Being Maori in the City : Indigenous Everyday Life in Auckland

Indigenous peoples around the world have been involved in struggles for decolonization, self-determination, and recognition of their rights, and the Maori of Aotearoa-New Zealand are no exception. Now that nearly 85% of the Maori population have their main place of residence in urban centres, cities have become important sites of affirmation and struggle.

Grounded in an ethnography of everyday life in the city of Auckland, Being Maori in the City is an investigation of what being Maori means today. One of the first ethnographic studies of Maori urbanization since the 1970s, this book is based on almost two years of fieldwork, living with Maori families, and more than 250 hours of interviews. In contrast with studies that have focused on indigenous elites and official groups and organizations, Being Maori in the City shines a light on the lives of ordinary individuals and families. Using this approach, Natacha Gagne adroitly underlines how indigenous ways of being are maintained and even strengthened through change and openness to the larger society.

Contents include: An overview of Maori and New Zealand history; Maori lives in Auckland; The Marae: a symbol of continuity; Ways of life in a Maori house; The whanau, past and present; A practical universe of meanings; At the heart of a politics of differentiation; Interconnected places and autonomous spaces; Profiles of the interviewees.

Natacha Gagne is an associate professor in the Department of Anthropology at Universite Laval, Quebec, Canada.

Featured in the 13 January 2014 New Zealand newsletter.
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