{"id":174,"date":"2025-08-21T09:38:15","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T21:38:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.takiora.co.nz\/?p=174"},"modified":"2025-08-21T12:18:58","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T00:18:58","slug":"he-taki-korero-quick-takes-from-40-years-living-within-maori-and-pakeha-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.takiora.co.nz\/index.php\/2025\/08\/21\/he-taki-korero-quick-takes-from-40-years-living-within-maori-and-pakeha-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"He Taki K\u014drero: Quick Takes from 40 Years Living within M\u0101ori and P\u0101keh\u0101 Culture"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

He Taki K\u014drero: Quick Takes from 40 Years Living within M\u0101ori and P\u0101keh\u0101 Culture<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This post offers \u201cquick takes\u201d on six themes (with some Te Reo and translation), short reflections that hint at much longer discussions.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1. My personal reflection on the fast-moving \u201cM\u0101ori Renaissance\u201d as a participant<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Forty years ago, when I was four years old from a P\u0101keh\u0101 family, I started at a K\u014dhanga Reo and later went on to Kura Kaupapa M\u0101ori. At that time, this was still rare for both us (my twin and I) and the wh\u0101nau we grew up alongside.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back then, cultural acceptance and optimism for the M\u0101ori language\u2014among both M\u0101ori and P\u0101keh\u0101\u2014were very low. I vividly remember hearing almost everywhere: \u201cYou won\u2019t get anywhere with M\u0101ori.\u201d<\/em> That sentiment was common among both groups, apart from our small group of wh\u0101nau often dismissed as \u201cactivists.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was still a period overshadowed by the direct violence kaum\u0101tua had endured in schools and society for speaking Te Reo. That violence left the language and culture severely endangered. The kaupapa M\u0101ori education movement arose as a direct response to that crisis.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most M\u0101ori, and many P\u0101keh\u0101, are aware of this history. Yet when I meet P\u0101keh\u0101, I often feel they haven\u2019t truly digested it\u2014and that gap is something I try to speak to.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prophet Te Kooti once said: \u201cOne day the cat and mouse will sit at the same table to eat.\u201d<\/em> We\u2019re not there yet, in my view. But I value the change I\u2019ve witnessed in how Aotearoa sees M\u0101ori culture. We must keep growing this shift, knowing many still resist it.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kia kaha ki te k\u014d, ngaku peke maha!<\/em><\/strong> \u2014 Keep digging away, my colleagues, the many arms!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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2. The pain and shame around the M\u0101ori Renaissance\u2014and the response from non-M\u0101ori<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ka nui te mamae, te anau, ka hunaia taku reo whakahuahua.<\/em><\/strong>
There is deep pain and bewilderment in the loss of my explanatory M\u0101ori language.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Te Reo is still endangered, commitment to bring it back into everyday life is growing. The work of leaders to re-establish, regenerate, and build cultural and political strategy has been immense. And we should owe gratitude for those involveld in this work. It provides connection points for all of us.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pace of change feels rapid in the M\u0101ori world. I encourage non-M\u0101ori to reflect\u2014on history, on the present, and on themselves. And show agency for themselves.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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3. Reflections on non-M\u0101ori flocking to learn M\u0101ori<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is heartening to see the growing appreciation of Te Reo and M\u0101ori culture among non-M\u0101ori.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I believe it\u2019s vital for non-M\u0101ori learners to understand the deep losses caused by colonisation, so we can position ourselves in the M\u0101ori world with humility\u2014and also take responsibility for ourselves.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One enduring, beautiful quality of the M\u0101ori world is its sense of collectivism. I think the individualism, consumerism, and weakening sense of community in world draws many toward M\u0101ori. That pull is special. Sadly, M\u0101ori too have been affected by P\u0101keh\u0101 systems, and collectivism has declined for some.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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4. The present government\u2014and governments since 1852<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the establishment of a P\u0101keh\u0101 government in 1852, we\u2019ve seen wealth steadily redistributed from millions of workers to a tiny elite. Today, 311 families hold immense wealth, while 2.5 million New Zealanders at the bottom collectively own about the same.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve taught New Zealand history, particularly Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the raupatu, for some years. The best insight I\u2019ve come across is this: the past and present make the most sense when viewed through the lens of capitalism.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I once thought race explained our history. Now I see racism\u2014and since the 1970s, even anti-racism\u2014as technologies that maintain the class structure of capitalism. That is they get us to focus on race, which hides understanding things from a economic\/class perspective. Even if racism disappeared overnight, we would still face poverty, homelessness, and entrenched underclasses\u2014because these are products of capitalism.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, we should be anti-racist, anti-sexist, and so on. But the most accurate lens on the past and present, in my view, is economics.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s also the best way to understand the current government. Their attacks on Te Reo appeal to a base in the last gasp of monoculturalism and racism. But much of their wider policy\u2014the Treaty Principles Bill, Regulatory Standards Bill, Fast Track legislation\u2014fits a familiar neoliberal pattern. These are less about race and more about clearing M\u0101ori (and others) out of the way in the courts, to enable unfettered capitalism that serves elites, corporations, and donors.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s good to know we will continue to resist.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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5. P\u0101keh\u0101 culture today<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If every P\u0101keh\u0101 could see how pervasive their culture is, perhaps we\u2019d find the humility and understanding we need. P\u0101keh\u0101 culture is everywhere\u2014so much so that it often feels unnecessary to point it out.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me, other issues feel more urgent: wealth inequality, revitalisation of M\u0101ori culture, climate change, protecting minority rights. Still, raising awareness of P\u0101keh\u0101 culture has value. Many P\u0101keh\u0101 don\u2019t even recognise themselves as cultural beings. Helping them see this could be an important step.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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6. A mihi of gratitude to all who have worked to heal our M\u0101ori world culturally<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Te p\u014duri tangotango, wherikoriko, ka ngahae te ata i te maunga teitei, kawea ake e te manu hakuwai te rongo konohi o te w\u0101, he rau Heketara, he rau Kawakawa ki te m\u014dkai waewae makenu, he ara r\u014dr\u012b ki te whare whakairo o te iwi. Ko te whare t\u0113n\u0101 n\u014d Te Kuraimonoa. Pai marire.<\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

E te umanga i koroingo t\u014d ng\u0101kau i te huru manu, I tiana ki t\u014d m\u0101hunga, hei koha ki te m\u014dkai tangi kai i te ao nei. E aku pakeke, e te iwi, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou katoa. Kia kaha, ka huri.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the great darkness, to the glimmer, and then the dawn on the high mountain, the bird of death carries away the pain of this time, and brings forward the medicines of Heketara and Kawakawa to the child walking the entangled track to the carved house of the people. This is the house of Te Kuraimonoa.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good peace to the industrious, whose heart was turned by the feather placed at your head, as a gift and comfort the young who cried for food in this world. To my elders, to the people: greetings to you all. Be strong. I turn.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

He Taki K\u014drero: Quick Takes from 40 Years Living within M\u0101ori and P\u0101keh\u0101 Culture This post offers \u201cquick takes\u201d on six themes (with some Te Reo and translation), short reflections…Continue readingHe Taki K\u014drero: Quick Takes from 40 Years Living within M\u0101ori and P\u0101keh\u0101 Culture<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorised"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.takiora.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.takiora.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.takiora.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.takiora.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.takiora.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=174"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.takiora.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":178,"href":"https:\/\/www.takiora.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174\/revisions\/178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.takiora.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.takiora.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.takiora.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}