Thesis (M.Soc.Sc. Psychology)--University of Waikato, 2007. / Title from PDF cover (viewed April 2, 2009) Includes bibliographical references (p. 139-143)

Thesis (M.A.)--Victoria University of Wellington, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Dev.Stud.)--Victoria University of Wellington, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

Située au croisement de plusieurs disciplines – anthropologie, sociologie, histoire de l’art,études féministes et sur le genre – cette thèse s’intéresse aux oeuvres, aux pratiques, aux parcours et aux discours des femmes artistes maori néo-zélandaises s’inscrivant dans le champ de l’art contemporain et vivant en milieu urbain. Ces artistes sont à l’origine de revendications politiques et d’affirmations identitaires singulières du fait de leurs multiples appartenances : leurs productions recèlent des références simultanées à leurs histoires individuelles, à leur statut de membres d’une minorité autochtone et d’une tribu, à leur condition de femmes et de citoyennes au sein de la nation néo-zélandaise.L’analyse des données obtenues après avoir mené une enquête de terrain d’un an en Nouvelle-Zélande en 2012-2013, des recherches complémentaires sur Internet et des échanges avec les artistes au retour du terrain permet de montrer comment ces dernières s’inscrivent dans le mouvement actuel d’affirmation maori. En effet, suite à la colonisation britannique du XIX e siècle, les Maori luttent toujours pour affirmer leurs droits. Dans ce contexte, l’art est utilisé par certaines femmes comme un puissant moyen de contestation et de promotion d’un changement social visant à la reconnaissance du mana wahine (pouvoir, prestige féminin). Ce travail révèle également que la pratique artistique leur offre l’opportunité de réaffirmer les liens les unissant au monde maori tout en leur permettant d’accéder à une certaine autonomisation et émancipation. Elles développent des stratégies originales pour affirmer leur créativité sans transgresser des règles toujours importantes pour les Maori. / At the intersection of several disciplines – anthropology, sociology, art history, and feminist and gender studies, this thesis deals with the works, practices, careers and discourses of New Zealand Maori women artists active in the field of contemporary art and living in an urban environment. Due to their many forms of belonging, these artists are behind specific political demands and identity affirmations: their work contains simultaneous references to the individual histories, their status as members of an indigenous minority and a tribe, and their condition as women and citizens of the New Zealand nation. The analysis of the data obtained after a fieldwork investigation in New Zealand carried out over a year from 2012 to 2013, of complementary research on the Internet and exchanges with artists when back from the field makes it possible to show how these artists are part of today's Maori assertion movement. For since British colonization in the 19th century, the Maori have continued to assert their rights. In this context, some women use art as a powerful means of protest and of promoting social change aimed at the recognition of mana wahine (women's power or prestige). This work also reveals that their artistic practice affords them the opportunity to reassert the ties linking them to the Maori world while at the same time enabling them to attain a certain empowerment and emancipation. They develop original strategies for asserting their creativity without transgressing the rules which remain important for the Maori people.

Ngā Kairaranga Oranga – The Weavers of Health and Wellbeing is a theory about the health and wellbeing of Māori women. Health data about Māori women indicate that their health status is less than that of the non-Māori population despite the right to experience equality in health outcomes. Māori women’s health and wellbeing influences the nature of their health outcomes, varies across their lifetime. ‘What is happening for Māori women, their health and interactions with ‘mainstream’ health services?’ is the question that guided the research with Māori women. A grounded theory informed by a Māori centred approach was developed that utilised Mason Durie’s Māori-centred concepts of mana Māori (control), whakapiki tangata (enablement) and whakatuia (integration), and integrated Glaserian grounded theory to guide the collection and analysis of the data. Twenty-three women who identified as Māori within the Te Arawa rohe, and who were between the ages of 18 and 80 years were formally interviewed as either a group, pairs or individuals, with a further 15 informally interviewed during the process of theoretical sampling. Semi-structured interviews and field notes were used to collect the data, and the processes of constant comparative analysis, theoretical sampling and saturation were used to generate a middle-range substantive Māori centred grounded theory. Three core categories were identified relating to the health and wellbeing of Māori women: (a) Mana Māori, which describes what is important for their health and wellbeing; (b) The Way It Is, which outlines the resigned acceptance they have of their reality and life circumstances, and the barriers and challenges that are encountered; and (c) Engaging with Health Services, which describes what they require from ‘mainstream’ health services to improve the access and use of these services. The basic social psychological process of ‘weaving health and wellbeing’ integrates these core categories. The interpretations Māori women have of health and wellbeing, and health-related actions are explained by the theory generated. This substantive grounded theory provides a model to guide the education and practice of health care providers working within ‘mainstream’ health services.

'Closed stranger' adoption in Aotearoa / New Zealand from approximately 1940 to 1990 involved the practice of a complete break between the birth mother and her child and the legal transfer of the child to adoptive parents. In Aotearoa / New Zealand between 1940 and 1990, 108,899 adoptions took place, and most consisted of ‘closed stranger’ adoptions. These adoptions have caused much joy as well as some heartache for parties involved in the experience namely, birth mothers, adoptees and adoptive mothers and their whānau. This thesis reports original research which aims to investigate the unique experiences of Māori adoptive mothers in the 'closed stranger' adoption period and enable the impact of legal adoption on these Māori women who have not previously warranted research, to be valued. A qualitative methodology, Māori-centred research and unstructured kanohi ki te kanohi (face to face) interviews were utilized to gather data from six Māori adoptive mothers. The intention of Māori centred research as its name suggests, is to locate Māori people and Māori knowledge at the centre of the research action. A thematic analysis utilizing interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used. The unique experiences of Māori women legally adopting in the ‘closed stranger’ adoption system were about whānau business, and grouped under that superordinate theme were experiences of ‘not blood’, land succession, naming and caring for whānau. The stigma of adoption resonated throughout the women’s narratives. As well, most of these Māori adoptive mothers found that they experienced ‘closed stranger’ adoption as a ‘rollercoaster of emotions’.

This study aimed to understand how Maori women negotiate decisions about alcohol and pregnancy. It was based in the recognition that Maori women?s decisions about drinking alcohol when pregnant are shaped by social and cultural expectations about gender roles, as well as their knowledge about alcohol and pregnancy. Maori attitudes to alcohol have also been influenced by colonisation and Maori responses to it. Alcohol use in pregnancy also exists in the context of potential impacts, including fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. There is little knowledge about how and why women may or may not drink during pregnancy. The research used grounded theory methods. Information was gathered through in-depth interviews with ten Maori women. The information they provided was analysed using constant comparative analysis, and a series of categories was generated. The grounded theory proposes that Maori women manage decisions about drinking alcohol when pregnant using a process of Trading off. Trading off is supported by three key processes: drawing on resources, rationalising, and taking control of the role. Maori women start by learning the rules about alcohol, get messages about alcohol and pregnancy, change their alcohol use while making role transitions, and use alcohol in the processes of fitting in where you are, releasing the pressure, and carrying on as normal. Trading off is an individual process, but exists in a complex social context. The process is fluid, conditional, and continues throughout pregnancy. The theory must be recognised as my interpretation, although I believe it is grounded in the data, accounts for the data, and offers a new, modifiable and potentially useful interpretation. While the body of theory that can be compared to the theory of Trading off is limited, the interpretation is consistent with several models of health behaviour, including Maori health models. This research has implications for future research, and for the development of programmes to support Maori women.

How can the reintroduction of colonial depictions of Maori women in early twentieth century postcards engage a modern audience in a dialogue concerning the aestheticisation of Maori women, both past and present? Drawing on questions incited by the visual representation of my own family, the constructs of photographic depictions of Maori women in early 1900’s postcards will be examined. The correlation between the past and present will be the focus of this essay as the research considers whether the romantic, ancient ideals imposed onto Maori women by male colonialist photographers are still apparent in the present.