About the authors
Mitzi Nairn
Mitzi Nairn was the Director of the Combined Churches of Aotearoa New Zealand’s Programme on Racism, and has been actively involved in anti-racism initiatives since the 1960s including the Auckland Committee on Racism and Discrimination. She describes herself as a traditionally built Pākehā woman with a background in community education, especially addressing Te Tiriti o Waitangi. She is a founding and active member of Tāmaki Tiriti Workers. She lives near Eden Park with her partner of nearly 50 years, Raymond, and spends most of her time cooking, gardening and ‘wondering about stuff’.
Heather Came
Heather is a seventh generation Pākehā New Zealander and a first generation activist. She teaches community development, evaluation and health promotion at Auckland University of Technology. Her PhD is through the Waikato Management School. She is an activist scholar specialising in institutional racism and an active member of Tāmaki Tiriti Workers. Heather is currently involved in a national campaign to end institutional racism within public health policy making and funding practices.
Susan da Silva
Susan is a sixth generation Pākehā of Irish, German and Spanish ethnicity. She lives in Whangarei. She is a long term anti-racist trainer; works extensively in Treaty of Waitangi training for health and education practitioners and community organisations; is a member of a statutory body advising the Ministry of Justice on the Domestic Violence Act 1995 and trains social work students at Northtec. She is an active member of Network Waitangi Whangarei
Dr Raymond Nairn
Ray is a Pākehā New Zealander of Scots and English descent, and has been an anti-racism educator and theorist since the 1960s and a Tiriti educator from the mid-1980s. Ray is a critical social psychologist and his doctorate was a social constructionist analysis of madness, media and mental illnesses. He is currently an Honorary Research Fellow with the Shore and Whāriki Research Centre.
Elena Meredith
Born ‘Ross’, married” Ilalio’, reclaimed mother’s maiden name ‘Meredith’. I am a first generation New Zealander on my mother’s Irish/English side and a 7th generation settler to Nelson on my father’s Scottish/English side. Introduced to the living realities of racism through my years of living in American Samoa representing hated colonisers and then through raising children with Samoan/palagi dual heritage in Aotearoa. Grew into “activism” from my feminist / peace movement roots. finally “joining the dots” in the 1980's and making a life-long commitment to becoming an authentic Tangata Tiriti Member of Project Waitangi networks and now Treaty People’s Network. I am currently working for a teacher training provider with a long term commitment to walk the Te Tiriti partnership talk.
Moea Armstrong
Moea has facilitated Treaty and anti-racism workshops in Northland since 1991, has been a journalist with mainstream and iwi media, and a planner with experience in the interface between local councils and tangata whenua. She is a fifth generation Pakeha with a passion for celebrating the promise of the Treaty, and cultural relationships in Aotearoa, through addressing our historical legacy.
James H. Liu
James H. Liu (劉豁夫) is Professor of Psychology at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, and Co-Director of its Centre for Applied Cross Cultural Research. His research is in social, cross-cultural and political psychology, with a focus on the study of identity and history. His previous work has examined the symbolic inclusion, but resource-based exclusion of Māori as a manifestation of the particular cultural history of New Zealand. He has more than 140 refereed publications, with edited volumes including New Zealand Identities: Departures and Destinations, Restorative Justice and Practices in New Zealand, and Progress in Asian Social Psychology, Volumes 2 and 6. He was Editor-in-Chief of the Asian Journal of Social Psychology from 2008-2011, and is currently President of the Asian Association of Social Psychology, where he is leading efforts to develop action research in Asia as part of a 5 year program of Special Issues forJournal of Pacific Rim Psychology. A naturalized citizen of two countries, he describes himself as a “Chinese-American-New Zealander”. Email James at: James.Liu@vuw.ac.nz
Susan Healy
Susan Healy, of Irish, English and Cornish descent, has been engaged in research and teaching on issues related to Te Tiriti o Waitangi since 1984. She has a doctorate in Māori Studies from the University of Auckland, her dissertation being 'The nature of the relationship of the Crown in New Zealand with Iwi Māori'. Susan was a member of the Independent Panel who wrote 'Ngāpuhi speaks: He Wakaputanga and Te Tiriti o Waitangi: Independent report on the Ngāpuhi Nui Tonu claim'. She has been an active member of Tamaki Treaty Workers for over 20 years. Susan has a particular interest in the Christian involvement in the treaty agreement, and the obligations this puts on the Christian churches.
Mitzi Nairn was the Director of the Combined Churches of Aotearoa New Zealand’s Programme on Racism, and has been actively involved in anti-racism initiatives since the 1960s including the Auckland Committee on Racism and Discrimination. She describes herself as a traditionally built Pākehā woman with a background in community education, especially addressing Te Tiriti o Waitangi. She is a founding and active member of Tāmaki Tiriti Workers. She lives near Eden Park with her partner of nearly 50 years, Raymond, and spends most of her time cooking, gardening and ‘wondering about stuff’.
Heather Came
Heather is a seventh generation Pākehā New Zealander and a first generation activist. She teaches community development, evaluation and health promotion at Auckland University of Technology. Her PhD is through the Waikato Management School. She is an activist scholar specialising in institutional racism and an active member of Tāmaki Tiriti Workers. Heather is currently involved in a national campaign to end institutional racism within public health policy making and funding practices.
Susan da Silva
Susan is a sixth generation Pākehā of Irish, German and Spanish ethnicity. She lives in Whangarei. She is a long term anti-racist trainer; works extensively in Treaty of Waitangi training for health and education practitioners and community organisations; is a member of a statutory body advising the Ministry of Justice on the Domestic Violence Act 1995 and trains social work students at Northtec. She is an active member of Network Waitangi Whangarei
Dr Raymond Nairn
Ray is a Pākehā New Zealander of Scots and English descent, and has been an anti-racism educator and theorist since the 1960s and a Tiriti educator from the mid-1980s. Ray is a critical social psychologist and his doctorate was a social constructionist analysis of madness, media and mental illnesses. He is currently an Honorary Research Fellow with the Shore and Whāriki Research Centre.
Elena Meredith
Born ‘Ross’, married” Ilalio’, reclaimed mother’s maiden name ‘Meredith’. I am a first generation New Zealander on my mother’s Irish/English side and a 7th generation settler to Nelson on my father’s Scottish/English side. Introduced to the living realities of racism through my years of living in American Samoa representing hated colonisers and then through raising children with Samoan/palagi dual heritage in Aotearoa. Grew into “activism” from my feminist / peace movement roots. finally “joining the dots” in the 1980's and making a life-long commitment to becoming an authentic Tangata Tiriti Member of Project Waitangi networks and now Treaty People’s Network. I am currently working for a teacher training provider with a long term commitment to walk the Te Tiriti partnership talk.
Moea Armstrong
Moea has facilitated Treaty and anti-racism workshops in Northland since 1991, has been a journalist with mainstream and iwi media, and a planner with experience in the interface between local councils and tangata whenua. She is a fifth generation Pakeha with a passion for celebrating the promise of the Treaty, and cultural relationships in Aotearoa, through addressing our historical legacy.
James H. Liu
James H. Liu (劉豁夫) is Professor of Psychology at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, and Co-Director of its Centre for Applied Cross Cultural Research. His research is in social, cross-cultural and political psychology, with a focus on the study of identity and history. His previous work has examined the symbolic inclusion, but resource-based exclusion of Māori as a manifestation of the particular cultural history of New Zealand. He has more than 140 refereed publications, with edited volumes including New Zealand Identities: Departures and Destinations, Restorative Justice and Practices in New Zealand, and Progress in Asian Social Psychology, Volumes 2 and 6. He was Editor-in-Chief of the Asian Journal of Social Psychology from 2008-2011, and is currently President of the Asian Association of Social Psychology, where he is leading efforts to develop action research in Asia as part of a 5 year program of Special Issues forJournal of Pacific Rim Psychology. A naturalized citizen of two countries, he describes himself as a “Chinese-American-New Zealander”. Email James at: James.Liu@vuw.ac.nz
Susan Healy
Susan Healy, of Irish, English and Cornish descent, has been engaged in research and teaching on issues related to Te Tiriti o Waitangi since 1984. She has a doctorate in Māori Studies from the University of Auckland, her dissertation being 'The nature of the relationship of the Crown in New Zealand with Iwi Māori'. Susan was a member of the Independent Panel who wrote 'Ngāpuhi speaks: He Wakaputanga and Te Tiriti o Waitangi: Independent report on the Ngāpuhi Nui Tonu claim'. She has been an active member of Tamaki Treaty Workers for over 20 years. Susan has a particular interest in the Christian involvement in the treaty agreement, and the obligations this puts on the Christian churches.
