This presentation selected a social issue such as Maori crime and uses statistics to demonstrate why it is an issue. It the identifies three sociology theories, gives an overview of each theory and then discusses Maori crime from those perspectives. The next stage identifies impacts for Maori, and then unpacks historical discourses that contribute to Maori crime

1. Applying Conflict theory, Structural Functionalism theory & Symbolic Interactionism theory to
Māori Crime
Dr Rawiri Waretini-Karena

2. • Outline a selected social issue and use statistics to demonstrate why
it is an issue in the New Zealand context.
• Identify and summarise the key concepts of each of the three core
sociological perspectives
• Explain the selected social issue from the structural functionalist
perspective
• Explain the selected social issue from the Conflict theory perspective
• Explain the selected social issue from the symbolic interactionist
perspective
• Identify impacts for Māori

3. • What is your understanding of Māori crime?

4. • Crime is a behaviour that breaks the formal written laws of
a society.
• If someone commits a crime they can be arrested,
charged, and prosecuted. Actions can be illegal but not
deviant.

5. • Māori crime highlights criminal behaviour towards NZ law and
order whose legislative positioning has not taken into account
historical contexts in New Zealand society

6. • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYlWLJ0lvfc&list=PLEUXiVJriwFlm
0tqIpvqpxUeBYCs7SCg3

7. • What are key points in this video?

8. • From 1997 Māori apprehensions increased by 10% where as total apprehensions only
increased by 4%
• Although Māori were 13% population in 2006 they accounted for 43% of all police
apprehensions
• 72% Māori apprehensions were resolved by prosecution compared to 66% NZ European
• 13% Māori convicted received custodial sentences compared to 8% NZ European
• Māori account for 54% in remand compared to 30% NZ European and 9% Pacifica

9. • Area
1. Prison
2. Young offenders
3. Violent crimes
4. Dishonesty
offences
• Percentage
1.While only 14.5 % of the NZ
population make up over 50% of
the prison population for males
and 60% prison population for
females
2.20% will continue crime into
adulthood
3.Increased from 10.3 % in 2002-
3 to 11.6 % in 2004-5
4.Make up 60% of all Māori crime
(NZ Herald, 2005)

10. Professor
Greg Newbold
Western
culture
Doctorate
Criminologist
Sociologist
Canterbury University
Newbold’s authority

11. • When you are dealing with someone who holds the
qualifications Professor Newbold holds, what impressions do
you gain?

12. • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jOZqVnQmdY

13. • What are key points in this video?

14. NZ Governor General
NZ Cabinet NZ Parliament Judicial
NZ Business Round Table
Working Class
The application of dominant ideologies – influence through institutional power

15. • Giddens (2002) conveys that; “power is the ability of individuals
or groups to make their own interests or concerns count” (p.
421).

16. Dominant
Discourse
ideologies
Norms
Assumptions/ stereo types
Myths

17. • Attitudes of structural functionalists are traditional and up hold the
status quo of the dominant discourse
• Structural functionalists believe in efficiency, and that due to society
running a certain way for a long time that it is efficient and- must be
adhered to
• Perceptions of a person are not based on their skill level but other
perceptions ie; gender, age, culture.
• Traditional biases such as money plus wealth= success= power also
play a role in the way structural functionalists view society
• Cultural revolution & social change challenges the status quo
perspective of structural functionalists

19. • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_c2p0Y7mgU

20. • What are key points in this video?

21. Upper
Class
Middle Class
Working class
Creates industry
Implements social
infrastructure
Keeps working class
In line

23. • Conflict theory argues that inequalities of groups in society evolved
through feudalism, capitalism and socialism concepts of the
economic system
• It establishes that classism exists where the rich get richer by
stacking the economic system in their favour, and the poor get
poorer due to being impacted by the decisions the upper class
implements to gain more production at less cost
• To mitigate tension between the upper and lower class, a middle
class was created
• The middle class acts as a buffer between the upper class and the
working class

24. • The wealthy (National & international Corporations) do not
contribute to New Zealand taxes due to their perception of creating
industry
• The wealthy (National & international Corporations) have an ability to
move their wealth around and use loop holes to get around taxes
• The middle class (You and I ) pay from 28%-35% tax upholding both
the upper and working class system

26. • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFQIIM8IRZU

27. • What did you gain about Symbolic Interactionism from this video?

28. Conflict Theory perspective
Structural Functionalism perspective Symbolic Interactionism perspective
Conflict theory
These people do not contribute to society through
Employment, do not pay taxes, and represent a
burden on the economic system
Symbolic Interactionism
These people are anti social, would not
Like to meet in a dark alley, are
disrespectful to society, are well
represented in gangs, drugs,
violence and criminal activity
Structural Functionalism
Their behaviour and what they
represent falls outside of what is
considered normal and proper
societal behaviour
Māori
Crime

29. It explains the individual in society based on what they represent
It explains concepts of social order and change
People can change based on their interaction to jobs, ideas, other
people
1. We act based on the meaning we give to something
2. We give meaning to things based on social interaction
3. Some thing we give meaning to, may have a different meaning to
others
4. The meaning we give something is not permanent it can be
changed due to every day life

31. • What are impacts for Māori?

32. Māori
Crime
perspective
impacts
Structural Functionalism
Their behaviour and what they
represent is considered
indicative of the entire
Māori race
Symbolic Interactionism
Because of what Māori crime
represents in society, none of them
can be trusted
Conflict theory
It is because of what Māori represent in society that makes
them inferior, so therefore can only be given limited
employment opportunities that best support their
disposition * Rural to urban migration – Factories, contract
work, labouring positions

33. • All three theories are based on Western dominant discourses
• They do not take into account Te Tiriti o Waitangi, partnership,
protection, participation
• Māori worldviews
• Histories before Te Tiriti o Waitangi was signed
• The aftermath of war, legislative violations and confiscation of
land
• While compensation has been financial, the psychological
impacts that have spilled over from previous generations have
not been addressed

34. • Central to this story is the appropriation and alienation of almost 95%
of Māori land from the 19th century well into the twentieth century.
• The treaty settlement process has provided an important form of
redress, acknowledging that the NZ Crown’s acquisition of land was
often flawed ‘to a lesser degree’ and the excessive land loss had a
harmful effect on Māori social and economic development in
general.
• Settlements to date have produced compensation of about 1.48
billion, an amount that has to be considered against the impact of the
almost total loss of an economic base for over more than a century
(Rashbrooke, M, 2013, p. 4)

35. • Structural functionalism applies institutional racism due to only
taking into account perspectives that uphold status quos of the
dominant discourse
• Conflict theory implemented societal racism by keeping Māori
out of the economic system for over 100 years
• Symbolic interactionism applies personal racism by subjugating
Māori to inferior positions based on the way Māori are
perceived institutionally.

36. • Structural functionalist perspectives create laws that limit the
capacity for Māori to make a living ie No customary Māori land
is allowed to be developed, banks or finance companies will not
lend out loans against customary Māori land.
• Traditional Māori knowledge and customary healing practices
( etc rongoa) are considered alternative and not supported in
main stream curriculum
• The foundation of Te Tiriti o Waitangi that gives credence to
both Tangata Whenua and Tangata Tiriti is not part of NZ Legal
infrastructure

37. • All Māori who commit crimes are responsible for their actions
• Underlying themes behind Māori crime are also interwoven with NZ’s
colonial history
• Māori crime is a by-product of poverty that can also be
intergenerational
• Māori crime stems from the destruction of Māori traditional society

38. • Bedggood (1978) argues that “the penetration of the capitalist mode
of production and the destruction of the Māori occurred at three
levels, economic, political and ideological”... The use of state force to
break the elders control of Māori society was necessary... By the
destruction of Māori society the state, as midwife of history,
introduced the capitalist mode of production in New Zealand”(p.
286).

39. • Uses two sociological theories to validate his statements about Māori
crime. They are;
• Labelling theory
• Deviance theory

40. • Giddens (2002) explains : “labelling theorists neglect the processes
that leads to acts defined as deviant (p.211)

41. • Giddens (2002) Conflict theorists argue that, individuals actively
choose to engage in deviant behaviour in response to the inequalities
of the capitalist system (p. 212).

42. Deviance theory Labelling theory
Symbolic interaction
theory
Structural
Functionalism theory
Deficit Theories

43. Reid (2013) argues that; discrimination is a socially structured and
sanctioned phenomenon... Intended to maintain privileges for
members of dominant groups at the cost of deprivation for others
(p.31).

44. • Young Māori ... are the
beneficiary of past racial policies
and the victim of present racial
attitudes. Young Māori are a
people moulded in their
perceptions and behaviours by
the consequences of those
policies and attitudes because
“the circumstances that destroy
a culture are the circumstances
that induce crime” (Netter, 1978,
cited in Jackson, 1988).
Moana Jackson

45. • Pū= Origin Take= Issue Tanga= action
• It is the process of tracking an issue back to its origin

46. • Dr Rapata Wiri advocates that mātauranga Māori perspectives
should have a whakapapa, and be based on tikanga Māori
principles and values.
• Dr Jacquelyn Elkington & Dr Jenny Bol Jun Lee advocate that
Pūrākau from a counselling & educational perspective peels
back layers of stories

47. • Pūtaketanga theory advocates that everything has a genealogy
or a whakapapa
• It therefore surmises that nothing manifests from out of thin air.
Dr Rawiri Waretini-Karena 2014

48. Pūtaketanga model
• This model contextualises
theories and perspectives by
asking what are underlying
factors that contribute to
societal issues.
• The model is representative of a
stone being dropped into a pond
creating ripples
• Sometimes these ripples are
intergenerational
Root
cause
Contributing
Factor
1
Contributing
Factor
2
Contributing
Factor
3
Māori Crime

49. Pūtaketanga model application
Te Tiriti o Waitangi
Māoricrime
Assimilation
Poverty
War&
confiscation
ofland
Legislative
violations
1852NZ
ConstitutionAct

50. • “Epigenetic research has
discovered that at a cellular
level, stress/ trauma from one
generation can be carried to
the next generation (Walters,
K, 2012).
Professor Karina Walters (Choctaw)
Foremost authority on Indigenous experiences of
Historical Intergenerational Trauma

51. Treaty of Waitangi Legislative violations - Critical Analysis
Breaching TOW – To confiscate Land & resources Consequences of Breaching TOW for Tangata Whenua
Native lands Act 1862 designed to break down communal ownership.
Native reserves Act 1864: All remaining reserve land put under settler
control of the Crown.
This legislation created intergenerational impoverishment
Breaching TOW - By blocking all forms of redress & accountability for fraudulent actions Consequences of Breaching TOW for Tangata Whenua –
Suppression of Rebellion Act 1863
• No right to trial before imprisonment. Its intention was to punish certain tribes
for perceptions of rebelling against the Crown.
• This piece of legislation through its practice was discriminatory and
traumatised hapū who stood for their rights in defending their people, land
and resources
Breaching TOW – Using legislation to Assimilate & subjugate Māori culture / language& identity. Consequences of Breaching TOW for Tangata Whenua
The Native Schools Act: 1867
• Schools would assist in the process of assimilation. 1871
• A Government stipulation that instruction in Native Schools had to be in English only
• Tohunga Suppression Act: 1908
• Penalties were imposed on tohunga (experts in Maori medicine and Maori spirituality).
• These pieces of legislation were used to assimilate to western ways of
thinking resulting in the removal of Māori cultural heritage, Māori language,
Māori identity, Māori principles, protocols, and Indigenous ways of existing

52. • Subjecting Tangata Whenua to
becoming paupers on their land
• Loss of traditional ways of
existing
• Near extinction of Māori
language
• Marginalization of cultural
knowledge & cultural identity

53. Doctrine of Discovery
History of Colonisation 1300-1400s
Te Tiriti o Waitangi 1840
Contextualising HIT
Coveting
Indigenous
Lands &
resources
Māori
Land
loss
Coveting Māori
Land & recourses

54. Contextual historical intergenerational trauma in genealogy
Generation 4
1840 - 1940
Relationship with
the Colonials
Great Grandfather:
Te Nahu Te Kuri Waretini-
Weteni.
Fought in the Waikato invasion against the British
empire1863
Exiled with King Tawhiao into the King country.
Fought along side Rewi Maniapoto and Tuhoe at Orakau
Pa
Legislative Violations:
Native Lands Act
Suppression of Rebellion Act 1863
Waikato Invasion
Native Schools act 1863
Tohunga suppression Act
Generation 3
1920’s-1989
Aftermath of
colonial assimilation
Grand Father:
Kapa (Tom) Te Wharua
Waretini Weteni
Brought up by Princess Te Puea
Helped build Turangawaewae Marae
Spoke Maori but was caned and punished in school.
Fought in World War Two
Moved away from Māori culture for western religion
Legislative violations:
Native Schools Act 1867
Tohunga Suppression Act 1908
Native Health Act 1909
WW2
Hunn Report 1961
Generation 2
1946 – 1996
Once were Warriors
generation
Father:
Raymond Bartholomew
Waretini Karena
Welder-Boilermaker
New Urban Māori
Under valued anything Maori
Didn’t learn tikanga-cultural heritage
Put his friends before his family
Abused his wife and children
Legislative Violations:
Hunn Report 1961
Pepper potting system
Rural to Urban migration
Generation 1
Rediscovering
cultural heritage
Mokopuna:
Rawiri-David-Waretini-
Junior :Karena
Musician - Lecturer:
Grew up with no identity
Did not know my native language or culture.
Wasn’t taught tikanga, kawa principles or values
Suffered years of child abuse
Went on to change the cycle and get an education
Legislative Violations:
Pu Ao Te Atatu
NZ Constitution Act 1986
Fore shore & Seabed 2004
Takutai Moana Bill 2010
Oil drilling
Asset sales
Fracking
TPPA

55. We grow up in the face of our histories, born into environments
constructed by others
Waretini-Karena 2014

57. • Queen Elizabeth II gives an official Royal Apology for the invasion of
the Waikato in July 1863.
• Queen Elizabeth II acknowledges that the action of the British Empire
and the New Zealand Settler Government was wrong.
• Queen Elizabeth II also acknowledges that Waikato Tainui were not
rebelling, but were protecting their lands, assets and families
• The value of the land that was confiscated had an estimate of 18
Billion dollars
• Waikato Tainui had land returned to them as well as $170 Million
dollars

58. • Although economically Waikato Tainui have over come impacts
stemming from colonisation, the psychological and intergenerational
impacts are still evident.

59. 0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Waikato Tainui Profit versus Wellbeing chart
From the confiscation of 1 million acres in 1864 to 170 Million 1995- 1 Billion 2015
Profit Wellbeing

60. • Net worth of 1.1 Billion dollars
• Developed initiatives for health, wellbeing & social services
• Focuses on education, research & Te Reo Māori language (Waikato
dialect) as a prerogative
• Establishes housing initiatives for Waikato Tainui people

61. • Any thoughts about todays lesson?

62. • Bedggood, D. (1978). New Zealand’s semi-colonial development. Department of
Sociology. University of Auckland: New Zealand
• Giddens, A.(2002). Sociology. (4th ed.) Cambridge: UK. Blackwell Publishers Ltd
• New Zealand Herald. (2005, Oct 28). Māori crime a concern for
government. Retrieved August 13 2015 from:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objecti
d=10352444
• Rashbrooke, M.(2013). Inequality in New Zealand. In Rashbrook, M (Ed).
Inequality: A New Zealand crisis. Wellington: New Zealand. Bridget
Williams Books Ltd
• Walters, K. (2012).Embodiment of historical trauma and micro aggression
distress.[motion picture] Retrieved August 14 2015 from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzPNWTD56S8