Ethnocentrism is the use of these labels within the society that supports ethnocentrism judgements of the “us” vs “them”. Therefore, translating into discriminatory actions towards certain groups of minorities. In New Zealand this relates to the entitlement of the Pākehā, is a Māori term for New Zealanders primarily of European descent, and the Māori.  

An example of ethnocentrism is an incident in the 1970s at Auckland University. Where a group of students would dress up in grass skirts and perform the university haka ‘Akarana’. This was a parody of the traditional haka dance which is a ceremonial Māori war dance. This caused Māori to write the school for over 20 years until it was acknowledged as wrong and was ultimately stopped. This incident not only showed the racism that was rooted in the culture and divide between the two groups. As well as, shows a clear example of ethnocentrism within the country. 

However, today New Zealand is slowly moving away from the “us” vs “them” mentality and is trying harder to blend the two groups of people together. Pushing for a more unified country, learning from each other and respecting one another.