The Significance of Stories

  • William Cuthers

Abstract

In my view, indigeneity can be defined as the identity of indigenous people which embodies land, ocean, culture, language, spirituality, knowledge and history. In this article, I will discuss how storytelling enhances and maintains the understanding of this definition of indigeneity, and I will compare other views of indigeneity with my own. My mother-in-law Elisapeta Tano (Peta) has gifted me numerous stories about Tonga and her Tongan identity, which Taungapeau (2010) calls “Tongan-ness”. As the mother of my wife, I consider Peta to be like another mother to me. She has become a part of my personal knowledge development. Therefore, I will utilise autoethnography and tell my story of discovery and learning with Peta and demonstrate the significance of stories to strengthening the understanding of indigeneity.

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Published
2019-01-30
How to Cite
Cuthers, W. (2019). The Significance of Stories. Te Kaharoa, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.24135/tekaharoa.v12i1.266
Section
Article