Graham Hingangaroa Smith, PhD, The Indigenous Education Institute of Canada, The University of British Columbia, c/-of The Faculty of Education, 2125 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T, 1Z4, Canada, 604-822-5757, graham.smith@ubc.ca

This paper argues that neo-liberal economic thinking underpinning the movement towards the privatization of “health Provision”, the reconstruction of those who use health services as ‘consumers' and the general commidification of ‘ill health' needs to be seen as developing a new wave of colonization over indigenous peoples. These new formations of colonization are formed at the intersection of cultural oppression and economic exploitation. This paper argues the need for Political decision-makers to move beyond singular linear policy interventions and that more meaningful transformation of Indigenous health crises require multiple strategies, applied in multiple sites, often simultaneously. A key understanding here is that Indigenous communities are not homogeneous in their needs or thinking and the status quo efforts at intervention have been mostly unsuccessful.

The New Zealand context in general, and Maori people in particular, provide an interesting case study. New Zealand has been regarded as a model site for the neo-liberal economic ‘experiment' as such Maori as the Indigenous population have had to critically engage with the limits and capacities of these economic conditions given that Maori share with many other Indigenous peoples, persistent, disproportionate and high levels of ill-health.

The paper explores indigenous theorizing of transformation. It examines several examples where social and cultural interests between Maori and non-Maori are being contested within the neo-liberal parameters of the ‘private good' – ‘public responsibility' tension surrounding Health issues.

This paper will finally discuss tow Maori resistance strategies that incorporate the ‘mulitple sites' and seek to develop a more socially just response to Maori health needs.

Learning Objectives:

• To examine case study of Maori and implications of neo-liberal reforms within the Health sector in NZ.
• To show how Maori are theorizing transformation in this area.
• To develop understandings of ‘new formations of colonization’ and potential resistances being developed in the NZ context.
• To develop understandings of specific examples of how new colonization is being asserted.
• To examine the Marae Based Health Intervention Model and the PHO – Public Health Organization Model as two potential interventions that engage in multiple strategies and sites.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.