our people deserve the best and nothing less

Is that the reality? Are we giving the best? Are our people receiving that?

No.

Haha we chose violence today.. get ready.

Time and time again we’ve been told and continue to be told ‘yeah ok you can be Māori but make it fit into these parameters that have been pre-set set for you.’ ‘Make your philosophies and knowledge systems, your customs and practices fit into a Western colonial format’ which can be translated to,

dilute everything you are into something palatable for the rest of us.

Just my thoughts, what do you reckon? It’s a little less subtle than how I usually present whakaaro (ideas) but what’s the harm in a little spice…

We’ve got “Māori” health initiatives that don’t factor in the natural environment as a determinant of optimal health or wellness. Are you serious?! The very tupuna (ancestors) we descend from, are accountable to and who live on through us, aren’t even part of the programme let alone the metrics of success? Hmm…

The health sector isn’t the only one either. Take a look at any ‘kaupapa Māori’ approach or initiative across the board and you’ll see similar things. Don’t get me wrong, I’m here for it and love to see and hear te reo Māori being embraced and incorporated into places once foreign to it.

But our people deserve the best and nothing less. Can we honestly say that’s what is being provided? Put a Māori name on it or use standardised, general ‘Māori’ values and that qualifies as diversity and inclusion?

It’s a step in the right direction but that’s just it — a step. We MUST continue to keep stepping forward, to keep learning more about a Māori worldview and how to engage with it and in unlearning colonial norms that limit how fully and wholeheartedly indigenous peoples can express themselves.

We cannot let mainstream systems dictate cultural expression or meaning and for that matter — our cultural potential.

Te Pakanga Atua, the war of the elements/gods, continues in each of us on an individual level and on a community level.

The wrestling with what should or shouldn’t be with what is.

Establishing yourself in an environment or reclaiming a space and owning it, proudly.

Standing up for what you believe in, regardless of whether you have support from others (we can deal with them later, as role modelled by Tūmātauenga, atua of man/war, lol).

Retreating to safety and recalibrating til it’s your time to thrive.

Choosing not to engage in conflicts that you’ve decided don’t contribute to your vision or mission.

This event in our history and whakapapa (genealogy) provides so much insight into how we can approach other wars and conflicts we face. Like the one I started the blog with — our people deserve the best and nothing less.

Tēnā tātou,

Hana.