Creation Narratives as Metaphors for Indigenous Identity Development: The P whiri Identity Negotiation Framework

Abstract

Indigenous peoples in the 21st century colonial contexts face many challenges, not least of which is the struggle to retain cultural identity, beliefs, knowledge and traditions. While Western psychological theories offer insights into how identities are formed, there is a need for models of cultural reintegration and identity development that recognise colonial histories and realities and affirm indigenous aspirations. The purpose of this article is to explore how Māori (the indigenous people of New Zealand) negotiate Māori identities in the 21st century. Māori students and their family members were interviewed about their experiences at a state secondary school, and a thematic analysis of interviews was conducted to produce a framework of indigenous identity development. Within this framework, four identity states that correspond to stages in Māori creation narratives are identified, and the pōwhiri (Māori welcome ceremony) is used as a metaphor for Māori cultural reintegration and identity development. The Pōwhiri Identity Negotiation Framework incorporates factors central to indigenous identities, accommodates personal identity aspirations, reflects the dynamic nature of identities by allowing identity transitions to occur and affirms multiple identity positions.

Constructing Identity Spaces for First Nations People: Towards an Indigenous Psychology of Self-determination and Cultural Healing

“…However, we also acknowledge the variability and multiplicity of indigenous people in this age. Not all First Nations people will be comfortable in exclusively indigenous identity spaces (see Rata et al, 2014), Psychology and Developing Societies, 26, 2 (2014): 143-153 so there is a need for bridging ties, and for those at different stages in identity development to accept others at various stages in development. As people living in predominantly Western (individualistic) societies, First Nations people have had to be adaptive and adaptable to circumstances.…”

“…Sometimes, this has involved adopting independent self-construals (Harrington and Liu, 2002;Markus and Kitayama, 1991). Because of the variability of indigenous experiences, it seems desirable for First Nations collectives to simultaneously (i) maintain a commitment to First Principles, that is, to maintain an essentialised identity (Lawson-Te Aho, 2014) while (ii) allowing for elasticity in the inclusion of others at different stages in their identity development (Rata et al, 2014). The dynamism characteristic of biculturals in Hong Kong and North America (see Hong, Morris, Chiu and Benet-Martinez, 2000), who move between independent and interdependent self-construal depending on the situation, is probably also characteristic of First Nations people.…”

“…It acknowledges that while cultural revitalisation is of utmost importance to indigenous people, there are multiple ways of being indigenous that have to be accommodated for the movement to thrive as a whole. Adopting the constructionist position pioneered by Friere (1970Friere ( /2000, Rata et al (2014) argue that 'the optimal development of oppressed individuals is achieved by changing social reality, rather than attempting to change only the oppressed individuals themselves': they construct a dialogical and dynamic stage model of identity built on the Māori story of creation, as enacted through the living ritual of marae encounters. This provides metaphorical and social bonds to draw together living circles of social relations, varying in shape, form and purpose.…”

The koru model: The stages of biculturation for foreign-trained social workers in Aotearoa New Zealand

“…Research has also occurred into the re-integration of Māori into their own culture. Ward and Mak (2016) described the research of Rata et al (2014) who interviewed young Māori students and their families who were involved in a cultural re-integration programme at a state high school. They set out the importance of consideration of "colonial histories and indigenous aspirations" (Ward & Mak, 2016, p. 319), which is consistent with the concerns expressed by Sakamoto (2007) in relation to oppression.…”

Revista De Psicología Volumen 10, Número 2, Julio - Diciembre 2020

“…Otros estudiosos, como el etnólogo italiano Guido Boggiani , que investigó a comunidades residentes en el Chaco paraguayo, recibieron hasta ahora menciones limitadas (García, 2003b(García, , 2018b. El análisis sobre las representaciones de estos núcleos humanos originarios por parte de observadores occidentales guarda no sólo un interés propiamente histórico, sino también una urgencia muy actual, habida cuenta la acelerada desaparición de muchas culturas indígenas en todo el orbe (Rata, Liu & Hutchings, 2014). ñ) Historia de las sociedades científicas y profesionales: Un elemento articulador para la conformación de la psicología como espacio de investigación y práctica es la actividad de las sociedades psicológicas.…”