Development and Maori society: Building from the centre or the edge?

Abstract

The basic question in this chapter on Maori development is whether the rebuilding of Maori society should proceed from the rejuvenation of tribal membership rolls, or from other forms of organisation. The debate is a complex mixture of cultural nationalism, separating commerce from community, battling mainstream antagonism and discovering whether the trickle-down theory can overcome growing political dissatisfaction. The agenda for development debates within Maori society is rooted in the political process. It rests uneasily on assumptions about the effectiveness of market-led economic reforms as a basis for improving the position of Maori in the labour market, tribal enterprise development and the distribution of resources within Maori society. Discussions on how to address welfare dependency echo with voices and ideas that come directly from the United States. At the same time the relentless push for Maori identify through the promotion of the Treaty of Waitangi, indigenous culture (at a time when MTV and CNN beam into virtually every house), and language retention, reflect a need for adaptation in the models for economic development, to capture the full range of Maori ambitions.