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ABSTRACT
Significant health inequities in Aotearoa present compelling evidence that responsibilities under Te Tiriti o Waitangi have not been upheld. The aim of this paper is to present our experiences as Pākehā/Palangi working in Māori and Pasifika health in Aotearoa. We are interested in what prevents the upholding of responsibilities by tangata Tiriti and in how, as tangata Tiriti, we can do better. In this paper we explore responsibilities of tangata Tiriti by describing the context and evaluating power, paralysis, and positionality. "Power" is identified as a key factor continuing to perpetuate colonisation and systemic racism. "Paralysis" occurs due to individual racism, apathy, guilt and/or a fear of doing wrong. "Positionality" is an internal and external process that involves consciousness of biases, perspectives, values, privileges, beliefs, superiority and identities. Finally, we point to tools of engagement with the aim of serving and creating space for self-determination for Māori and Pasifika peoples.
This paper explores our viewpoint based on experiences as Pākehā/Palangi health practitioners and researchers working in Māori and Pasifika communities. In reflecting on our practice, we noted there was limited literature that explored and critiqued Pākehā/Palangi perspectives in health and health research environments. We acknowledge Te Tiriti o Waitangi as a foundational constitutional document. However, we do not want to assert ourselves as experts in this field instead as early career researchers and mid-career health professionals we recognise a need for further discussion on this. Furthermore, we do not profess to speak for all Pākehā/Palangi and acknowledge others will have differing perspectives and extensions of ideas. We hope this paper will provide a useful contribution to the conversation.
I am Pākehā, part of the dominant settler culture that has been imposed across Aotearoa over the last 200-250 years. My ancestors are from many European countries: the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Prussia, Scotland, Ireland and England. I'm privileged through my ancestors' acquisition of Māori land, and through systems that benefit Pākehā such as myself. I have been raised within an urban, middle-class Pākehā culture and found my way to Māori communities through my work and personal connections over the last 20 years. In my work as a research fellow and clinical psychologist working with pregnant women and parents of young children who experience addiction, I...