21 April 2016

Māori Identity Poll “Iwi, Urban or Both” Hooks in Half a Million

A month long national online Māori identity poll has superseded expectations by attracting over half a million impressions via Facebook.

More than four thousand whānau logged on to complete the eight question poll - which closed off yesterday - and confirmed Maori living in the cities did not realise they were in fact urban Maori.

“The intention of the poll was to open an important conversation. It was time to include urban Māori as a legitimate option in the mix due to the fact so many Māori live in the city and we are interested in how they want to be represented and served” says National Urban Māori Authority CEO, Lance Norman.

The poll threw up some interesting statistics. An overwhelming turnout of women participated - 71% versus less than 30% of men. The majority were over 35 years old and 94% identified with being Māori as opposed to non-Māori.

The most provocative query “are you Iwi, urban Māori or both” in what was dubbed the “Māorimeter” created the most debate, with online commentary.

In the end Iwi nudged ahead with 50% of pollsters ticking that option, followed by 41% identifying with being “both” Iwi and urban.

While the majority (98%) knew their Iwi, over 2,700 admitted they lived outside their traditional tribal land, so technically this group of 68% may also sit in the ‘urban’ Māori group but may not be conscious of it.

Census data says 110,000 Māori in 2013 were not affiliated with an Iwi which means one in six of all

Māori, many of whom are supported by the National Urban Māori Authority cannot and do not receive any benefits or support from Iwi settlements.

The link, embedded in social media posts, featured in news streams and the click through was actively shared by fans and friends which catapulted its reach.

Thousands of qualitative responses naming Iwi affiliations, and where respondents live have yet to be tallied. This data will be released in the coming days.

It was the first year NUMA has run the survey which is anticipated to be an annual event given its popularity.

ENDS

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