Māori and Pacific student experiences with every-day colonialism and racism

Abstract

Although Māori and diverse Pacific students are underrepresented in New Zealand’s university system, significant numbers of Māori and Pacific tertiary students are demonstrating high academic excellence. Following indigenous and Pacific research protocols, this paper draws from seventeen focus group interviews conducted in 2013 with ninety high-achieving Māori and Pacific students from a large university in New Zealand. Despite attaining high academic success, research participants expressed dissatisfaction in having to cope with forms of everyday colonialism and racism while pursuing their advanced educational degrees. Research findings illustrate specific ways that everyday colonialism and racism emanate in an indigenous and Pacific context. Participants explain how majority group students express surprise at Māori and Pacific achievement, attribute academic achievement to ethnic-specific equity support services, and denigrate such services that exist in order to offset social discrimination. Additionally, participants offer input into the ways that university culture is largely Eurocentric and marginalising of indigenous and Pacific values. A conceptual map is presented that outlines how resistance to everyday colonialism and racism operates as a protective factor against adverse educational outcomes.