The creative spirit: emancipatory Māori entrepreneurship in screen production in New Zealand

ABSTRACT

Indigenous peoples practice traditions unique to their cultures. Unfortunately, many suffer the negative consequences of conquest. Increasingly, Indigenous peoples look outside their communities to build capacity, and engage with local communities [Fryer, M., Quijano, U., Sadeghi, P., Calero, C., Garcia Villegas, S., & Vargas, S. (2012). Implementation of the strategy for indigenous development (GN-2387-5): Lessons from the portfolio review. New York, NY: Inter-American Development Bank; Bajada, C., & Trayler, R. (2014). A fresh approach to indigenous business education. Education + Training, 56(7), 613–634]. This article is based on a study that examined Indigenous (Māori) entrepreneurs in New Zealand who own screen production companies, making films and television that contribute to the revitalization of Māori language and culture, as well as creating employment and wealth for the business owners and their communities. Despite differences in background and outlook, this group share common views about the importance of their identity as Māori and their desire for emancipation. Emancipation here means the creation of viable and robust companies that could liberate them from the organizations they had previously worked in. The study not only highlights the experiences of Indigenous entrepreneurs, but it also contributes to the Indigenous entrepreneurship literature.

KEYWORDS:

• Maori
• entrepreneurship
• creativity
• New Zealand
• indigenous people

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Ella Henry is a Maori/Indigenous woman from New Zealand. She is a Senior Lecturer at Auckland University of Technology. Dr Henry has a background in Sociology, Māori Studies, Management Studies and Māori Development. Her PhD focused on Māori entrepreneurship in screen production, and her Masters on Māori women and leadership. Ella is the coordinator of the Maori Media major of the Bachelor of Maori Development. She has been actively involved in the Māori screen industry for over 20 years.

Notes

1 Fa’aSamoa literally means ‘the Samoan way’, the socio-political and cultural life of Samoan people.