Transpacific cultural encounters: Perspectives on appropriation processes and migration experiences

This article brings together theoretical approaches to the study of appropriation, transculturalism and migration to explore contemporary Latin American migrant experiences and social positioning in Aotearoa New Zealand. I argue that migrants' experiences are mediated by New Zealand migration politics and the country's official definition as a bicultural nation. Simultaneously, they are also shaped by migrants' individual aspirations and social conditions. Drawing on fieldwork, I trace out the various ways individuals add meaning to their new life circumstances and create successful migration biographies. I argue that individual coping strategies such as appropriation, adaptation or cultural withdrawal are ambiguous and sometimes contested, depending on the viewpoints and social relations of the individuals involved.