Theresa Sawicka, Kirsty Barr, Duane Grace, Louise Grenside, Jonathan Thomson and Gwyn Williams

(Originally prepared for 'Youth Workers Unplugged')

We are a team of anthropologists. One of the things we are interested in is the process of growing up. Part of this growing up is the formation of a cultural identity. We've had a few surprises in how young people form that identity. Our interviewees come from Maori, Indian, Greek, and 'Pakeha' families in Wellington.

Indians have migrated from many different regions in India and even other countries before settling here. One of the things they do have in common is the limited number of places where they can express 'Indianness'. When asked about her ethnic identity, one woman told me:

For New Zealand-born Indians growing up here, the place they feel most Indian is often at home. Many young Indians I spoke to saw themselves as being "Kiwi kids" as well as Indian:

It is this 'double life' which expresses the sense of conflict Indians can often feel. What is expected of young people growing up in New Zealand can sometimes clash with how Indians are expected to act and be. Seeking a sense of belonging in an environment with competing expectations is described as "living in two worlds" by many interviewees. While they feel Indian at home, they may feel totally different when they're out and about in Wellington. As one interviewee put it:

Before I began talking to New Zealand Greeks about their family and community life in Wellington, I would never have thought to ask the question 'where do you feel Greek?'. But I gained a clear sense from my interviewees that 'being Greek' is associated with particular places - the home, gatherings at community halls and churches. It is here that people feel free to express their Greekness. Outside these islands of Greekness, they go out to work, to school, and to shop just like all other New Zealanders.

This means that Greek people must juggle their identities between home and the outside world. For some young people this can be a source of worry and confusion about who they are. One young man told me:

Others seem to cope with, and even enjoy the play of identities. A twenty two year old woman told me:

Almost all of the young Maori I interviewed, told me that to be Maori largely depends on where you are or what you're into. It is true that they all acknowledge the fact that yes, they embrace the title 'Maori' when such circumstances arise; though the question of actually being Maori is then: to what degree? In this sense, a distinction has been made by my interviewees between an ethnic label and a living culture. In respect of their own culture, those I spoke with talk of four main areas in which they find their Maoriness: on the marae; in households where whanau regularly gather; when they speak and hear Maori; and in kapahaka performance. The more they immerse themselves in such activities, then, the more they are Maori. Or as the kids say it, ' the more you're into it'.

If Maoriness, Greekness and Indianness operate in limited cultural domains what sense can be made of the notion of 'Pakehaness' and more generally of culture? 'Pakeha' don't step out the front door and think they're entering a different world. They tend to think of the whole world as 'normal', both inside and outside the home. Very often they don't even think of themselves as 'Pakeha'. 'I'm just a New Zealander', is something they commonly say. The very term 'Pakeha' only arises in comparison with Maori, Indians and others with an 'ethnic' identity, because it signifies a sense of difference.

Another thing 'Pakeha' often say is that they don't have any culture. This claim, however, depends on identifying culture with the places where other ethnic groups express themselves: festivals costumes, dances, and food. But culture is more than that. What 'Pakeha' mean is that they don't have their own distinct area of cultural difference with its associated customs, practices, rights and responsibilities.

One thing that is interesting about the lives other ethnic groups live, is that they don't really have an economically separate existence. Maori, Greeks and Indians work, make a living, and consume in the 'normal' world we all share. In fact to be Maori or Greek or Indian means to possess the skills, concepts and values that make you a competent participant in of everyday life in New Zealand. It means that you share, to the degree that you participate in society, the same culture as 'Pakeha'.

In a society charged with debate about ethnicity, ethnic identities jostle within and alongside one another in a competitive market. It is not always easy for young people to know who they are culturally, or even understand why they may have several ethnic identities depending on where they are and who they are with.

10/98

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