Abstract:
This thesis will examine the participation of Aotearoa/New Zealand Maori in international trade. For the purpose of this study Maori shall be defined as the people belonging to the indigenous race of New Zealand. This includes people who specify 'New Zealand Maori' as either their sole ethnic group, or one of several ethnic groups, for example, New Zealand Maori and Samoan, in the New Zealand Council of Population and Dwellings.1 However, in many cases such a definition is too rigid. The relevant question to ask is how do Maori define Maori? Is it if you look Maori? Is it if you wish to be regarded as Maori? It would be pointless to examine in complete detail every person's declared ancestry, so the issue is more one of how one considers oneself. Cultural identity plays an equally important a part as biological identity.
Essentially, a Maori is a person who considers him or herself to be Maori, and aside from proving a connection with an ancestor from pre-contact times, there exists no definitive set of characteristics which would ultimately define who is Maori. Further, being Maori today is not the same as being Maori twenty or fifty years ago. It is up to Maori to decide for themselves what the word means to them.2
