Separatism, or sovereignty? Exploring social media and news media narratives of Maaori tino-rangatiratanga in politics and health

Intern: Hineana Tihore, Ngāti Porou, Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Ngā Ariki Kaipūtahi, Massey University, with Melissa Bradley, Ngapuhi, Te Wānanga O Aotearoa 

Project supervisor: Dr Waikaremoana Waitoki

Institution: The University of Waikato

Project Summary: The primary purpose of this project was to explore how selected issues involving race in New Zealand are framed and discussed in social and traditional media, including expression of both overt and more subtle forms of racism.

The interns primarily worked with Dr Waitoki (led researcher), a Post Doc Research Fellow, and with Dr Damian Scarf (co-researcher, University of Otago), and Dr Justin Phillips (co-researcher, Tauranga Campus, UoW) who provided digital material and guidance about coding. The intern was based at the Faculty of Indigenous Studies, Te Pua Waananga ki te Ao.

The interns were tasked with manual content analysis of social and traditional media observations (e.g. Tweets, Facebook posts, selected news articles, etc.) related to political and social issues: constitutional reform; Maaori Health Authority; and COVID-19.