Fragments from a Contested Past: Remembrance, Denial and New Zealand History
What a nation or society chooses to remember and forget speaks to its contemporary priorities and sense of identity. Understanding how that process works enables us to better imagine a future with a different, or wider, set of priorities.’ Which histories does a nation prioritise – and which are left quietly aside? These are questions hotly debated in the international press. And in Aotearoa New Zealand, they are brought sharply into focus by the new history curriculum, arriving in schools in 2023. Fragments from a Contested Past, published this week, reflects on these questions of memory, loss and ‘difficult histories’. The team of writers ( Joanna Kidman , Vincent O'Malley, Liana MacDonald , Tom Roa and Keziah Wallis ) several from iwi invaded or attacked during the New Zealand Wars, have come together to ‘enable us to better imagine a future with a different, or wider, set of priorities’. Combinin