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Reimagining Settler-Indigenous Relationships:
Immigrant Igorot Encounters with Te Ao Māori
BETHANY WAUGH
INDIGEN 792
A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the
Master of Indigenous Studies
University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
11 November 2022
ii
Declaration of Originality
I declare that, to the best of my knowledge and belief and in accordance with the policies of
the University of Auckland, this dissertation is my own work, all sources have been properly
acknowledged to the full extent of my indebtedness, and this assignment contains no
plagiarism. I further declare that I have not previously submitted this work or any version of
it for assessment in any other Department of Faculty or for any award offered by the
University of Auckland, its partner institutions, or any other institution. I further declare that
I understand the plagiarism policy of the University of Auckland and the Disciplinary Area of
Māori and Indigenous Studies, including the penalties for which I am liable should my work
be found to contain plagiarised material.
Signed: Date:
09 November 2022
iii
Abstract
Indigenous Igorot Filipinos have been immigrating to Aotearoa New Zealand since the 1980s,
becoming settlers on the lands of Aotearoa’s Indigenous Māori people. In recent years,
members of the Igorot Filipino diaspora living in Aotearoa have begun to notice cultural
similarities with Māori. Marrying Indigenous Filipino Pagtanong-tanong interviewing
techniques and Kaupapa Māori ethical frameworks, this pilot study investigates the
significance of Indigenous groups recognising similarities and building relationships with one
another in the context of Indigenous immigrants settling on the lands of traditional
Indigenous owners/caretakers. The study found that Igorot Filipino immigrants in Aotearoa
are affirmed in their own Indigenous identities through understanding Māori culture and
issues, and have noticed many visible and invisible cultural similarities between themselves
and Māori. Because of this, Igorot Filipino immigrants want to live and work together with
Māori to create a future where Indigenous ways of knowing and being are privileged in
Aotearoa and in their Filipino homelands. Based on these findings, the study suggests that
Indigenous immigrants have the ability to initiate and take part in the restoration of settler-
Indigenous relations in Aotearoa New Zealand, and elsewhere, to the way that they always
should have been: respectful, reciprocal, and recognising the sovereignty of those
Indigenous to all lands.
iv
Acknowledgments
I am extremely thankful to those within the Cordilleran diaspora communities of Auckland,
Waikato, and Bay of Plenty who have welcomed me into their homes, gatherings, and events
with open, warm, and friendly arms. It has been beautiful to experience your hospitality and
to become fully immersed in your stories as you shared your journeys, joys, and sorrows
with me. Thank you to each of my participants and to Manang Myriam Benito who
introduced me to them – you all went above and beyond my expectations in order to help
me undertake my research and discover the important links between your own culture and
Māori culture along with your thoughts on what it means to be an Indigenous person both in
the Philippines and in Aotearoa.
Thank you to Dr. Helene Connor and Mr. Lincoln Dam, my excellent supervision team – your
willingness to take on my overreaching project, get excited about it, and work with me
through the dissertation process has been invaluable. Thank you to the University of
Auckland for their generous scholarship, which enabled me to undertake this study and live
in Auckland. Thank you to all of my professors, colleagues, and classmates in Indigenous
Studies and Social Anthropology this year for challenging me to think differently and become
a better researcher. Thank you to each and every one of my friends, both old and new, for
walking with me through this year and making it a memorable one! Thank you to my
parents, Ross and Hilary, and to my siblings, James, Hadassah, and Eilish, whose love and
support has been steady no matter how far away I am.
v
Table of Contents
Declaration of Originality ........................................................................................................... ii
Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... iii
Acknowledgments ..................................................................................................................... iv
Table of Contents ....................................................................................................................... v
Glossary: Māori and Philippine Language Terms ...................................................................... vi
Preface ........................................................................................................................................ 1
Section 1: Introduction ............................................................................................................... 3
Research Outline .................................................................................................................... 4
Section 2: Methods and Methodology ....................................................................................... 7
Participant Introductions ...................................................................................................... 10
Section 3: Relationships between Indigenous Populations, Settlers, and Racialised
Immigrants ................................................................................................................................ 12
Relationships between Settlers and Indigenous Peoples .................................................... 12
Relationships between Racialised Immigrants and Indigenous Peoples ............................. 13
Section 4: Indigenous Identity .................................................................................................. 16
The Benefits of Maintaining Indigenous Identity for Immigrants ........................................ 16
Indigenous Immigrant Identities as Impacted by Indigenous Hosts .................................... 18
Section 5: Cultural Similarities and Why They Matter ............................................................. 21
Conditions Needed for Cultural Similarity Recognition to Take Place ................................. 21
Visible Similarities: Ancestral, Linguistic, and Physical Connections.................................... 23
Invisible Similarities: Conceptual and Spiritual Connections ............................................... 24
Section 6: Cultural Similarities as the Basis for Reimagining Indigenous-Settler Relationships
.................................................................................................................................................. 27
Indigenous Immigrant Connections and Responsibilities towards Indigenous Hosts ......... 28
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 32
References ................................................................................................................................ 34
Appendices ............................................................................................................................... 43
Appendix A: Information Sheet for Participants .................................................................. 43
Appendix B: Consent Form for Participants ......................................................................... 47
vi
Glossary: Māori and Philippine Language Terms
Aotearoa
The Māori name for New Zealand meaning ‘land of the long
white cloud’. This name used to be specifically applied to
the North Island of New Zealand but has since become
colloquially synonymous with the entire country.
Cordilleran/s
People who come from the Cordillera Administrative
Region in Northern Luzon, the Philippines.
Igorot
Collective term used to refer to the Indigenous groups of
the Cordilleran Administrative Region. The term was coined
by the Spanish and used as an insult but is now reclaimed
strategically by many as a symbol of unity for those who
have dispersed into cities or internationally in order to
signal their Indigenous identity and place-bound sense of
belonging. However, this term is contentious and the
Kalinga, Ifugao, and Apayao groups generally do not use it
as a collective identity marker.
Iwi
Māori word meaning ‘tribe’. There are 102 Māori iwi
groups in New Zealand. Many of these iwi use distinct
dialects of the Māori language and have unique traditions
formed by their histories and locations.
Kōrero
Māori word meaning ‘talk’ or ‘discussion’.
Marae
Traditional Māori fenced complex (including meeting
house, eating house, gateway, bathrooms, and sometimes
a small church). Marae complexes can only be visited upon
invitation by the local iwi.
Noho marae
Marae weekend stay. This is an immersive Māori cultural
vii
experience where visitors are invited to stay on a marae for
at least one night and two days. Usually a noho marae
would include a pōwhiri and potentially other educative
elements such as learning waiata or about other aspects of
Māori culture. During a noho marae, both hosts and guests
sleep on mattresses on the floor of the meeting house.
Pōwhiri
Māori formal welcome ceremony. During this ceremony,
visitors are welcomed onto a marae by the iwi members
from the area that the marae is situated in. The welcome
follows a formal and symbolic structure that includes
speeches, songs, and eating together before being sent out
with a blessing.
Tangata Whenua
Māori phrase meaning (Indigenous) ‘people of the land’.
Te ao Māori
The Māori world (including language, culture, and
cosmology).
Te reo Māori
The Māori language.
Te Wānanga o Aotearoa
A Māori tertiary education institution that offers courses on
Māori language and culture via their main campuses in
Hamilton and Auckland and satellite campuses all over New
Zealand. They also offer online learning options in many
subjects.
Tikanga
Māori word meaning ‘correct procedure’. Usually used
when discussing Māori cultural customs.
Waiata
Māori word meaning ‘song’.
Whare
Māori word meaning ‘house’.
1
Preface
This study grew out of research conducted in 2021 for my Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in
Social Anthropology, which set out to understand how Indigenous Filipinos living in New
Zealand maintain their culture. Among other findings, my study revealed that many
Indigenous Filipinos in Aotearoa see cultural similarities between themselves and Māori
1
– in
material culture, such as weaving or tattooing, but also in values that centre on family and
reciprocity (Waugh, 2021). As someone with Māori heritage, I was curious about how te ao
Māori impacts new immigrants to Aotearoa – particularly immigrants who come from
Indigenous backgrounds themselves.
My position in the current study is one of outsider allyship
2
. I am not from the Philippines
but have visited four times and have stayed in rural villages, hosted by my Indigenous friends
there. I am Māori but did not grow up with any knowledge of te ao Māori or te reo, so I am
still learning about my own Indigenous cultural roots. I undertook this research because of
the relationships I have formed with Indigenous Filipino communities both in the Philippines
and in Aotearoa – they wanted this research done. I wanted to add their important voices to
the almost non-existent literature on settler-Indigenous and Indigenous settler-Indigenous
relations in Aotearoa – relations that I will explain throughout this dissertation.
Ko Taranaki tōku maunga.
(Taranaki is my mountain)
Ko Waiongana tōku awa.
(Waiongana is my river)
Ko Tokomaru tōku waka.
(Tokomaru is my canoe)
Ko Muru Raupatu tōku marae.
(Muru Raupatu is my marae)
1
Māori are Aotearoa New Zealand’s Indigenous people. They are culturally and linguistically linked to all Filipinos through their
Austronesian ancestors (Fox & Sather, 2006). See Section 6 for more details.
2
According to researchers working on Canadian settler-Indigenous relations, being an outsider ally of Indigenous peoples within a research
context involves discarding all investment in ‘whiteness’, challenging ‘Western’ methodological norms, and making sure that ownership,
control, access, and possession of research remains with the Indigenous community, rather than the researcher (Nobe-Ghelani & Lumor,
2022; Snow, 2018). Throughout this project, I used Kaupapa Māori frameworks of my people to help me be an ally to the Indigenous
Filipino communities I was working with. See Section 2 for more details.
2
Ko Puketapu tōku hapū.
(Puketapu is my sub-tribe)
Ko Te Atīawa tōku iwi.
(Te Atīawa is my tribe)
Ko ngā iwi taketake i te Piripīni ōku hoa.
(The Indigenous peoples of the Philippines are my friends)
Ko Bethany Waugh tōku ingōa
3
.
(Bethany Waugh is my name)
3
This is my pepeha – a traditional Māori way of reciting genealogical information that links a person to their ancestral area, tribe, and
family (Connor, 2019).
3
Section 1: Introduction
“Tukua ahau, kia haere noa, ngā puke i mamao, e hotu nei, e tangi nei, te manawa aroha.
Haere ra, haere ra, kia tuturu au. He kupu haria e, kia mau te aroha”
4
. Constable Jason
Wharewera’s deep voice sang these words in the Te Puke Baptist Church hall as he finished
his guest speech at the Bay of Plenty Cordilleran Community’s celebration event in July 2022.
He gifted this waiata to the two hundred or so Kiwi Cordilleran Filipinos gathered there
hoping that it would resonate with them and remind them that, wherever they are, they
carry their Indigenous lands and traditions with them. This followed his kōrero, which
highlighted the similarity between Indigenous Filipinos
5
and Māori, as well as charging the
next generation with the task of upholding their Indigenous languages and values.
The Kiwi Cordilleran or ‘Igorot’ (discussed further shortly) event organisers, who identify as
Indigenous Filipinos
6
living in New Zealand, invited Wharewera, a Tauranga-based Ethnic
Liaison Police Officer, in order to strengthen local ties between themselves and tangata
whenua. This connection between themselves and Māori is something that more members
of the Kiwi Igorot community seek to foster as they recognise the similarities between their
two cultures and see the potential for positive reciprocal knowledge sharing and support
between their communities in Aotearoa
7
. They also hope to be able to carry this
relationship back with them to their homeland: The Cordilleran Administrative Region (also
known as C.A.R or the Cordillera) in the north of the Philippines.
Cordilleran Indigeneity and the terminology associated with it are debated, both in the
Philippines and wherever Cordillerans live as immigrants
8
across the world. The Cordillera is
4
Translation: Let me be borne, On the four winds, Let my heart know the way, And never forget, The voice of my land, Or one moment of
yesterday - And my love, oh my love It runs deep from within the soul of the land, I’ll always remember, It’s here we belong, I’ll never
forget my love.
5
Indigeneity in the Philippines is a complex issue and is not concerned with genetics or the timing of human arrivals to the archipelago.
Instead, it is marked by the level (or lack) of cultural absorption that groups of people experienced during the Spanish colonial period in the
1500-1800s. Typically, coastal lowland Filipinos during the colonial period adopted the customs and religious beliefs of the Spanish,
whereas those living in the inland mountainous regions held to their own ways of being and knowing, refusing to submit to Spanish rule
(Eder, 2013; Paredes, 2019; Salazar, 2000). See Hirtz (2003, p. 901) for more details.
6
There are approximately 100,000 Filipinos currently residing in Aotearoa New Zealand, but only around 2,000 of them have Indigenous
heritage according to their own country’s designations (Hirtz, 2003). Igorot Filipinos have been immigrating to Aotearoa since the 1980s.
See Waugh (2021) for more details.
7
Igorot Filipinos and Māori have been engaged in sharing Indigenous knowledges at an academic level since 2006, when Igorot woman,
Victoria Corpuz, was invited to be a keynote speaker at Aotearoa’s first International Indigenous Research Conference hosted by Ngā Pae o
te Māramatanga – The National Institute of Research Excellence for Māori Development and Advancement (Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga,
2006, June 14-17). Several other Igorot academics also presented their research in subsequent Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga conferences
(Personal Communication). This connection has only been noticed at the community level more recently (Waugh, 2021).
8
Throughout this dissertation I use the term ‘immigrant’ to refer to all those who have settled permanently in a country outside their
birthplace. When I am using the term ‘immigrant’ I am also encompassing those who are ‘migrants’ or temporary residents working in a
country outside their birthplace. I acknowledge that there is a difference in situation between immigrants and migrants but for the
purposes of this study and for ease of reading, I am using ‘immigrant’ to capture both situations.
4
segmented into six provinces: Abra, Apayao, Benguet (within which is Baguio City, the
region’s urban centre), Ifugao, Kalinga, and Mountain Province (McKay, 2006). Individuals
and families who come from Baguio City, wider Benguet, and Mountain Province refer to
themselves collectively as ‘Igorots’ – a term they have reclaimed from its derogatory Spanish
colonial origins
9
and proudly use to identify their Indigenous cultural and linguistic
backgrounds (McKay, 2006). Conversely, most of those who are part of the Kalinga, Ifugao,
and Apayao groups prefer not to identify as ‘Igorots’ due to the aforementioned derogatory
history and connotations of the word. Instead, they collectively identify by their tribal
affiliations alone (McKay, 2006).
In this study, I use the term ‘Igorot’ to collectively describe Indigenous Filipinos who are
from the Cordillera. However, I acknowledge that not all of my participants or the
community members I interact/ed with would use that term to describe themselves. The
term is still contested within the community (Lomiwes, 2002; Waugh, 2021). I have chosen
to use ‘Igorot’ even though I am aware of this contestation for two reasons. Firstly, the
majority of Indigenous Filipinos from the Cordillera whom I interact/ed with either actively
promote use of the term or accept that it is useful for collective identification, even though
they may not use it themselves. Secondly, in using the term ‘Igorot’, this study can be
situated within/alongside other research conducted with Indigenous Filipinos from the
Cordillera (Benito, 2012; Molintas, 2019; Tindaan, 2020).
Research Outline
My main research question was, “How have Igorot Filipino immigrants been impacted by
their encounters with te ao Māori?”. The primary impacts I considered were my participants’
personal Indigenous identities and what they thought their relationship with Māori should
look like. As my research progressed, I also aimed to prove that the way Indigenous
immigrants build connections with their Indigenous hosts has the potential to critically
address and reimagine what settler-Indigenous relationships could and should be. I explored
these questions and aims by situating my research within the interdisciplinary field of
Indigenous studies, drawing on settler colonial theory and migration studies, and using my
prior anthropological training.
9
Even though the word ‘Igorot’ literally means ‘people of the mountains’, connotations of the word during the colonial period suggested
that these people were ‘backward’, ‘animal-like’, ‘barbaric’, and ‘ignorant’ – stereotypes that the Spanish, Americans, and later lowland
Filipinos have perpetuated (McKay, 2006; Molintas, 2019).
5
My research investigates how Igorot Filipino immigrants in New Zealand understand and
enact their position as both Indigenous persons and ‘settlers’ on lands that another
Indigenous group (Māori) holds sovereignty over. It also explores the cultural similarities
that exist between Igorot Filipinos and Māori, as understood by the former, in order to
understand how such similarities open doors for Indigenous-Indigenous alliances and
relationships.
In Section 2, I discuss my use of a novel Indigenous research method crafted by marrying the
Filipino Pagtatanong-tanong conversational interviewing methodology with Kaupapa Māori
community research ethics. Using this method to co-construct the current study with my
participants and the community leader I worked with, I saw several themes emerging.
During my analysis, I grouped these themes into three categories: Indigenous identity,
cultural similarities and why they matter, and cultural similarities as the basis for reimagining
Indigenous-settler relationships. I have dedicated one section to each of these thematic
categories.
Grounding my research in theoretical understandings of how settler-Indigenous
relationships usually function, Section 3 begins by explaining Settler Colonial Theory and how
it applies to ‘newer’ immigrants (including racialised immigrants). I examine how the settler-
colonial agenda keeps racialised immigrants and Indigenous communities at odds with one
another. I note that when these groups of people do join together, they often find much in
common and align to challenge settler-colonial states, fight for justice, and stand united for
equality. Following this, I highlight the existence of Indigenous immigrants: racialised
immigrants who are considered Indigenous peoples in their countries of origin. Introducing
two case studies (Māori in Australia and Sámi in Alaska) in addition to my own study about
Igorots in Aotearoa, I conclude the section by arguing that Indigenous immigrants have been
ideally placed to reimagine and restore settler-Indigenous relations all over the world.
In Section 4, I show that when immigrants’ Indigenous identities are maintained well, they
are in a position of personal and communal strength from which they can build positive
relationships with their Indigenous hosts in their new homelands. I explain why this is the
case by drawing from the insights of my Igorot participants and from migration studies
literature. I also examine how understanding/empathising with Indigenous host cultures can
impact positively on the identities of Indigenous immigrants. I conclude that both personal
cultural identity maintenance and understanding/support of local Indigenous culture are
6
equally important in order for settlers to be able to enter into healthy relationships with
their Indigenous hosts.
In Section 5, I analyse the reasons that people seek to find similarities with others, with
particular emphasis on cross-cultural interactions and acculturation. Using the iceberg model
for understanding culture, I index the need for significant interaction between two different
cultural groups to take place in order for those groups to be able to recognise visible and
invisible cultural similarities between them. Following this, I describe the visible (ancestral,
linguistic, and physical) and invisible (conceptual and spiritual) cultural similarities that my
participants have noticed between their own cultures and Māori culture. I conclude by
pointing out that the unique way my Indigenous Filipino participants are able to recognise
these similarities provides them with a unique opportunity to connect with Māori.
In Section 6, I discuss how my participants found the cultural similarities between their
cultures and Māori culture helpful in forming relationships with Māori. This discussion
contains an investigation of why Indigenous Filipinos are better placed to find connection
with Māori than majority-culture Filipinos. I also use a case study on Māori-Aboriginal
relationships in Australia to highlight and compare the solidarities and issues that my
participants have recognised in Aotearoa. I conclude by demonstrating how my participants
articulate their perceived responsibility for building relationships with Māori. Within this
demonstration, I explain how their ideas for relationship-building are a starting point for
reimagining Indigenous-settler relationships and defying settler-colonial government
agendas.
7
Section 2: Methods and Methodology
In this study, I employed a novel and ground-breaking approach, utilising both Filipino and
Māori Indigenous research methods such as pre-ethics fieldwork, community relationship-
building, and establishing equal power dynamics between the researcher and research
participants (Adonis, 2010; Lowe et al., 2020; Pe-Pua, 1989; Smith, 2012; Wood, 2017). I also
grafted in some ‘Western’ anthropological techniques, such as specific semi-structured
interviewing styles and participant observation (Rubin & Rubin, 2011; Spradley, 2016), but
only as secondary aids to the Indigenous methods I was already using. Approval from the
University of Auckland Human Participants Ethics Committee was granted in April 2022
10
.
Participants were recruited via email through the assistance of an Auckland-based Kiwi
Cordilleran Community Leader who acted as a third-party intermediary between myself and
potential participants (Manohar et al., 2018). This community leader, who I got to know in
2021 as part of my Honours research, also acted as a ‘champion’ for my research and a
‘gatekeeper’, selecting and introducing me to potential participants for this study from
within her own network in accordance with my participant criteria (Manohar et al., 2018).
These criteria were that participants must be first-generation Igorot immigrants and have
had a significant encounter with te ao Māori. For the purposes of this study, I considered a
significant encounter with te ao Māori to be any setting where they gained a depth of
knowledge or understanding about Māori culture, such as through personal friendships with
Māori wherein cultural knowledge was imparted, or by studying a tertiary-level course in
New Zealand that taught or incorporated te reo, tikanga or other Māori cultural elements.
Due to the limited scope of this pilot study, I interviewed just two participants – one man
and one woman, whom I introduce shortly. One interview was conducted via Zoom video
conferencing and the other was conducted in-person at a café in Hamilton. Interviews were
open-ended and attempted to create a shared space, encouraging participants to ask me
any questions they liked, much like they would in a casual conversation (Bernard, 2017; Pe-
Pua, 1989; Puke & Lowe, 2020; Spradley, 2016). This enabled a level of trust and equality
between myself and my participants, as recommended within the Filipino Indigenous
research methodology Pagtatanong-tanong – a Filipino word meaning ‘asking questions’ (Pe-
Pua, 1989).
10
See Appendices for more details.
8
Pagtatanong-tanong, a method first discussed by Filipino sociologists and psychologists in
the 1980s, tries to alleviate the awkwardness that Indigenous Filipinos often feel toward
being interviewed with a formal list of questions and strict schedule (Pe-Pua, 1989). Pe-pua
(1989) suggests that Indigenous Filipinos may feel uncomfortable during formal interviews
because they may seem like an interrogation, where the interviewee’s intelligence is being
called into question, or because they may feel that each ‘listed’ question has a ‘right’ answer
they are expected to give. Additional awkwardness may occur because of the researcher’s
perceived high level of ‘importance’ (the visiting researcher often being ascribed a high level
of power within local structures – usually the same level of power as local chiefs, if not
higher) and limited time with their participants (Pe-Pua, 1989).
Using the Pagtatanong-tanong method, researchers are encouraged to casually converse
with their participants, covering a memorised outline of topics, but encouraging questioning
and answering by all parties in the conversation (Pe-Pua, 1989). The main difference
between Pagtatanong-tanong and ethnographic interviewing (as championed by James
Spradley and others) is the focus on creating equal power dynamics and a casual
conversational environment, rather than on keeping the researcher’s own ideas and
opinions out of the conversation (Bernard, 2017; Pe-Pua, 1989; Spradley, 2016). Drawing
inspiration from Pagtatanong-tanong, my outline of topics for my participants centred on
how they understood their own Indigeneity, their experiences of Māori culture, and how
they perceived their relationships with Māori. During our discussion of these topics as equals
(Pe-Pua, 1989), their questions for me centred around my experiences in the Philippines, my
Māori heritage, and what I hoped to achieve with this research.
I also drew inspiration from Kaupapa Māori as an Indigenous research framework. Kaupapa
Māori has been holistically developed by Māori for Māori as an Indigenous community
research methodology since its conception in the early 2000s (Pihama, 2010). There are
seven main ethical frameworks within Kaupapa Māori (Smith, 2005). The first is
Whanaungatanga: establishing meaningful, reciprocal, and familial relationships through
culturally appropriate ways. The second is Manaakitanga: sharing, hosting, and exhibiting
generosity – allowing knowledge to flow both ways. The third is Aroha: treating people with
love and respect. The fourth is Māhaki: humility – sharing knowledge without being arrogant
and encouraging community ownership of knowledge. The fifth is Mana: recognising all
people as having dignity and deserving respect and taking care not to cause anyone to lose
9
their dignity during the research process. The sixth is Titiro, Whakarongo, Kōrero: look and
listen before talking. The seventh is Kia Tupato: be cautious – this encourages researchers to
be reflective about their insider/outsider positionality and be aware of cultural and political
issues surrounding their research (Smith, 2005).
I blended the Pagtatanong-tanong and Kaupapa Māori Indigenous frameworks
methodologically because, while I am Māori and was drawn to using Kaupapa Māori as my
primary Indigenous research method, my participants are not Māori. All seven of the
Kaupapa Māori frameworks helped me to consider this outsider positionality and to think
about how I could be a good ally to Indigenous Filipinos (see Preface). Part of this allyship
was my desire to conduct research with them in a way that honoured their Indigenous
Filipino epistemologies. However, the Pagtatanong-tanong method (Pe-Pua, 1989) only
provided me with ideas for interviewing practices, whereas I needed an Indigenous research
framework that addressed the ethics of researching with Indigenous communities too. This
is why I chose to utilise Māori ways of ethically approaching community research,
particularly in regard to building relationships with the community prior to conducting any
official research (Lowe et al., 2020; Smith, 2012), as guidelines for how I interacted with the
Kiwi Cordilleran community, adapting them contextually as needed. I also saw this
methodological blending as a way for me to practically demonstrate how Indigenous Filipino
and Māori knowledge-sharing can create new ways of doing things in Aotearoa.
Following Kaupapa Māori’s seven main ethical frameworks for Indigenous community
research, I sought to engage with the Kiwi Cordilleran community in a meaningful way
before, during, and after the ‘interview’ sessions (Durie, 2017; Hokowhitu et al., 2020; Lowe
et al., 2020; Pihama, 2010; Puke & Lowe, 2020; Smith, 2005, 2012). I did this so that the
research could be co-created and shared between the community and myself (Puke & Lowe,
2020). Practically, this involved meeting up with a community leader to discuss ideas for the
research before any formal plan for it was submitted and before ethics approval was
granted. As argued by Lowe, George, and Dager (2020), this stage of ‘pre-ethics’ community
engagement is necessary for establishing relationships in Indigenous research settings. This
engagement also creates a space for the research to be discussed, not automatically
assuming that it will go ahead, seeking a collaborative approach from before the time that
the research formally begins.
10
Guided particularly by the frameworks of Whanaungatanga and Manaakitanga, I also
attended two community events, after I completed the interviews, to further my
relationship with the Kiwi Cordilleran community as a whole and maintain the relationships
that I had formed with community leaders and my research participants. These events were
the previously referenced Cordilleran celebration event in Tauranga and a Cordillera Day
event in Auckland. As exemplified by researchers working within a Kaupapa Māori
framework, active and reciprocal relationships between researchers and the communities
they are working with are key for conducting ethical Indigenous research (Pihama, 2010;
Puke & Lowe, 2020; Smith, 2012). I actively practiced this reciprocity (Hokowhitu et al.,
2020; Smith, 2012) by participating in these important community events and helping out in
practical ways, whether that was chopping carrots, wiping down tables, or taking photos for
community use. Additionally, I had regular discussions with community leaders and my
participants, getting them to check the transcripts of our sessions and contribute ideas as
the research progressed, co-constructing the final results.
To identify the biggest areas of importance that my participants discussed, I thematically
coded my interview transcripts (Rubin & Rubin, 2011; Saldaňa, 2009) using NVivo coding
software (Jackson & Bazeley, 2019). I used an inductive coding method, analysing the data
for common and repeated ideas – ideas that constructed an emerging big picture from
within the individual conversations I was working with (Bernard, 2017; Saldaňa, 2009).
I wanted to adhere to the frameworks of Māhaki and Mana, especially as this dissertation
neared completion. To achieve this, I sent drafts back to both my participants and the
community leader I was working with, seeking their approval on the way that their quotes
were used and on the way I presented their culture. I implemented the corrections and
changes they suggested, making sure that the research remained co-constructed in its final
stages. I see this study as theirs as much as it is mine.
Participant Introductions
I am thankful to have had the opportunity to get to know the two individuals that agreed to
be interviewed for my study. Their deep level of thought and care for Igorot-Māori
relationships in Aotearoa was inspiring to me, as were their ideas for how these
relationships could be furthered in the future. I offered each of my participants the option to
11
either be named within my research or to choose a pseudonym, and I refer to them as such
throughout this research.
Mr. A
11
, forty-five years old, is based in the Waikato where he is training to become a nurse
through a fast-tracked Masters of Nursing Science program. After completing his Masters in
Travel Industry Management at the University of Hawai’i, he immigrated to Aotearoa to
study his PhD in tourism at the University of Otago in 2009. He decided to settle in New
Zealand after his wife visited and they both agreed it was the place they wanted to be. His
recent decision to switch career paths into healthcare came as he saw both the fragility of
the travel industry and the need for more healthcare practitioners during the COVID-19
pandemic. Mr. A comes from the Ifugao region of the Cordillera and prefers to identify as
Ifugao rather than Igorot, though he has no objection to the term Igorot in general. His main
encounters with te ao Māori have been through the New Zealand tertiary education
programs he attended and through his work as a student nurse.
Margie Agaled, also based in the Waikato, immigrated to New Zealand to study her Postgrad
Diploma and Masters of Development Studies at the University of Auckland in 2009,
following a few years as volunteer in Mongolia. Her American boyfriend followed her to
Aotearoa, they married and settled, and Margie now works as a social worker specialising in
domestic/family violence within immigrant and former refugee communities. She also had
experiences working in residential services for children as well as in the hospice. Margie
grew up in Baguio City, the seat of government of the Cordillera Administrative Region, and
proudly calls herself an Igorot. Her parents were originally from Mountain Province. Margie
first encountered te ao Māori when she began her first job and was placed in Tauranga,
where she experienced a noho marae that the Tauranga multicultural council organised for
migrants in the Bay of Plenty region. Subsequently, she has encountered te ao Māori
through her work and then studies at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.
11
A pseudonym.
12
Section 3: Relationships between Indigenous Populations,
Settlers, and Racialised Immigrants
Before explaining the significance of the relationship between Kiwi Igorots, such as my
participants and Māori, and before presenting my participants’ narratives, I will first outline
the way that settlers have usually related to Indigenous peoples by drawing on settler
colonial theory
12
(Swain et al., 2003; Veracini, 2011). As explained by Lorenzo Veracini (2011,
p. 3), a settler colony is defined as a group of people who move to a new location with the
goal to “tame wildernesses, establish independent nations, effectively repress, co-opt, and
extinguish indigenous alterities, and productively manage ethnic diversity”. In essence, the
aim of a settler colonial state is to eventually be settled and postcolonial – it is a structure
that encourages the ongoing erasure of all ways of being and knowing that it does not agree
with, rather than a single violent event (Veracini, 2011).
Relationships between Settlers and Indigenous Peoples
Because of this structure, the relationship between colonial settlers (the majority of whom
came out of European nations) and Indigenous peoples has historically been and continues
to be fraught with violence, unequal power dynamics, and various forms of physical and
emotional devastation inflicted on the Indigenous populations by settlers (both consciously
and unconsciously) (Maddison, 2013; Slater, 2018; Swain et al., 2003). As a result, in the
present day, the relationships between the descendants of settlers who have grown up
under the headship of settler-colonial governments and Indigenous peoples are tenuous at
best. In most settler-colonial states (e.g. Australia, Canada, the US, New Zealand), structural
violence, inequity, and felt historical trauma remain a perennial issue (Falk & Martin, 2020;
Ruckstuhl, 2018; Slater, 2018; Swain et al., 2003; Veracini, 2011; Yellow Horse Brave Heart,
2003).
But where do ‘newer’ immigrants fit in when they move to a country that has pre-existing
settler-colonial power structures? According to settler-colonial theory, the main difference
between a settler and an immigrant is that, generally, settlers move to a country that their
‘home’ government has claimed as its own and create their own society there. Immigrants,
12
Settler colonial theory is a relatively recent analytical framework that emerged out of applying critical theory to Indigenous studies in the
1990s. This theory is primarily useful for non-Indigenous academics to interrogate how settler-colonial states have destroyed (and continue
to destroy) Indigenous lifeworlds in order to secure ‘settler’ futurities. However, it should not be privileged over Indigenous voices on the
same subject (Barry & Agyeman, 2020).
13
meanwhile, move to ‘another’ country and are expected to become part of the already
established society there (Veracini, 2010). However, I would argue that immigrants are
settlers too by act of moving to and living on land that Indigenous populations are the
traditional caretakers of without asking for the explicit permission of those Indigenous
caretakers (Koleszar-Green, 2018; Kukutai & Rata, 2017).
According to some Indigenous scholars, there could also be potential for all settlers to
consciously decide to separate themselves from settler-colonial thought-patterns and values
and take up a position as guests on the lands they are occupying (Koleszar-Green, 2018;
Nemec, 2018). Haudenosaunee woman Ruth Kolesarzar-Green (2018) suggests that settlers
wanting to act as guests can do so by treating their Indigenous hosts with peace, friendship,
mutual respect, and reciprocity, rather than with superficial relationships from places of
unearned privilege. She makes this suggestion because often immigrants who look and think
more like the majority society of the settler-colonial country that they move to (e.g.
European or ‘white’ South African immigrants) tend to acculturate into that society’s way of
seeing the world, adopting a ‘settler’ mindset (Koleszar-Green, 2018; Lynch et al., 2022).
Immigrants who do not look or think like the majority society, alternately, often feel like
outsiders and are racialised
13
by those around them in their new ‘home’ (Colic-Peisker, 2005;
Rata & Al-Asaad, 2019).
Relationships between Racialised Immigrants and Indigenous Peoples
In order to understand continued power disparities under settler-colonial structures, it is
important to examine how these racialised immigrants have commonly related to
Indigenous peoples (Phung, 2011; Rata & Al-Asaad, 2019; Sáenz & Manges Douglas, 2015).
Due in part to broken settler-Indigenous relationships, and in part to inherited colonial
thought patterns concerning whiteness and racial superiority, racialised immigrants are
often lumped together with Indigenous peoples by settler-colonial governments as
minorities that need access to the limited resources (Bauder & Breen, 2022; Johnston, 2022;
Lee, 2016). By ensuring that both racialised immigrants and Indigenous groups within a state
are vying for the same resources, settler-colonial governments pit them against each other,
which encourages the groups to stay separate and not engage in meaningful relationships
with each other (Lee, 2016). This separation is desirable for settler-colonial governments
13
These immigrants are identified within academic literature as ‘racialized immigrants’. They are im/migrants whom ‘white majority’
settler-colonial states racialize and often mistreat – usually Asians, Africans, and Latin Americans. Also referred to as ‘settlers of colour’ and
‘non-white’ immigrants (Colic-Peisker, 2005; Pellerin, 2019; Phung, 2011; Rata & Al-Asaad, 2019).
14
because it effectively keeps the ‘sovereignty’ of the government intact, preventing power
from shifting or their ideologies from being challenged (Bauder & Breen, 2022; Lee, 2016).
Studies from Canada, Australia, and New Zealand suggest that when Indigenous peoples and
racialised immigrants do meet together and form meaningful relationships, they often have
a lot in common and are able to work together to amplify their voices and call out
governments on issues such as in/justice and in/equality (Johnston, 2015; Lee, 2016;
Saranillio, 2013). This does not happen very often though, due to these immigrants wanting
to ‘rise above’ the negative perception of themselves and assimilate into the majority
society of the nation they end up living in (Koleszar-Green, 2018; Saranillio, 2013). They
often action this ‘rising above’ to some degree by taking on the structural settler-colonial
views of their Indigenous neighbours, seeing them as people who are troublemakers, people
to be pitied, and/or people who have immense social problems that need solving (Dam,
2022; Lee, 2016; Nemec, 2018). Or they simply do not think about their Indigenous
neighbours at all, as they are too consumed by the problems that their own communities are
facing (Phung, 2011).
However, not all racialised immigrants are caught up in these settler-colonial power
structures. There is another category of immigrant settlers that only a few have recognised
the existence of: racialised immigrants who are Indigenous peoples
14
in their country of
origin (henceforth: Indigenous immigrants). The biggest and most well-recognised groups of
these Indigenous immigrants are: Māori living in Australia; Mayans and Quechua living in the
US; Karen Burmese former refugees living in English-majority countries; and Igorot Filipinos
living throughout the English-speaking world, the Middle East, and Asia (Botangen et al.,
2017; George, 2014; Henderson, 2021; MacLachlan, 2014; Obinna, 2021; Sáenz & Manges
Douglas, 2015; Strunk, 2014). Other Indigenous peoples who have sizeable diaspora
communities in the English-majority settler-colonial states include Amazonian Colombians,
Hawaiians (in the US), Sámi (mostly in Alaska), and Ainu Japanese (Bermudez, 2011; Browne
& Braun, 2017; Hayashi-Simpliciano, 2020; Nyborg, 2010).
14
That is, they are considered Indigenous peoples in their own country by both local definitions and according to United Nations guidelines
for recognising Indigeneity:
Self- identification as indigenous peoples at the individual level and accepted by the community as their member,
historical continuity with pre-colonial and/or pre-settler societies, a strong link to territories and surrounding natural
resources, distinct social, economic or political systems, distinct language, culture and beliefs, the fact that they form
non-dominant groups of society, or that they resolve to maintain and reproduce their ancestral environments and
systems as distinctive peoples and communities (United Nations, 2007, p. 1).
15
These Indigenous immigrants are uniquely positioned as people who could build bridges
between their diaspora communities and the Indigenous people whose land they reside on.
This is because they share a similar history to their Indigenous neighbours and can greatly
empathise with their issues. One example of this bridge-building is how the Māori who lived
in Australia in the 70s and 80s marched with their Aboriginal neighbours to petition the
Australian government for recognition of Aboriginal land rights (George, 2014). Another
example is the Sámi people (Indigenous to arctic Northern Europe) who moved to Alaska
(under the initiative of the settler-colonial state) to teach the local Inupiat people how to
herd reindeer in the 1890s (Nyborg, 2010). The Sámi ended up becoming part of the Inupiat
community due to their shared love of the earth and frustration with how the ‘white’
settlers mistreated it (Nyborg, 2010). Most contemporary descendants of this community
have mixed heritage between Sámi and Inupiat, identifying as both and embracing the
traditions of both Indigenous groups (Nyborg, 2010).
Throughout the rest of this dissertation, I argue that these overlooked Indigenous
immigrants hold the key to the restoration of settler-Indigenous relationships globally. I
highlight the potential for this radical restoration through examining my pilot case study of
Igorot Filipino immigrants in Aotearoa. I do this by exploring how they find strength in their
own Indigenous ontologies, recognise their similarity to Māori, empathise with Māori issues,
and envision a future where Igorots and Māori can collaborate together to build a better
society in Aotearoa.
16
Section 4: Indigenous Identity
To me being Igorot means I am a woman from the mountains. I am an
Indigenous person. I take value of the tradition that I saw, experienced, and
witnessed from my grandparents to my parents and now it’s me. Especially
now that both my parents are gone – that identity is stronger.
Margie Agalad shared the above statement – the heart of her feelings towards her
Indigenous identity – with me as we both sipped lemon-honey tea on a chilly July afternoon
in Hamilton, New Zealand. For her, being Indigenous is something intangible that – no
matter her city upbringing, language abilities, or current place of residence – will always root
her in her Cordilleran homeland and give her a sense of belonging. Mr. A shared a similar
sentiment when I spoke with him over Zoom:
I am an Ifugao in my mind and heart and I'm so much attached to the Ifugao
culture and that's the culture that I have grown up with. I grew up in Ifugao. I
was born and raised there, so pretty much I have lived the Ifugao way of life
and cultural practices. Some people might say to you, ‘are you really an
Ifugao?’, because they're looking for, you know, probably the traditional mode
of dressing. But we are Ifugaos in our hearts, in our minds regardless of what
we wear. And our intangible culture – we still practice it a lot – and our mind-
set…we are strongly attached to our land, to our natural environment, and to
our family.
Note that Margie identifies as an ‘Igorot’, whereas Mr. A identifies as an ‘Ifugao’. As
discussed in Section 1, this difference in identity marking is consistent with the practices
within the regions that each participant comes from. Regardless of this difference, both
Margie and Mr. A demonstrate that they hold very strongly to their Filipino Indigenous
identities, even though they are now living in Aotearoa.
The Benefits of Maintaining Indigenous Identity for Immigrants
Multiple immigration and acculturation studies have shown that when immigrants maintain
a strong sense of their cultural identity, they are more likely to integrate well into their new
host communities and desire to positively contribute to society within those communities
(Klingenberg et al., 2021; Weng & Lee, 2016). The majority of Indigenous Cordilleran
17
Filipinos have a great sense of pride for their cultural heritage, regardless of where they live
in the world (Adonis, 2011; Benito, 2012; McKay, 2006; Peterson, 2010; Tindaan, 2020;
Waugh, 2021). Because of this pride, most Igorot immigrants actively seek to maintain their
identities through use of their mother-tongue languages, performance of their cultural art
forms within diasporic community organisations, living out their religious convictions, and
displaying their traditional clothing, music, and dance within their new host societies
(Botangen et al., 2017; Tindaan, 2020; Waugh, 2021).
However, the ability to maintain their culture in these ways is sometimes affected by their
host country’s authorities and institutions (Waugh, 2021). Mr. A compared his experiences
of cultural maintenance support in the New Zealand tertiary setting versus in Hawai’i and
explained:
When I went to Dunedin, I brought my full Ifugao traditional attire actually. I
was hoping to have some kind of intercultural activities, but there weren’t any
– in almost four years of staying there, never. In Hawai’i it was so vibrant…and
I wore my own Ifugao attire in Hawai’i several times.
As a further example of how local authorities can inadvertently hinder cultural maintenance,
one Kiwi Igorot (Waugh, 2021) mentioned that finding spaces to practice traditional dances
using the gangsa (gongs) in Auckland was over-complicated by by-laws about the
unauthorised use of musical instruments in public spaces and because of noise-level
restrictions in suburban areas. There is also the ongoing issue of the lack of institutional
heritage language learning support for minority language speakers (De Bres, 2015; Waugh,
2021).
Regardless of these kinds of challenges, the Igorot diaspora, both in Aotearoa and
worldwide, have worked hard to create organisations and spaces where they can maintain
their culture and be strengthened as immigrants because of it (Tindaan, 2020; Waugh,
2021). Margie confirmed the reason for this during our conversation, saying:
When we go home and stand on the ground, we feel different. There’s energy
that connects our whole being with where we are, like we are one with the
land, which unfortunately we don’t have here. So yeah, to us it’s very
important to create these gatherings or do these gatherings and have these
opportunities. Because we miss a lot of aspects of our cultural selves – the
18
people, the land, the food, the atmosphere, the celebrations, so we kind of
have to try to re-create some parts of it. Just a tiny part. If we can do it here
and we can feel it here it would be great, you know.
Continued participation in Igorot diaspora gatherings and being reminded of their collective
Indigenous ways of being have allowed Margie and Mr. A to thrive as Indigenous immigrant
settlers in Aotearoa – both as students and now as working residents. Both of them also told
me that, because of their strong sense of identity and understanding of Indigenous issues,
they began to notice similarities between their cultures and Māori culture almost instantly
upon arriving in New Zealand, realising that their presence in Aotearoa should somehow be
tied to their relationship with Māori.
Indigenous Immigrant Identities as Impacted by Indigenous Hosts
For Indigenous immigrants, the act of settling on the land of another Indigenous group can
have a profound impact on personal Indigenous identity (Henare-Solomona, 2020). For
example, Māori scholar Roseanna Henare-Solomona explains the impact her migration to
Australia had on her Indigenous identity and the importance of being in right relationship
with those on whose land she resides:
In the earliest part of our resettlement to country, it seemed natural to move
towards the social make-up of Australia’s First Nations people. It appeared to
me we had much more in common culturally. I think we still do. Unfortunately,
this connection was not as quick or straightforward as I had hoped, and it took
many years before I fully understood how to navigate this relationship. Today
my best effort is to always acknowledge our First Nation hosts for their
generosity and strong spirit, to identify my place as a visitor to this land and,
where possible, to make this known to others who might listen. Recognising
my place in country not only respects the host nation, but it also acknowledges
the values and principles of my own people. Knowing my place in this land has
been a powerful learning experience and has transformed the way I
understand what it means to live well in country.
(Henare-Solomona, 2020, p. 129)
When I asked Mr. A if he thought his own Indigenous identity has been impacted in any way
due to his interactions with Māori people and their culture, he said:
19
When I see Indigenous peoples, like the Māori people, they are practicing their
own culture, and their arts, and it always comes back to myself. I always go
back to myself, like it strengthens my identity as well you know, because, like
‘oh wow oh they're doing that - oh, we also have something like that’. And you
know, again, a similar case when I was in Hawai’i – like they have this festival –
it's called Merry Monarch festival. It's like they showcase all their arts, or like
songs and dances: traditional ones and creative ones. I said, ‘oh my god, we
should do this in Ifugao too!’
Margie, answering the same question, reflected:
Being out of the Philippines, I learnt more about who I am as a Filipino and as
an Igorot. So being here in New Zealand and actually seeing the strength of the
Māori people – you know the tenacity of claiming ownership, asserting who
they are, ensuring that they are heard and seen – I think that made me
appreciate them more. But also for me it was a reinforcement that it’s okay to
assert yourself, to be yourself, and to be seen as who you are. So yeah, it’s
more like enhancing who you are when you are exposed to or have
experienced other people’s cultures…I reflect more about my cultural self
because I see them.
Within these statements, both Mr. A and Margie demonstrate how their immigrant
encounters with Māori in Aotearoa have inspired and encouraged them. Unlike many
immigrants in New Zealand who have adopted majority society opinions (Nemec, 2018),
they do not primarily view Māori as people with immense social issues or as an oppressed
minority, but as a symbol of hope and resilience. This is due to the maintained strength of
their own Indigenous identity and the similarities they recognise between their cultures and
Māori culture.
Mr. A commented further on the connections he could see between his own culture and
Māori, saying they made settling in Māori homelands a positive experience for him. He
shared:
I watched a TV program. One Māori guy, maybe a prominent personality, went
around the world visiting all Indigenous peoples and interviewing them,
establishing connections with them. Somehow I share that kind of feeling
20
having lived in different places with Indigenous peoples. It feels good living
with other Indigenous peoples actually.
The key word in Mr. A’s last statement is ‘with’. He sees the act of living in Aotearoa as an
act of being in relationship with Māori, not as a chance to just make a better life for himself
and his family without giving thought to the Indigenous people whose land he is living on.
The awareness of understanding and living with Māori as being something that enhances
their own Indigenous identity, as demonstrated by Mr. A and Margie, shows that both
maintenance of one’s own culture and cultural understanding and support of the Indigenous
peoples of the new host country are equally important for immigrant-Indigenous
relationship-building. The next section explains what factors are necessary in order for
immigrants to gain understanding of their Indigenous hosts and the role that cultural
similarities play within those factors.
21
Section 5: Cultural Similarities and Why They Matter
Human beings are hard-wired to seek relational connection (Stever, 2017). When people
meet each other for the first time, social practice usually leads them to try and find points of
similarity with each other in order to establish rapport and begin relationship-building. If no
points of similarity can be established, people often withdraw and give up on making the
connection, whereas if many points of similarity come up, people usually feel positively
about the other person and try to deepen the relationship. This is the well documented
psychological law of similarity-attraction (Selfhout et al., 2009).
When people cross cultures and begin the process of acculturation in their new host
environment, the same similarity-assessment process takes place (Van Oudenhoven et al.,
2006). Case studies show that immigrants who share similarities with their host cultures
acculturate and integrate into host societies much easier than those who come from vastly
different cultural backgrounds (Lynch et al., 2022; Van Oudenhoven et al., 2006). When
immigrants do greatly differ culturally from their host culture (whether that culture is made
up of Indigenous hosts or ‘Western’ majority society members or both), they are more likely
to stick to their own diaspora community rather than integrate into their host society (Van
Oudenhoven et al., 2006). They are also more likely to form relationships with other
minority groups who are more similar to them than their host society (Van Oudenhoven et
al., 2006).
Conditions Needed for Cultural Similarity Recognition to Take Place
For people from one culture to recognise and understand similarities and differences
between their culture and another, they first need to have a level of exposure that allows
them to see not just the ‘visible’ aspects of the other culture but also the ‘invisible’ (Hanley,
1999). According to the iceberg model (first conceptualised by social scientists in the 1980s),
culture can be imagined as an iceberg, with the visible tip being easily observable things,
such as language, arts, dress, cooking, etc. The invisible part beneath the surface being
deeper aspects of culture, such as cosmology, relationships with the natural world, death,
kinship, morality, etc. (Hanley, 1999).
The majority of immigrants who have settled in Aotearoa, my participants included, had no
exposure to or understanding of Māori culture prior to their arrival. What little immigrants
22
did find out was usually filtered through mainstream media outlets and did not portray
Māori in a positive light (Nemec, 2018). In addition to this, many immigrants are not offered
the chance to experience Māori culture for themselves
15
. When I asked Margie whether she
knew anything about Māori culture before coming to Aotearoa, she said:
No, not at all. I mean, I did Google, you know – to learn about New Zealand
and all those things but mainly what you will see is touristy information, or
generic country information – a little bit about Māori, but again, based on the
tourist perspective. I did not know about the bi-cultural foundation of New
Zealand – I didn’t expect it, and I didn’t seek for it.
Thinking that perhaps Margie would have experienced Māori culture once she arrived in
Auckland for her studies, I asked her whether this was in fact the case. She shared:
In Auckland, no, there was no opportunity. While I was there two years, there
were really not a lot of opportunities for us to be part of the Māori experience.
Because I came to New Zealand a month after the term started, I missed all
those pōwhiri and things. So I didn’t have any experience during my student
years.
When I spoke to Mr. A about the same issue, he said that he also had arrived slightly later
than the start of semester and that the University of Otago had not initiated a pōwhiri for
late-coming international students either. As a result of this absence of Māori culture during
their initial New Zealand university experiences, both Margie and Mr. A only discovered the
visible and invisible similarities between their own cultures and Māori culture when they
began working and undertook further study that was directly for the purpose of learning
about Māori culture. The following section highlights the visible ancestral, linguistic, physical
cultural similarities and the invisible conceptual and spiritual similarities that Mr. A and
Margie have now identified between their cultures and Māori culture. It also discusses how
recognising those similarities has enabled them to see the potential for relationships with
Māori and enhance their experience as immigrants in Aotearoa.
15
People entering Aotearoa as refugees are educated about Māori culture through the six-week induction programme at the Māngere
Refugee Resettlement Centre and are usually invited to participate in a pōwhiri ceremony when they are placed in various cities around
New Zealand. Other immigrants are not usually given this opportunity, however (Field & Kearney, 2021).
23
Visible Similarities: Ancestral, Linguistic, and Physical Connections
All ethno-linguistic communities in the Philippines are linked to Māori through shared
Austronesian ancestry, as indexed by linguists (Blust, 2013), historians (Fox & Sather, 2006),
and by Noah Romero and colleagues (2022) in their recent article on theorising Māori-
Philippine solidarities. However, due to limited contact between these groups and lack of
educational resources on this topic, this ancestral link is not something that most Filipinos or
Māori are aware of (Romero et al., 2022). The discussions I have had with my participants,
both during previous research (Waugh, 2021) and the current study, suggest that immigrant
Filipinos become aware of this ancestral link once they have been exposed to te reo Māori
terms and recognise the cognates between their languages and Māori. Several Igorot
im/migrants that I have spoken to have mentioned how the names for numbers are similar
between their languages and Māori (Waugh, 2021). When I asked Mr. A what similarities he
could see between his own culture and Māori culture, he commented:
Yeah, you know, even the language – the Māori language – we have
similarities too with our own Ifugao language. Like you know you say ‘whare’
for the ‘house’ – we call it ‘bale’ and in one in a dialect they call it ‘fare’ as
well. See what I mean, like it's kind of a natural thing – a natural connection.
The term ‘natural connection’ used here essentially references those easily recognisable
‘visible’ cultural similarities, as discussed previously (Hanley, 1999). The other similarities
that fall into this ‘visible’ category are physical cultural similarities. Attire, weaving and
tattooing were among the most obvious physical cultural similarities between Igorots and
Māori that participants identified across the two studies I have conducted
16
. Speaking of
traditional clothing, Mr. A said:
If you look at the traditional attire, it's similar. Like I was thinking, maybe when
I graduate – I think we are given the option to either wear the cloak, I think, or
the robe? I was thinking of wearing their (Māori) cloak and wearing my Ifugao
attire. Because as part of my traditional attire we have like an ‘upper blanket’
and then we also have the loin cloth as well.
This builds upon what a Kiwi Igorot woman said in another study, though she focused more
on the materials and colours present in Igorot and Māori clothing, saying, “Their dresses –
16
The current study and my Honours dissertation research (Waugh, 2021)
24
theirs is made of grass, isn’t it? Ours is feathers or strings – and I know the colours is not the
same and that but it is quite similar” (Waugh, 2021, p. 27).
Neither Mr. A nor Margie described any further ‘visible’ cultural similarities during my
discussions with them. However, I think it is important to mention other visible similarities
that Igorots living in Aotearoa have noticed because these kinds of similarities were cited by
the participants in my Honours research as being the reason that they became interested in
learning more about Māori. One Kiwi Igorot woman, for example, described tattoos present
in both her own culture and Māori culture, explaining, “Theirs is curvy – I think ours is a bit
more straight, straight lines – theirs is similar. Yeah warriors…where we come from, the
more tattoos you have, the braver you were and it’s like your badge of how many people
you’ve killed I think…”
17
(Waugh, 2021, p. 27). A further example is how all four of the
female participants in that study mentioned weaving as something they recognised as a
similarity between Māori culture and their own; observing this weaving had triggered their
awareness of the link between their two cultures. Only one out of the eight participants in
that study had undertaken any formal learning about Māori culture (Waugh, 2021). I
mention this because it highlights the way that visible noticed similarities lead Indigenous
immigrants to want to learn more about Māori and discover the ‘invisible’ cultural
similarities.
Invisible Similarities: Conceptual and Spiritual Connections
Mr. A. and Margie both had significant formal education on Māori culture and meaningful
encounters with Māori. Because of this, they were able to speak to the ‘invisible’ cultural
and spiritual concepts they noticed were present in both their own cultures and Māori
culture. This is also possibly why they chose to focus less on the previously discussed ‘visible’
similarities.
Mr. A directed my attention to the similarities surrounding the concept of reciprocity
between the two cultures, giving the following illustration as evidence:
I have learned about the ‘utu’ – the value of reciprocity. We have that as well
in the Philippines and we call it ‘ubbu’, which is very similar, in Ifugao. So yeah
I was talking to one of our Māori speakers when I attended a seminar and I
17
For further details of tattooing traditions throughout the Philippines and Oceania and their points of similarity see the book, The
Forgotten Children of Maui, by traditional Philippine hand tattoo artist, Lane Wilcken (2013).
25
said to him, “you know, we also have that, we call it ‘ubbu’ but that's more like
‘I come to help you and then you can also help me later on, in return’ –
something like that.
But, in a broader context, we have that kind of value as well. For instance,
when someone died, like other family or relatives, then… we butcher like, pigs.
A lot of pigs! We feed people every day. Like even three times a day – so how
could a family afford that, you know, – but it's because of this culture of
reciprocity… So my parents would bring a pig enough, and then, when my
father died last year, a lot of people brought pigs – he was even buried and
then some pigs were not even butchered because it was too much. But you
are not like obliged to reciprocate if you don't have the means to yet. You can
reciprocate some other time, or in other ways – it's not like a very formal
agreement or a contract. You help when you can – which is pretty much the
concept of ‘utu’.
Giving a practical application for why understanding this kind of ‘invisible’ similarity between
their two cultures is important, Mr. A went on to say, “So you see, the more I learned, the
more I connect (with Māori) – because of the shared similarity in terms of values and
cultural practices”.
When I asked Margie what similarities she saw between her own culture and Māori culture,
she mainly focused on the way that both cultures acknowledge ancestors and the unseen
forces that make up the natural world. She said:
The big things are the acknowledgement of the spirits, or the unseen, in
general. I think that’s one of the most essential similarities, because in
everything we do – not only in celebrations or gatherings – it’s there. And I
think also the same with Māori. So the acknowledgement that they are around
us and not far away from us – they may affect our days or our lives, who
knows? But there are those beliefs. And also there are the values around our
environment. Because our culture is intrinsically influenced and formed by our
environment – the mountains, the rivers, the rocks, the trees, the air – our
sense of selves cannot be disconnected with our relationships with nature.
And we see that Māori are also huge in acknowledging the spirits around us, of
the river for example, and protecting nature because of the sacredness of it.
26
She went on to explain why this connection means so much to her, sharing:
That’s what I really love about the Indigenous cultures – not just about Māori –
also other Indigenous cultures in the world, because life doesn’t have to be
black and white. Life doesn’t have to be just this, you know, what you see
around you. Life is more than just the tangible and mundane. You just have to
accept that. And to us we accept that. We don’t have to question it or analyse
it. And that’s the beauty of life. It helps you cope with life.
This final statement by Margie links the current discussion about recognised similarities back
to the ideas discussed in Section 4 about the importance of maintaining and recognising
Indigenous ways of knowing in order to flourish as an Indigenous immigrant. It is important
to be reminded of this because, as discussed in this section, when immigrants arrive in a new
country, their experience of that country can be greatly affected by whether or not they can
form meaningful connections with people in that country. They often form connections with
people or groups of people who they share cultural similarities with, but cannot discover
those similarities without reasonable levels of exposure to the groups they are meeting due
to there being both ‘visible’ and ‘invisible’ aspects of culture (the invisible aspects requiring
relationship or formal learning in order to be aware of them).
Thanks to the formal education and work opportunities my Indigenous Filipino participants
have had in Aotearoa, their nuanced understanding of the visible and invisible aspects of
Māori culture that relate to their own cultures has positioned them to be able to connect
with Māori in ways that people from less-similar cultural backgrounds may find difficult. As
both Mr. A and Margie discussed, they have personally been drawn towards Māori culture in
Aotearoa because of the similarities and kinship that they have recognised between
themselves and Māori. The next section discusses how this similarity recognition has led my
participants to intentionally attempt to build relationships with Māori and what they
imagine those relationships could become.
27
Section 6: Cultural Similarities as the Basis for Reimagining
Indigenous-Settler Relationships
As discussed in Section 5, Margie and Mr. A recognised many similarities between their
cultures and Māori culture, which caused them to be drawn towards Māori. Knowing this, I
was interested to discover whether or not this similarity recognition remained just that, or
whether my participants had any examples of how recognising these similarities had actually
helped or encouraged them to build relationships with Māori. A good example arose when
Mr. A began telling me about how he “doesn’t have to exert a lot of effort” to relate with
the Māori patients he works with during his clinical placements. In response, I asked him
whether he thought it was easier for him to relate to Māori than it would be for just anyone
coming from the Philippines. He replied, “I think so. But generally Filipinos are friendly and
they're hospitable – which is also like the Māori value of manaakitanga. But I think I have
more of a deeper understanding and am able to connect more than the people coming from
the mainstream Filipinos”. When I queried what he thought the reason for this was, he
responded: “I think maybe it's because of cultural similarities as well as the history – our
shared history of colonisation as well”.
This statement by Mr. A is particularly salient in light of Romero and colleagues’ (2022)
suggestion that all Filipinos should be able to find solidarity with Māori. In that article, the
authors posit that Filipino and Māori understandings of the world are very similar in terms of
acknowledging the spiritual realm and ancestors. (Romero et al., 2022, pp. 14-15) also argue
that solidarity between Filipinos and Māori could both overturn “dominant narratives of
cultural assimilation and racialised experiences in Aotearoa” and further alliances between
Indigenous and “deterritorialised” peoples.
Based on my conversations with Mr. A and other Filipinos, however, I would argue that the
majority of Filipinos would not find instant solidarity with Māori. Possible reasons for this
include: the majority of Filipinos are Catholic or protestant Christians and reject the
acknowledgement of nature-related spirits – they have also never experienced racially-
fuelled discrimination or systemic abuse within their own cultural context (Waugh, 2021). In
contrast, Igorot Filipino migrants, while holding Christian beliefs, also acknowledge their
ancestral spiritual realm and have experienced discrimination for being Indigenous in their
own country. While Romero and colleagues’ (2022) argument for Filipino-Māori solidarities
28
is great in theory and something that I am also suggesting may exist, practically there are
many more nuances to be considered. As Mr. A pointed out, the similarity not only of
worldview but of experience is what allows Igorot Filipinos to connect with Māori on a
deeper level than other Filipinos – a connection that could only be made by people who are
themselves Indigenous.
Indigenous Immigrant Connections and Responsibilities towards Indigenous Hosts
The few recorded examples that exist of Indigenous-Indigenous immigrant settler
connections, such as those between Igorots and Māori, mostly consist of theses by
individuals with Indigenous immigrant heritage (George, 2014; Hayashi-Simpliciano, 2020;
Henare-Solomona, 2012, 2020; Henderson, 2021; Nyborg, 2010). The first comparative
example I found was James Rimumutu George’s (2014) thesis on the relationship between
Māori migrants and Aboriginal people in Australia. In this study, one Māori participant said:
I think that Aboriginal people are deeply similar to Māori. They take deep pride
in their people and their land. In an urban sense, I think they have similar
challenges dealing with a legacy of hundreds of years of dispossession and
cultural marginalisation. (George, 2014, p. 128)
Further into the thesis, George (2014) shows how this perceived solidarity is relationally
outworked through marriage between Māori and Aboriginal Australians, through the
formation of sports teams consisting of Māori and Aboriginal Australian players, and through
Māori taking a stand with Aboriginal Australians in the 1970s and 80s to protest in Sydney
for land and civil rights for Aboriginal peoples.
Eve Ngāwaiata Henderson (2021) also briefly discusses the connection between Māori and
Aboriginal Australians in her thesis on what it means to be Māori living on the Gold Coast in
Australia. This discussion in some ways echoes George’s (2014), speaking about blended
Aboriginal and Māori families and the ‘natural’ friendships that occur in smaller Gold Coast
towns where both groups of people reside. However, Henderson’s (2021) participants were
also reflexive of their own position as outsiders to Aboriginal culture and of how Māori
culture is often held in higher regard than Aboriginal culture by the majority of Australians.
One Māori woman said:
Being Māori is very much glamourised in many ways on the Gold Coast. In
general, Aboriginals were spoken about in a derogatory way, but everyone
29
loved the All Blacks and the haka and a lot of the girls were interested in the
Māori boys.
(Henderson, 2021, p. 77)
A few of Henderson’s (2021) participants also said that, potentially, Māori living in Australia
are perceived as too overbearing. Investigating this from the perspective of Aboriginal
Australians, Henderson cites an interview with a Yorta Yorta Goomaroi elder found in
Roseanna Henere-Solomona’s thesis (also focused on trans-Tasman Māori migration) that is
a call to Māori to remember where they are and their need for relationship with their
Aboriginal hosts:
You Māori have a lot to offer us. You are always at the front breaking down
the walls of oppression for all indigenous nations. But remember, like we need
you, Māori need us too because we know that culturally you have protocols
that require us, to be a part of that visitor/host relationship.
(Henare-Solomona, 2012, p. 152)
Henderson (2021) concluded this brief section of her thesis by confronting the fact that
Australian-based Māori often inadvertently contribute to ongoing settler-colonialism by
brushing aside racist jokes made about their Aboriginal neighbours and embracing the
affluent ‘Gold Coast’ beach lifestyle and identity.
My own participants spoke to a similar issue that they could foresee occurring within the
Kiwi Igorot community if Māori-Igorot relationships are not fostered more strongly in the
coming years. Margie explained:
I can see that, in New Zealand, there’s a very strong Igorot community – there
are a lot of organisations, there are a lot of gatherings and celebrations – a lot
of celebrating cultures, which is great. But what’s missing to me is that
‘acknowledgement’ and that integration. And I’m not talking about other
migrant cultures because they also have their own journey – but that
connection and relationship between Māori and us. Because again, most of
what migrants know about Maori comes from mainstream media and if we
don’t learn or have opportunities to learn and share, our children may not fare
much better than us in experiencing, relating, and sharing…within and about
30
te ao Maori. I would be very sad if my son would grow up not able to connect
and relate to his identity within this context.
When I asked Margie what she thought could be done about this issue, she told me that
inviting Māori representatives, like Constable Jason Wharewhera, to Igorot events in
Aotearoa and to keep trying to “integrate Māori-ness” into the things the Igorot community
does were good starting points. She shared that this integration “may look like using Maori
words, greetings, karakia, Maori blessings, etc.” when Igorots meet together. Margie also
acknowledged the position that Igorots occupy in New Zealand and how relationship-
building efforts cannot be completely one-sided if they are to succeed, saying:
For us here, we are that ‘other’ and it’s in part our responsibility to break that
otherness. You cannot just expect people to accept you as you are because
you are here. You have to find a way to also build relationships or start
connections. It can be challenging but its ok. We’ll keep on trying.
Mr. A suggested that a good way to try to further build and solidify Māori-Igorot
relationships could be to set up more opportunities where both Igorots and Māori could
showcase their cultures side by side in Aotearoa, saying:
I wish there would be more intercultural activities where people could learn
and engage – it promotes more intercultural understanding. You know I
studied in Hawai’i before, so I lived there for two and a half years, and the
Cordillera group were engaged in Honolulu festivals. Different ethnicities or
nationalities participate and even different cultural groups from the
Philippines. I found that really, really good – it's a good opportunity to learn.
And like, we learnt each other’s dances – we learnt each other's culture.
He also suggested that creating cultural exchange programmes that would allow Igorots to
experience more of Māori culture and send Māori to the Cordillera in the Philippines to
experience Igorot culture might be ideal for furthering the relationship between the two
groups, sharing:
It’s my wish that there would be like an Ifugao and Māori Intercultural
exchange – something like that. In the United States, for instance, they have
like intercultural exchange programs – at least for the performing arts. So like
some Ifugao performers would go and perform there and, you know, it's kind
31
of fun, and then some groups would also go sometimes to Ifugao see how it
looks like there. And I have also sent some groups from Ifugao to Taiwan,
because there was this Indigenous festival there as well. Yeah so I'm looking
forward to having those kinds of activities here in New Zealand as well.
Both of these suggestions are within the realms of possibility. During the 2010s, there were
many exchange programmes that sent Māori students from various institutions (secondary
and tertiary) to visit Indigenous communities in places such as Taiwan and the USA, and
invited students from those communities to visit Aotearoa to learn about Māori culture
(Dawson, 2014; de Graaf, 2019). There are also many cultural exchange trips planned for
2023 now that the pandemic has eased – trips sending Māori students to Brazil, Japan, and
other localities to connect with the Indigenous peoples of those lands (Waatea News, 2022).
A potential reason that cultural exchanges have never been initiated between Aotearoa and
the Philippines could be because the Philippines is not considered a political or economic
partner by the New Zealand government (Bano, 2010, April). If this is the reason, it is
another by-product of settler-colonial thought-patterns – with the government only
funding
18
Māori to meet with Indigenous communities in government-approved partner
countries (Veracini, 2011). Creating an exchange to the Cordillera from Aotearoa could
subvert and decolonise these thought-patterns, bringing Indigenous relationships back to
the centre of Indigenous cultural exchanges, while also strengthening Indigenous immigrant-
Indigenous relationships within Aotearoa.
The desire that both Mr. A and Margie have to align themselves with Māori and build
bridges between their two communities also unsettles settler-colonial government ways of
thinking about immigrants and immigration. They are not inclined to assimilate into
mainstream New Zealand society or comfortably stick within their own diaspora groups –
both actions that the state would encourage as the norm (Romero et al., 2022). They have
both chosen to strive to bring more Māori culture into their diaspora spaces and to imagine
a future where their cultures are working and learning together both in Aotearoa and the
Philippines.
18
Most cultural exchanges for Māori students are funded by Prime Minister’s Scholarships (Waatea News, 2022). The current list of
countries that they provide scholarships to send students to are: China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, India, Japan, Korea, Vietnam,
Indonesia, Thailand, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Chile (Think New, 2022).
32
Conclusion
This project began as an inquiry to document cultural similarities between Igorot Indigenous
Filipinos and Māori. As a Māori woman with many Indigenous Filipino friends, I intended this
study to be a gift for both communities with the hopes that they could use it to understand
each other better. However, this research became a rallying call for all Indigenous immigrant
settlers and Indigenous host communities as I gained more insights into the relationships my
Igorot settler participants envisioned being possible between themselves and their Māori
hosts. It is a call to overturn and rise above settler-colonial immigration ontologies.
During this project, I grew from my background in social anthropology to being a practicing
Indigenous researcher. I did this through my use of a novel Indigenous research
methodology that I constructed by utilising aspects of Pagtatanong-tanong Indigenous
Filipino research methods and Kaupapa Māori ethical Indigenous research approaches.
Creating this methodology allowed me to be Māori in the way I conducted my research,
while also respecting and accounting for the cultural background of my Indigenous Filipino
participants. This approach also gave me the opportunity to demonstrate how bringing both
Māori and Indigenous Filipino knowledges together has the potential to break through
expected norms and create new ways of doing things in Aotearoa – ways that could
eventually be applied elsewhere.
In the theoretical parts of this dissertation, I indexed the existence of Indigenous immigrants
and proposed their potential for being able to restore the broken nature of settler-
Indigenous relationships in Aotearoa and elsewhere. I suggested that if Indigenous
immigrant settlers are able to maintain a strong sense of their own Indigenous identities,
then they are more likely to recognise that understanding their Indigenous hosts’ cultures
and forming relationships with them has the potential to enhance their own identities and
experiences as immigrants. I also posited that these kinds of intercultural relationships can
only be realised if Indigenous immigrant settlers and their Indigenous hosts interact
meaningfully enough for the two groups to be able to observe both the visible and invisible
aspects of each other’s cultures.
My pilot case study featuring Igorot Filipino immigrants in Aotearoa confirmed these
theoretical hypotheses. I showed that some Igorot Filipinos in Aotearoa have had the chance
to observe these aspects of Māori culture and have recognised many similarities between
33
their cultures. I also examined how recognising these similarities has helped Igorot Filipino
immigrants in Aotearoa to build relationships with Māori. Finally, I showed how these
recognitions have inspired Igorot Filipino immigrants to imagine and strive towards a future
where their diaspora communities are working and learning together with Māori to create
an Aotearoa that privileges Indigenous ways of being and knowing.
This project, while limited in scope, is both potent and powerful in its implications. Ideally, to
extend its reach and credibility, similar studies should be conducted with all Indigenous
immigrant diaspora groups who are currently residing in settler-colonial states. The task of
researchers (both Indigenous and Indigenous-allied) is to continue to investigate the
hypothesis that Indigenous immigrants have the ability to take part in restoring settler-
Indigenous relations to the way that they always should have been: respectful and
reciprocal, recognising the sovereignty of those Indigenous to all lands. Indigenous
immigrants and Indigenous host communities, however, are responsible for initiating these
restored settler-Indigenous relationships
19
. It is a long and hard road, but a road that we
share together. We have to want things to change enough to make those changes happen. I
am proud of all that Māori have achieved for Indigenous rights through sheer determination
and community willpower, and I hope that we can rise once again to the task. I want to live
in an Aotearoa where Indigenous immigrants and all other peoples present in these lands
live as guests who recognise and support their Indigenous hosts, striving for right-
relationship and reciprocity that stretches across the seas and back. My Igorot Filipino
participants believe this is possible. Based on the evidence collected in this study, I believe
this is possible too. The time for action is now! Tē tōia, tē haumatia
20
!
19
In the past few decades, several Indigenous groups, such as the Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand, Aboriginal communities in Australia,
and a few Canadian First Nations groups, have been actively taking back their sovereign right to welcome and build relationships with
incoming immigrants and refugees from settler-colonial governments. There is much to be done by settlers/settler-colonial governments
also in recognising this Indigenous right and supporting the building of these relationships (Paul, 2016; Pugliese, 2015; Scoop Politics,
2022).
20
Nothing can be achieved without a plan, workforce and way of doing things!
34
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Appendices
Appendix A: Information Sheet for Participants
Participant Information Sheet
Project title: Indigenous Connections: Migrant Igorot Encounters with
Te Ao Māori
Principal investigator: Dr. Helene Connor
Advisor: Lincoln Dam
Student researcher: Bethany Waugh
The University of
Auckland
Private Bag 92019
Victoria Street West
Auckland 1142
New Zealand
Researcher introduction
Tēnā koe. My name is Bethany Waugh and I am a student in the Master of Indigenous Studies
program at The University of Auckland. I write to invite you to take part in a research project that will
be the basis of my Masters dissertation.
I am a New Zealander with Pākehā and Māori heritage to this land going back seven generations on
my father’s side. My ancestors hailed mainly from Scotland, England, and Taranaki (where I
whakapapa to Te Atiawa iwi and Puketapu hapū). My enthusiasm for partnering with indigenous
Filipinos in research began with my repeated visits to the Philippines (in 2014, 2017, 2019, and 2020)
and my friendships with members of the Matigsalug community in Mindanao, whom I have visited in
both in urban and mountain village settings. This enthusiasm grew in 2021 as I completed my BA
(Hons) in Social Anthropology through the University of Otago, where I focused my dissertation on
how Filipino migrants from IP (indigenous peoples) groups maintain their culture in Aotearoa New
Zealand and was able to get involved with the South Island Igorot diaspora group (CARNZ). I am
passionate about conducting research in the fields of anthropology, sociolinguistics, language
revitalization, ethnomusicology, diaspora studies, and indigenous studies.
Project description and invitation
The project that I am inviting you to partake in is broadly interested in the ways in which Igorot
migrants perceive their connections to Māori and how these perceptions affirm and re-shape their
own identities as both migrants and indigenous persons who are now living as settlers on the lands
of another indigenous group. Though Asian settlers have been immigrating to Aotearoa since the
1850s, studies featuring the relationship between these immigrants and Māori are few and far
between and literature focusing on the connection between migrants to Aotearoa with indigenous
heritage and Māori is non-existent. This research will fill this gap in the literature and add to the
small-but-growing pool of literature on Asian immigrant experiences of identity-formation in
Aotearoa – especially the literature on the growing Filipino community as they are currently the
44
third-largest Asian ethnic group represented in New Zealand. The study is guided by the following
overarching questions and the questions I ask during interviews will be related to these:
In what ways do Igorot Filipino migrants (who are considered indigenous peoples in the
Philippines) find their identities as indigenous persons being affirmed and re-shaped by their
encounters with Te Ao Māori once they have arrived in Aotearoa?
How do Igorot Filipino migrants in New Zealand understand and enact their position as both
indigenous persons and settlers on the land of another indigenous group (Māori)?
What cultural similarities and differences exist between Igorot Filipinos and Māori and how
do these affect the way that Igorot Filipino migrants perceive their identity in New Zealand
society?
You have been identified as a possible participant in this study as you are a first generation member
of the New Zealand Igorot diaspora and have encountered Te Ao Māori in a significant way during
the time you have lived in New Zealand. For the purposes of this study I consider a significant
encounter with Te Ao Māori to be any setting where you have gained a depth of knowledge or
understanding about Māori culture, such as through personal friendships with Māori wherein
cultural knowledge was imparted or by studying within a tertiary-level course in New Zealand that
taught or incorporated te reo, tikanga, Te Tiriti korero, or other Māori cultural elements.
Participation in this study is voluntary.
Project procedures
If you agree to take part in this study, your participation will involve one interview with me, of up to
90 minutes. I will be interviewing three to four participants. You will be answering as an individual
and not on behalf of any organisation to which you are affiliated. The interview will be conducted
face-to-face at a time and public location convenient for you, or via an audio-visual conferencing tool
(such as Zoom) if you prefer. Shorter follow-up conversations may be required to clarify points
discussed in the interview. These follow-up conversations, if required, will take place over email, or
audio-visual/phone call at a time convenient for you. You will receive a gift (a grocery voucher with a
value up to $20) as a small token of my appreciation for taking part in this study, even if you decide
to withdraw from the study. However, I consider your contribution to be priceless and my gratitude
for your participation is more than can be expressed.
Data storage, use, and destruction
The data generated through this study will be accessible only to my supervisors and I. All electronic
data and information gathered during this research will be kept on University-managed storage.
Access to electronic data will be restricted to my supervisors and I, using our University credentials.
Following data analysis, any hard copies of data, information and research notes will be stored in a
locked filing cabinet in the Principal Supervisor’s office at the University. All data and Consent Forms
will be retained for a period of six years following the research. Data will be securely destroyed after
six years.
I will seek your permission to voice record the interview. I will treat any information you share with
me with the utmost care. During the interview, you may choose not to answer questions asked and
you may ask that the voice recorder be switched off at any time, without giving reason. I will
transcribe the recordings, so no other party (other than my supervisors) will have access to your
interview recording and your transcript. The transcript will be sent to you as soon as possible after
the interview to verify that it is an accurate record and so that you can make any amendments you
desire. You will be given two weeks to review the transcript; the review should take approximately
one hour. A digital copy of the final interview transcript will be provided to you for your personal
archives.
45
Conversations about migrant experiences can somtimes be distressing. If required, you can access
free, 24/7 calling or texting counselling services via the National Mental Health Helpline 1737. Asian
family services also provides a free counselling service. More information about these services can be
found at: https://www.asianfamilyservices.nz/services/
The final report will be submitted for assessment for the degree of Master of Indigenous Studies at
The University of Auckland. The dissertation will be available in hardcopy at the University of
Auckland Library and as a PDF on the Library’s website. As well as being used for the dissertation, the
stories shared through this study may also be used for academic purposes such as – but not limited
to – presentations at conferences and article submissions to academic journals. Extracts may be
quoted verbatim where relevant and appropriate.
Right to withdraw from participation
Your decision to take part or not in this study will not prejudice your relationship with The University
of Auckland presently or at any time in the future. You may withdraw from the study before or
during the interview phase and you may withdraw your data up to two weeks upon receiving the
interview transcript, without giving reason.
Anonymity and confidentiality
Anonymity cannot be guaranteed for this study since data will be collected through semi-structured
interviews with participants, either face-to-face or via audio-visual conferencing tools (such as
Zoom).
It is my preference to identify participants by name in the final report and in any subsequent
research outputs. This is because I wish to give my participants a chance to be recognised for the
insights that they have shared. That said, a participant may choose not to be identified by name. In
this case, the participant’s identity will be kept confidential and will be known only to the researchers
(Bethany Waugh, Helene Connor, and Lincoln Dam). The participant’s name and any other names
revealed will be assigned pseudonyms instead, in the final report and any other research outputs. I
will transcribe the recordings, so no other party (other than my supervisors) will have access to
research data. I cannot, however, wholly guarantee that the identification of participants will not
occur. Aotearoa New Zealand is a small country and the number of Igorot migrants within it is
considerably smaller. I have outlined this in the Consent Form that I will ask participants to consider
and sign before taking part in the research.
Thank you for taking the time to consider participating in this project. If you would like further
information about this project, please contact me by email at bwau753@aucklanduni.ac.nz .
Alternatively, you can contact my advisor, supervisor, or the head of the department of indigenous
studies; their contact details are below.
Ngā mihi,
Bethany Waugh
Contact details and approval wording
Student researcher
Bethany Waugh
Te Wānanga o Waipapa
School of Māori Studies and Pacific Studies
Faculty of Arts University of Auckland
University of Auckland
Email: bwau753@aucklanduni.ac.nz
Co-Head of Department of Indigenous Studies
Dr. Tracey McIntosh
Te Wānanga o Waipapa
School of Māori Studies and Pacific Studies
Faculty of Arts University of Auckland
University of Auckland
Email: t.mcintosh@auckland.ac.nz
Principal investigator
Dr Helene Connor
Advisor
Lincoln Dam
46
Te Puna Wānanga
School of Māori and Indigenous Education
Te Kura Akoranga me Te Tauwhiro Tangata
Faculty of Education and Social Work
University of Auckland
Email: h.connor@auckland.ac.nz
Te Puna Wānanga
School of Māori and Indigenous Education
Te Kura Akoranga me Te Tauwhiro Tangata
Faculty of Education and Social Work
University of Auckland
Email: lincoln.dam@auckland.ac.nz
For any queries regarding ethical concerns you may contact the Chair, The University of Auckland
Human Participants Ethics Committee, Office of Research Strategy and Integrity, The University of
Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1142. Telephone 09 373-7599 ext. 83711. Email:
humanethics@auckland.ac.nz
Approved by the University of Auckland Human Participants Ethics Committee on 26 April 2022 for
three years. Reference Number: UAHPEC24147
47
Appendix B: Consent Form for Participants
Consent form
Project title: Indigenous Connections: Migrant Igorot Encounters with
Te Ao Māori
Principal investigator: Dr. Helene Connor
Advisor: Lincoln Dam
Student researcher: Bethany Waugh
The University of
Auckland
Private Bag 92019
Victoria Street West
Auckland 1142
New Zealand
THIS FORM WILL BE HELD FOR A PERIOD OF 6 YEARS
I have read the Participant Information Sheet, have understood the nature of the research and why I
have been selected. I have had the opportunity to ask questions and have had them answered to my
satisfaction.
I agree to take part in this research.
I understand that I am free to withdraw my participation before or during the interview
phase and free to withdraw my data up to two weeks upon receiving my interview transcript,
without giving reason.
I understand that I have been chosen to participate in this research based on my experience
and expertise. I will be answering as an individual and not on behalf of any organisation to
which I am affiliated.
I understand that I will participate in one interview of up to 90 minutes with Bethany Waugh,
with a further hour for reviewing my interview transcript. I understand that the interview will
be conducted face-to-face at a time and public location convenient for me, or via an audio-
visual conferencing tool (such as Zoom) if I prefer.
I understand that shorter follow-up conversations may be required for clarification of points
raised during the interview. If required, these follow-up conversations will take place over
email, or audio-visual/phone call at a time convenient for me.
I understand that my interview will be recorded using an audio recorder. I can ask for the
recorder to be turned off at any time and I can refuse to answer any questions during the
interview, without giving reason.
I understand that Conversations about new migrant experiences can be distressing. If
required, I can access free, 24/7 calling or texting counselling services via the National
Mental Health Helpline 1737. I understand that Asian family services also provides a free
counselling service and that more information about these services can be found at:
https://www.asianfamilyservices.nz/services/
48
I understand that I will receive a gift (a grocery voucher with a value up to $20) as a small
token of Bethany’s appreciation for my taking part in this study, even if I decide to withdraw
from the study. However, Bethany considers your contribution to be priceless and her
gratitude for your participation is more than can be expressed.
I understand that my interview will be transcribed by Bethany Waugh. Material from this
interview, including quotes and examples, may be used for academic purposes.
I understand that I will be given two weeks to review the interview transcript. I will be given
a digital copy of the final interview transcript for my personal archives.
I understand that the information from this project will be kept on University-managed
storage and/or in a locked filing cabinet at The University of Auckland, and is only accessible
to Bethany Waugh and her supervisors.
I understand that data will be securely destroyed after six years.
I understand that anonymity cannot be guaranteed in this study for the reasons outlined in
the Participant Information Sheet.
I understand that it is Bethany Waugh’s preference to identify participants by name in the
final report and other research outputs. However, I may ask that my identity be kept
confidential and, in which case, a pseudonym will be used instead. I have indicated my
preference below.
I understand that all practical attempts will be made to keep my identity confidential, if this
preference is selected below. However, there is a chance that I may be identifiable from
excerpts of my interview, as outlined in the Participant Information Sheet.
Confidentiality
I consent to my name, , being used in the final report and
other research outputs.
I wish to keep my identity confidential in the final report and other research outputs, and
wish to be known by the following pseudonym instead:
Transcripts
The interview and final transcripts can be emailed to me at the following email address:
Summary of findings
I wish / I do not wish to receive a summary of findings, which can be emailed to me at the
email address above.
Name:
Signature: Date:
Approved by the University of Auckland Human Participants Ethics Committee on 26 April 2022 for
three years. Reference Number: UAHPEC24147
