Decolonizing Digital Spaces of Racism

Online racial bias exists. The innovation of the internet brought with it stereotypes of racial discrimination. Tertiary institutions in Aotearoa offer students online teaching and learning papers across various disciplines. This chapter investigates how Māori tertiary students and their lecturers navigate online teaching and learning environments dominated by imperial ideologies and still get to enjoy the fulfilment of personal aspirations when whanaungatanga was used to establish relationships between Māori students and lecturers, whānau, friends, and colleagues. Personal ambitions were further promoted when whanaungatanga was extended to support facilities, services, and quality resources. This chapter fundamentally supports the continued battle against the marginalization of Māori by Western ideologies. Specifically, it accentuates the need to eradicate personal and systemic racism in tertiary institutes in Aotearoa. As a solution to the persisting individual and systemic racism experienced in online teaching and learning environments, Māori tertiary students and their lecturers posit that when mātauranga and tikanga Māori are woven into their online teaching and learning studies, the promotion of Māori scholars’ educational aspirations can be achieved.