Building political competencies for the transformation of racism in Aotearoa

Abstract

In the face of enduring systemic racial disparities between Māori and non-Māori, we invite Pākehā 1 health, education and social service professionals to review their ethical conduct and to enhance their political competencies to help transform racism. This paper examines how Pākehā became beneficiaries of racism and how libertarian discourses are used to distract attention away from the associated privileges. Based on experience in the anti-racism movement, we (the Pākehā authors) advocate for the grounding of Pākehā practitioners in a deeper understanding of colonial history. We invite closer attention to structural analysis as a means of gaining the understanding needed to strengthen political competence in order to avoid collusion with institutional racism. We make a case to develop co-intentional relationships with Māori through active whanaungatanga and the applications of the teachings of Freire as pathways for strengthened practice.

Realising the rhetoric: refreshing public health providers’ efforts to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi in New Zealand

“…It is positive to see PHUs commitment to developing and strengthening cultural competencies within their respective teams. The authors offer the challenge to step beyond individual cultural competencies to collective cultural and political competencies (Came and da Silva 2011). Building sustainable systems is the core of public health.…”

“…The challenge for generic providers seems to be about moving past policy and mission statement rhetoric into making working with Te Tiriti ordinary and everyday practice. To normalise working with Te Tiriti requires organisations to invest in developing collective political and cultural competencies (Came and da Silva 2011). This can involve deliberately recruiting staff with those skills and/or developing them within the existing team.…”

Māori and Tauiwi nurses’ perspectives of anti-racism praxis: findings from a qualitative pilot study

“…Data were analysed based on the framework of an anti-racism continuum of praxis as a way of categorising participant’s perspectives into significant themes (Braun & Clarke, 2006). The continuum of praxis framework was informed by the findings of several previous projects of the authors (Came & Griffith, 2017; Came, 2014; Came & da Silva, 2011; Came et al, 2017; Came & McCreanor, 2015; Came & Tudor, 2017). These projects were aligned with the political and cultural aims of kaupapa Māori research.…”

Engaging with indigenous knowledge to shape a bicultural counselling programme in A otearoa N ew Z ealand

“…As a founding document of the colonial state it codifies the relationship between Māori and the Crown. For reasons discussed in the following section, the application and implications of Te Tiriti remain a contested area of public life, with a considerable gap between aspiration and practice to this day, nearly 180 years after the Treaty was signed (Came, Cornes, & McCreanor, ; Came & da Silva, ; Elkington, ; Glynn, ). A commitment to biculturalism/Treaty partnership in our country is supposed to be a guiding principle of education and other health and social services, and in many instances it is (for examples see: Black et al, ; Came et al, ; Unitec Institute of Technology, ; Ministry of Education, ).…”