Elevating the mana of Aotearoa - Pou Tiaki will help boost Māori voices

Friday, 26 June 2020

OPINION:

A major cultural shift is happening in Aotearoa New Zealand.

E puta ana tētahi huringa nui ā-ahurea nei ki Aotearoa.

But it’s not just Māori who are shifting. It’s everyone else too.

Heoi, ehara i te mea ko Māori anake e neke ana. Ko te katoa atu anō hoki kei te pērā.

Since 1840, Māori have always maintained their rights to use their own language, customary knowledge and practices, retain their lands, exercise their authority and independence.

Nō te tau 1840, kua kaha ū te Māori ki te mana o te whakamahi i tō rātou reo, i ō rātou mātauranga tuku iho me ā rātou tikanga, o te pupuri hoki ki ō rātou whenua, o te whakatinana hoki i tō rātou rangatiratanga me te mana motuhake.

Over time, many of those rights have been taken from Māori through various means such as colonial troops, the law, education and so on.

I roto i ngā tau, kua takahia te nuinga o aua mana o te Māori mā ngā momo huarahi pēnei i ngā hōia o te Karauna o mua, mā te ture, mā te mātauranga, mā te aha, mā te aha.

Māori went from being the dominant culture to a minority population swamped by mass migration in the 1800s and early 1900s, and ongoing immigration to this day.

Nāwai te Māori i noho ko ia nei te iwi tokonui katoa, ka huri kē hei tokoiti nā te pokenga o rātou e te hekenga mai o te takimano i ngā tau 1800 me ngā tau tōmua o 1900, nā te hekenga tonutanga mai hoki o ngā tauiwi ā mohoa nei.

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In every generation Māori leaders and people in their day-to-day lives have tried to push back, raise their voices where they could, demanding equity with non-Māori while desperately holding on to their language, knowledge and customary practices.

Reanga atu, reanga mai, he rangatira Māori, he tāngata Māori, i ia rā o ō rātou ao, ka whai ki te ātete, ki te whakaputa i ō rātou reo i ngā wāhi e taea ai me te whakahau kia taurite tō rātou mana ki tō Tauiwi i a rātou e whakamomori ana ki te pupuri tonu ki tō rātou reo, ki ō rātou mātauranga me ngā tikanga tuku iho.

There have always been non-Māori who were sympathetic to the cries of Māori, who stood with them as they petitioned, protested and outright pleaded with authorities to do more.

Mai anō ētahi Tauiwi i aroha rā ki ngā tangi a te Māori, i tū rā hoki ki tōna taha nōna e petihana ana, e tohe ana, e īnoi mārika ana hoki ki ngā mana o runga kia nui ake ā rātou mahi.

Those supporters were few and like Māori, they struggled to force significant change against the colonial systems set up to favour non-Māori.

He tokoiti aua kaitautoko rā, ka mutu, pēnei tonu i te Māori, ka uaua ki a rātou te āki kia whaitake ngā panonitanga o ngā pūnaha a te Karauna o mua i whakaritea rā hei painga mō Tauiwi mā.

But the constant agitation and raised voices of Māori and their supporters, have slowly eroded the power structures over time.

Heoi, nāwai rā, nā te pūmau tonutanga o te whakaueue, nā te whakaputanga hoki o ngā reo o te Māori me ōna kaitautoko, kua āta ngahoro haere ngā hanga e whai mana ā-ture ana.

Since the late 1960s, the voices of Māori have grown stronger, buoyed by many others in a chorus demanding change, seeking equity.

Mai i te whiore o ngā tau 1960, kua kaha ake ngā reo o te Māori, e taunakitia nei e te tokomaha atu anō i te kotahi o tā rātou whakahau kia puta he panonitanga me te mana taurite.

Back then Māori were part of the global movement for change and turned towards America to see leaders such as Dr Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Angela Davis taking action against a dangerous, violent state.

I taua wā rā, ko te Māori tētahi wāhanga o te kaupapa ā-ao e whai nei kia puta he panonitanga, ā, ka huri rātou ki Amerika, ka kite ai i ngā rangatira pēnei i a Tākuta Martin Luther King rātou ko Malcolm X, ko Angela Davis mā e pakanga ana ki tētahi āhuatanga e whakamōrearea ana, e ririhau ana hoki.

Māori leaders such as Dame Whina Cooper, Eva Rickard, Ngā Tamatoa and Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei at Bastion Point were involved in many of the high profile protests of their time.

Ko ngā rangatira Māori, pēnei i a Kahurangi Whina Cooper rāua ko Tuaiwa Rickard, ko Ngā Tamatoa, ko Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei hoki i Takaparawhā, i whai wāhi atu ki ngā mautohe rongonui o tō rātou nā wā.

Despite the disastrous Rogernomics era in the late 80s and early 90s that created mass job losses for Māori, many small wins kept occurring.

Ahakoa te kino o te wā o Rogernomics i te whiore o ngā tau 80, i te upoko hoki o ngā tau 90, i whakakorea ai te huhua rawa atu o ngā tūranga mahi o te Māori, he rite tonu te puta o ngā punua painga.

The Waitangi Tribunal was set up to settle historical grievances, te reo Māori became an official language, the Treaty of Waitangi gained more authority, a separate te reo Māori and tikanga Māori education system was created. MMP has increased Māori political representation. More Māori are graduating from tertiary institutions taking up leadership roles across society in all parts of government and importantly, in the health, education and justice systems. Post-settlement iwi are gaining more political and economic power in their homelands. There has been an increased use of te reo Māori by non-Māori. History is compulsory in schools and more people are taking note of inequality with calls to reinstate Māori place names and the removal of colonial statues.

He mea whakatū a Te Rōpū Whakamana i te Tiriti o Waitangi hei whakatau i ngā nawe o mua, ka noho te reo Māori hei reo whaimana ā-ture, ka nui ake te mana o te Tiriti o Waitangi, ka whakatūria he pūnaha mātauranga i noho rā ko te reo me ngā tikanga Māori tōna kaupapa. Nā te Whirirua (MMP) kua tokomaha ake ngā māngai Māori i te ao tōrangapū. He tokomaha ake ngā ihu Māori e puta ana i ngā kura tuatoru me te tū i ngā tūranga kaiārahi puta noa i te hapori, i ngā wāhanga katoa o te kāwanatanga, ka mutu, me te hirahira anō hoki, e tū ana rātou i ngā pūnaha o te hauora, o te mātauranga me te ture. E piki ake ana te mana ā-tōrangapū, ā-ōhanga hoki o ngā iwi kua whakatau i ā rātou take Tiriti ki ō rātou anō ūkaipō. Kua piki ake te whakamahia o te reo e Tauiwi hoki. Ko te Hītori tētahi kaupapa me mātua ako i te kura, ā, kua tokomaha ake te hunga e kite ana i te korenga o te mana taurite, me te aha, kua puta ngā tono kia whakahokia mai ngā ingoa Māori o ngā wāhi, kia turakina hoki ngā whakapakoko a te Karauna o mua.

Despite all of this work, inequity and institutional racism continues against Māori in 2020.

Ahakoa ēnei mahi katoa, e ngaro tonu ana te mana taurite, e rere tonu ana hoki te kaikiri ā-whakahaere nei ki te Māori i te tau 2020.

But the Māori voice has grown stronger and they are not alone.

Heoi, kua kaha ake te reo o te Māori, ka mutu, kāore rātou i te tū mokemoke.

More Non-Māori are learning about their own privilege and bias in their interactions with Māori and how it perpetuates inequality. Non-Māori are championing for change too, demanding better for Māori, for everyone.

Kua tokomaha ake ngā Tauiwi e ako ana e pā ana ki ō rātou māritanga, me ō rātou mariutanga i ō rātou pāhekohekotanga ki te Māori, me te āhua o tā aua āhuatanga whakapūmau i te korenga o te mana taurite. Kei te whakatairanga hoki ētahi Tauiwi i te whāinga kia puta he panonitanga, me te whakahau kia pai ake ngā hua ki te Māori, ki te katoa hoki.

The global #BlackLivesMatter campaign, the terrorist attack in Ōtautahi Christchurch, overwhelming evidence of systemic racism in the health and justice systems has put everyone on notice, racism can no longer be tolerated.

Nā te kaupapa o #BlackLivesMatter i te ao, nā te whakatoke a te kaiwhakatuatea i Ōtautahi, nā te inati o ngā taunakitanga mō te kaikiri ā-whakahaere i ngā pūnaha o te hauora me te ture kua whakatūpatohia te katoa, ā, kua kore te kaikiritanga e tukuna kia rere tonu.

At Stuff, also called Puna, we too are experiencing an internal cultural shift. We are now an Aotearoa New Zealand owned company and know we have to do more to reflect the beautiful diverse nature of this land.

E rongo ana hoki mātou i te huringa o te ahurea o roto o Puna nei. Ināianei, kua tū mātou hei pakihi i raro i te maru o ētahi kirirarau o Aotearoa, ka mutu, e mōhio ana mātou me nui ake ā mātou mahi hei whakaata i te ātaahua o te taiao kanorau o tēnei whenua.

There are many internal actions being taken including a relaunch of the home page and the creation of a new section called Pou Tiaki. A pou tiaki is a carved post used to stand guard and protect.

He nui ngā mahi ā-roto e mahia ana, tae atu ki te whakarewanga anō o te whārangi matua, me te hanganga o tētahi wāhanga e kīia nei ko Pou Tiaki. Ko te pou tiaki tētahi pou whakairo i tū rā hei tautiaki, hei whakamarumaru hoki.

Pou Tiaki stories will eventually include a wide range of communities but first, it will focus on te Ao Māori, the Māori world.

Ā tōna wā, ka whai wāhi atu ki ngā kōrero o Pou Tiaki te whānuitanga o ngā hapori, engari, mātua rā tana arotahi ki te ao Māori.

All of our stories and those of our contributors who take a Māori focus will be safeguarded on this page. We will also be looking for lots of Māori content, both written and video, using te reo Māori and English.

Ka tiakina i tēnei whārangi ā mātou kōrero katoa me rātou ka tuku kōrero mai e arotahi ana ki te Māori. Ka kimi hoki mātou i te huhua o ngā kōrero Māori, ā-tuhi mai, ā-ataata mai hoki, e whakamahi ana i te reo Māori me te reo Pākehā.

This is a very exciting opportunity for Stuff to increase its Māori reportage and showcase it here. We hope you visit often and enjoy the journey we will take together.

E tino hiamo ana a Puna i tēnei huarahi e wātea ana ki a ia hei whakanui i ana pūrongo mō te Māori kia whakaaturia ai ki konei. E tūmanako ana mātou ka rite tonu tō toro mai, ka pārekareka hoki ki a koe tā tātou haere ngātahi.

The only way to elevate the mana of Aotearoa New Zealand is to raise up the voices of Māori.

Ko te ara kotahi e rewa ai te mana o Aotearoa, ko te whakatairanga i ngā reo o te Māori.

* Translation provided by Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori/Māori Language Commission.