Rethinking ‘alternative’: Māori and food sovereignty in Aotearoa New Zealand

The aim of this chapter is to consider what Māori struggles for food sovereignty in Aotearoa New Zealand reveal more generally about indigeneity and food sovereignty in a situation of postcoloniality. Through an exploration of Māori potatoes in contemporary Māori food sovereignty strategies, we question whether the term ‘food sovereignty’ necessarily goes with (or ought to go with) that of ‘alternative’, and raise the question of the politics that might be being performed by such an association. We show that many Māori do not necessarily make such a distinction, and argue that discourses and practices which reinscribe it may actually work against Māori sovereignty more broadly understood.