Power, law and the privileging of difference

Developing strategies for generating social, educational, intellectual and economic opportunites should be an essential part of any reclaiming and development of Indigenous Knowledges and indeed indigenous self determination. However it is important to contextualise them in the need for Indigenous Peoples to engage in the political and constitutional debate about power that has so inhibited our potential to both generate these opportunities as well as foster positive relationship building.

This Presentation will consider difference and the question of who defines and privileges difference in the context of constitutional transformation and the potential for Māori law to promote relationship building. It will also consider the need to reclaim Māori and other indigenous laws and philosophies as a basis for social and intellectual as well as well as political self determination.