Emissions

Thefinalcoreelementinconstructionofhistoricaltraumaframeworksinvolvesthe effectsoftraumaacrossmanygenerations. ThismultiͲgenerationalaspectof historicaltraumaisessentialintheconceptualdifferentiationbetweenhistorical traumaandothertermssuchascollectiveorgrouptrauma. Italsodifferentiates fromintergenerationaltrauma,whichismostdirectlyrelatedtotraumaexperienced andtransferredamongstgenerationsofthesamefamilyratherthannecessarily includingbroadercollectivesofsharedidentity.Insomeinstancesthetraumacan affectdescendantslongaftertheoriginalactsoftraumahavetakenplace. This wouldseemparticularlypertinenttotheearlyunderstandingofhistoricaltraumaas experiencedbyHolocaustsurvivors,theirchildrenandfamilies(EvansͲCampbell, 2008,p.323).Howeverastheliteratureclearlypointsout,withregardtoindigenous peopletheactsofhistoricaltraumaenactedthroughtheprocessofcolonisation exceedtheterm‘historic’.

“SettlernationͲstatesdidnotestablishthemselvesfortemporary

economicgainstobeleftbehindwhenprofitsevaporated;conversely,

settlersoccupiedIndigenouslandsinordertoclaimownershipover

them. Fromthisperspective,itcanberecognisedthatsettler

occupationwas,andcontinuestobe,anongoingprocess. The

incursionofwhitesettlersintoIndigenousterritoriescantherebybe

haveneverceased,ratherthanisolatedeventsthathappenedas

different points along a fictive linear timeline that gets called

“history”.”(Gahman,2016,p.316)

Thisnotionofcolonisationasanongoingprocess(Kauanui,2016)doesn’tnegatethe significanceofhistoricalactsoftrauma,butratherbroadensanddeepensthe applicationofhistoricaltraumatotheongoingexperiencesofindigenouspeople. Thisrecastingof‘history’alsoaptlyappliestohistoricalprivilege.

3(a)Historicalprivilegeissharedacrossmultiplegenerations

Theintergenerationaltransferofwealth,power,socialpositionandstatusmayalso helpdeepentheunderstandingofhistoricalprivilegeasaffectingdescendantslong afterthehistoricactsofacquisitionhavetakenplace. Therearetwoareasof literaturethatdomakeimportantcontributionstothisintermsofunderstanding historicalprivilege–upward(social)mobilityandinheritance.

UpwardMobility

Therelationshipbetweentheincomeofparentsandthefutureprosperityoftheir childrenisacomplexphenomenonthatincorporatesmanyareasofacademic enquiry.Termslikesocialmobility,intergenerationalmobility,economicmobility, andsocialandculturalcapital,allspeaktothenotionthatwhereonestartsinlifeis importanttowhereoneendsup. Whilemanyareasofsociallifewillhavean influenceonupwardmobility,suchasaccesstosocialnetworks,socialstatus, patternsofparenting,race,gender,physicalabilityandsoon,muchoftheupward mobilityworkhasfocusedonincomeandfinancialresources. Astheincome receivedbyparentstoinvestintheirchildren’sfuturebecomeslessfairlydivided amongstrichandpoor,theoutcomesforthosechildrenacrossthelifecourseand intosubsequentgenerationsincreasinglyreflectsthatinequality.Toooften‘merit’ maynotbethecauseofclassandracialdistinctionsbutrathertheresult(Bowles& Gintis,2002;Ermisch,Jantti,Smeeding,&Wilson,2012;McNamee,2009),framinga selfͲperpetuatingcycleofprivilege,socialandculturalcapitalandinheritance.This cycleofmeritocracyisfundamentaltounderstandingaconceptlike“TheAmerican

Dream”:theideathatanyindividualmadeofthe“rightstuff”(McNamee,2009, p.25),talent,rightattitude,strongworkethic,andhighmoralcharactercanachieve almostunlimitedsuccess.

In theNewZealandcontext, commentarieson thepowerof meritocracy as explanation for current disparities in wealth, opportunity and wellbeing are abundant(Baxter,2012;AugieFleras&PaulSpoonley,1999;VocationalTraining Council(NZ)PolynesianAdvisoryCommittee,1978;Wetherell&Potter,1992).Yetas muchoftheforgettingliteraturehighlights,forgettingtheimportanceofnonͲmerit factors(likethestructuralprivilege attained byPĈkehĈ as aresult ofMĈori dispossession)isafarfrombenignstate,butratherastructuredactresultingineven greateremphasisonhavingandinheriting“therightstuff”. Thelifestoriesof successfulindividualsfrommeagrebeginnings(likeformerPrimeMinister,JohnKey) alsoservetoreinforcetheperceptionofmeritasprimarytosuccess.

Yetupwardmobilitydoesnotencapsulatehistoricalprivilegeaslaidoutinthispaper, because:a)itislargelyconcernedwiththewealthandsocialmovementofindividual orfamilyunits,ratherthanlargegroupsthatshareanidentityorcircumstance;and b)mostliteraturelooksacrosstwogenerationsofmobilityfromparentstochildren, notacrossmultiplegenerationsaslaterarticulationsofhistorictraumaposit.Solet usturnsomeattentiontotheconceptofinheritancemoregenerally.

Inheritance

Again,itisappropriatetothinkofinheritanceastheprivilegeequivalenttothe intergenerationaltransmissionofhistoricaltraumastressorsamongstindigenous peoplebecause,bydefinition,itisabouttheintergenerationaltransferofwealthand power. BowlesandGintis’(2002)groundͲbreakingresearchintotheareaof inheritancefoundthatintergenerationaltransferofwealthwasnotonlyimportant, butratherthemostsignificantfactorinthecurrentsocioͲeconomicpositionof descendants.Theyarguethatthecorrelationbetweeninheritanceandcurrent economicstatuswasonaveragethreetimesgreaterthanoriginallypositedwhen inheritancewasstudiedinthe1960s.Inadditiontoeconomicwealth,otherfactors

ofinheritanceincludecognitiveskills,nonͲcognitivepersonalitytraitsvaluedby employers,incomeͲenhancinggroupmemberships,superioreducationandhealth status.Theyconcludethatcognitiveskillsandeducationalachievementhavebeen overstudiedintheintergenerationaltransferofwealthwhileincomeͲenhancing group memberships like race, gender, geographical location, height, physical appearanceandothernonͲcognitivebehaviouraltraitshavebeenunderexplored.

There is also some applicability to collective forgetting in terms of the intergenerationaltransferofwealthandsocioͲeconomicconditions.Thefinancial andsocialpositionofdescendantsresultingfromthehandingdownofwealthand powerstrikesmanyasinherentlyunfair,sowhilethereisatendencytobeproudof one’sheritage(“Icomefromfourgenerationsoffarmers”,etc…),thereisalsoakind ofconstitutiveforgetting(Connerton,2008)aboutwherethatintergenerational wealthbegan.Thisobscurestheroleofhistoricalprivilegeinmaterialinheritancein favourofmasternarrativesabouttheaccumulationovergenerationsofaparticular valuebase,workethicandasenseof“playingbytherules”.Indeedthenotionof gettingaheadthroughhardworkisaprimarytraitofthePĈkehĈethnicgroup (VocationalTrainingCouncil(NZ)PolynesianAdvisoryCommittee,1978).Individuals whobelievesuccessinlifeisrelatedto“hardwork”and“takingrisks”aremorelikely toopposemoreequitableredistributionofeconomicresources,whilethosewho believesuccessismorelikelydueto“moneyinheritedfromfamily”and“connections andknowingtherightpeople”tendtosupportredistributivemeasures(Fong,2001). RecentsurveyfindingsintoNewZealandattitudesandvalueshaveshowndramatic differences in the number of nonͲMĈori New Zealanders who support more equitableredistributionofresourcescomparedtoMĈori(Grimes,MacCulloch,& McKay,2015).ThereͲemergenceandintensificationofthe‘upwardmobilitythrough hardwork’masternarrativeisadirectresultofintergenerationalprivilegethathas beenexacerbatedthroughtheimplementationofaneoͲliberalagendawhichbegan inthe1980s(J.Kelsey,1995).Aswiththesocialmobilityliteraturehowever,much of the understandings illuminated from inheritance studies relate to the intergenerationaltransferofsocialgoodsandprivilegewithinindividuals and familiesanddonottakesignificantaccountoftheeffectsofhistoric,structuraland

institutional advantages experienced at abroad populationlevelthatare as fundamentaltothefunctioningofhistoricalprivilegeashistoricaltraumaisto indigenouspeople.

Inthissensetheongoingnatureofthecolonisationprocess,asoutlinedbyGahman (2016),isalsoimportanttoacknowledgehereintermsoftheseeffectsoncollectives thatshareabroaderidentitythanfamily.Ifweapplythistohistoricalprivilegewe seethatratherthanthesewindfallsandintergenerationalaccumulationsofwealth, powerandsocialpositioningacrossmultiplegenerationsbeingunderstoodas fundamentallyathingofthepast,theongoingnatureofcolonisationasaprocessof settlerprivilegecanbeseeninthecurrentconceptualisationsofwhatmightbe considered“normal”inNewZealandsociety,whatconstitutes“mainstream”. In currentgenerationsthiscontributestothealmostinvisiblenature(B.Borell,2005) ofwhatitmeanstobeaPĈkehĈNewZealanderinAotearoa,andthestructuraland institutionalsupportthatenableit.

Table1:Keyelementsofhistoricalprivilege

Keyelements Historicaltrauma Historicalprivilege

Anact(s)oftrauma

Ongoingremindersofthose

acts

Actsoftraumaexperienced

throughprocessof colonisation Recurringexperiencesof discrimination

Actsofhistoricwindfalland

dramaticincreasesinwealth,

powerandsocialstatus

Naturalisationofgroup

superioritythrough

structural,institutionaland

culturalfavouritism Experiencedbyacollective Affectedgroupsmaysharea

particularidentity,affiliation

orcircumstance

Individualandfamilialwealth

acquisitionsupportedby

governmentalaction Experiencedacrossmultiple

generations

Traumaaffectingmultiple

generationsofdescendants

whomaynothavewitnessed

theoriginalact(s)themselves

Historicboonsinwealth,

powerandsocialstatusare

passedtoandaddedonby

subsequentgenerationsof

settlers. Remembrance/Forgetting Remembranceand

commemorationareinherent

withanunderlying

importanceonhealing,

resilienceandrecompense.

Collectiveforgettingismore

common.Remembranceis

carefullyconstructed.

Conclusion

Myreadingoftheliteraturehasnotbroughtforthaconceptthatadequatelymirrors historicaltraumafortheprivilegedbyencompassingallthecoreelementspresentin thehistoricaltraumaliterature.Thispaperhasbeguntoexamineandframehowan understandingofprivilege,thatisequivalenttothedecolonisingpowerofthe conceptofhistoricaltrauma,maybedescribed.Thecurrentsocialstatusandgeneral wellbeingofMĈorihasbeendeeplyaffectedbyhistoricactsoftraumaandongoing experiencesofdispossession,denigrationanddiscrimination.Acceptanceisneeded thatthosedireconsequencesforMĈorihaveproducedlevelsofadvantageand privilegeforthedescendantsofallsettlerstoAotearoa,onlypossiblethroughthe ongoingprocessofcolonisation.Thesedualprocesses,thatareinfluentialinmost domainsofcontemporarysociety,haveproducedandentrenched“socialgradients” (Commission on Social Determinants of Health, 2008), with their attendant inequities,withinandbetweenMĈoriandPĈkehĈpopulations. Ifweareserious aboutaddressing the ill effectsof colonisationon one population,equitable acknowledgementoftheprivilegingeffectsconsequentialtoanothermustalsobe partoftheconversation.

Discussion

Threemainideasareputforwardinthisthesis.First,KaupapaMĈoriapproachesto nonͲMĈoriresearchtopicscanmakeimportantandinsightfulcontributionsto mĈtaurangaMaori. Second,culturalhegemonyismaintainedthroughstructured forgetting,silenceandthevigoroussuppressionofdissentthatinturnproducelevels ofignoranceabouthowsocietyworksthataffectempowermentandequityforall NewZealanders. Finally,thesehegemonicstructuresareamenabletochange throughtheilluminationofthesehiddenandsilencedpartsofoursociety,bothat theindividualandcollectivelevel.NextIdescribetheplaceIhavereachedinmy workwitheachoftheseideas,andfurtherquestionsthatmaybeamenableto researchefforts.