Maori try to get baby back from Pakeha

[super_cardigan]

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A Maori toddler will grow up in a Pakeha family despite the objections of her biological father, who wants his daughter brought up in her own culture.

A judge ruled on the girl's future this week, after a year and a half of legal wrangling.

Comments

[tatjna]

I think you're right about the inherent racism in the foster and adoption system - I haven't looked into it but taking a wild stab in the dark about who is eligible to adopt and gets approval, I'd say that'd be a pretty pale, middle-class group of people. Never mind the assumptions about what makes a family.

However, I also know NZ's family court mostly finds in favour of shared custody in disputes, and that they are reluctant to move children from situations where they are settled into unfamiliar ones. So while I think privilege is inherent in the system, I'm not sure that's the main reasons why this particular case panned out the way it did.

I doubt a pakeha family could bring up a child in Maori cultural style (plz forgive clunky wording). They could, however, in cooperation with others who care about the child, provide many opportunities for the kid to know her culture and spend time immersed in it - which is probably about the best a pakeha family could offer in that respect.

[super_cardigan]

yeah, i think you might be right about the outcome of this specific case stemming from a lack of desire to uproot a child from a stable situation. idk, i guess i just had a kneejerk reaction to to the implications of the particulars of the case. thank you for your input!

[tatjna]

Nah, not knee-jerk at all. The point you brought up about the systemic racism inherent in the child welfare system is really important here, because of our abysmal record. I just finished writing an essay about the way the state used law to engineer the shape of families in New Zealand (and still does, to a lesser extent), and it went a little into adoption law and the development of 'closed' adoptions, how that came about, etc. Unfortunately I couldn't do any more than touch on Maori issues around adoption (mostly because there's a Masters thesis right there and I only had 2000 words, but it made me want to look further into it.

And because we're a teeny-tiny country nobody gives a shit about, and we have a Treaty so everyone goes "Oh they're fine!" and ignores us, it always makes me happy to see people raising issues that affect us on the world stage.

[phaetonschariot]

CAN I READ IT :o

[tatjna]

Friended so you can. Please be gentle. ;-)

[opheliastorn]

... me too? *winning smile*

(Aah I am liking this. I mean, it's a horrible situation, but - NZ affairs on this site, and people actually talking about them in-depth? Makes me happy.)

[tatjna]

Added. ;-) You should also go see phaetonschariot's blog cos that talks about Unzud issues in depth too. ;-)

[opheliastorn]

Thank youuu! (And I am all over phaetonshariot's blog, yes indeedy)

[kiwiana]

I would love to read this.

[tatjna]

I've made the entry public (with some trepidation cos I'm all "Argh! Mah writins aren't that good!")

;-)