Belonging to the Land: Indigenous Māori Narratives of Home and Place

Abstract

Land is a place that Māori, the Indigenous peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand, are connected to ancestrally, spiritually, physically, and geographically. This relationship is emblematic in our native language, where 'whenua' means both land and placenta, symbolising both as our sites of our origin and sustenance. For Māori, the land is a place that establishes our identity as iwi (tribal nations), hapū (sub-tribe) and whānau (constellations of extended family networks and friends). The imposition of land ownership has alienated Māori from our whenua, making us minorities in our previous home-spaces. Although colonially forced ideologies of land ownership complicate our relationship to place, for many Māori, land is a place of belonging and home. Drawing on research from a project on Māori conceptions of home and wellbeing, this article explores Indigenous experiences of home and place, which highlights Māori resistance to colonising narratives that associate place and home with economic wealth and power. Instead, ideas of identity, belonging, relationality, and self-determination are explored as lived realities of resistance. This article profiles Māori experiences across a range of urban and rural contexts that negotiate the tensions of colonisation, foster strong cultural identities, and cultivate meaningful enactments of home in diverse environments within Aotearoa New Zealand.