Potiki

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Indigenous Communities and Colonizing Powers”

In this activity, students will conduct research on the relationship between another Indigenous community and colonizer historically, then draw parallels or other comparisons to the conflict between developers and the Māori community in Potiki.

Potiki focuses on the effects of capitalism and colonialism on the survival of the Māori culture and community in 20th-century New Zealand. For this Activity, select an Indigenous community that has been negatively affected by colonialist and capitalist structures. Through research of a variety of reputable sources, summarize the ways in which this community was negatively affected; then point out comparisons to the conflict in Potiki between the Māori community and the land developers. Display your points of comparison in a research project such as a paper, a visual aid, a slide show, or a museum exhibit.

 Consider the following questions as you conduct your research: 

• Which community have you chosen? Where is/was it located and how long has/had it existed?
• When was the community colonized and who colonized it?
• What is/was this community’s relationship with its colonial power?
• How are/were colonialist interests and capitalism linked for this particular Indigenous community? How did/have they responded to colonial-government-sponsored capitalist ventures?
• What is the future of this relationship between the colonizer and the Indigenous community? For example, is conflict ongoing? Has the colonial government offered reparations?
• Compare the Indigenous community you researched to the Māori community in Potiki, and compare the colonizer’s capitalistic interests to those of the developer. Summarize significant points of comparison in a bulleted list.
• Design and complete your research product. Convey the informative points you researched about the Indigenous community as well as the bulleted list of points of comparison to the novel. Include visuals, videos, and other relevant media.

Briefly share your research product with your peers in a presentation. In your notes or a reading journal, reflect on the content of your classmates’ presentations in regards to the themes of The Repression of Indigenous Populations and Their Struggle for Survival, The Inhumanity and Destructiveness of Capitalism, The Relationship Between Humankind and the Natural World, and The Relationship Between Life and Death.

Teaching Suggestion: Depending on the background and interests of students in the class and additional guidelines for assessment that might be included, this Activity may be a good opportunity to review the steps of the research process (initial research, annotated bibliography, thesis statement, outline, drafting, peer review, abstract).

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Many of the characters believe in the importance of the preservation of humanity.

• How does Grace convey the importance of the individual to the survival and preservation of the extended family (whanau)? (topic sentence)
• Identify at least 3 examples from the text in which the characters discuss the importance of family in connection to the actions or decisions of an individual character.
• In your concluding sentences, briefly comment on the ways that the novel’s focus on both individual actions and family decisions helps to develop one or more of the themes.

2. Potiki presents money and power as a destructive combination.

• How does the combination of money and power oppose the central lifestyle of the Māori people? (topic sentence)
• Using at least 3 examples from the novel, analyze and discuss the specific ways in which money and power harm individuals, families, or the Māori community as a whole.
• In your concluding sentences, briefly evaluate this novel’s effectiveness as a representation of the relationship between Indigenous cultures and The Inhumanity and Destructiveness of Capitalism.

3. In Chapter 5, Roimata notes, “What really happened was that we all became all of these things—tellers, listeners, readers, writers, teachers and learners together.”

• Through sentiments such as this quote in Potiki, what message does the author convey about human relationships and communication? (topic sentence)
• Choose 3 characters or events to discuss and analyze in support of your topic sentence. How does each represent the ways humans communicate and/or the nature of building community in the novel?
• In your concluding sentences, briefly comment on the significance of communication to The Relationship Between Humankind and the Natural World.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. Repression is a central idea in Potiki. Which characters experience repression? How do they deal with these feelings? In a 3- or 5-paragraph essay, explore the impact of repression as a cause of conflict and complication in the novel. Overall, how does the motif of repression in the novel indicate the wider relationship between the Māori community and colonization?

2. Consider the significance of Toko as a narrative voice. How does he support the plot of the novel? How does Toko’s life and death impact the lives of his family and community in significant ways? In a 3- or 5-paragraph essay, analyze and discuss Toko’s role as a storyteller in the novel. In at least one of your points, consider how Toko may mirror other popular stories within world literature.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Roimata notes that “Only Hemi could secure me, he being as rooted to the earth as a tree is. Only he could free me from raging forever between earth and sky – which is a predicament of great loneliness and loss.” (Chapter 3) Which of the following devices is used to underscore differences in these characters?

A) Juxtaposition

B) Paradox

C) Allusion

D) Synecdoche

2. What phrase does Roimata use to describe Manu throughout the novel?

A) Small squirrel

B) Little bird

C) Sweet fish

D) Strong shell

3. With which of the following social structures does Manu struggle?

A) Indigenous cooking

B) Formal education

C) Ancestral genealogy

D) Māori traditions

4. Which of the following phrases best describes how Hemi responds to his unemployment?

A) Relieved he can explore activities that he previously wanted

B) Distraught about the loss of money

C) Fearful of the repercussions on his family

D) Excited he can open his own manufacturing business

5. Which of the following phrases best describes the period of time after Hemi’s unemployment?

A) A desperate job search

B) An absence of money

C) A significant drought

D) An abundance of paid labor

6. Which of the following locations is a setting represented in much of the novel?

A) The mountains

B) The local school

C) The wharenui

D) The lagoon

7. Which of the following ideas best describes Mary’s character?

A) She supports the development of the land.

B) She dislikes Māori culture.

C) She has a learning disability.

D) She aggravates all of her family members.

8. Which of the following words best describes how the community processes the destruction of the urupa?

A) As a gift from the gods

B) As a warning from the developers

C) As a sign of the end times

D) As a gesture of goodwill from the government

9. Which of the following phrases best describes why Roimata and others are not interested in conducting multiple investigations about the destruction in her community?

A) Because they believe that all destruction is inevitable

B) Because they are also interested in the development of the land

C) Because they do not have faith that the results will be unbiased

D) Because they are too lazy to do the groundwork

10. Which of the following sentences best describes Hemi’s belief system?

A) He has lost faith in the Māori communal spirit.

B) He believes that humanity is still good.

C) He wants to destroy what the colonial government has established.

D) He denies the traditional Polynesian way of life.

11. Which of the following phrases does Roimata use in order to describe herself throughout the novel?

A) A messenger of serenity

B) A listener of stories

C) A dancer of songs

D) A watcher of skies

12. Based on context clues from the novel, which of the following situations does Toko experience?

A) An excitement for transformation of the landscape

B) A degree of physical immobility

C) A lack of ability for learning

D) A disinterest in mystical stories

13. After Tangi speaks to the working men, they respond, “‘It’s bad,’ […] ‘We know your ... feelings. But us ...’ ‘We work ...’ ‘Just a job ...’ ‘For money ...’” (Chapter 25) Which of the following themes is most strongly represented by this quote?

A) The Repression of Indigenous Populations and Their Struggle for Survival

B) The Inhumanity and Destructiveness of Capitalism

C) The Relationship Between Humankind and The Natural World

D) The Relationship Between Life and Death

14. Based on context clues within the end of the novel, who is the “potiki” of the family?

A) Tangi

B) Manu

C) Toko

D) Mary

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. What is the structure of the novel? What does the narration of the novel itself communicate about the concept of storytelling?

2. What is the setting of the novel? How does the setting connect with the significance of the Māori community’s conflict?