Virtually tribal/tribally virtual: Shareholders in indigeneity

Abstract

In this thesis I will explore the use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) amongst members of the Ngai Tahu tribe, a Maori tribe located on the South Island of New Zealand with tribal members scattered all over the world. The thesis topic originated out of previous research in which I investigated why the tribal corporate, Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu (TRoNT), had developed a web presence. During the prior research employees of TRoNT made arguments for the use of inner-tribal CMC. This thesis was intended to explore whether or not these arguments were accepted by tribal members. During the course of this research the focus shifted towards a more encompassing view on tribal membership and how the use of CMC influences the understanding of tribal membership. I will argue in this thesis that the use of CMC has not engendered but emphasised existing tensions between many locally active and distant or passive tribal members but at the same time new communication technologies also offer possibilities to overcome these tensions. To make this argument I will show that a part of the tribal membership and the iwi corporate, TRoNT, favour an inclusive membership discourse, focusing on a single entry criterion, ancestry. For this group within the iwi the use of CMC is a possibility to further inner-tribal democracy with distant and passive tribal members being able to participate in inner-tribal debates without being physically present. Other, mostly locally active members argue that ancestry only generates the potential for membership and that actual membership is reliant on physical participation. For this group the use of CMC as a form of participation is of limited value only and further threatens to undermine the status of locally active members by equalising all members. Lastly I will show that despite the resistance against CMC for inner-tribal communication all of my interview partners used CMC to a greater or lesser extent to stay in contact with family members who were temporarily or permanently geographically distant. Family web sites and emails are used for this purpose. This use, I argue, creates a tribal network of partially autonomous family networks. The thesis is based on 52 ethnographic interviews held with tribal members, TRoNT employees, and members of the public closely working with the tribe. The interviews were interpreted through a dual focus on literature concerning tribal segmentation, and the concept of the network society (Castells 2000). The literature on tribal segmentation shows the fluidity of the social structure of Maori society and the influence of colonial ruling with the resulting ossification of the social structure. The literature further shows that forces within Maori society are at play which have aimed for the installation of iwi as the main body of Maori culture and political representation. The concept of the network society in turn offers a widely accepted terminology for processes at work within the Ngai Tahu tribe, but also within other locales, making it clear that the current processes within the Ngai Tahu tribe are not unique.