Talanoa vā: indigenous masculinities and the intersections of indigeneity, race, and gender within higher education

Abstract

Indigenous scholars constantly contend with deficit tendencies associated with the value and place of their cultural knowledge and practices within higher education. When gender is imbued through a racialised view of indigeneity or the indigenous scholar, the proposition of ‘other’ and ‘othering’ becomes a struggle of power relations which necessarily shapes the critical encounters in higher education spaces. This article utilises ‘talanoa vā’, a Pacific indigenous critical analytical framework for understanding how academics comprehend indigenous masculinities through negotiating and interrogating the intersections of indigeneity, race, and gender. Captured through talanoa, we story our lived experiences as Pacific and indigenous scholars within New Zealand universities. We argue that, although ‘indigenous or indigeneity’ discourses have inspired and empowered minority scholars, utilising Pacific concepts enables a closer interrogation and negotiation of indigenous masculinities centred on spirituality and good relations, which is often overlooked when considering race, gender, colourism, and power within university settings.

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