Ko tēhea te ara tika? A discourse analysis of Māori experience in the criminal justice system.

DISCOURSE analysis; CRIMINAL justice system; INSTITUTIONAL racism; IDENTITY (Psychology); RACISM

The criminal justice system in Aotearoa, New Zealand has a dispiriting history of interactions with Māori, a backdrop against which to understand contemporary Māori experiences of institutional racism. The research aims to provide an examination of Māori lived experiences of the criminal justice system. Participants were five Māori adults who were interviewed about their experiences with criminal justice institutions. As Kaupapa Māori research, undertaken alongside a discursive psychology framework, the study sought to acknowledge and explore Māori narratives and experiences of racism. From the analysis emerged four recurring discursive resources; blatant racism, Māori and Pākehā identities, Māori as trapped in the criminal justice system, and Māori identity and culture as strength. Participants' perspectives of the criminal justice system reveal that prevailing power relations facilitate the belittling of Māori identity, intrude on Māori rights, and diminish cultural integrity. Institutional racism is constructed as enduring and shaped by notions of Māori cultural inferiority. Arguments for an alternative Māori criminal justice system are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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