Am I Pakeha??

When Suzanne asked this question during a lecture, I was genuinely unsure how to answer. I am white. My family is mostly of Scottish and English descent, and have been in New Zealand for many generations. Therefore you would think I would identify as Pakeha. However I have a very small amount of Maori heritage. I am 1/64 Maori. I know this is a minuscule amount. However if Pakeha as an identity exists only in opposition to being Maori...am I Pakeha? If Pakeha means not being Maori, do I identify with that?

My grandfather grew up during a time in which being Maori was something to be ashamed of, and thus any association or identification with Maori culture or ancestry was looked down on. For this reason, my father and his siblings were unaware of their Maori heritage until they were older and looked into the family history themselves. My father and his siblings did a lot of research into this, and my cousins and I grew up being very aware of our Maori heritage and were instilled with a pride in this. I have visited my tribe and Marae as a child, and the graves of my ancestors. I receive a quarterly newsletter from my tribe. I am on the Maori electoral roll. I support Maori rights, especially in regards to the treaty, and I find the lack of justice and equality for Maori in New Zealand extremely problematic. However I was not brought up surrounded by Maori culture and practices, it was more on the outskirts of my life than an embedded part of it. I of course experience white privilege due to being part of the dominant group in New Zealand, and thus inherently identify with western cultural norms. Because of this, and having only a tiny amount of Maori ancestry, I would not necessarily identify as being Maori. But am I Pakeha?

I would be really interested to hear your thoughts!