form narratives of cultural pride. The presentation celebrates the skills, traits and deeds of Ngā Puhi ancestors and identifies the equivalent qualities in their living descendants. This study disrupts and challenges dominant assumptions about Ngā Puhi, particularly those that pathologize and problematize Māori potential. This tribal counter-narrative instead conveys tribal pride, optimism, and a fervency for Ngā Puhi thriving through a timbre of Ngā Puhi voices.

Author

• Melinda Webber, The University of Auckland