Māori voice

Is Māori representation Māori privilege?

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Māori voice

The Māori privilege debate continues to do the rounds.

Over recent years, as I have become more involved in my own tribal activities, it irks me that many communities still cannot get a grasp of the place of mana whenua within the wider community.

This was best played out in my community last year during the New Plymouth District Council Māori Wards referendum that went to the vote, and was resoundingly voted against by 83% of the wider community.

The online and letters-to-the-editor rhetoric in the local Taranaki Daily News reminded me of the 1950s and 60s’, “We need to watch out for these uppity Māori”. And, amidst the usual diatribe came the, “Why should Māori get special treatment?”, and other Māori-privilege comments.

It made me think, are Treaty of Waitangi workshops and cultural responsiveness programmes really hitting the mark at a school level, let alone amongst our wider society? Are they getting us to a place of really seeing Māori as tangata whenua, as mana whenua? It has been 40 years since the beginning of the Māori renaissance of the early 70s — why are we still grappling with these treaty issues? I often think and publically announce that we have come a long way in those 40 years of Kōhanga Reo, Kura Kaupapa, Māori Radio, and TV, treaty settlements, but still 83% of my community said No to Māori representation.

And that is the crux of what the Treaty means for us as Māori. Māori are tangata whenua, one of the treaty partner’s, though some people still want to dispute that. That partnership gives Māori mana whenua rights and responsibilities. We are not just another member of our multi-cultural society. For Māori, this is our homeland, the only place we can speak our language — an official language — since 1986. The only place we can live our cultural beliefs, to just be Māori. Other cultures can return to their homeland to speak their language, to live within their culture.

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Schools engaging with iwi, hapū and whānau

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Engaging with iwi

How do schools engage with local iwi or hapū networks? Iwi can be complex organisations, whether you are in an urban kura in a large city or a rural kura out in the country. Iwi politics are to be avoided at all cost, so let’s look for an easy option, let’s talk to our Māori friends.

Iwi organisations around the country are dynamic in how they function. As we move into the post-settlement era, we have on the one hand iwi that are well organised (they are usually post-settlement) and may even have an education arm; on the other hand we have iwi that are thin on the ground in terms of personnel (they are usually pre-settlement). Settled iwi have mandated iwi bodies and resource; they have compensation money, usually for land confiscated in the 1800’s.

Bigger iwi usually have a large number of kura within their region, so there is difficulty for iwi in managing kura relationships. For example, Ngāi Tahu, a post-settled iwi, takes in a large geographical area. They have education arms across their 18 rūnaka (subtribes). Within some of those rūnaka they have recently been running professional learning and development hui on their local marae for kura, who come together as clusters to learn and hear about tribal histories and their iwi aspirations for the future.

 

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My achievements are a team effort

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Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, he takitini

My achievements are the result of working with people. The importance of working collaboratively in a team can never be underestimated. It requires a commitment from everyone, and in particular the nominated leadership.

Teamwork in teaching

As school communities we pride ourselves on working as a team. However, when I am working with kaiako (teachers), I find that they can sometimes be quite isolated in their classroom environment and, therefore, in their practice. The classroom seems to be their go-to zone — their security blanket — and everything in the classroom is driven by them, both the good and the bad.

Why not step out and observe good practice within other classrooms? Every school has staff who are experienced, innovative, and positive; observing good practice regularly is a great way to grow as a teacher.

Māori have always learned practical skills through observation. Fishing, hunting, gardening, weaving, carving, hangi — all those practical tasks were learned by observing, then pitching in and giving it a go. Then the knowledge and skills were passed on. Karanga, whaikōrero, and waiata were also learned through observation, listening, rote learning, and eventually performing those roles. These were the essential parts of the traditional Māori curriculum!

We, too, can learn from good practice, observation, listening, and asking questions. In this way we utilise the strengths of all those around us.

I have always been a big believer in mentoring. We identify those about us who we trust and respect professionally and personally. Then we meet regularly — formally and informally — to discuss a shared set of goals or outcomes. A key part of that relationship is that they come to observe our teaching practice to critique.

Teaching can be a lonely job if we don't work collaboratively. School leadership must encourage and lead this. E hoa mā karawhuia! Mahia te mahi.

Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, he takitini.

This post was originally posted on Whare’s blog.

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Meet Team Māori – at CORE

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Whare

Tēnā koutou katoa ko te whānau Māori o CORE e mihi atu nei

CORE Team Māori has grown significantly over the last 2 years. The team is spread throughout CORE and we are thankful for the opportunity we have had to meet regularly and support each other across our different areas.

These hui are primarily about whanaungatanga where we can get together in a Māori environment and discuss issues that are affecting us professionally and personally. We are known to sing and laugh a lot.

As Kaihautū Māori it is important we have a whānau to guide us and keep us safe in the leadership roles that we have. With this whānau as a backbone we are then able to be more effective across the wider CORE whānau in providing support particularly pertaining to Māori issues.

The sharing of responsibilities is best evidenced in the thinking that has gone into ‘tātai aho rau’. Beth Dixon, Daph Papuni and Justin Roberts have led this discussion and they have presented to both the Team Māori whānau and the CORE Senior Leadership Team to refine that thinking.

Te Marautanga o Aotearoa, Te Marautanga o Aotearoa Online, He Pikinga Reo, Māori Medium Publishing are the contracts the bulk of our team are involved in. However Māori facilitators are also gaining in numbers in the CORE Blended e-Learning team. Te Manawa Pou is another important contract. We also have whānau in CORE Admin and Digital Media and Research.

The Pasifika team are also a valuable presence within our whānau hui and as their numbers grow we are able to support each other.

The cultural support that we can give across the wider CORE whānau is important to all of us whether it be reo, tikanga, waiata or Māori student achievement. We are always happy to support even if it’s just a skype call to task questions.

The Māori team, like all at CORE, is based around the country and many have tribal responsibilities within their iwi. These responsibilities add value to our professional roles particularly in terms of the wide network relationships and indeed the whanaungatanga that we bring in to the CORE environment.

That basically means we can get a good feed in whatever part of the country we may be visiting.

The opportunity CORE leadership have given us to work in a way that is appropriate to our needs means we can put our best foot forward in supporting our CORE colleagues and wider into the kura that we work in.

Nō reira e te whānau whānui o CORE tēnā tātou katoa.

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