(Mixed) Racial formation in Aotearoa/New Zealand: framing biculturalism and ‘mixed race’ through categorisation

Abstract

This paper explores racial formation in Aotearoa/New Zealand, and the impacts of state categorisation on understandings of ‘mixed race’. Processes of racial formation have undergone significant shifts over time, from initial colonial understandings of racialised domination and hierarchy, to present-day narratives of a multicultural society within a bicultural national framework. Connecting these narratives is a constant thread of racial differentiation, framing inter-group relations within society and underpinning contemporary state and social understandings of (mixed) race. Although New Zealand maintains an innovative method of measuring ethnic (self) identification, this fluid categorisation is constrained by existing classification structures and dominant racial narratives. ‘Mixed race’ identity is thus firmly positioned within the bicultural/multicultural tension, which characterises ‘race relations’ in New Zealand. Mixed identities for the individual can be seen as reflecting the ‘mixed’ nature of the state and society, with the narrative of a bicultural nation providing a macro level depiction of personal mixedness.

Keywords:

• mixed race
• racial formation
• New Zealand
• categorisation
• race
• ethnicity
• racial narratives

Notes

1. A Māori term commonly used to describe New Zealanders of predominantly European descent (the numerical majority). While frequently used by Māori and many Pākehā, the term is not without controversy, and is rejected as discriminatory by some groups of European descent (see Bell 1996). This paper will use either Pākehā or New Zealand European, or the terminology of the institution being discussed.

2. Although many groups in New Zealand could be discussed when looking at mixedness and hybridity, particularly Pacific Peoples, the article focuses on these two groups for conceptual clarity.

3. Wanhalla has shown such relationships to be diverse and complex, ranging from brief illicit unions to marriages for economic purposes, sanctioned by indigenous customs, or church-based legal marriage contracts (Wanhalla 2008a, b).

4. As stated on the census form: ‘If of full European descent, no matter where born, tick box’ and ‘If you are a person of the Māori race, or a descendent of such a person, tick box’ [emphasis added]. This wording reflects the 1974 Māori Amendment Act which defined as Māori a person of (any) Māori descent (Cormack 2010:14).

5. This is also reflected in official discussions of ‘race-based’ social policies, and the position of the Race Relations Commissioner in the Human Rights Commission (Callister & Didham 2009:63–64)

6. However, following the 2004/5 Mallard Review of Targeted Programmes, funding along ethnic lines was reduced, shifting the focus for many sectors to need, not ‘race’ (Mallard 2004; Cormack 2010:8).