A ‘forgotten’ whakapapa: historical narratives of Māori and closed adoption

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorAhuriri-Driscoll, Annabel
dc.contributor.authorBlake D
dc.contributor.authorPotter H
dc.contributor.authorMcBreen K
dc.contributor.authorMikaere A
dc.date.accessioned2023-08-08T00:00:46Z
dc.date.available2023-08-08T00:00:46Z
dc.date.issued2023
dc.date.updated2023-07-09T01:51:41Z
dc.description.abstractThe era of closed stranger adoption is a significant part of Aotearoa New Zealand’s social and colonial history; some 80,000 children were legally adopted between the years 1955–1985. Māori children constituted a considerable proportion of these legal adoptions, although little attention has been given to their experiences. The relative silence surrounding this phenomenon exists alongside narratives of colonisation and a professed abhorrence by Māori to closed adoption practice, producing a narrative discrepancy. This article aims to understand and account for some of the discrepancies in public narratives by providing an accurate historical account of engagement with the 1955 Adoption Act and its 1962 amendments from a Māori perspective, and unpacking the legal, political, social and cultural aspects from a historical experience. The complexities and nuances of settler colonialism are highlighted, as well as the effects for Māori adoptees of not being publicly and historically narrated–forgotten subjects. Glossary of Māori words: Aotearoa: the Māori name for New Zealand; hapū: kinship group, clan, sub-tribe; iwi: kinship grouping, tribe; korero: to tell, say, speak, talk (verb); speech, narrative, story, discussion (noun); Māori: normal, usual, natural, common or ordinary, used to refer to indigenous New Zealanders; mokopuna: grandchild/grandchildren, descendant; Ngāpuhi: the people or tribal grouping of the Northland region; Pākehā: New Zealanders of European origin; tamariki: child/children; Te Tiriti o Waitangi: the Māori text of the Treaty of Waitangi, the founding document which enabled British settlement of Aotearoa; tikanga: culture, customs, traditions; whakapapa: genealogy, lineage, descent (noun); to place in layers (verb); whanau: family; whanaungatanga: relationship, kinship; whāngai: customary child placement, literal meaning to feed, nourish or nurture.
dc.identifier.citationAhuriri-Driscoll A, Blake D, Potter H, McBreen K, Mikaere A (2023). A ‘forgotten’ whakapapa: historical narratives of Māori and closed adoption. Kotuitui. 18(2). 135-152.
dc.identifier.doihttp://doi.org/10.1080/1177083X.2022.2105725
dc.identifier.issn1177-083X
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10092/105906
dc.languageen
dc.publisherInforma UK Limited
dc.rightsAll rights reserved unless otherwise stated
dc.rights.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10092/17651
dc.subjectadoption
dc.subjectMāori
dc.subjectsettler colonialism
dc.subjectassimilation
dc.subjecthistorical narratives
dc.subject.anzsrc45 - Indigenous studies::4507 - Te ahurea, reo me te hītori o te Māori (Māori culture, language and history)::450710 - Te hītori Māori (Māori history)
dc.subject.anzsrc45 - Indigenous studies::4510 - Te hauora me te oranga o te Māori (Māori health and wellbeing)::451008 - Ngā wāhanga ora o te Māori (Māori life course)
dc.subject.anzsrc44 - Human society::4410 - Sociology::441009 - Sociology of family and relationships
dc.subject.anzsrc43 - History, heritage and archaeology::4303 - Historical studies::430320 - New Zealand history
dc.subject.anzsrc43 - History, heritage and archaeology::4303 - Historical studies::430312 - Histories of race
dc.subject.mshTāngata whenua | Indigenous people (Aotearoa); Māori people; People, Māori
dc.subject.mshWhakapapa | Family history; Genealogy; History, Family; Kinship; Relationships; Wakapapa
dc.titleA ‘forgotten’ whakapapa: historical narratives of Māori and closed adoption
dc.typeJournal Article
uc.collegeFaculty of Health
uc.departmentSchool of Health Sciences
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
A forgotten whakapapa historical narratives of M ori and closed adoption.pdf
Size:
1.76 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download
Collections
Health: Journal Articles