Aro-Mind

Last Monday (3 Dec 2012), thanks to Prof Jane Kelsey, I had the opportunity to present some ideas on mātauranga Māori/indigenous knowledge to negotiators who were meeting all this week in Auckland to negotiate the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership. It was a very brief opportunity which took place at Waipapa Marae, University of Auckland. Here are some of the things I said: Our vision is for the indigenous dimension of New Zealand society to be positive, dynamic, creative force in our nation’s life, economy and culture, something that all New Zealand can be proud of.  We seek to turn colonisation and its deleterious effects on its head.  The contribution of indigenous peoples is not merely to gain participation in existing arrangements in New Zealand society , but also to bring distinctive aspects and creativity to our nation, to improve it according to indigenous vision, experience and action We remain concerned with matters of social justice – we a...

Māori is a term used primarily as a cultural/ethnic identifier. That is to say, it is used to label a group of people, the descendents of the aboirginal inhabitants of New Zealand at the time of European arrival. It's meaning is constructed and expressed in the context of other ethnic/cultural signifiers particularly Pākehā (European New Zealanders) and, later, Pasifika, Asian and more. There is another way, however, of thinking about 'Māori'. Originally the word 'māori' meant 'natural'. This referred to something that lacked impurities, something that naturally and organically appeared in the world. An example is 'waimāori' or pure water. Historically when children were considered for entry into the whare wānanga (institution of higher learning), the elders would sit and study each child to understand the qualities that were naturally appearing in each child, prior to any teaching. The elders were concerned to understand what energies and qualities ...

In our recent deliberations regarding research and the Māori language, we identified three major questions facing the life of the language. The first concerns "how do we increase the number of people speaking the Māori language?". The second question is 'how do increase our understanding of fluency in the Māori language and increase the number of people achieving fluency?" The final question, and the one that is less well researched is "what is the value of the Māori language?" This is vitally important question which, if addressed properly I feel, will bring even more energy into the revitalisation of our language. As a response to this question of the value of the Māori language, I offer the following ideas: - The contribution of the Māori language to the construction and articulation of identity. This leads to feelings of empowerment and mana leading to social cohesion. This is the case for the individual Māori person who is building a sense of their o...

For a long time, the struggles for identity in our communities have been framed in terms of Māori and Pākehā - who is Māori? What is Māori? Authenticity anxieties have been experienced. My identity struggle today is not so much about Māori viz a viz Pākehā but rather how do I keep my thought and action in continuous alignment and harmony with my creative centre? Secondly, how do I then use the things I have - knowledge, experiences, relationships, resources - to give expression to this creative centre? This is the adventure of a lifetime! Be true to thyself, so the expression goes.

In my view, the challenge facing iwi development is not about money, or resources. The key challenge facing iwi development at this time is meaninglessness. That is, iwi members naturally wish to know how does participation in my iwi bring value and benefits to my life? This problem is compounded when the opportunities for participation in iwi life remain few. For many the only opportunity to participate is at tangihanga. On too many other occasions, iwi members witness poor behavior, bickering and conflict when attending meetings at their marae. Hence, for many iwi members participation in their iwi is meaningless for very little value is offered to them. Of course, there are exceptions to this as some iwi do have positive activities taking place. However, on the whole, this is true for at least part of the time. The question remains - why should I participate in my iwi? What value and benefits can I gain from participating? Altenatively, there is the committed iwi member who particip...

Recent events suggest that things are changing and in a deep way. Older ways of thinking and acting are fading and newer possibilities are coming forth. Chief among them are the need to get beyond ethnic and cultural urgencies to a common and universal human question about our relationship with Mother Earth. As distance continues to grow between human consciousness and the natural world so the costs of this distance manifest themselves. The new Indigeneity, the new tangata whenuatanga is about a kinship based relationship with each other and with the natural world. It's about healing the rift between human consciousness and the natural world. It's about enabling the universe to flow through human spirit and mind. Musicians unite! Poets unite! Artists unite! Scientists unite! Creators of all kinds unite!

Tēnei kupu o ‘whakaahua’, e hāngai ana ki te putanga o tētahi mana ki te Ao. Hei tauira, tērā ngā whakairo e tū tū nei i ō tātou whare tupuna. Ehara i te mea, he tohu whakamaharatanga noa iho ērā rākau nei, engari, ko ngā tūpuna tonu e whakaahua mai nei, e puta mai nei, e hoki mai nei i ō tātou whare tūpuna. Kei te whare tapere ka kitea tēnei whakaaro i te whakataukī mō te wahine kua eke nei tōna tū, kua rangatira tāna kawe i ngā kanikani, i ngā haka, i ngā waiata o te whare tapere. Arā tōna whakataukī e mea nei:             Ko Hineruhi koe, nāna i tū te ata hāpara. Arā, inā ka rangatira te haka a te wahine, ka kiia ko Hineruhi tonu tēnei e whakaahua mai nei i taua wāhine i tū nei ki te haka. Ehara i te mea, kei te āhua rite te wahine nei ki a Hineruhi. Kao. Ko Hineruhi tonu tēnei e whakaahua mai ne i taua wahine haka nei, ā, kua puta tēnei mana ki te Ao.