Cranna says he has already done some research in Samoa and Fiji and is now focusing on New Zealand and the Cook Islands.
“The book project is about the South West Pacific and how Polynesian and European immigrant cultures have melded and merged, and how they have worked in some ways and not in others.”
Cranna says one interesting difference between the Cook Island Maori and the NZ Maori is the retention of land ownership in the Cook Islands.
“People here still have land ownership, compared to the New Zealand Maori who have dealt with loss and alienation of land.”
Cranna says the focus of his research is how the “pakeha” (papa’a) and Maori culturally connect with each other.
