Superfad: 100 per cent Māori DNA doesn't define Māori TV presenter

Saturday, 24 March 2018

Māori Television's Native Affairs presenter Oriini Kaipara was happy to learn she was 'full-blooded Māori' but says that doesn't make her more Māori than other people.

The third episode of Superfad, a new podcast from Stuff, delves into direct-to-consumer DNA test kits, and some of the unexpected results they've turned up. You can listen to the podcast here.

A Māori TV journalist says her unexpected DNA test result follows her around but it's a good reminder of her obligation to promote her culture.

Almost a year ago, Oriini Kaipara took a DNA test to learn more about her ethnicity, ancestry and whakapapa.

Kaipara said she expected the results to show she was about 80 per cent Māori - or Polynesian according to the test. When the results came back to show she was'100 per cent Māori', Kaipara, and most of New Zealand, were baffled.

To be precise, the test actually showed 98 per cent Māori or Polynesian, 1 per cent Scandinavian, and 1 per cent Caucasus - the region at the border of Europe and Asia.

* Oscar Kightley: 'Maori-ness' about more than flesh and blood

* How to listen to Superfad, Stuff's new podcast**

Kaipara says she did not know of any ancestors from that part of the globe and Ancestry.com DNA specialist Brad Argent said the 2 per cent non-Māori was likely 'noise'.

Irrespective of the exact numbers, Kaipara's results were enough to spark a blood quantum debate, similar to the one that recently boiled to the surface over newly appointed National Party leader Simon Bridges.

Some were quick to decry the results, saying there were no 100 per cent Māori left in New Zealand. Others scolded Kaipara for taking part in the genetic test, telling her she didn't need to spit in a tube to know she was Māori.

Kaipara's result has followed her around ever since.

A year on from her results being released, Kaipara still had people approaching her on the street to talk about the test.

During the 2017 election campaign, she was interviewing Māori leader, and former Ngāi Tahu chairman, Sir Mark Solomon and the first topic he raised was Kaipara's DNA test result.

Last year, Kaipara travelled to Australia, and even there people were bringing up her test results.

While the test had drawn some negative attention, it had also opened a conversation about what it meant to be Māori.

'I'm really glad people started talking about it and just thinking about these arguments that comes out of the woodwork once every two years about blood quantum, or how much Māori do you need to have to be a Māori - do you need to speak your language that determines you're a Māori, or is it about blood?

'Obviously it's a whole heap of things, it's not just one thing.'

The results had also led to Kaipara reflecting upon her own values, and what she was giving back to her culture and heritage.

'Am I doing enough? Am I giving enough in terms of helping the promotion of my language, or of my culture, or my heritage? Am I doing enough to champion Māori things, Māori language, Māori customs, Māori culture? I know it's in me, but what am I doing exactly?'

Kaipara said DNA tests were a starting point for some people but they weren't 'the be-all-and-end-all', and weren't needed by the general Māori population to connect to their whakapapa.

But the urge of so many to find out more about their heritage and ancestry - through DNA test kits, or other methods - likely stemmed from a desire to be part of a bigger picture, or to achieve a sense of belonging.

'For me growing up, it was always going home to your marae, being attached to your family, learning the histories - orally or through written records - it's really passed down from generation to generation, and really maintaining those home fires by continuously going back and contributing.'

Kaipara said she didn't need the test to tell her who she was, and she warned against taking that approach when ordering a direct-to-consumer DNA test.

'It hasn't changed my perspective on who I am, or where I come from, because I already knew that…

'The DNA test did not define who I am, nor did it change my perspective or outlook on who I am as a Tūhoe descendant, or a Ngāti Awa descendant, or a Ngāti Tūwharetoa person; I'm still the same person.'

Superfad is a seven-part podcast series, brought to you by Skoda. A new episode is released every Friday on iTunes and Stitcher. Join the Superfad group on Facebook and look out for behind-the-scenes extras in a weekly Facebook Live discussion every Monday.

*comments on this article have been closed