Kei Hea Ngā Māori?
(Ash Putt-Fallows, she/her, Ngāti Whātua/Ngāpuhi/Tūhoe)
CW: Mentions of Racism.
I ngā tau tata nei he nui te waimarie kua riro i a au kia rangona taku reo i ngā tini kaupapa. Pēnei i ngā kaupapa: whakahaere, tohutohu, ngā tika tangata tōrangapū, rangatahi me ngā kaupapa hautū. He nui taku māharahara ki te tokoiti o ngā Māori i ēnei wāhi, me te aha, kāhore i te kitea, i te rangona ngā whakaaro Māori. He nui hoki te rawekehia kinotia o ō mātou whakaaro, tō mātou ahurea me ā mātau tikanga. Kua kitea nuitia e au tēnei kino. I mua i taku tomo i tēnei whare kōrero me mātua whakamārama au ko wai rā ahau.
He wahine Māori ahau.
Nō Ngāti Whātua, Ngāpuhi me Tūhoe ahau.
He rangatahi Māori ahau.
He Pākehā hoki ahau, he kiritea.
Kei Pōneke me Murihiku ōku kāinga.
Ki a au nei, he whanokē te kore i kitea te Māori i ēnei wāhi nā runga noa i taku mōhio he aroha nui nō te Māori ki ēnei momo mahi me ōna tini mata mō te hapori, mō te ahurea me te iwi nui tonu. He mōhio nōku ehara ēnei wāhi i te wāhi haumaru mō te Māori.
Inā taku tumeke i taku rongotanga ake ko te titiro noa ki runga i a Kūkara te mahi nui ka oti i te tangata ki te whakatutuki i ngā mahi whakataurite me te whakakanorau. Kua kore hoki e warewaretia te kaha tūkinotia o ngā karakia pēnei i a Whakataka te hau he rite tonu takina kia tuwhera, kia whakakapi hoki i ngā hui ahakoa te kore hoki nō te Māori i paku uru mai ki te kaupapa. Kua rāwekehia kinotia aku kupu ānō nei ko au te mana nui o ngā rangatahi Māori, ā, e kī ana ahau ko mea wāhi e pokea nuitia ana e te Pākehā he wāhi pai (tēnā pōhēhē tēnā), ā, kua rahi ā rātou mahi ki te whakatutuki i ngā mahi whakataurite, ki te whakamāori rānei i te āhua o te wāhi.
He mate nō roto i te tokoiti o ngā Māori i ēnei wāhi. Waihoki, ka whanokē te tirohia o te tokoiti o ngā Māori me ngā tāngata Pasifika i ēnei wāhi. Kāore i te paku tautokona ēnei tangata me ō rātau whakaaro, me te aha, ka uaua ake te noho o te tangata i ēnei wāhi ki te tuku i ō rātou reo kia rere noa.
He wā ōna ka riri mai te tangata ki te noho māori noa o te Māori me te tuku i tana reo. Ka kitea nuitia tēnei i ngā wāhi pakeke engari e tumeke ana ahau kei te ora tonu ana ēnei āhuatanga. He wā tōna i riri mai te tangata ki a au mōku i paku kōrero Māori. Nōku kē tēnei reo, kua whakamanahia ā-turehia hoki i tēnei whenua.
He kaikiri rawa hoki te āhuatanga o te aro ki ngā tikanga Māori, Poronīhia anō hoki, ehara i te kupu kaikiri rawa te momo, he kairiri paku nei te āhua. He rite tonu tā rātou karo i ō mātou whakaaro me te kī atu “ka ngana tonu mātou kia whakamana i Te Tiriti”, “ākene ka pai tō taki cAr-A-kE-yA kia whakatutukihia taua wāhi.” Ka pēnei hoki rātou mō ngā kaupapa taurite, me te pōhēhe ka pīrangi nuitia tēnei kaupapa e te Māori, kei te pīrangi hoki te Māori ki te taki i te kaupapa.
Ko tērā atu mata e aro ana ki te kaikiri me ngā whakaaro horapa ka kaha whaiwhai i te Māori pēnā me te kakara haunga. E hāngai ana ki te kaiwhakatautangata me te kawatau o te pukumahi. Ko te kawatau mō te Māori i ēnei wāhi kia mōhio ai ia ki te reo, ki ngā tikanga me te ao Māori. Me mātua tangata whenua tō noho i te ao Māori, ao te pō, pō te ao. Ka kaha tonoa hoki koe ki te whakaoti i ngā mahi mō te whakataurite me te whakakanorau, ā, ka noho motuhake koe i ngā mema māori noa iho. Me rite hoki te tangata ki ngā kawatau Pākehā, mō ngā kākahu, mō te āhua o te tuku i te kōrero, mō te nui o ngā whakatutukitanga. Ko te Pākehā e tautuhi ana i ngā mea katoa, nā, he rerekē tēnei i tō te Māori whakatautuhi, anō nei ko te hiahia kia hinga rawa te Māori. Kia tirohia tonutia ngā whakaaro horapa, he rite tonu te kaikiri, ka kaha pīrangitia ngā Māori kiritea (ko ēnei he tata ake ki ngā kawatau Pākehā). Ko te hua ia ko tētahi ahurea whakamōrea ka tūkino i te tangata, ka kaha pēhi i a ia, nā wai rā, kua pīrangi ia ki te puta. Nā, haere huri rauna tēnei āhuatanga.
Anei tāku e pīrangi ana kia mātua mōhiotia e ngā tangata i te ao whakahaere/tika tangata rānei. Ka tahi, he pōhēhē nui te whakaaro ko te iwi Māori katoa e whakatata atu ana ki tō rātou Māoritanga, ā, e mōhio hoki ana ki te reo me ngā tikanga. Ka rua, he oranga kē tō te Māori i waho atu i te taki i ēnei momo kaupapa whakatairanga i te iwi Māori, kia noho māori noa rātou. He hāngai tēnei ki te kaiūkui i te tuakiritanga. Nōku ka noho ki ēnei wāhi, ka whakatautangatahia ahau. Ehara au a Ash, he Māori kē ahau. Koinā noa iho taku hua ki a rātau, ahakoa te tini o āku pūkenga. He rite tonu te pāngia ōku, o tangata kē atu e tēnei āhuatanga. He mamae taku kai. Ka whakatautangatahia ahau, nā, ka noho au hei karetao hei aha atu rānei mō rātou kia kitea rātou anō nei he wāhi haumaru he wāhi kanorau hoki. Ahakoa tō mātau mōhio he pōhēhē nui tēnā, ā, kua kore hoki e rangona ō mātou reo. Ka pai pea ake tō mātau noho hei whārangi Wikipedia. I te mutunga iho he wāhi whakamōrea ēnei wāhi mō te Māori.
He aha rā te rongoā? Ākene pea ka rerekē mō ia tangata. He Māori koe? Ehara nā mātou te haepapa ki te whakatika i tēnei raru. Ki te iwi nui tonu: kia pono te whakaritea, kia pono hoki te ākona.