The following is mainly based on the first chapter of “Decolonizing Methodologies” (1999) by Maori scholar Linda Tuhiwai Smith. (Tuhiwai sounds like too-HEE-why.)
Linda Tuhiwai Smith’s ideas about history are shaped by three things:
- She is Maori. The British took most of the Maori’s land in New Zealand in the 1800s and then destroyed much of their culture when they found them “in need of” Western education, medicine and religion.
- Edward Said’s idea of Orientalism – that the West’s scholarly knowledge of the Arab world is not neutral and objective but is shaped by Western imperialism.
- Frantz Fanon’s idea of decolonization – that those under Western rule must not only free their countries but their minds too. Western imperialism is not merely of the gun but also of the schoolbook.
Her Western education informed her that the Maori were savages who lived at the edge of the map. It taught her loyalty to the flag of a Western power. The “I”, “we” and “our” in books meant white people, not her. The Maori were mostly left out. When they appeared they were misrepresented – they barely seemed like Maori. She could not bear to read Western anthropological works about her own people.
She found that Western history:
- Serves Western imperialism: it is by and for Westerners – yet it believes in its own innocence.
- Dehumanizes non-Westerners, seeing them as not fully human, as not being able to think and speak for themselves.
- Thinks in either-or binaries – dichotomous thinking.
- Is patriarchal, valuing the actions of a few top men – leaving out the history of women and common people (but this is changing).
- Privileges writing, valuing written accounts by Westerners over non-Western “oral traditions” (not even called history by Westerners).
- Sees history in terms of a stage model of Western progress.
- Etc.
Westerners are interested in how the Maori were before whites arrived, like they belong in a museum, but not in how the Maori are now, not in the history that got them there.
Maori need history, research and theory:
- to understand their past and present, like any other people.
- to decolonize their minds, to undo the brainwashing of Western imperialism.
Waiting for a “better” Western history will not do it: Westerners do not have their interests at heart. Instead the Maori have to come up with their own theories, do their own research and write their own histories.
Of course, it is not just the Maori who find themselves in this position. So do all people whom Smith terms indigenous: those dispossessed by Western imperialism, torn from their land, language and culture. This means not just the native people of New Zealand, Australia and the Americas, but the Africans and Asians the West brought to the Americas as slaves and labourers.
Just as Fanon and Said helped her to understand history as a Maori, so indigenous thinkers and historians can help each other understand the past and present they have in common.
See also:
- Orientalism
- Fanon
- Maori
- dichotomous thinking
- The history of black history
- Cheikh Anta Diop
- What “world” history has taught me – an exercise inspired by Smith and Loewen
- Native Americans in Western thought
- Books banned from Tucson classrooms – when Mexican American teachers tried to take control of how history was taught
Let us be real about the so-called Man. Why would he give anyone the ability to know themselves? They steal everything that they consider that has value. Yet you have to teach them your language so that they know that you are not plotting against them and their gods. Bible on the rope/gun. White Arabs are no different. They keep their own blinded by religion and the sword. I have seen what they do to someone else’s land and people. I was in Vietnam. What Kennedy to Deim’s wife is how they do things. It is best that you secretly learn about who you are>
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Agreed rowetusi63, conquerors don’t spend time learning about the culture and peoples they conquer, anything past where they are, what they eat, and what scares them is superfluous. Conquerors, all of them, only want to conquer – to take land, women, minerals, whatever the goal, the system is the same. This is the way of man. If a people took the time to learn about others, then there would be understanding and perhaps compassion, no need or desire for conquest. But that isn’t the nature of man, is it? As soon as an advantage is found, one group tries to expand at the expense of another. Has there been any society that has not either been a conqueror or vanquished?
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Rowetusi63, I agree with you on all but learning who we are in secret. I don’t think anyone should have to be reduced to learning who they are in secret; this thought alone keeps the conqueror on top.
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Calling anything before written history prehistory seems to be a misnomer.
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Hi Abagond,
This is off-topic but I saw this on Clutch magazine. Didn’t bother to read the article because I know the score; the rationale that White Afrikaners use to justify their presence on a Black continent, their pathological, psychotic mentality of entitlement, that lands that they steal from other people belong solely to them.
Thought it’s give you an idea for a future post perhaps. So frustrating yet typical.
http://www.clutchmagonline.com/2013/06/south-african-town-wants-to-preserve-its-whiteness-segregation
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are you going to do an article on paula deen? i’d like to hear your opinion on that.
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The Maori are marginalized in their own country and have been romanticized (and demonized) by the white New Zealanders just like how white people do the Native Americans
New Zealand’s “All Blacks” rugby team performs the Maori’s “Haka” war dance before each match — it’s supposed to intimidate the opposition
but this particular dance “Ka mate” originated as a celebration of life and a lucky escape by warrior chief Te Rauparaha.
The Maori had to go to court to stop the appropriation and rampant international commercialization of this dance — such as a Fiat car ad showing Italian women doing a version of the Haka, other Rugby teams performing it or similar dances.
“The New Zealand government assigned intellectual property rights in the traditional Maori haka, the Ka Mate, to Ngati Toa, a North Island tribal group.
The tribe has been battling for a decade to stop commercial exploitation of the haka, saying its use in film and television has been culturally insensitive and has undermined its traditional significance.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/feb/12/new-zealand-haka-maoris
“They also received cash compensation for “Wider grievances, dating back more than 150 years, are also part of the settlement, with the government distributing NZ$300m (US$157m, £108m) to eight Maori tribes.
The Maori’s say they have been the victims of illegal land seizures and breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi, which was agreed between British settlers and indigenous people in 1840.”
The Maori’s have given the Rugby team permission to continue using the dance.
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Is there any culture that the whites didn’t steal? It appears that they stole from many indigenous people globally. This is informative and enlightening. I don’t know much about them except from the film Whale Rider. And they have very cool tribal tattoos/markings. Another culture to read about. Thanks Abagond.
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The Maori’s have to deal with institutionalized and direct racism just like black Americans and other black/brown Afro diaspora people.
white New Zealanders are happy to celebrate Maori culture, fashion and art – but then they turn around and call Maori’s: criminals, lazy, welfare “queens” who receives money from the government that they don’t deserve, etc (sounds familiar, right!)
white NZ complain that Maori’s are getting into University based on race-based advantage (affirmative action), the media shows mostly negative news stories about Maori’s, they have a hard time getting employed or fair home rentals/ financing, etc
They get called the same loving names as the rest of us black and brown people on the Atlantic Ocean side of the world — “boonga, black (ni’ger), darkie, coconut, or hori (means filthy, dirty, trashy)”
Here’s an article by a Maori student discussing racism
http://craccum.ausa.auckland.ac.nz/?p=1630
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Traditional Haka Dance
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and All Blacks rugby Team performing dance (Sorry Abagond, just wanted to show authentic vs athletic, sweaty young men:-)
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The movie ‘Cloud Atlas’ featured a storyline concerning enslaved Maoris — only it was, from what I could see, African descendants rather than actual Maoris / Polynesians who had been cast to portray the Maori slaves….
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@ Fiamma: I saw Cloud Atlas was it the scene with Hugh Grant? He looked so menacing. Is that the storyline you are referring to?
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Linda, thank you for the informative posts and videos! That shirtless Maori guy sure is handsome! 😀
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Mary, it’s been a while, but, as I recall, the scenes (they were relatively brief) featuring the group of captured dark skinned slaves with facial tattoos (Halle Berry was in one or more of these scenes as a Maori slave) and also the scenes on the ship where the dark skinned male slave befriended and ended up saving the life of the dying white lawyer. This actor, in particular, very much appeared to be Black / African person, and I’m sure most people who saw that movie had no idea he was portraying a Polynesian slave rather than an enslaved African.
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@ Fiamma: Yes I remember that scene. I thought he was an African slave. Was’nt aware he was Maori. That’s a good observation.
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*wasn’t*
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I will have to review Whale Rider again. To gain more insight into the Maori culture.
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It seems there WAS a bit of controversy surrounding the casting of whites and Blacks into roles as Asian and Maori characters:
“It appears that to turn white and black actors into Asian characters (black actor Keith David was also Asian in the 2144 story), the make-up artists believed they only had to change their eyes, not their facial structure and complexion. In two scenes in other segments of the film, Bae and Zhou are made up to appear Caucasian. The filmmakers, Aoki said, “obviously took more care to make them look convincingly white. The message the movie sends is, it takes a lot of work to get Asians to look Caucasian, but you can easily turn Caucasians into Asians by just changing the shape of their eyes.
“In another story set in the South Pacific in 1849, Maori slaves are played predominantly by blacks, including Afro-British actor David Gyasi. You have to ask yourself: Would the directors have used blackface on a white actor to play Gyasi’s role? I don’t think so: That would have outraged African American viewers. But badly done yellowface is still OK.
“In any case, this was a lost opportunity to cast real Asian Pacific Islanders. Why weren’t there any real Asian male actors portraying any of the major characters in this supposedly racially diverse film? It’s a double standard: White actors are allowed to play anything–except black characters–and have the dominant roles; Asian male actors are non-existent. And Pacific Islanders are played by blacks.”
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/dailymusto/2012/10/cloud_atlas_und.php
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@linda:
“The Maori’s have to deal with institutionalized and direct racism just like black Americans and other black/brown Afro diaspora people.”
Maoris are the original people of those islands so it is the same kind of treatment as it is in US to the native americans. Just like native americans, the maoris are commercialized, exploited, ignored etc. Just like in case of native americans in USA, the maori lands were stolen, their religion was almost destroyed, their culture was almosty destroyed, their language was almost destroyed, they societies were destroyed etc. The racism towards to the maori is the same which the native americans face in USA every day.
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Yeah, Sam, I did mention that in one of my comments:
The racism they face contains the same ugliness that Native and black Americans face in the USA… it’s not an “either/ or” — they face similar discriminations, prejudices, and are called racial slurs just like the Native and black Americans…they were denied their civil rights just like Native and black Americans.
that’s why many Pacific island indigenous groups had found solidarity and were inspired by the black American civil rights movement.
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I have learned so much this week about indigenous groups of people. Aboriginal people of Austrailia, Native Americans here in America and abroad. Now the Maori people of New Zealand. I agree that westernized white washing needs to be shut down. Thanks for the enlightenment Abagond and other commenters.
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@ Linda
Thanks for the link! When I was in New Zealand I noticed that the white people talked about the Maori the same way whites in America talk about blacks – almost word for word.
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@ Ellis
Thanks for the suggestion.
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@ Daniel Bryant
Probably not. She got fired so I do not think it is particularly controversial. She is a racist, straight-up. Even most white people can see that.
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“Edward Said’s idea of Orientalism – that the West’s scholarly knowledge of the Arab world is not neutral and objective but is shaped by Western imperialism.”
Edward Said failed to mention that Arab and Persian Muslims did their own orientalizing, colonizing and imperializing of South Asian Hindus and Buddhists.
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@ Why
Why in the world should he mention that?
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“Why in the world should he mention that?”
Why in the world shouldn’t he?
Have you ever in your life read any of the Arab and Persian historical accounts of their experiences in South Asia? They way they describe the native “kafir” is absolutely horrid.
Are you aware of the atrocities that Muslim Imperialists meted out on South Asian “kafirs” and “idol worshippers”?
Abrahamic monotheism is extremely problematic.
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I’m always annoyed by the persistent use of the term “western” to describe primarily white northern european culture.
To me this is yet another way they colonize and dominate non white Europeans in thinking and perception.
“She found that Western history:”
exchange “western” with white or european
Serves Western imperialism: it is by and for Westerners – yet it believes in its own innocence.
Dehumanizes non-Westerners, seeing them as not fully human, as not being able to think and speak for themselves.
white europeans are the latest form of the sapien species – the temporal technological position of development appears to be what gives this group its advantage – however most all prior groups that have been exploited by this group frame their opposition in terms of a morality that may not be justified.
As it may be a another form of species optimization whereby the less intelligent and fit are preyed on by the more intelligent and fit for the ultimate benefit of the whole and as a prime motivator.
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You’re very welcome, Abagond…
it’s cool that you got to see New Zealand…I’m glad you are discussing the other black/ brown people of the world…we all come from such different cultures & countries but share the same curse of having to deal with white racism.
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@ Mbeti
Good point.
I used “Western” and “indigenous” in the post because those are the terms she uses.
White domination over the past 500 years has used different excuses for what it does. First it was religion (1500-1650), then it was race (1650-1950) and now it is “culture” and technology (1950-), at least at the top, at the level of law and science. Most ordinary white people, at least in America, still seem to think in terms of race, even if they have learned to dress it up as “cultural background”, “cultural pathologies”, “statistics”, etc.
“Western” instead of “white” does not work so well when talking about blacks in the Americas because they are heavily Westernized and because for them domination comes mainly in the form of racism.
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Outside of North America, I don’t think “Western” refers only to white northern European culture, so I don’t think “Western”, in most cases, is simply a replacement for white northern European culture. It refers to most cultures that are European in origin.
But the term “westerner” often refers to Caucasians.
In the essay above, it seems to refers to non-indigenous of European cultural background.
Americans, whether white, black, Asian, even “indigenous” are already very westernized. So, almost all cultural or psychological processes coming from African-Americans are more or less “western”. Maybe we can distinguish by calling those not of European descent as “colonized”. But it would not be accurate to say that they are not western.
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@ Why
Edward Said’s wrote “Orientalism” not to show that Western imperialism was the worst but that it had warped and twisted the West’s knowledge of the outer world. He was making an intellectual argument, not a moral one.
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^ Yeah, it seems like Why was using the Arab Trader argument, and therefore, derailed the point a bit. 😛
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@jefe and abagond
“I used “Western” and “indigenous” in the post because those are the terms she uses. ”
This a common problem we deal with concerning terminology – many of “our” common terms for things, say american Indian for example are historically false ,as well as bias but are the “common usage” and unless a new consensus is formed by the general public – as in say using native american instead of Indian then you have to use the bias and false term otherwise people in general will not know what you are talking about.
I also forgot to mention the most obvious reason I’m offended by the term “western”
take a look at any atlas or map of the planet,world or globe – and look at the western hemisphere and you will see the african continent occupying a pretty large portion of said hemisphere – but of course when people say western civilization I doubt they even think of any african civilizations past or present in that context.
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jefe
^ Yeah, it seems like Why was using the Arab Trader argument, and therefore, derailed the point a bit.
____
By Arab Trader you mean Arab Slave Trader?
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The same thing in Rwanda, the priest teachers trying to convince the babies to descend from chickens (’70)…really hilarious. Of course no one fall in this kind of things, there are considered normal bull sh*ts that whites try to inject on us, like “black is the color of poverty”, “we brought the civility” etc. Remember, there are considered NORMAL WHITE BULL SH*TS.
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[…] Linda Tuhiwai Smith on history […]
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