title: 'Thinking-through-Complicity' with Te Iwi o Ngāti Hauiti: Towards a Critical Use of Participatory Video for Research

authors: Kindon, Sara Louise

subjects: human geography

abstract: This thesis explores some of the seductions and dangers of participatory video for research (PVR) involving Indigenous Māori and Pākehā research partners. The project within which PVR was used focused on exploring relationships between place, identity and social cohesion within ‘remote’ rural communities. It involved about 15 members of the Potaka whānau of Te Iwi o Ngāti Hauiti in the central Rangitīkei district of the North Island, Aotearoa New Zealand. A small group of iwi members, myself and an audiovisual specialist and trainer negotiated the project’s focus, process and ethics during 1998. A different group of iwi members were then trained in video production and community research methods later that year and supported to produce their own productions, and carry out video research interviews with other iwi members. The entire process of negotiation, training and collaborative research was filmed for archival and research purposes with everyone’s consent, and several collaborative publications and presentations have been produced since 1999.

The discursive space opened up by Ngāti Hauiti’s engagement with, and use of, video provides an opportunity to attend to the ‘cultural mediations’ that occurred throughout the research partnership and to inquire into the possible ‘empire building effects’ of visual technologies within participatory research more generally. The focus on PVR within a Māori context also prompts questions about the visual’s transformative potential within geographic research, and the implications of working through the use of a visual medium for rethinking disciplinary practices and knowledges, particularly when working cross-culturally. 

In the thesis, I first review the evolution and attendant challenges associated with both the use of participation and video within research contexts. I trace their similar origins in modernist attempts to ‘know’ and ‘empower’ marginalised others, and highlight the ongoing marginalisation of Indigenous perspectives within mainstream debates. I then engage with conceptualisations of complicity and develop an analytical framework that expands on current discursive and ideological discussions to also attend to its material, embodied and spatial dimensions.

Using this framework and a complementary autoethnographic and ‘hyper-self-reflexive’ approach, I track aspects of my own power, complicity and desire within my research practice in the PVR project during the period 1998-2001. This approach involves the development of a particular reading position to focus on critical incidents of my research practice and a means of grappling productively with the polyvalent nature of my audiovisual and other information sources. I discuss these critical incidents within three processes associated with the research: facilitation, production and reception, attending to the complex and multifaceted interplay of audiovisual texts, their producers and their audiences throughout. 

Such a thesis is expedient given that powerful and often uncritical rhetoric that besets participatory research and development is fast taking hold within geography. It is also timely given the proliferation of affordable and accessible audiovisual technology and its increasing use within geography and other social sciences. As geographers respond to calls to embrace more visual, tactile and other methods, this thesis offers possibilities for the repoliticisation of participatory discourse within social geography, through a more considered engagement with participatory action research, Indigenous research practices and audiovisual media such as video. I offer cautionary insights into the ‘power-full’ effects of these ways of working.

text: 'Thinking-through-Complicity' with Te Iwi o Ngāti Hauiti: Towards a Critical Use of Participatory Video for Research This thesis explores some of the seductions and dangers of participatory video for research (PVR) involving Indigenous Māori and Pākehā research partners. The project within which PVR was used focused on exploring relationships between place, identity and social cohesion within ‘remote’ rural communities. It involved about 15 members of the Potaka whānau of Te Iwi o Ngāti Hauiti in the central Rangitīkei district of the North Island, Aotearoa New Zealand. A small group of iwi members, myself and an audiovisual specialist and trainer negotiated the project’s focus, process and ethics during 1998. A different group of iwi members were then trained in video production and community research methods later that year and supported to produce their own productions, and carry out video research interviews with other iwi members. The entire process of negotiation, training and collaborative research was filmed for archival and research purposes with everyone’s consent, and several collaborative publications and presentations have been produced since 1999.

The discursive space opened up by Ngāti Hauiti’s engagement with, and use of, video provides an opportunity to attend to the ‘cultural mediations’ that occurred throughout the research partnership and to inquire into the possible ‘empire building effects’ of visual technologies within participatory research more generally. The focus on PVR within a Māori context also prompts questions about the visual’s transformative potential within geographic research, and the implications of working through the use of a visual medium for rethinking disciplinary practices and knowledges, particularly when working cross-culturally. 

In the thesis, I first review the evolution and attendant challenges associated with both the use of participation and video within research contexts. I trace their similar origins in modernist attempts to ‘know’ and ‘empower’ marginalised others, and highlight the ongoing marginalisation of Indigenous perspectives within mainstream debates. I then engage with conceptualisations of complicity and develop an analytical framework that expands on current discursive and ideological discussions to also attend to its material, embodied and spatial dimensions.

Using this framework and a complementary autoethnographic and ‘hyper-self-reflexive’ approach, I track aspects of my own power, complicity and desire within my research practice in the PVR project during the period 1998-2001. This approach involves the development of a particular reading position to focus on critical incidents of my research practice and a means of grappling productively with the polyvalent nature of my audiovisual and other information sources. I discuss these critical incidents within three processes associated with the research: facilitation, production and reception, attending to the complex and multifaceted interplay of audiovisual texts, their producers and their audiences throughout. 

Such a thesis is expedient given that powerful and often uncritical rhetoric that besets participatory research and development is fast taking hold within geography. It is also timely given the proliferation of affordable and accessible audiovisual technology and its increasing use within geography and other social sciences. As geographers respond to calls to embrace more visual, tactile and other methods, this thesis offers possibilities for the repoliticisation of participatory discourse within social geography, through a more considered engagement with participatory action research, Indigenous research practices and audiovisual media such as video. I offer cautionary insights into the ‘power-full’ effects of these ways of working.

year: 2012

title: Kua Huri Taku Tira: The Rereahu Journey Towards Autonomy

authors: Crown, Jenny

subjects: autonomy

abstract: The establishment of the Native Land Court in Aotearoa New Zealand by the settler government caused much upheaval for tangata whenua. Traditional land tenure was interrupted by the colonised view of land ownership. Impetus to establish individual ownership of land was placed upon iwi and hapū Māori. This necessitated the iwi and hapū of the Rohe Pōtae to define their own individual boundaries within the autonomous region.

Over one hundred years later, the New Zealand government were under pressure from the Māori community. Iwi and hapū were vociferous in their requirements. The returning of land and natural resources to Māori was of paramount importance. The implementation of the Māori Trust Board Act enabled iwi and hapū to establish governance entities which permitted access to government funding. These entities also provided a vehicle through which iwi could pursue cultural redress from the Crown. This was the only way forward – the way dictated by the Crown.

Devolution was to become a reality and a sign of the decolonisation process at play. Such would allow Māori to re-establish autonomy which had been lost over a century prior. Destructive notions such as marginalisation, disenfranchisement and displacement would be reversed and Māori would regain control over their own cultural practices, cultural resources and future. Under the Fourth Labour Government of New Zealand this became a reality for some iwi and hapū.

This thesis investigates the attempts made by the Rereahu iwi in securing such recognition. Interrogation into the many ways in which Rereahu has attempted to navigate the multiple political landscapes which still exist and continue to control iwi and hapū have been discussed. The study develops a theoretical framework of Māori wide concepts as applied through a Rereahu-centric lens. Thus, allowing for a balanced approach to the collection, collation and analysis of all evidence utilised in this thesis.

Key findings bring to light the effects colonisation has had and continues to have on Rereahu autonomy. The ways in which Rereahu has been misrepresented, and how Rereahu has responded to threats of colonisation in the 21st century are apparent. This thesis contributes new knowledge to the realm of academia through the experiences of the iwi Rereahu; and offers indigenous discourse regarding resilience and resistance.

The ongoing effects of colonisation being felt by the Rereahu iwi in this contemporary landscape are defined. It is an example of how the oppressed can easily become the oppressor. This thesis goes some way to highlighting the destructive nature of the Waitangi Tribunal process in regards to Rereahu. The knowledge presented in this thesis could be utilised by the Office of Treaty Settlements, education and health establishments, policy makers and the iwi of Rereahu in addressing and combating the negative effects created by the cycle of colonisation.

text: Kua Huri Taku Tira: The Rereahu Journey Towards Autonomy The establishment of the Native Land Court in Aotearoa New Zealand by the settler government caused much upheaval for tangata whenua. Traditional land tenure was interrupted by the colonised view of land ownership. Impetus to establish individual ownership of land was placed upon iwi and hapū Māori. This necessitated the iwi and hapū of the Rohe Pōtae to define their own individual boundaries within the autonomous region.

Over one hundred years later, the New Zealand government were under pressure from the Māori community. Iwi and hapū were vociferous in their requirements. The returning of land and natural resources to Māori was of paramount importance. The implementation of the Māori Trust Board Act enabled iwi and hapū to establish governance entities which permitted access to government funding. These entities also provided a vehicle through which iwi could pursue cultural redress from the Crown. This was the only way forward – the way dictated by the Crown.

Devolution was to become a reality and a sign of the decolonisation process at play. Such would allow Māori to re-establish autonomy which had been lost over a century prior. Destructive notions such as marginalisation, disenfranchisement and displacement would be reversed and Māori would regain control over their own cultural practices, cultural resources and future. Under the Fourth Labour Government of New Zealand this became a reality for some iwi and hapū.

This thesis investigates the attempts made by the Rereahu iwi in securing such recognition. Interrogation into the many ways in which Rereahu has attempted to navigate the multiple political landscapes which still exist and continue to control iwi and hapū have been discussed. The study develops a theoretical framework of Māori wide concepts as applied through a Rereahu-centric lens. Thus, allowing for a balanced approach to the collection, collation and analysis of all evidence utilised in this thesis.

Key findings bring to light the effects colonisation has had and continues to have on Rereahu autonomy. The ways in which Rereahu has been misrepresented, and how Rereahu has responded to threats of colonisation in the 21st century are apparent. This thesis contributes new knowledge to the realm of academia through the experiences of the iwi Rereahu; and offers indigenous discourse regarding resilience and resistance.

The ongoing effects of colonisation being felt by the Rereahu iwi in this contemporary landscape are defined. It is an example of how the oppressed can easily become the oppressor. This thesis goes some way to highlighting the destructive nature of the Waitangi Tribunal process in regards to Rereahu. The knowledge presented in this thesis could be utilised by the Office of Treaty Settlements, education and health establishments, policy makers and the iwi of Rereahu in addressing and combating the negative effects created by the cycle of colonisation.

year: 2019

title: Geology, History and Stratigraphy of Hydrothermal Eruptions in the Rotorua Geothermal Field

authors: Cody, Ashley Douglas

subjects: Geothermal Hydrothermal eruptions Rotorua

abstract: The study area is the Rotorua geothermal field (RGF), which is located in the southern end of the Rotorua caldera. Distribution of surface geothermal activity, hydrothermal eruption (HE) deposits and craters have been mapped. HE deposits formed in geological, historical and modern times were studied to record and describe their distribution, composition, petrography, lithology and stratigraphy.

Locations of all identified HE sites in the RGF have been plotted and shown on accompanying maps. At Ohinemutu and Sulphur Bay, HE breccias have been preserved only where deposits were subsequently silicified by hot spring outflows. At Whakarewarewa two HE breccias outcrop over about 0.5 km² and are up to 23 m thick. Study of stratigraphic relationships with tephras of known ages has determined one as Holocene (c. 20 ka) and one of Late Pleistocene age (c. 65 ka).

Four HE breccias were studied in detail. The mineral composition, physical description, field characteristics and spatial distribution of HE breccias are described and mapped. Clasts and matrix were examined by XRD analyses of whole (67) and clay fraction separates (16). Silica crystallinity indices (14) were determined by XRD to identify devitrification rates of opaline mineral species. The petrography of 67 breccia clasts and matrix samples were studied, and polished sections showed the only sulphide to be pyrite. Geothermal alteration of all prehistorical HE deposits was of advanced argillic to argillic and one modern day deposit was of sub propylitic epithermal alteration.

Study of a HE deposit formed in Kuirau Park on 26 January 2001 allowed properties and mineral composition to be examined and recorded before rapid oxidation and weathering destroyed its physical and mineral composition. Study of this and other twentieth century HE events confirms that these rapidly decompose to leave little or no recognisable deposit in the geological record.

Descriptions and all known historical records of HEs in the RGF have been collated to provide a comprehensive inventory of maps and appendices of these events. This information will greatly assist statutory authorities with mitigation of risk to lives and property from geothermal hazards as well as aid appropriate land use and emergency services planning.

Hydrothermal eruptions are ongoing in the RGF through time and produce craters 2 - 110m diameter with erupted deposit volumes of 1 - 500,000 m³ that have distributed over <5 m² to >0.5 km². These have occurred throughout at least Late Pleistocene to Holocene times and appear to have been triggered by such events as volcanic eruptions from the adjacent Okataina Volcanic Centre and related abrupt changes to the waterlevels of Lake Rotorua. Frequency and spatial distribution of HEs in historical times suggest human interference with the geothermal system is also a significant influence.

This study has brought together all records of known hydrothermal eruptions and other unusual geothermal disturbances in the Rotorua geothermal field. The information has plotted into GIS for use by statutory authorities and others. Two prehistorical HE deposits in Rotorua city have also been recognised and described for the first time, together with identification of their likely vent locations and possible eruption initiating events.

text: Geology, History and Stratigraphy of Hydrothermal Eruptions in the Rotorua Geothermal Field The study area is the Rotorua geothermal field (RGF), which is located in the southern end of the Rotorua caldera. Distribution of surface geothermal activity, hydrothermal eruption (HE) deposits and craters have been mapped. HE deposits formed in geological, historical and modern times were studied to record and describe their distribution, composition, petrography, lithology and stratigraphy.

Locations of all identified HE sites in the RGF have been plotted and shown on accompanying maps. At Ohinemutu and Sulphur Bay, HE breccias have been preserved only where deposits were subsequently silicified by hot spring outflows. At Whakarewarewa two HE breccias outcrop over about 0.5 km² and are up to 23 m thick. Study of stratigraphic relationships with tephras of known ages has determined one as Holocene (c. 20 ka) and one of Late Pleistocene age (c. 65 ka).

Four HE breccias were studied in detail. The mineral composition, physical description, field characteristics and spatial distribution of HE breccias are described and mapped. Clasts and matrix were examined by XRD analyses of whole (67) and clay fraction separates (16). Silica crystallinity indices (14) were determined by XRD to identify devitrification rates of opaline mineral species. The petrography of 67 breccia clasts and matrix samples were studied, and polished sections showed the only sulphide to be pyrite. Geothermal alteration of all prehistorical HE deposits was of advanced argillic to argillic and one modern day deposit was of sub propylitic epithermal alteration.

Study of a HE deposit formed in Kuirau Park on 26 January 2001 allowed properties and mineral composition to be examined and recorded before rapid oxidation and weathering destroyed its physical and mineral composition. Study of this and other twentieth century HE events confirms that these rapidly decompose to leave little or no recognisable deposit in the geological record.

Descriptions and all known historical records of HEs in the RGF have been collated to provide a comprehensive inventory of maps and appendices of these events. This information will greatly assist statutory authorities with mitigation of risk to lives and property from geothermal hazards as well as aid appropriate land use and emergency services planning.

Hydrothermal eruptions are ongoing in the RGF through time and produce craters 2 - 110m diameter with erupted deposit volumes of 1 - 500,000 m³ that have distributed over <5 m² to >0.5 km². These have occurred throughout at least Late Pleistocene to Holocene times and appear to have been triggered by such events as volcanic eruptions from the adjacent Okataina Volcanic Centre and related abrupt changes to the waterlevels of Lake Rotorua. Frequency and spatial distribution of HEs in historical times suggest human interference with the geothermal system is also a significant influence.

This study has brought together all records of known hydrothermal eruptions and other unusual geothermal disturbances in the Rotorua geothermal field. The information has plotted into GIS for use by statutory authorities and others. Two prehistorical HE deposits in Rotorua city have also been recognised and described for the first time, together with identification of their likely vent locations and possible eruption initiating events.

year: 2003