Rapua te kurahuna: An Occupational Perspective of Internalised Oppression

Date
2023-11-24
Authors
Emery-Whittington, Isla
Davis, Georgina
Supervisor
Item type
Journal Article
Degree name
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Abstract

Internalised oppression can be tricky to recognise and hard to talk about. Described as the most devastating kind of racism, it remains poorly researched and understood. Nuanced and expansive ways of understanding internalised oppression are necessary for the work of being recognised and seeing each other as fully human. For many complex reasons, internalised oppression can be performed by targets of oppression in service of white supremacy, turning Indigenous spaces into new foci for racism via everyday occupations. This article outlines our critical examinations and steps to grapple with internalised oppression as Indigenous occupational therapists who observe how racism is transmitted in daily tasks of life. Steps include growing critical consciousness, developing a relational ethic of manaaki (to support, take care of, and give hospitality) and building community to support recognition and healing from internalised oppression. We call for the development of a critical ally workforce in solidarity with the racially targeted.

Description
Keywords
47 Language, Communication and Culture , 4702 Cultural Studies , 2002 Cultural Studies , 4702 Cultural studies
Source
AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, ISSN: 1177-1801 (Print); 1174-1740 (Online), SAGE Publications, 19(4), 762-770. doi: 10.1177/11771801231206209
Rights statement
© The Author(s) 2023. Creative Commons License (CC BY 4.0). This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Lficense (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).