I Don’t Do Culture—They Do!

If there’s one thing we Pākehā feel smug about its culture. Not the culture we have, but the culture we think we haven’t. We look with mixture of curiosity, bemusement, not to mention a dash of pity, on all those people of the world who take part in...

What Do Pākehā Know About Māori Culture?

Western culture is a culture of knowledge. We know a lot about a lot of things—from atoms to galaxies. And the key to this knowledge is rational, objective thought. We ask questions; we observe; we study; we answer… and then we verify. This verification is...

Minorities in a One-Person, One-Vote Democracy

Winston Churchill once said, “It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.” This quote has become very well-known and I’m sure most people living in a democracy will have some idea where...

Natural Disasters and Indigenous Knowledge

Saturday 4th September 2010 is not going to be a day New Zealanders will forget in a hurry. The earthquake in Christchurch is a stark reminder to us all of the price of living in such a beautiful country. Most New Zealanders, I’m sure, will have some personal...

The Treaty of Waitangi Myth

Over the following weeks and months I’m going to offer snippets from my book Guilty as Charged?. Here’s a good one to get the ball rolling. Most New Zealanders think that the Treaty of Waitangi is unique—i.e. there is no other similar document...