ABSTRACT
The Treaty of Waitangi, our founding document, was signed by Queen Victoria's representatives and 'the New Zealanders', as Maori people were then identified, on 6 February 1840 (Angas 1847 a). As a nation founded on colonialism, mainstream New Zealand — the Anglo-European Treaty partner — has struggled with various concepts of its own, and of Maori, identity. Recent attempts on the part of intellectuals to forge a bi-cultural identity have been largely resisted as a result of entrenched racism. This chapter re-explores the territory of identity. The establishment of Maori art history in New Zealand universities reflects an awareness, inevitable if belated, that New Zealand is a South Pacific nation. Ten years ago no one would have accepted that Maori could have an art history.
