Real talk: Where is the Realm in Indigenous and Pacific studies?

Abstract

Most New Zealanders do not know about the imperial histories and relationships that tie together Aotearoa New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau. Nor do they understand that they are organised in an imperial unit, called the Realm of New Zealand (the Realm). This paper argues that an honest analysis of the imperial and colonial history of New Zealand is incomplete without engaging with the Realm of New Zealand. Thus far, Indigenous and Pacific studies have not examined the ways that Realm has reconfigured, and continues to reconfigure, the geographies and relationships of Māori (from both Aotearoa and the Cook Islands), tagata Tokelau (indigenous people of Tokelau) and tau tagata Niue (indigenous people of Niue). The political commitments of both disciplines, and their focuses, can help us to historicise the contemporary realities of the indigenous peoples of the Realm by understanding both the place of Aotearoa New Zealand in Pacific imperial histories and the complexities of living (and changing) indigeneities that span vast lands and waters, particularly on indigenous lands of others. These disciplines, though not understood or practised in uniform ways across institutions in Aotearoa New Zealand, can help to reinvigorate discussion about the ongoing empire of New Zealand in the Pacific.