Crossing The Divide

Click here to download the article.

As Pākehā we often find it hard to articulate what our culture is. It
just is. Or perhaps we don’t have one. Maybe we think that only Māori
have a culture and we’re a tad envious. Starting to learn about te ao
Māori can be disconcerting for Pākehā, who didn’t even realise they
existed within a culture. Encountering a distinctive ‘other’ can conjure
up feelings of dislocation and not-quite-belonging, in the only place
we have ever belonged.

I will be first to say that Pākehā shouldn’t appropriate Māori
concepts and redefine them to be things that they aren’t. I do believe,
however, that te ao Māori offers an opportunity for Pākehā to learn
about our own culture. Understanding the perceptions and experiences of
others helps us to gain insights for ourselves.

This article explores a Pākehā sense of belonging developed through
time in the outdoors, and the importance of names to help us understand
the layers of history and present connections with a place. Click here to download the article.

This article was written for the Federated Mountain Clubs of NZ (FMC)
and published in the August 2018 issue of their Backcountry magazine. www.fmc.org.nz/join

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