Reimagining decolonisation - book overview

 As the Māori whakatauki ‘ahakoa he iti he pounamu’ implies, this book - Reimagining decolonisation, is ‘although small, a treasure’. I downloaded this book on to my ipad late last year (just over NZ$5) and read it a couple of times over the summer. The book covers important concepts and uses accessible language, stories and metaphors, to explain the impact, implications, and challenges of ‘decolonisation’. It is important for all kiwis to read as the country wrestles with the many consequences of over a century of colonisation and lip service to Te Tiriti o Waitangi – the treaty signed between Māori tribes and the British crown.

Decades of Māori assertion for ‘honouring the treaty’ is very slowly making its way through the social fabric of Aotearoa. As an immigrant I have always been grateful for ‘biculturalism’ as it means kiwis are (in the main) cognisant of the need to have empathy for a range of cultures beyond their own.

However, ‘decolonisation’ is a long journey, and Aotearoa is very much at the beginnings of the journey to redress past injustices; provision equitable access and public service to all; and to forge actual lasting, respectful, and meaningful partnership between the tangata whenua  (original inhabitants of Aotearoa) and those who have come later.

Imagining decolonisation (just over 100 pages) provides an accessible introduction to the Aotearoa context. The seven authors, (Bianca Elkinton, Moana Jackson, Rebecca Kiddle Ocean Ripeka Mercier, Mike Ross, JennieSmeaton and Amanda Thomas) are mostly based in the Wellington area, a few related and members of the local iwi and most with affliations to Victoria University. There are five chapters, with an introduction and a collection of notes.

The introduction by B. Elkington & J. Smeaton sets the scene using stories of the authors past, growing up around Titahi Bay /Porirua - a seaside suburb North of Wellington. 

M. Ross writes the first chapter ‘the throat of Parata’, using Māori narratives as a way to introduce the concepts of decolonisation. It introduces the Māori approach to presentation, by way of stories and analogies, rather then through direct prose.

In the second chapter, O. R. Mercier undertakes a discussion on ‘what is decolonisation’. This chapter sets out the many lenses through which decolonisation can be viewed. These 'lenses' have often been constructed by non-indigenous writers, researchers and thinkers. There is a need to listen more closely and honour the indigenous voice, as they bring a different way to look at the world. Not only through the largely westernised rationalistic approaches, but through more holistic and ecologically grounded ways which are not divisive but collegial and collectivist. 

R.Kiddle follows with a chapter on ‘colonisation sucks for everyone’ providing the argument for why an understanding of decolonisation is so important to Kiwis, if the country is to move forward as a unified nation with emphasis on empathy and equity. It is important to understand the various viewpoints of many, but in the end, to work together to bring social cohesion which is also equitable for all.

A. Thomas’s chapter ‘Pākēha and doing the work of decolonisation’ unpacks the ways everyone should apply to their lives, to ensure ‘decolonisation’ is not a word which is just bandied around, but actually becomes the foundation for future and current aspirations and goals. Everyone must play a part.

M. Jackson then closes the book with ‘where to next?’ decolonisation and the stories of the land’ by setting up the challenge to all, to be activist and not just spectators. To contribute and not be ‘done to’.

The notes are worth a follow up, especially the journal article by Tuck and Wang (2021) which deconstructs ‘decolonisation’ within the North American context.