1. Introduction
2. Story of Creation
3. History
4. Geography
5. Food
6. Music
7. Religion
8. The Marae
9. Beliefs and Ideals/Government
10. Customs
11. Art
12. Clothing
13. At War
14. Symbols/Rituals
15. Language
16. Famous People
17. Today

The phrase "indigenous peoples" is defined as the "original" inhabitants of an area before others (often European) arrived to take over the area. The Maori people of New Zealand fit this definition well. They were the first human inhabitants of the two islands known today as New Zealand and prospered alone for around one thousand years until Dutch and English settlers arrived on colonial expeditions. The Maori traditions and ways of life were almost eradicated during the colonization of New Zealand, but recently they have experienced resurgence, regaining some of the legend and lore that they had lost. Today, they could be called one of the best native cultures in terms of integrating with the current society. Instead of refusing to give up any of their ways of life, the Maori instead adapted some new traditions of the Europeans, and their culture is now prospering once again.

The Maori story of the creation of the islands of Aoteroa involves a boy with magic powers named Maui and his brothers, and it tells how the lands of New Zealand came above the surface and why the South Island of New Zealand has valleys and mountains. Another story tells how Maui came into being, but the island creation story does not need it as background. Here is the traditional story of Maui and the Great Fish, paraphrased from a book of Maori myths and legends.

One day, when his brothers decided to go fishing, Maui wanted to go also. His brothers did not want him to go with them. But Maui sneaked onto the boat and hid below the floorboards before the brothers got up, so when they left, the brothers didn’t know he was there. As they pushed off, they heard a sound, but none of them could identify it, so they continued on. Further on, they heard the sound again, but more distinctly. It was Maui, saying, "I tricked you! I am with you!" But the brothers couldn’t tell where it was coming from, and they became frightened. Finally, after Maui said "I tricked you!" again, one of the brothers discovered that the noise was coming from under the floorboards. He pulled a few up and Maui jumped out, laughing at them. The brothers wanted to take Maui home and fish in peace, but Maui used his magic powers to make the land seem further away than it really was. As he did this, he said, "Look back and see how far away we are!" Even though his brothers knew of his powers, they didn’t think he was using them and agreed to keep him. After a while of paddling, they stopped. They were about to start fishing when Maui told them to paddle out a little further with the promise of many more fish. So they did, and when Maui told them to stop paddling, they threw out their nets and caught more fish than they ever needed. Soon the boat was overflowing with fish, and the brothers wanted to turn back. But Maui, who had not had a chance to fish, wanted his turn to catch something. The brothers flatly refused. So Maui took out his special fishhook that was made by his grandmother out of bone. Since his brothers wouldn’t give him bait, Maui rubbed his nose until it started to bleed, and used the blood as bait. When the blood hit the water, the boat started to sway violently, as Maui seemed to have caught a very big fish. After a long time of struggle between him and the fish, the fish broke the surface, enabling his brothers and Maui to see that what he had caught was not a fish, but a piece of land, with houses, fires, and birds. Maui realized that he had probably angered the gods by doing this, and he told his brothers that he would have to make peace with the gods. As soon as Maui left to do this, his brothers started to argue over who should get the land. After some arguing, they began to slash and cut the land apart with their weapons. Maui’s fishhook today is the North Island, and the Great Fish with its gashes is the South Island with all its valleys and mountains.

The Maori people migrated across the Pacific Ocean to their current location, New Zealand. The exact date of their arrival in New Zealand, however, is widely disputed among sources.

Ancestors of the Maori lived in what is now Polynesia, or as they called it, Hawaiki, their ancestral homeland. For some reason, between the years of 750 AD and 1300 AD, many of the people left Hawaiki for a new homeland. Some set sail to land in Tahiti, while others landed in what are now the Cook Islands and Hawaii. A group that traveled further south sent out an advance scout as they drew closer to New Zealand. The scout’s name was Kupe. When he was close to the land, he named it Aotea, meaning "Bright Cloud" because the land looked like a cloud. The name was later lengthened to Aoteroa, or "The Land of the Long White Cloud". Kupe landed on the east coast of the North Island. He is also credited with discovering Wellington Harbor, where the city of Wellington now stands.

The Maori arrived at New Zealand in large canoes lashed together in pairs called waka. Each of these canoes held several families, and even today Maori people can trace their ancestry back to the name of the canoe on which their ancestors arrived (this tracing of genealogy is known as whakapapa).

Arriving at the islands of Aoteroa may have surprised the original Maori. These new lands were colder than their old tropical homes. However, they were impressed with its abundant food supply, including forms of fruit (various berry-bearing trees, along with kahikatea, karaka, and miro, which had edible fruits and kernels), fish (barracouta, kahawai, and snapper), shellfish (cockles, pipis, mussels, and pauas), and birds (pigeons, parakeets, and huias). They discovered many new types of animals living there, such as seals, reptiles, bats, eels, and penguins. They also discovered three new types of flightless birds on the islands, the kiwi, the weka, and the moa. The kiwi and the weka are still around today, but the moa is extinct partly due to Maori hunting. The moa could be bigger than an ostrich and more versatile than the buffalo used by Native Americans. Its flesh was used as food, its bones were carved into tools, and even its eggshells could carry water. The Maori lived their early days discovering new edible plants and fruits and hunting the moa. Since their lifestyle was not challenging, and there was plenty of food to eat, a dramatic increase occurred in the Maori population level between 1200 and 1350.

Unfortunately, the moa became extinct around 1350, prompting a major change in lifestyle for the Maori. Also around this time, the climate changed drastically, which may have influenced the shortage of food. According to the Maori Culture web page, "Archeological finds show that…temperatures fell to an almost all time low…(with) widespread drought… (and) large natural forest fires destroying many (of our) native forests and animals/birds including the remnant of Moa left in isolated areas. Some have called this a mini ice age." So the Maori adapted and changed their way of life from hunting birds and fish to gathering fern roots and growing plantations of kumara and taro (types of sweet potatoes), along with major fishing operations. The fish were smoke-dried in order to preserve them, as there was no longer as much year-round food available. Maori people needed a larger space for permanent settlements to grow crops, and this led to the organization of Maori people into tribes. Tribal organizations led to the occasional battle over land rights, which showed the Maori as shrewd, smart people who developed an ability to design intricate battle and defense plans.

Around 1550, the temperatures around Aoteroa rose again, creating more problems for the Maori. Flooding and winds affected the fish population, making life even more difficult for Maori coast-dwellers, convincing many to move inland.

On December 18, 1642, Abel Tasman, a Dutch explorer, was sailing eastward when someone on his ship spotted land with smoke rising from it. He decided to investigate by sailing into a nearby bay. The Maori living on the land were accustomed to fighting to ward off threats, so they got into their canoes, sailed out to the ships, and proceeded to kill four Dutch men. Tasman quickly left the bay and named it "Murderer’s Bay." This is the first reported contact between Maori and Europeans, and was to be the last for over one hundred years.

Captain James Cook sailed into New Zealand waters in October 1769, but he did not stay. He would return in May and October 1773, October 1774, and February 1777. His contact during these years began the integration of the Maori and the outside world. These Europeans became known to the Maori as pakeha, or foreigners. The pakeha brought iron, cloth, pottery, new animals, and crops with them, as well as various diseases, alcohol, and firearms. The first pakeha to permanently reside in New Zealand were escaped convicts from Australia, seamen, and adventurers, looking for a new life.

In 1814, the first missionaries arrived from England to convert the Maori to the Church of England from their old "heathen" ways and to educate these natives, teaching them to read and write English. Most European countries followed this pattern during colonization to gain more people for their religion. The British would begin their standard colonization practices in New Zealand with the Treaty of Waitangi, which was signed on February 6, 1840. Forty-six Maori chiefs signed this treaty on this date, and a total of 512 chiefs would sign it before May at the British ambassador’s home in New Zealand on the Bay of Islands at Waitangi. The treaty established British control over the islands of New Zealand,required the Maori to submit to British rule, gave the government the right to officially buy Maori land, and gave the Maori the rights of British citizens.

Unfortunately, this treaty wasn’t all correct. A major problem was the translation of the treaty, which was not perfect. It led the Maori to believe that signing this treaty would give the British government control over only the British subjects living in New Zealand instead of over all Maori as well. Some Maori chiefs soon after realized their mistake in signing a treaty that would let the British government buy their land. They understood the concept of land ownership, which they learned when they fought wars against other tribes over territory. The Maori chiefs agreed that instead of fighting wars against each other for land, they would have to work together and fight the British if they wanted to get their land back. As the years went by, more and more British moved to the islands of New Zealand, until in the 1860s, the pakeha group outnumbered the Maori, partly due to the overwhelming numbers of immigrants moving to this new land, and partly due to the Maori dying from diseases such as smallpox to which they had no immunity. In 1856, the Maori elected an intertribal leader, King Potatu I. This began what was known as the Maori King Movement. This movement was not meant to challenge British power but rather to form a partnership in which the Maori hoped that they would govern themselves. The Maori generally looked upon this movement as hope for their future, but the British interpreted it as a move against British rule. One of the reasons the Maori fought against the British after the Treaty of Waitangi was because of the two sides’ different interpretations of the Treaty of Waitangi. What was known as the Maori Land Wars began after a Maori chief did not want to give up his traditional homeland to British settlers. Finally, in the 1870s, after over thirty years of scattered resistance to British rule, the Maori chose to submit to the British and stop fighting. Unfortunately, the overall principles of the King Movement was not accepted, and the Land Wars ended after Potatau II gave up the rest of the Maori lands (over three million acres) to the British government in 1881. This began a downward spiral for the Maori, and by 1900, a census showed that just over 40,000 native Maori still lived in New Zealand.

Through the 20^th century, however, the Maori population recovered. The "Famous People" section outlines some people and their importance to the Maori way of life. Some events also took place that involved the Maori working together. The Maori Land March in 1975 took place to protest the loss of their traditional lands. Thousands walked across New Zealand in protest. Other Maori have camped on various lands that were sold to the government. However, the population of Maori people has been steadily increasing since 1900, reaching half a million people by 1996, representing 15% of New Zealand’s population. The Maori have had a history full of triumph and turmoil, but it seems that they are currently on an upswing.

The islands now known as New Zealand probably looked a little strange to the first Maori. These lands, however, would soon hold their descendants and beyond.

New Zealand’s total land area is about the size of Colorado. It includes two islands, the North Island and the South Island. 95% of the Maori population today lives on the North Island. The land is very mountainous with some large plains around the coast. This produces a mostly temperate climate with some wide variations depending on location. The highest point in New Zealand, Mount Cook, measures 12,350 feet above sea level (compared to 14,110 feet for Pikes Peak). Even though only 9% of New Zealand land is arable, over 50% is used as pasture as part of New Zealand’s main form of commerce; sheep-herding.

The manufacturing industries brought to New Zealand by the British use the resources of the land. These resources include natural gas, iron ore, sand, coal, timber, water for hydroelectricity, gold, and limestone. It is unlikely that the Maori ever mined for these minerals, instead preferring to use what was available to them on the surface of the earth. Finally, earthquakes and volcanic activity are not usually severe around New Zealand, but they are relatively common for the area.

Food from the sea is very important to Maori today, just as it was in the past. The types of seafood most commonly used in cooking are shellfish, mussels, the John Dory fish, and even seaweed! On land, they would grow kumara and pumpkins.

For my primary source, I contacted Mlladavynn Prime, a Maori living in New Zealand today. I questioned her about foods that were identified as Maori, and she responded that the "most common traditional Maori food that is regularly feasted on" is the hangi, known as a roast in America. However, instead of having food cooked in an oven, it is placed in baskets and steamed inside pits in the ground. The variety of food at a hangi includes chicken, pork, beef and lamb (there are more sheep than people in New Zealand today) as well as potatoes (sweet and regular) and pumpkin, all of which are cooked in the ground for about four hours before eating.

Another common type of Maori meal is called the boil up, when all of the food is boiled for approximately two to three hours before it is eaten. Even though it was not created in New Zealand, the Maori have "claimed" it as theirs, as America has "claimed" hot dogs as our own. Brisket, bacon, and pork bones are placed into the pot first and are allowed to boil for ninety minutes by themselves. Next, the potatoes are added, and that boils for twenty minutes. After that, some types of greens are added to the pot (either watercress or a type of sow thistle), and finally Maori-style dumplings, or motumotu, are put in the pot.

The Maori bake three main types of bread. One type is called paraoa takakau, which is flat and rubbery. Paraoa rewana is thick sweet bread that goes well with butter. Finally, fried bread (paraoa parai) is used in chicken sandwiches and goes well "with jam or with mayo…and pickled onions."

Music, called waiata in Maori, is important to Maori culture, as it can express a person’s deepest feelings without using words. It can also communicate messages over long distances. It often uses heartfelt emotions from the composer, as is true with most music, including hatred, contempt, grief, happiness and love. The most common types of Maori instruments are wind instruments; some are made from types of conch shells found on New Zealand beaches (called pu tatara), while others are made from pieces of hollowed out wood (called pu kaea).

Music is a large part of Maori celebrations, as it is in most cultures. It can celebrate visitors, request help, and invoke memories of special events. New music in the traditional Maori style is still being composed.

The Maori people once had their own religion, but with the arrival of European missionaries and settlers, most were converted to Christianity, specifically Anglican.

The Maori religion revolved around a few certain beings. Rangi, the male god, and Papa, the female god, were the gods of the sky and the earth, or the sun and moon, respectively. These gods had six sons, gods that ruled the sea, the wind, wild food, planted food, the forest, and mankind. Man was made when the forest god (Tane) mated with the earth. All Maori people would know this by heart.

The leaders of the tribe, called tohunga ahurewa, also were responsible for memorizing sacred chants and other rituals and passing it down to the next generation orally. Rituals honoring gods would be held at many events in the tribe, such as at the planting and harvesting of crops, droughts, and funerals. These priests also had powers to put spells on people that were breaking moral standards or disrespecting their friends, along with anyone who interfered with a tapu ruling.

The idea of tapu, or forbidden, was very important to them. This word is closely related to the English word "taboo". Almost anything could be tapu, including objects, activities, places, or even people. This meant that these things must be avoided or used or visited with careful supervision of a tohunga. If this tapu was broken, then the Maori believed that bad luck would come on them.

If a person were sick, a priest would come to ask them if they had recently broken a moral standard or interfered with a tapu rule. After a possible cause was found, the priest would use his magic to drive away the spirits that possessed the body. This was always good for the priest, because if the person were healed, then the priest’s prestige would grow. If he did not get better, than everyone knew that his crime had been very serious and he was beyond earthly help. When people suffered injuries, they would also come to the priest for various medicinal plants and bandages to help heal the wounds.

When the British arrived with missionaries in 1814, the Maori were coerced to accept the state religion of England, which was Anglican. Today, Anglican is the most common religion in New Zealand according to the 2001 New Zealand census, with about 15% of the Maori practicing it. Over half of the Maori are some form of Christian, and a special Maori Christian branch contains about 12% of the Maori population. About 30% of the Maori respondents to the census replied that they had no religion.

The marae usually hosts many activities over the span of a year, including huis, or weddings and conferences, or tangis, Maori funerals. These meetings often attract visitors from all over New Zealand, including far-flung relatives. Outsiders are welcome to be involved in the ceremonies. At these gatherings, many customs are experienced including Maoritanga, which is translated as "Maoriness". These customs include the traditional Maori greeting that involves rubbing noses together (ongi) and the remembrance of the love for each other (aroha and whanaungatanga). Huis include speeches, singing and dancing, making new friends, and lots of food. Tangis summarize all of the features of Maoritanga with their religion, customs, and language coming together for all to see.

The Maori developed very strong feelings over time about themselves, their land, and their brothers. Their honor and prestige (called mana) was very important to them, just as honor was to knights or samurai. This mana was valuable; so valuable that people would die in order to increase it for themselves or their tribe. Mana could also be shared amongst a group of people, such as an attack party after a successful raid.

Their governmental and caste system was relatively simple. The society was patriarchal, so each family had its own leader, the eldest man. Each hapu, or group of families, also had a leader, and the tribe as a whole had a leader. The eldest son of the senior family would become the tribe’s leader through primogeniture "because he was more closely related to the leading ancestors and gods." The chiefs would have special privileges, including having several wives (polygamy), living in a finer home than the rest of the tribe, and enjoying the first fish or kumaras after the harvest. The chief was the first "caste" in society. The second caste belonged to commoners, or most of the people in the tribe. They were free and enjoyed rights, but their status was not as high as the chief’s family. The third caste belonged to slaves. Slaves were former prisoners of war who had not been killed while in captivity. The slaves would lose all of their possessions and rights, and would taint their own name for generations. The capturing tribe probably ate the slaves who did lose their lives during captivity. This did not take place because there was a shortage of food, but in this way, the capturing tribe’s prestige would be raised, while the other tribe’s would be disgraced. William Wales, who was part of Captain Cook’s excursion to New Zealand in 1773, noticed "a Maori cut meat from a dead man’s head, and ate it ‘with an avidity which amazed me, licking his lips and fingers as if afraid to lose the least part, either grease or gravy, as so delicious a morsel.’".

Even as Europeans reported back to their home countries about the savages living in New Zealand with no laws to stop any conflict, the Maori did have a system of law. The law, or moral beliefs, was taught to children, and they grew up knowing that if they did anything bad, the priest of the tribe would punish them by making them ill. When the children grew up, they were subject to a system of punishment called muru. The party that was offended was allowed to raid the home of the offending party. If the offense was minor, then the raiders did not take as much as they would when it was a major offense.

If a problem involved two tribes, then punishments were more serious. Usually, a minor battle would be fought between two well-trained armies to defend the prestige of each tribe. The prestige of each tribe was constantly changing as tribes defended themselves against attacks. When peace was to be made, a peacemaker would set out for the opposing camp with a tapu (forbidden) restriction on him so that he would not be harmed.

The government today in New Zealand is a parliamentary system, similar to the one used in England. The Maori hold several seats in the House of Representatives. To run for these seats, a person must be of Maori descent.

Many different customs are unique to the Maori, while others are similar to other native cultures. The Maori, like all cultures, have customs for every part of their life.

The elders taught most of the children by having them watch while they performed the usual tasks needed for the community. In this way, the children learned what was necessary for them to become productive members of their tribe. However, some special children would be taught by the tohunga (chief) of the tribe in a "school"; they would learn all that they would need to replace the tohunga, such as tribal history, genealogy, medicine, and religion.

Not all of the time in the tribe was spent working or learning. The Maori developed games to play during free time, including flying kites, spinning tops, and playing string games similar to cat’s cradle. Sometimes, if they found a very long log, they would attach a rope to it and stand it vertically over a cliff, creating a large swing.

When dusk settled, everyone would return to their reed-thatched houses to prepare for nighttime. Night was community-bonding time, when people would light fires or oil lamps and tell stories, sing songs, or compose poetry for the entire community.

The Maori took art very seriously as a way to express themselves. Their status, accomplishments, and even their interests could be determined from the types of art found on objects. They decorated everything - from small fish hooks and parrot leg-rings to houses and war canoes with their own special form of art not found anywhere else. Both genders were artists, with men mainly focusing on carving, while the women focused on weaving. In some places, such as a chief’s house, both were used in the architecture to create a beautiful artwork that also served another purpose. Many carvers would create intricate patterns of spirals on wood (often from a kauri tree) with animals inside the markings. These designs can be found on canoes, flutes, tools, boxes, and houses. They would also carve into bones, stones, and even their own bodies, creating a type of tattoo! These tattoos, known as moko, would be drawn mostly on their faces using small chisels to make holes inside the skin. Tattoos were often drawn in unique patterns; so unique that the designs were used as signatures for Maori people that could not write in English. Moko could also be placed on the thighs or buttocks. It was a very painfulprocess, but the prestigious results were worth it for the Maori. Unfortunately, the process of tattooing the entire face died out during the 1800s, but Maori today still tattoo other parts of their body.

Women would weave flax and other types of plants. They could also make baskets, floor mats, sandals, and cloaks using dog fur or feathers. This was done all without a loom!

Since the Maori lived south of the Equator, at around forty degrees south latitude, they were in need of some type of clothing to protect them from both the heat and the cold, due to their temperate climate. They made clothing by hand and would wear it with pride.

Clothing was usually made from flax plants or other local plants, but they would also use animal skins and bird feathers to make special clothes. The women would weave the flax or other plants into garments for themselves and the men and children. They would usually only wear garments covering their midsections, but if necessary when the weather turned colder, they would wear more clothing.

This picture is of a traditional costume worn by a Maori girl. She is wearing a woven skirt and shirt. The skirt is short, due to the fact the New Zealand summers are often warm. Her shirt is sleeveless, for the same reason. These clothes would probably be worn to a marae or another special occasion.

War was a very important skill for males in the Maori culture. Boys were trained in Maori warfare starting when they were young. They learned martial arts and grew into agile and strong young men.

During warfare, the most important weapon was the taiaha. This spear shaped-weapon was made from wood and could be used in battles against other tribes for stabbing, thrusting, and clubbing. Clubs were also made from whalebone. A club made out of jade (called patu pounamu) was very precious.

Wars were usually fought between tribes over land and property rights, since the land they used was not only for growing food and shelter, but it also was where a tribe buried their ancestors. They could also take place to defend a tribe’s honor (mana). If, during a war, a warrior ate an enemy’s body or captured and preserved a head, he increased his mana and decreased his enemy’s because the human body was tapu (taboo). This could provoke another war over utu, or revenge.

If two tribes had a common enemy, they would often band together to fight them, similar to the U.S. and Russia coming together to fight Germany in World War II. A key way to make peace between tribes involved having a man and a woman from different tribes marry, thereby joining the two tribes.

The Maori utilize many different objects as symbols to represent concepts and ideas. The canoe, for example, is associated in the Maori culture with migration, fishing, ancestry (because their ancestors came from canoes), and as the means of transportation for the dead to travel to the after-life. The land was associated with the security of one’s life, tapus, and the marae. Rangi, the god of the sun, was affiliated with light (of course), while Papa, goddess of the moon, was associated with darkness and night.

The Maori also used four rituals that solemnized the life cycle of someone in the clan. The first is birth, when the baby is named (tua rite) in order to enter the realm of light (ao marama). The marriage ritual is often by rank (genealogy) and is exogamous in order to join two tribes together, which prevents war. Late Entrance into the Tribe, when outsiders give speeches to the whole village, is like a "decontamination process" for the person in question. Finally, death, an elaborate funeral wake (tangihanga) is held to honor the dead that can last for up to three days. There is no ritual for maturation.

The Maori language is similar to most of those in the Polynesian area, and seems much like the Hawaiian alphabet. The Maori alphabet includes 15 letters, a, e, i, o, u, h, k, m, n, p, r, t, w, wh, and ng. Words are pronounced depending mainly on their vowel sounds. Instead of many different vowel sounds in English, the Maori have two sounds for each vowel, long and short. The sounds are the same as in these words:
 

One difference in Maori pronunciation is that the "wh" sound is not like the "f" sound, as it is in most Polynesian languages. The "wh" sound can actually be determined by taking the words "what", "where", and "whip" and dropping the last consonant and any letters following it.

About 25% of Maori descendants in New Zealand today can speak Maori fluently. This is about 130,000 people. The language is used during maraes, for speeches and other official circumstances. It is also taught in schools, where Maori children learn their native language as well as English. It is no longer in danger of becoming a dead language because it is taught in the schools.

The Maori have produced several very famous people who are known worldwide. One of the more famous Maori is Sir Apirana Ngata. He worked during the early 1900s amongst his people in New Zealand, promoting the integration of the culture of the pakeha while still keeping old Maori traditions. He was one of the first Maori to be widely known outside of New Zealand for what he did. Sir Maui Pomare was a famous doctor, also during the early 1900s. During the 1930s, a man named T.W. Ratana created a branch of Christianity for the Maori and worked to create a Maori section of the Labour Party of New Zealand so his people would be represented in the government. Around this time, Te Puea Herangi and Whina Cooper organized and led the Maori Women’s Welfare League which fought for more rights for Maori women. When New Zealand entered World War II, a Maori battalion was sent as part of the ANZAC’s (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps). They fought very bravely and were regarded with respect among the Allies. Today, a famous Maori opera singer named Kiri Te Kanawa graces the stage with her talents and writes books for children. The Maori also have their own rugby team, named the Maori All-Blacks. All of the members of this team are of Maori descent, and before every game, they perform a traditional war dance (haka), meant to intimidate the other team. They are very popular all over the world.

The Maori culture remains a dominant force in New Zealand today. Even though the Maoris are part of New Zealand, they are a very distinct part with a very distinct cultural background.

New Zealand is still administered by the United Kingdom (although it is an independent state). There have been four members of British Parliament representing New Zealand that have been of Maori ancestry since 1867. Four of the 97 members of the House of Representatives in New Zealand are also Maori.

The Maori culture does still have some obstacles to overcome. During World War II, most of the Maori migrated from their traditional homes into New Zealand cities. They now face many of the same problems as African-Americans and Native Americans do in the United States. They own poorer quality homes, receive a poorer education, commit more crimes, have more of their workers unemployed, and die younger than the pakeha. In spite of these troubles, the Maori are committed to maintaining their traditions and culture.
 
 

Age: 22

Sex: Female (women outnumber men by a ratio of 26:25)

Birth Place: New Zealand

Language Spoken: English (95% speak some English, 25% speak some Maori)

Religion: Anglican (15% Anglican, 30% None)

Work: Full-time, 40-44 hours a week

Work Type: Manufacturing (16% of Maori)