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Abstract
The continual marginalisation of indigenous knowledge within colonial education systems has led to historical disadvantage for many indigenous peoples including the Maori people in New Zealand. This paper contends that indigenous solutions can provide relevant and effective responses as well as enhance the lives and experiences of both indigenous and non-indigenous groups. Indigenous cultural constructs and principles can be used to begin to develop culturally appropriate and responsive relationships of respect and trust, as opposed to a Western preference of focusing on individual accountability, apportioning blame remediation - even alienation.
Accordingly, this paper examines powhiri, a traditional Maori construct that provides a platform for different parties to make connections and form respectful relationships with each other. A conceptual framework, developed from these understandings, is then applied to two strategies that are being used in some mainstream settings as a response to challenging behaviour. These strategies are Hui Whakatika (literally, a meeting that seeks to resolve issues and restore harmony) and Restorative Justice conferencing focused on accountability.
Links to the Past
The historical signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 still influences, to varying degrees, the lives of all contemporary New Zealanders. While this Treaty promised power sharing and self-determination for both groups, relations between the non-indigenous (in New Zealand, Pakeha were traditionally the non-indigenous European colonisers) and indigenous Maori population have for many, "been one of political, social and economic domination by the Pakeha majority, and marginalisation of the Maori people" (Bishop and Glynn, 1999, p.50). For Maori, the result of this authoritarian stance by the Pakeha majority continues to be an inequitable share in the benefits that New Zealand has to offer, while at the same time, the suppression and belittling of indigenous knowledge, language and culture continues (Bishop, & Glynn, 1999; O'Sullivan, 2007; Smith, 1999). This situation, together with contexts that maintain power imbalances, leads to the perpetuation of cultural deficit explanations (victim blaming) of low performance. This pathology in turn maintains on-going mainstream discourses about the indigenous or cultural minority situation (Thrupp, 2008) and continues the maintenance of power over what is determined to be pedagogy and knowledge in classrooms attended by indigenous students (Bishop, & Berryman, 2006; Bishop, Berryman, Tiakiwai, & Richardson, 2003; Shields, Bishop, & Mazawi, 2005).