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noflightfairy.bsky.social
Flightless Fairy
@noflightfairy.bsky.social
160 followers 110 following 150 posts
Done a bit of research, doing a bit more music. Would rather talk than post.

tauiwi Pākehā, sliochd nan Gàidheal, they/them (dad sa Ghàidhlig) 🏳️‍⚧️ 🇵🇸
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noflightfairy.bsky.social
I did this thread on twitter back in the day, but now we're so back.

WELCOME TO WELLINGTON
A presumably broken umbrella sticks out of a rubbish bin in Pōneke Wellington. Tawhirimātea is as vengeful as ever!
August 3, 2025 at 11:45 AM
noflightfairy.bsky.social
Anyway here's the thesis in full if you're like that, enjoy the King's Birthday or whatever and may we one day compost the Crown into something more Tiriti-honouring.

openaccess.wgtn.ac.nz/articles/the...

(extra thanks for helping me finish this behemoth off @amandathomas.bsky.social!)
Where to now? Concurrent with this research, my Scottish Gaelic heritage reclaimed me. A parallel journey through which I was humbly reminded that all humanity was once Indigenous to place, this personal backdrop to the research reinforced that we all do indeed have something to bring to the Tiriti table, and it comes from our own whakapapa. Taken together, then these last few years have left me with the unwavering conviction that Indigenous knowledges are our greatest hope for withstanding the crises of our time. It is therefore my own hope that this research inspires even more diverse ways of contributing to their restoration. Ngā mihinui! Mòran taing! Thanks to the ancestors, to the research participants, to the reference group, to Veronica Tawhai (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Uepohatu), to the supervisors (especially Amanda Thomas and Marcelle Dawson), to my postgraduate colleagues in SACS, and to all my comrades engaged in decolonial and anticapitalist struggles air feadh an t-saoghail.
June 1, 2025 at 11:02 PM
noflightfairy.bsky.social
There's obviously so much to say and so little space, but the long and short of it is I looked at non-Māori Tiriti work, explored why it has for four generations now been so strongly focused on education, and what possibilities that strategic commitment has both enabled and foreclosed.
Finding 1: we don't need no (more) education? The first key finding highlighted the extent to which four generations of Tiriti education amongst non-Māori populations has borne fruit. All up, the settler public knows a lot more about Te Tiriti and colonisation in Aotearoa than it did four generations ago. On its face, this rules! However, this also meant that many participants felt Tiriti workshops, the bread and butter of the movement in prior generations, have begun to feel redundant; after enough people become “Tiriti educated”, what are the next steps? Finding 2: by any other name? For a movement founded in no small part by antiracists and socialists, I was surprised by the extent (or lack thereof) to which the Tiriti workers I interviewed incorporated analyses of race and capitalism into their work. In a Tiriti education context, this made some kind of sense; the balancing act between accommodating learners’ needs while challenging them to shift their colonial worldviews is a delicate one that has had to be carefully honed over generations. At the same time, I found that not talking race and class meant neglecting the cognitive resources tauiwi of colour and working-class/precariat Pākehā increasingly bring to the movement, and therefore to the Tiriti table. Considering how these demographics are growing in Aotearoa, I join their voices in calling for a course correction (pun?). Finding 3: undoing dominance from within? Social movement scholarship generally assumes that movements are made up of oppressed groups locked in adversarial struggles against their oppressors. Growing numbers of non-Māori Tiriti workers challenge this assumption by working from within the dominant group (settlers) to undo that dominance. I found this strategy to be subversive and effective—so long as Tiriti workers are engaging people in similar social positions. Things get trickier when addressing the capitalist class, however, as it gets harder to navigate how most settlers remain subordinate to them and dominant relative to Māori at the same time. Golden thread: relationality As I worked through these findings and how the challenges they raise might be addressed, it became apparent that each called for more fluid and adaptable ways of relating to each other and the wider world than the colonial psyche allows. I also found that a newer generation of Tiriti workers are actively building on the work of their/our predecessors to cultivate these new/old ways of relating. Groups like Asians Supporting Tino Rangatiratanga, the Pākehā Project, the Tīpuna Project and Gathering at the Gate are actively working towards the “what’s next” of Tiriti work in this way.
June 1, 2025 at 10:57 PM
noflightfairy.bsky.social
Dunno how some of you continually churn out online content these days, what follows took me four years of postgraduate study and 87,705 words to whittle down to something remotely shareable.

Co-dhiù: here's my entire PhD thesis condensed to ten slides! (inspired by @chercywong.bsky.social)
My thesis in ten slides! Settlers against colonialism? Education and organising in the Tiriti workers' movement Dani Pickering (they/them, Pākehā-Gàidheal) Research #inspo For my thesis I studied non-Māori Tiriti work, which I define broadly as any efforts by non-Māori to bring effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. I was inspired in part by own activist experiences in which Pākehā settlers (myself included) wring our hands over how we can do our bit for Tiriti justice. Often, these conversations arrive at a consensus that we simply "need to listen to Māori". While true, taken by itself this sentiment can also absolve us of the responsibility to make our own intellectual contributions at the T iriti table, where there is much work to be done. I was (and am) concerned by the epistemic exploitation of Māori this dynamic implies. Movement-relevant theory I was really determined with this research to make sure it was actually *useful* to Tiriti workers them/ourselves. Much "activist" scholarship I'd engaged with before had certainly had a critical veneer, but little by way of usability to somebody actually doing that movement's work on the ground. To avoid a similar outcome, my research was co-designed alongside Māori and non-Māori Tiriti workers alike, who helped ensure that my work could balance the academic requirements of the PhD with the strategic needs of the movement. What I/we did - Interviewed 25 Tiriti workers across a range of ages, genders, sexualities, ethnicities and locations across Aotearoa. Many--not all--of these considered themselves "Tiriti educators" - Conducted a thematic analysis on transcripts of these interviews - Invited participant input between iterations of this analysis to help steer it in a movement-relevant direction - Wrote an 87,705-word thesis about it
June 1, 2025 at 10:52 PM
noflightfairy.bsky.social
This cat came to the gig today!
A ragdoll Birman cat with striking (and slightly cross-eyed) blue eyes sits in a front-facing backpack on a human
May 31, 2025 at 5:00 AM
noflightfairy.bsky.social
Songsheets for tomorrow / a sneaky reveal of the album title maybe? 👀

Thistle Hall, tomorrow at 11am for a more sonic preview. See you there!
A pamphlet with a plain white cover and blue text reading: "Flightless Fairy Trì Cuantan Air Falbh Three Oceans Away"
May 30, 2025 at 4:04 AM
noflightfairy.bsky.social
And now for something slightly different. I'll be performing a smattering of Flightless Fairy songs from the upcoming album, in English & Gaelic, as part of this kaupapa at Thistle Hall, Saturday 11am. There will even be lyric sheets available (with translations 👀), so bithibh ann no bithibh fann!
Poster with schedule for arts event run "HOP3: Art for hope, peace and connection" by Deirdra McMenamin
May 28, 2025 at 9:07 PM
noflightfairy.bsky.social
Sgian dubh!
May 18, 2025 at 10:57 PM
noflightfairy.bsky.social
I draw now! Iterating into my first original tattoo design
May 10, 2025 at 8:25 AM
noflightfairy.bsky.social
I was told to dress smart casual for in-laws' fiftieth wedding anniversary dinner, but this bejewelled rhino is telling me I should've shown up in my harness
A ceramic to-scale rhinoceros head is on the wall of a fancy restaurant. Its horns are covered in white jewels possibly meant to resemble diamonds. It's tacky as.
May 10, 2025 at 8:06 AM
noflightfairy.bsky.social
Aig an deireadh! Chruinnich sinn, luchd-labhairt na Gàidhlig ann an Te Whanganui-ā-Tara, airson @sngaidhlig.bsky.social

Suas leatha bho Shealain Nuadh!
A group of people gathered around a table in a pub. Some are lifting drinks.
March 2, 2025 at 4:27 AM
noflightfairy.bsky.social
Cha robh seo fìor ann am pàrlamaid sam bith a chèilidh mi (air?) a-riamh. Gàidhlig ann an Holyrood? Gu dearbh. Gàidhlig gu leòr? Chan eil mise cho cinnteach. Sin claim mhòr

Eisimpleir eile: Pàrlamaid a' Chlann MhicLeòid. Cha mhòr gun Gàidhlig idir.
February 24, 2025 at 8:03 PM
noflightfairy.bsky.social
Far am bi mi fhìn, 's ann a bhios mo dhòchas, agus 's ann aig wānanga Tīpuna Project a tha mi an-dràsta, a' lìonadh ri dòchas. Gàidheil 's sluaghan eile anns an diaspora, mar tangata Tiriti, ann an conaltradh le tangata whenua o Aotearoa. Lorgaidh sinn dòighean còmhla
Shitty phone photo of a full moon rising over a canopy of trees and some light cloud cover.
February 14, 2025 at 11:14 AM
noflightfairy.bsky.social
Deireadh-sheachdain, mu dheireadh thall! Tha an t-àm ann seo a leughadh
Dealbh de nobhail "Cailèideascop" le Daibhidh Eyre Picture of the novel "Kaleidoscope" by Davey Eyre. Yes, it's in Gaelic
November 22, 2024 at 9:45 PM
noflightfairy.bsky.social
IYKYK
Google Map satellite image of Waitangi Park noting that it's "Busier than usual" on 19 November 2024. If you know, you know
November 19, 2024 at 8:58 AM
noflightfairy.bsky.social
In twelve years of activism and organising I've never been to a demonstration like today's. I'm so glad for Toitū's use of the term "activation" to describe what has been happening across ngā motu because it's far more apt for describing the game-changing.

Suas leis a' Chùmhnant! Toitū Te Tiriti!
A Google map screenshot of Waitangi Park in Te Whanganui-ā-Tara Wellington. Google notes that it is "busier than usual"
November 19, 2024 at 7:31 AM
noflightfairy.bsky.social
There were at least two! Met this guy later
"OH MY GOD, EW, DAVID, NO!"
November 19, 2024 at 6:57 AM
noflightfairy.bsky.social
#toitūtetiriti
CEDE DEEZ NUTS EW, DAVID! TOITŪ UR MUM HONOURING TE TIRITI IS BRAT
November 18, 2024 at 10:45 PM
noflightfairy.bsky.social
Enjoying the gentle caress of every stranger's flag we pass #toitūtetiriti
November 18, 2024 at 9:36 PM
noflightfairy.bsky.social
Are you tired of being a bird?
A job advertisement parody with tear-off strips at the bottom on a signpost. Instead of advertising a service however it simply asks "ARE YOU TIRED OF BEING A BIRD? 🐦". The tear-offs simply read "YES".
November 16, 2024 at 6:28 AM
noflightfairy.bsky.social
Chan eil mi cinnteach gur e dànachd a th' ann dha-rìribh, ach sgrìobh mi... rudeigin son #SeachdainNaGàidhlig #Gàidhlig
Handwritten text on a page. It's in Gaelic, so transcribing the text here probably wouldn't make it past your screen reader. A living language is not a living language because living people speak it A living language is a living language because it is itself living It grows and diminishes as we do it changes and adapts as we do it is dependent on Other life as we are it enriches Other life as we can Who else might live were we to relearn they are alive?
February 19, 2024 at 7:43 AM
noflightfairy.bsky.social
I didn't know these plants flowered??? (not the sedum but the other one I forget its name)

I though the red hue was cos it was sick and dying, not because it was about to flower!
In a long-term hug with a sedum plant is a plant I can't remember the name of that I received from my first PhD supervisor. It's just kinda sat around for the last three years until suddenly, literally today, the green plant has burst these beautiful red flowers out of the blue!
December 13, 2023 at 12:01 AM
noflightfairy.bsky.social
(this is for NZ obvs)
RNZ graph showing Covid wastewater sampling from the last 18 months. While not higher than 2022, the most recent spike is the biggest since the tail end of the 2022-2023 holiday season.
December 10, 2023 at 10:33 PM
noflightfairy.bsky.social
Turns out there are Ford dealerships in America flying American flags bigger than that flying over the goddamn White House. Iconic.
An absolutely massive US flag flies over a Ford dealership in California. No subtlety, no irony, just more patriotism around the single largest driver, pun intended, of American capitalism to date. (apparently it's half mast right now cos some First Lady died)
November 30, 2023 at 4:29 AM
noflightfairy.bsky.social
This American brand nearly made us drive off the road laughing
Side of a van has an ad for "Mr. Rooter plumbing | a neighborly company". Next to the text is a cartoon trade figure winking suggestively. It is entirely too much from an NZ perspective
November 30, 2023 at 2:00 AM