Then there’s the restorative side of justice; when these ideals are disregarded, then justice also calls for righting these wrongs. Interesting to think about this in light of what has been going on for years and what is still happening now. There’s been some stuff that has been brought out in the media in recent times to illustrate what ‘justice’ or ‘injustice’ there is when it comes to race relations in our country.

Now the stats would say that Māori got the extremely short end of this stick, losing land through bad deals and confiscation; loss of language and culture that soon had the ball rolling on poor health and poverty and decline in population. Māori beliefs and knowledge took a big hit too with the introduction of Christian beliefs and a foreign education system implemented. It’s been a hard struggle coming back from the effects of the fallout from the Treaty. And where are we now?

One hundred and fifty years of battles, loss of land, language, culture and lives; protests and court cases later and Ansell would say that we’ve “gone from the Stone Age to the space age”. And we’ve done this without expressing our gratitude. Yeah, ok, well for the record, thanks for that, thanks for treating our ancestors like crap so that we too can be Pākehā; so that I can lose what my ancestors would have wanted for me, and so my identity can be traded for alcohol, guns, tobacco, cars, computers and iPods. And no worries that they had to be force-fed what was best for them. It would have been hell living on our own land in beautifully carved houses, speaking our own language and following our own cultural beliefs and systems. Pure hell.

And now we have the gall to seek too many rights, to be over-privileged, and ungrateful for the opportunities that a history of colonisation and a future of globalisation is giving us. Truly, we really should embrace one law and be one people and conform to the uniformity of order.

Yeah right, Tui advert anyone? Not to mention, bigoted much?

What Māori have given up for law and order is not justice. Attempts at restorative justice have some academics and experts giving conservative estimates of Treaty settlements being less than 1 per cent of their true value. Meanwhile the Crown is selling off assets such as minerals to the highest bidders from overseas. Where is the justice in this? Why is it that a young Maori man who stole a packet of Pineapple lumps (RRP $2.90) gets thrown in jail for two years, meanwhile a failed Pākehā owned finance company gets bailed out by the Government for more than a billion dollars? (Let’s not forget the combined treaty settlements thus far are less than a billion dollars.)

For all of this, we’re meant to be grateful? Where is the justice in this?

Ngā Mahi Whakatere Waka a Ngā Tipuna
Ko ngā waka ēnei i hoea mai rā i te nuku o te whenua i Hawaiki-pāmamao
Whakawhiti mai rā te Moana-nui-ā-Kiwa ki Aotearoa
Hiki nuku, hiki rangi!

I ngā rā o mua, ko ngā ia wai o te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa ngā ara haere a o tātou mātua tīpuna, ā, i riro mā ngā āhuatanga o te moana, o ngā hau e whā, o te rangi hoki e aratakina i a rātou ki ngā moutere, ki Aotearoa hoki. Nā te eke o ngā ngaru, te pupuhi o ngā hau, te ara o ngā whetū, me te hurihanga o Tama-nui-te-rā rātou i arataki. I aua rā ko te reo o te taiao, o te moana e rite pēnei ki te reo Māori. He reo i mōhio whānuitia.

I ēnei rā kua memeha haere te mātauranga o tēnei mahi whakatere waka, ā, nā tērā i puta te huatau ki te whai whakaaro anō ki ēnei tūmomo mahi. Ko tētahi whakatinanatanga o ēnei whakaaro ko te haerenga tuatahi o te waka Hokule’a i te tau 1976. Na Mau Piailug i whakatere te waka hourua, Hokule’a, na runga anō i te mātauranga i heke iho mai i ona matua tipuna. I riro atu ngā mīhini Pākehā ki rahaki, a, nana anō i whai atu i ngā tohutohu a Tāwhirimātea, a Tangaroa, a Ranginui hoki, tae atu ki Tahiti.
Nō ngā moutere o Micronesia a Mau, engari i tona kitenga atu i ngā āhuatanga o tauiwi e uru ana ki ngā tikanga o tona iwi, ka tīmata ia ki te whakaako i ngā mahi whakatere waka ki ngā iwi whānui o te Moana nui a Kiwa. Ko tētahi o ana tino tauira ko Nainoa Thompson, nō Hawaii, a, tatu mai ki ēnei ra, kua whakaora ēnei tokorua i ngā mahi whakatere waka.
Mō Aotearoa, ko te tuatahi o ngā waka hourua i whakatere atu ko Te Aurere. Na Hekenukumai Busby tēnei kaupapa i whakahaere, a, i ea tēnei kaupapa i te tau 1992 i te ūtanga atu o te waka o Te Aurere ki Rai’atea.
Heke mai ki ēnei rangi, he mātauranga ‘hou’ tēnei ki ētahi. Ahakoa ngā rautau kua hipa, he pihipihinga tonu tēnei kaupapa ki ngā iwi whānui. Heoi, kei te haere tonu ngā mahi pērā ki te haerenga o Te Mana o te Moana.

Te Mana o te Moana
Ko Te Mana o Te Moana he haerenga o ngā waka hourua e whitu mai i Aotearoa ki ngā moutere o te Moana nui a Kiwa, tae noa ki Hawaii, ki Amerika hoki. E ai ki te paetukutuku, he haerenga tēnei hei whakanui i ngā take taiao e pā ana ki te moana kia puta ki ngā tini tangata o waho. He haerenga hei whakaora, hei whakatauira hoki i te mātauranga a o tātou tīpuna mō te mahi whakatere waka, ka mutu, hei poipoi i te hononga o ngā iwi taketake o ngā moutere ki Tangaroa.
Ko Faafaite (Tahiti), ko Gaualofa (Samoa), ko Haunui (Pan-Pacific), ko Hine Moana (Pan-Pacific), ko Marumaru Atua (Cook Islands), ko Te Matau a Maui (Aotearoa), ko Uto Ni Yalo (Fiji) ngā waka e whitu. I wehe ēnei waka mai Aotearoa i te timatanga o te marama o Paenga-whāwhā. Kua toru marama neke atu rātou ki te moana, a, i ngā wiki e rua kua pahure i tae atu rātou ki Hawaii.

Anei tētahi o ngā tuhinga mai i tō rātou paetukutuku:
Rangi 60 – Rāpare 16th Pipiri 2011/ Taenga ki Hawai’i

Ko te po i mua i to matou taenga atu ki te moutere o Hawai’i. Kua puta mai ko Rakaunui, ka puta hoki te ihiihi, te wehiwehi me te wanawana i te kitenga o te kōpere o te po. Ko tona piko e tohu ana i Hawaiki nui, i Hawaiki roa, i Hawaiki pāmamao. Mīharo katoa matou i tēnei kōpere.
Ka ao ka ao ka awatea.
Whiti ana ko Tama-nui ko tana he tohu i te ara ki Kainga ki Whakararo, ki Tokerau. Horahia ko kura-hau-awatea i te rangi. He tohu o te marangai me te hau pupuhi. Heke ana te ua hei tohu atu kua tata to matou taenga atu ki Hawai’i, whai mai ka tāwhana mai te rangi Āniwaniwa. Ko tana he wero i te maumaharatanga o rātou ma kua wehe ki tua, a, he tohu pai kia whakarite mō te taenga ki to matou pae tawhiti.
I te ata tonu tātou i tae atu ki Hawai’i. Ko matou ko Marumaru Atua, ko Haunui tera te hāpai o ki muri e arahina i ngā teina whakatere waka ki roto i te whanga o Hilo. I reira wā tātou kaumātua a Hekenukumai Busby e waerea wā matou huarahi ki Hawai’i.

(http://www.pacificvoyagers.org/voyaging-societies/te-matau-maui/news-5/day-60-thursday-16th-june-2011.html)

He kitenga tuatahi tēnei mō te nuinga o ngā kaiwhakatere o ēnei waka, engari, arā ngā momo mahi whakangungu hei whakariterite i a rātou anō. Nā ngā mahi whakangungu a ngā kaiako pera ki ērā o te waka Hokule’a, i whakaako ēnei o ngā tauira ki tēnei mahi onamata. Hei kīnaki hoki ko ngā mātauranga pūtaiao e whakawhirinaki ana i a rātou mā hei whakakī i o rātou kete mātauranga. Ara, ko ngā take taiao o te moana ērā, ngā āhuatanga kino o ngā momo ngē (noise pollution), ngā wahanga o te moana e kore ai te hau te aha ranei e ora (dead zone), me te ngau o te waikawa ki te moana (ocean acidification).
Mai i ngā tōpito katoa o te Moana nui a Kiwa ēnei kaiwhakatere. Nō ngā moutere o Tahiti ētahi, nō Hāmoa ētahi atu, nō Aotearoa hoki ētahi atu. Ko tētahi o ngā kaiwhakatere waka o Te Matau a Maui ko Taawhana Chadwick. He tauira tawhito ia o tēnei whare wananga, ka mutu, i tū ia hei māngai mō Ngai Tauira i ngā tau i a ia e whai tohu ana ki konei.
Ko ia tētahi o ngā kaituhi mō tēnei haerenga a Te Mana o te Moana, a, ka taea koe te haere ki te paetukutuku ki te kite atu i a rātou nekehanga mai moutere ki moutere ki whenua kē. I tēnei wā tonu kua wehe ēnei waka mai Hawaii, a, kua tāpirihia atu ko tētahi waka hourua anō, ko Ohana Waa (Hawaii).
Anei ngā mihi maioha ki ēnei waka e waru e tere haere ana i ngā wai pukepuke o te Moana nui a Kiwa. Ko ngā kaupapa e pīkau ana rātou mō te taiao, he kaupapa e taea ai tātou katoa te hiki. Ko ngā mahi whakaora i te mātauranga o ngā iwi taketake o te Moana nui a Kiwa, he oranga tikanga, he oranga tangata.

Tēnā, tau atu ki tō rātou paetukutuku: http//:www.pacificvoyagers.org.

The point of that programme (if there was a point to it) was that strange things do occur in real life. We are a world of many different cultures, customs and beliefs and what may be strange to us could just be a normal occurrence to others. Do you believe that?

Let’s try this local story on for size: Janet Moses. 22-years old, mother-of-two, lived in Wainuiomata, and died during an exorcism ceremony performed by members of her family. Fact or fiction?

I’m sure most of you have heard of this tragic incident that occurred in 2007. It practically happened in our own backyard. So this is fact. It happened.

But how many people actually believe in the reasons and circumstances behind it? It’s easy to believe a person died from drowning, but it’s not so easy to believe that this person died by the hands of family members who believed she was cursed and possessed by evil spirits. The reasons behind the perceived occurrence are hard to believe. Could the outcome be avoided? Yes, I think it could have been. But was there really a curse? Was she really possessed by evil spirits? Or was this situation all based on fiction?

Well. Do you believe in makutu? Do you know what it means and what it is? It’s typically roughly translated into ‘curse’, but relying on a definition of a Western concept for a Māori concept is never a good idea, so that can only be used as a guideline. But whether or not you believe in it, there are those of us who do. Though Māori have lost a lot of knowledge, particularly knowledge that relates to makutu, there are different degrees and levels of knowledge and understanding that each iwi or hapu (or in this case, whānau) have managed to retain. (Colonisation played a big part in this, but I’ll leave that little can of worms for another time.)

I’ve been taught to be wary and respectful of all things considered to be ‘supernatural’, and that those who have passed on are still active agents in our lives. I’ve been told about the spiritual qualities of water—its ability to lift negative forces from a person, object or space. I believe there are those among our people who have the knowledge and understanding of dealing with the ‘supernatural’, and those who only know as
much as I do; the absolute basics.

So did Janet Moses’ family know what they were doing? Idon’t know, but they paid the ultimate price for it. Was it all just fiction they were basing their actions around? No, I don’t believe it was. Of course, the facts and full details of what actually happened, what was going on and whether it was a makutu are not known. However, makutu is not to be taken lightly, and if her family believed Janet to be suffering from it, then it looks as though they took it very seriously.

There are always reasons, meanings and history behind why we believe what we believe in. And if the question of validity comes up for some people, then I would challenge them to look at their own beliefs before anyone else’s and ask—are they based on fact or fiction?

People might think that our Maori beliefs are archaic, ancient and irrelevant for modern times, but for us, they’re still just as relevant nowadays as they were hundreds of years ago. You can’t tell me that symbolically eating the flesh and drinking the blood of a person/God is any different? Some might think ‘where’s the logic in that?’ But for Christians, it’s no different. It’s relevant to them, just as our beliefs are relevant to us.

So go beyond belief. Every culture and belief has its own logic, but as with anything, people can stuff up. And what happened with Janet Moses was a serious stuff-up. However, it’s the belief that’s beyond comprehension for some and that’s what people are trying to grapple with. But that’s why it’s called belief. It can be fact and fiction. You believe it, or don’t.

Nō ngā tau 1970, i tīmata te taki o tēnei mea te waka whakaora i te reo Māori i runga anō i te waimehatanga o ngā puna reo huri noa i te motu. Ko te pōkaikaha tērā o te minenga, ka mate te reo, ka parea tēnei taonga ki rahaki, ngaro noa. Ka putaputa mai ngā kaupapa whakaora reo mai i ngā whāruarua o te motu pēnei i te kākano o te Kōhanga Reo, te pihinga o te Kura Kaupapa Māori, te mahuri o te Wharekura, te kōhuretanga o te Whare Wānanga hoki. Āra anō ko Te Ātaarangi e whakatō ana i te kākano o te reo ki ērā o ngā mātua, ngā pahake kāore i tipu ake i te reo. Whai muri ake ko ngā kaupapa whakaora i te mita o te reo, arā, ko te Kāpunipuni Reo tērā mo ngā uri o Taranaki, ko te kaupapa Kotahi Mano Kāika tērā mō ngā uri o Ngāi Tahu, anō hoki, ko tētahi pekanga o te tino karamatamata o te reo tērā e poipoia nei e te Panekiretanga o te Reo. He mea whakaora katoa ēnei kaupapa i te reo Māori i waenganui i a tātou mā, kōhungahunga mai, pakeke mai, kaumātua mai. Otiia, he aha te pānga o te reo ki te oranga o te iwi?

Kia para i te huarahi o taku kōrero nei, tuatahi ko te whakamārama poto mō tēnei mea te ‘reo-ā-iwi’ me tōna ‘mita’.

“Tōku reo ka tuku, tōku mouri ka ora.”

He reo e mōhio whānuitia ā-motu nei te reo Māori nā te mea he reo taketake o Aotearoa, heoi, he wāhanga anō tō te reo Māori, arā, ko ngā pekanga o ngā reo-ā-iwi. Ko te rerekētanga o te ia, o te piki me te heke o te reo, o ngā kīwaha, whakataukī, whakatauāki o ia iwi hei whakaputa i ōna ake kōrero. Hei tauira, ki tā te tuhinga Ngā Reo ā-Iwi a Te Wharehuia Milroy ki te pukapuka Te Kōhure, ka mea mai ia:

Ki te haere koe ki roto o te rohe o Taranaki me ōna hapū katoa, hei konā anō koe rongo ai i ngā rerekētanga, arā, i ētahi atu rohe kua rongo koe i te kupu ‘kei’ e whakamahia ana. Ki roto o Mātaatua, o Te Arawa, o Te Tai Rāwhiti ka rongo koe e whakamahia ana ‘kai’. Kei roto i ētahi o ngā hapū o Taranaki me Whanga-nui e pērā ana anō tā rātau whakamahi i tērā kupu, i te ‘kei’. He ‘kai’ kē, he ‘hai’ rānei mō te ‘hei’ (1996:53).

He mita ake anō kei ētahi reo-ā-iwi. Hei tauira ake, ki tā te mita o te Tai Tokerau, ka makere mai te ‘w’ i te pū ‘wh’ kia noho hei ‘hakarongo’ te kupu e mōhio whānuitia e te nuinga ko te ‘whakarongo’. Anō nei, ko Ngāi Tūhoe mā, kua kore mai te ‘g’ mai i te pū ‘ng’ kia noho mai ko te ‘whakarono’. Tau atu ki Te Waipounamu, ko tā rātou he ‘k’ kē mō te pū ‘ng’ kia ‘whakaroko’ te kupu ‘whakarongo’ nei. Ā, ki tā te Tai Hauāuru ka warea ake te pū ‘h’ kia ‘wakarongo’ kē te kupu.

He tauira noa iho ēnei hei whakaatu i te rerekētanga matua o ia mita, ā, kia noho ko ēnei tauira e whakaatu ana i te rerekētanga o ia reo-ā-iwi, o ia mita, kia mārama pai ai te tangata he kokinga anō tō te reo Māori.

I runga i aua whakaaro, ka tahuri ake anō ki te reo me te mita o te Tai Hauāuru hei whakatauira te tino ngako o te kaupapa nei.

Te Kāpunipuni Reo o Taranaki

E ai ki te paetukutuku o Te Reo o Taranaki, ko te aronga matua o te Kāpunipuni Reo o Taranaki he whakaako, he wānanga i ngā āhuatanga katoa o te reo me te mita o Taranaki. Arā, ko te ōrokohanga o te kaupapa whakaora i te reo o Taranaki i puta tuatahi mai te taki o ngā kaupapa whakaora i te reo Māori o ngā rau tau 1980. Ko ngā nawe i rangona ai e te iwi te take i tū mai te rōpū kaporeihana o Te Reo o Taranaki, nā tēnei i puta te ihu o te waka whakaora reo i te tau 1986 hei kawe ake i ngā wawata o rātou mā ngā mata reherehe mo ngā uri whakaheke.

E ai ki te pūataata rorohiko mō te rautaki o Te Reo o Taranaki, nō te tau 1991 ka huakina ngā tatau o Te Kōhanga Reo o Te Kōpae Tamariki ki Ngāmotu. Ka kotahi tau, ko ngā kuaha o Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Pihipihinga Kākano Mai Rangiātea i tūwhera mai. Makere mai te whitu tau, ko te Wharekura i āpiti atu ki te kura. Anō hoki, ko Te Ātaarangi tonu e whakaako ana i te reo i Taranaki ki te marea, ēngari, ko te Kāpunipuni Reo i puta hei whakakīkī i te whārua mō ērā tokoiti matatau kē ana ki te reo.

Ko ngā tūmomo āhuatanga e whakaakona, e whakamahia ki ngā wānanga o te Kāpunipuni ko ngā karakia ōmua, ngā karakia hou, te whaikōrero, te karanga hoki, ngā waiata ōmua, ngā waiata hou, te kōrero paki, te pao maioha, me te taukumekume. Ko ēnei āhuatanga katoa he whai i ngā tikanga o Taranaki, o Ngā Rauru hoki. Ka tū ngā wānanga nei ki ngā marae huri noa i te rohe, ā, mā te hunga kua tangata whenua mai i aua marae e taki i ngā kōrero o ia wānanga.

Ko te mea nui o te Kāpunipuni, ko ngā kōrero katoa e hāngai tōtika ana ki ngā uri o ngā waka o Aotea, Tokomaru me Kurahaupō; ki ngā kōrero me ngā hītori o ngā iwi whānui o Taranaki. I a te tauira o te Kāpunipuni e wānanga ana i tōna mita ake, ko ia hoki e mau pūmau ana ki tōna ake tuakiri, arā, ko te reo tērā e mau kaha ana ki te tuakiri o te tangata. Ki tā te tohunga wetereo, Joshua Fishman, ko te takakino o te reo, he takakino o te tuakiri, arā, mā te oranga o tētahi te oranga o tērā atu hoki, ka mate te reo, ka whakamomori nei tātou i a tātou anō. Ki te ora te tuakiri o ia iwi, me ora anō tōna ake reo, mita hoki.

Nō reira, kei te ora tonu te reo?

Ka whānui taku titiro ki te oranga o te reo Māori. I taku tirohanga tuatahi ki tēnei urupounamu ka tere taku whakapae, āe, kei te ora tonu. I runga anō i te maha o ngā kaupapa whakaora reo e karapotia nei e te motu ināianei, i runga anō hoki i te mea e āhei ana ahau me te nui o ōku whānau ki te kōrero i te reo, te nui o ōku hoa hoki me ērā atu tāngata kei te hāpori, kei ngā pouaka whakaata, kei ngā reo irirangi, kei te ipurangi, kei hea kē mai e taea ai te kōrero, te rongo, te kite hoki i te reo e whakamahi ana – i runga anō i ērā whakatau āku, ka tika, kei te ora pai te reo. Ēngari anō, ki te tahuri ake ki ngā tatauranga ō mua, e whakaatu ana ēnei nama i tētahi āhuatanga kē.

E ai ki ngā kōrero o te pae tukutuku o Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori, i te tau 1913, āhua 92% te nui o ngā tamariki Māori e taea te kōrero i te reo Māori. Tau atu ki te 1973-78 o ngā tau, āhua 18-20% noa iho te maha o te tangata, ko te nuinga hoki he kaumātua. I te 1985 ka heke anō ki te 12%, otiia, e kore e mutu ki reira te hekenga o te tatauranga. Nō te tau 2006, ka puta mai anō ngā tatauranga mō te reo, i tēnei wā e kī ana e 4% noa iho te maha o te tangata ki Aotearoa e taea te kōrero i te reo Māori. Hei tāpiri ki tērā, mai ngā Māori katoa o Aotearoa – arā he 14% noa iho o te huinga tāngata katoa ki Aotearoa nei – 24% noa iho o aua Māori ka taea te kōrero Māori. Ki te whakataurite tērā ki te paihēneti o te maha o ngā tangata e taea te kōrero i te reo Pākehā, arā, e 95% e taea, tēnā, pehea tērā atu 5% paihēneti? Kāore e kore ko te nuinga – inā kāore i te katoa – he tangata nō whenua kē me tō rātou ake reo rerekē! Kāore kau he tangata e taea te kī e tūturu ana ko te reo Māori tōna reo noa iho. Kia whakaritea anō tātou i te rahi o te 24% o ngā tangata Māori; ko te nui o te tangata Māori e taea te kōrero i te reo Māori he pēnei te rite o te nui o te tangata noho ana ki tētahi rohe o Tamaki-makaurau i te tau 2006.

Ko ēnei momo tatauranga e whakaatu ana i te tino oranga o te reo. He reo rehurehu noa iho i te tirohanga mārō nei. Ka tata hemo te reo i te ngoikore o te nuinga me te tokoiti o te hunga matatau ki te kōrero, ngākaunui ana hoki ki te reo. Nō reira ka tika te ui atu, ‘kei te ora tonu te reo Māori?’

“He reo e kōrerotia ana, he reo ka ora.”

Otiia, ahakoa ngā tatauranga nei, kia mōhio mai koutou, ka mau tonu au ki te whakaaro, āe, kei te ora tonu te reo Māori. E kore rawa au e whakapae kua mate katoa te reo Māori tae noa ki te wā kua hemo katoa tātou e kawe i te hā, i te mura, i te ahi o te reo. Ēngari anō, he tika te whakatau, e kore te reo e ora pēnei nā i ngā rā ō mua, arā, te kaha rangona ki ngā wāhi katoa, te maringi noa mai ngā korokoro, waha, ngutu maha, te tika hoki o te reo. E kao. He ora pēnei i tētahi tangata e mau tonu ana ki tētahi tūpari, ā, ki te taka ia, ka hemo. Kei te kapokapo haere tātou i ngā kōhatu, i ngā paruparu, i te pātītī kia ora tātou i te pari rā. Kei te pēnā te ora o te reo ināianei, ko te whiu noa iho o ngā kupu hangahanga, ko te kaha mikirapu o ngā rerenga kōrero, o ngā kupu, te whakatū kaupapa whakaora reo maha, aha atu, aha atu mo te tūpono ka ora mai te reo i te muia o te reo, i te pārara o te hora ki te whenua. Ko te whakaaro nei kei te kōrerohia te reo, kei te kite atu, ko te tūpono kei te ora. Heoi, ko te reo Māori tērā e rere ana? Anei te tino ngako o ēnei kōrero. Ka mate tātou i te hurihanga o tēnei ao me ōna pānga maha ki a tātou, ki ngā iwi Māori o te motu, ki te reo hoki.

Maringanui he kaupapa whakaora reo pēnei i Te Kāpunipuni Reo. I runga i te whakaaro ko te ako, ko te whakaako hoki o te reo Māori he mahi paratī i te puna reo, he mea tīmatatanga noa iho hei eke ki te taumata kōrero. Ki te kōkirihia tonutia te kaupapa whakaora reo, hei māunu ake te oranga o te iwi hoki, me ruku hōhonu nei i ngā hōpuapua o te mita o te reo hei wānanga, hei wetewete i ngā kōrero a rātou mā. Kei reira kē te pūmautanga o te reo me ōna tikanga. Kia muramura mai te ahi kā ki roto ki tēnā, ki tēnā, pērā ki ngā pou o te reo Māori, te hunga kua roa nei e ‘tutungia te hātete’ o te reo, arā, kia Tīmoti Karetu mā, kia Te Wharehuia Milroy, kia Huirangi Waikerepuru, kia Tipene O’Reagan hoki. Kua riro mā rātou e mau i te ahi kā roa mo tātou kua mauheretia ki te reo paraoa o tēnei ao hurihuri, ā, ko te mura o te hā kei tēnā, kei tēnā o tātou e kawe tonu i te kaupapa. Ka tika kia para tonu tātou i tēnei ara o te reo kia tutungia tēnei mura hei ahi-kā-roa mo ērā e takahi ana i tēnei ara tāpokopoko.

Photo credit: Remon Rijper

Ka uia te ui nui ki ētehi tauira o te whare wānanga, ā, anei o rātou whakaaro.

E tipu e rea mō ngā rā o tōu ao
Ko tō ringa ki ngā rākau a te Pākehā, hei ara mo tō tinana
Ko tō ngākau ki ngā tāonga a o tipuna Māori hei tikitiki mō tō mahunga,
ā, ko tō wairua ki tō Atua, nāna nei ngā mea katoa

Ahakoa nō mai rā anō tēnei whakatauākī, he hua tonu kei ēnei kupu. Ka whakaae atu a Jesse Huriwai ki ēnei kōrero, arā, i runga i tāna whakapuaki mai i haere ia ki tētehi kura auraki, noho ai ki tētehi ruma rūmaki, ko te pātai i karawhiua ki a ia ko tēnei: he hiahia nōu kē te haere ki te kura kaupapa, te wharekura rānei? Ko tāna he whakahē mai, “ki te whakaaro ake ki te whakatauākī a Tā Apiranga Ngata, ki au nei he hua kei aua kupu,” arā, ki tā Jesse he mea pai tana ako ā-rumaki nei nā te mea he pānga ki ngā ao e rua, te ao Māori me te ao Pākehā. Ki tā Te Aira Nyman hoki, e kore rawa ia mō te manawa pā ki ngā āhuatanga i kuraina a ia. “I haere au ki te kohanga reo, te kura auraki me te kura tuarua, ā, mōku anō he painga tērā nō te mea mēnā i haere au ki te kura kaupapa, ki te wharekura rānei, e kore au e whai i te ara e whai ana au i tēnei wā, arā, te whai tohu i roto i ngā mahi pāpaoho, i te reo Ingarihi hoki. Ki au nei, he ara anō tērā ka utaina ki runga i ērā tauira Māori ka kuraina i roto i ngā kura kaupapa me ngā wharekura.”

Arā anō ngā whakaaro o Tāwhana Chadwick, ko tāna he whakaputa i tērā atu taha. “Ahakoa i haere noa au ki ngā kura rūmaki, kura kaupapa, wharekura – kāhore ki ngā kura reo Pākehā – i ako tonu au i tērā ao. I whiwhi au i tāku nā akoranga Pākehā i roto i te tāone, i tāku nā akoranga kākanorua ki te kāinga. Ki awau anō, nā te kaha o te ao Pākehā ki te whakahua i tōna katoa i ngā whāruarua katoa o Aotearoa he rahi rawa atu tērā mō te tamaiti Māori ki te ako i taua ao.”

I runga anō i aua whakaaro, ka pehea te kōwhiri i tētehi ara, i tētehi momo kura? Ehara i te mea ko ēnei noa iho ngā painga, ngā kino o te tuku i ngā tamariki ki te takahi i tēnā ara, i tēnā ara, otiia, he paku aro kitenga noa iho ki te ara ake ngā whakaaro a tēnā, a tēnā o tātou. Anō hoki, kua pau ngā kupu ki tēnei kaupapa, ka waiho ki kōnei, ka mutu!

Kiwa Hammond rāua ko Hinerangi Edwards

Ka noho a Kiwa Hammond rāua ko Hinerangi Edwards ki Te Hāwera me ā rāua tamariki tokowhā. Heoi, kāore i pahure ake te tekau tau i te whare wānanga rāua e whakaako ana, e ako ana hoki. I taua wā i tū a Kiwa hei pūkenga, ka mutu, ko te 100, 400, me te 800 āna reanga whakaako. I riro i a ia hoki te ‘hōnore’ o te tohu paerua Māori (MA Hons) me ngā whakawhiwhinga pērā i te Tohu Maumarahara ki a Te Ruka Rangiāhuta Broughton. Ko tā Hinerangi mahi he whakaoti i tana tohu paetahi Māori (BA) me te whai i te tohu pākihi (BCA) hoki. Otiia, ko tētehi pepa pākihi ka auare ake, ā, ko te rirohanga o te tohu pākihi tērā i te whānautanga mai o tā rāua tamaiti tuatahi, a Rahiri Makuini. Nā tēnei, ka hūnuku te whānau ki Taranaki, timata ai i tētehi pākihi ko Aatea Consultants Ltd te ingoa hei whakatutuki i ngā wawata, i ngā nama hoki o te whānau! Ko ngā ratonga a te kamupene e hāngai ana ki ngā mahi rautaki, ngā mahi rangahau, ngā mahi whakapākehā, whakamāori reo hoki, ngā mahi whakangungu, me ētehi mahi arotake, aromatawai hoki. Ko ēnei ngā tino aronga a ngā tokorua nei.

Ahakoa ngā pātaritaritanga o taua wā, ka taha ake te waru tau ki ēnei rā, kei te kura a Rahiri Makuini, ā, he tuahine ia ki ngā tamaiti māhanga, a Te Rawhitiora rāua ko Karoro Moetahuna, rātou ko te pōtiki o te whānau, a Raihania Wiremu. O moroki na noa nei, ka tipu hoki te kamupene o Aatea, ā, ka tapaina tōna ingoa hou, ko AATEA Solutions. 

I ēnei rangi, ko ngā mahi whakahaere pākihi ia rā, ia rā, ka taka ki ngā pakihiwi o Kiwa me ngā kaimahi, ngā kaikirimana hoki a AATEA hei whakawātea i a Hinerangi ki te aro ki ngā take whakahaere pākihi ā-‘runga rawa’ nei, te poipoi hoki i ā rāua ‘pihinga’ kia puawai ngā ‘rangatira o āpōpō’. A, ko tā rāua he whai i tēnei aronga kua whakatakotoria e Kiwa rāua ko Hinerangi me ngā kaimahi a AATEA Solutions mō te kamupene:

Ko te ara e ū ai ahau ko te tika, te pono
Te māramatanga me te aroha
Kia tūmaia i te ao, i te pō!

Hei kupu āwhina mo ngā tauira o ēnei rā, ko tā Kiwa rāua ko Hinerangi he tuku kōrero whakamāharahara ki a tātou o Ngai Tauira mā: “Ki te whakaaro te tangata ka tae atu ia ki te ikeiketanga o te mātauranga i te rirohanga o tāna nei tohu, arā anō te hē o ōna whakaaro. Puta atu i te whare wānanga, he ao anō, he oranga anō, me kī, he maunga anō hei kake, arā, he mātauranga anō hei whai. Tika te kōrero, ‘te manu kai ana te miro, nōna te ngāhere, manu kai ana te mātauranga, nōna te ao.’ Heoi, kia mātua mōhio koutou, he kai mutunga kore ngā momo mātauranga o tēnei ao!”

Ben Ngaia rāua ko Mania Maniapoto 

I te whare wānanga o Wikitoria a Ben rāua ko Mania mai i ngā tau 1995 tae atu ki 2000 kia whai i o rāua ake tohu, arā, i te mutunga iho, ka whiwhi a Ben i tāna tohu BA Hōnore i te reo Māori, ā, ka whiwhi hoki a Mania i tāna tohu Pūtaiao Hauora. I muri tata ake i te mahi ki Wikitoria, ka whai mahi a Ben ki Te Poutaki Kōrero hei etita, hei kaiwhakahaere kaupapa.  Ka roa ka mahi ia i reira.  Oti anō, i te tau 2007, ka whai mahi anō a Ben ki Huia Publishers. Nā ngā tohu akoranga a Mania ka tae ia ki te roopu o Kāhui Tautoko Consulting Ltd i te tau 2002, ki reira tonu ia e mahi ana.

Kei Kanata a Ben rāua ko Mania me tā rāua tamaiti a Te Rongomau.  I hūnuku rāua ki te mahi tahi i ngā iwi taketake nō British Columbia.  Ko te hauhara o ngā mahi kia tautoko, kia aki hoki i te tangata whenua nō reira ki te whai i o rātou ake wawata. Ko o rāua hiahia mo ngā rā kei te heke kia āta whakarite i tētehi kainga Māori mo tā rāua tamaiti kei noho tonu noa ana rātou i Vancouver. Hei kupu akiaki mo ngā tauira Māori.

”rukua te ruku a te kawau ki tai, ā, whaia ōu moemoea, whakapaua tō kaha ki te whai i ōu taumata ikeike”

Frances Rewharewha

I te wānanga māua ko tōku māmā a Anipera (‘Aunty Ani’) mai i ngā tau 1996 ki te tau 2000. I whai māua i te Tohu Māoritanga i te tau 1996, ā, i te mutunga ka whiwhi ahau i tōku BA me te BA Hons i te reo Māori.

He nui āku mahi ki wīwī, ki wāwā. I mahi ahau mō Te Māngai Pāho, mō Te Papa Tongarewa, ā i te tau 2001 i haere māua ko taku tāringi a Wikeepa ki te whenua o Nippon ki te mahi hai kaiako ki roto i ngā kura tuarua tae noa ki te tau 2004.

Whai muri mai, ka haere ki Kirihi ki te whai tohu ‘TEFL’. I hoki mai māua ko Wikeepa, nā te māuiui tōku māmā. Ka mate i te tau 2007 nā te mate pukupuku. Ko tākoto ki te Herenga Waka Marae. I te tangihanga, hoki tonu hoki tonu mai āku hoa ki te awhina i te kihini o Te Herenga Waka. He mea whakakoakoa ki te kite i taua ahuatanga.

Kei whare wānanga nei, ki te tari takawaenga. Ka haere au ki ngā kura tuarua, ki te whakahīhiko i ngā tauira Māori. Hoki atu ki te marae . Kia kaua rā e wareware mēnā kāre he tikanga, me pēhea te ara tika ki roto i ngā hāpori mo ngā rangatahi, mō ngā tau kei te heke mai nei? Anei te wero ki a koutou…

”kia kaha ki te manaaki, ki te tiaki, ki te tautoko i te tangata, ahakoa nō hea, ahakoa ko wai. Kei konei te tangata i tenei rā, ka ngaro apōpō”

Mauriora.