Ki ngā Kaimahi, ngā Kairangahau, ngā Pūkenga Māori

Kelly Mitchell (Any/all - Ngaati Maahanga)

Nau mai e ngā kaitiaki o te matauranga, ki te whakarauika i nga whetū o te akoranga, ka whakarangatira, ka whakanikotanga i te huarahi mātauranga mo āpōpō. Ko te matauranga he puāwai whakapakari, he hua whakatupu i te hinengaro, hei rangatira i te ao e whakapau kaha ana ki te whakarauika, ki te whakarangatira i te hunga whai whakaaro.

This article is to show gratitude for our Māori lecturers. Having just finished my degree, I have been reflecting on those who pave the path for us to achieve our tohu and how we ought to express our gratitude to them more frequently. I will talk a bit about some key lecturers and tutors I have had below, and also issue us a challenge going forward for how we might show our lecturers gratitude more frequently.

Annie Te One was one of my first lecturers at the university, and Te Nia Matthews tutored me in her papers. They were bastions of the whakaaro that e kore koe e ngaro; he kākano i ruia mai i tō tūpuna. They taught us the work of Māori, past and present, in upholding our rights, and taught us how to wānanga about the present risks to those rights.

Awanui Te Huia, Matua Mike Ross, Vini Olsen-Reeder, and Karena Kelly taught me te reo. Awanui taught me the possibilities. Matua Mike taught me and introduced me to the possibility of being relaxed when learning, as well as some new aspects of Waikatotanga. Vini not only taught but also created opportunities for us to use our skills, gave us experiences, and showed us what jobs were out there and encouraged us to pursue all that was available. Karena taught me that te reo had taumata beyond the university, and challenged us to aim for greatness.

Carwyn Jones, Māmari Stephens, and Luke Fitzmauric were my Māori law lecturers. Nopera McCarthy and Riana Te Ngahue were my early-year Māori law tutors. They provided breathing room in papers filled with material that hurt the heart, and they brought to us examples of what Māori can achieve in the law: in legal academia, in the courts, in communities, and in Parliament. Luke let me know when the job I have now was advertised and told me to give it a go when I thought I had no chance of getting it.

Our pūkenga Māori are often taken for granted, and only when they leave do we realise just how much we relied on them. Pūkenga Māori are torchbearers of knowledge, delving deep into the recesses of our histories and our present realities. Their influence extends beyond textbooks and lectures as they take up roles required for pōwhiri, tangihanga, karakia, and haerenga.

However, despite recognising this, as students, we do not always show the same respect to our pūkenga Māori as other teachers, perhaps brought on by an expectation of heightened pastoral care or an easier path to success than other lecturers might give you. Nā tēnei hē, we can easily overlook the diligence and rigour required to excel in the disciplines taught by pūkenga Māori.

E ea ai te werawera o Tāne tahuaroa, me heke te werawera o Tāne te wānanga. To properly acknowledge the cooks' efforts, we need to put effort into learning.

"Gratitude is not saying thank you for the extension, but rather it’s submitting the best work you have done all Trimester. He wero ki a tātou, let's show our kaiako gratitude by giving the same effort they give us".

He aroha mai, he aroha atu.

Nau mai e ngā kaitiaki o te matauranga, ki te whakarauika i nga whetū o te akoranga, ka whakarangatira, ka whakanikotanga i te huarahi mātauranga mo āpōpō. Ko te matauranga he puāwai whakapakari, he hua whakatupu i te hinengaro, hei rangatira i te ao e whakapau kaha ana ki te whakarauika, ki te whakarangatira i te hunga whai whakaaro.

Hei whakamihi tēnei tuhinga i ngā pūkenga Māori i roto i ngā whare wānanga. I te otinga o taku tohu, kua whai whakaaro au ki a rātou i whakatakoto ai i te ara mā tātou kia oti ai ō tātou tohu, me pēhea hoki te whakapuaki i ō mātou whakawhetai ki a rātou. Ko ētahi pūkenga matua me ētahi tauira pērā hokie kōrerotia ki raro rā. Waihoki, ka whakapātari au i a tātou e koke whakamua ana ki te whai whakaaro me pēhea tātou e whakamihi ake ki aua pūkenga.

Ko Annie Te One tētahi o ōku kaiako tuatahi i te whare wānanga, ā, i tū a Te Nia Matthews hei taku kaituruki i taua wā. Ko rāua ngā whakatupua o te whakaaro, e kore au e ngaro he kākano i ruia mai i a Rangiātea. I whakaako mai rāua i a mātou i ngā mahi Māori o mua, o naiānei hoki, arā me kōkiri ō mātou mōtika, ka mutu ka ākona me pēhea te wānanga mō ngā tūraru o nāianei ki aua mōtika.

I reo Māori ai au nā Awanui Te Huia rātou ko Matua Mike Ross, ko Vini Olsen-Reeder, ko Karena Kelly. I a au i ō rātou karaehe, ka whakaatu mai a Awanui i ngā āheinga, ka ako mai a Matua Mike me pēhea te noho mauri tau i a au e ako ana, me ētahi āhuatanga hou o taku Waikatotanga. Waihoki ka huaki a Vini i te kūaha kia mōhio ai mātou me pēhea te whakamahi i ō mātou pūkenga, e whakaatu ana i a mātou ki ngā mahi e wātea ana mā mātou, ā, i akiaki ia i a mātou kia pērā. Nā Karena te whakaaro i whakatō ki roto i a au, he taumata kē mō tō tātou nei reo e tatari ana kia ekengia, ka akiaki ai ia i a mātou kia eke ki taua taumata rā.

Ko Carwyn Jones rātou ko Māmari Stephens, ko Luke Fitzmaurice ko ōku pūkenga ture Māori. Ko Nōpera McCarthy rāua ko Riana Te Ngahue aku kaituruki tuatahi. Nā rātou i whakatū ngā wāhi haumaru kei waho i ngā pepa i kī ai ki ngā kōrero whakamamae i te ngākau. Ka mutu, ka whakatauira mai rātou he aha ngā mea ka taea e te Māori i ao ture: i te ture kura wānanga, i ngā kōti, i ngā hapori, i te Pāremata anō hoki. I te wā whakatairangahia te mahi e whai ana au ināianei, ka whakamōhio mai a Luke mō taua tūranga, me tana kī mai “karawhiua atu” ahakoa kāore au i whakapono ka taea.

Kāore ō mātou pūkenga Māori e whakamihia pai ana, ā, ka wehe rā anō rātou, ka mōhio mātou ki tā mātou whakawhirinaki ki a rātou. Ko ngā pūkenga Māori ngā pou herenga o te mātauranga, e ruku hōhonu ana ki ngā auheke o ō mātou hītori me tō mātou ao e tū ana i ēnei rā. E toro atu ana ō rātou whakaawenga ki tua o ngā pukapuka me ngā akomanga i a rātou e pikau ana i ngā tūranga i te pōwhiri, te tangihanga, te karakia me te haerenga.

Heoi anō, ahakoa tēnei, kāore mātou, ngā tauira e whakaatu ana i te manaaki ōrite i ngā wā katoa ki ō mātou pūkenga Māori pērā i kaiako kē. Tēnā pea, e pēnei ana tātou nā te pōhēhē ka kaha ake te manaaki, ka māmā ake rānei te ara kia eke panuku i a rātou, i tēnā ka whakatakotoriai e pūkenga kē atu Nā tēnei hē, ka māmā te pī i te pukumahi me te pākaha e hiahiatia ana kia eke panuku i ngā akoranga kua whakaakona e ngā pūkenga Māori.

E ea ai te werawera o Tāne tahuaroa, me heke te werawera o Tāne te wānanga. Ehara i te mea, ko te whakawhetai te mihi noa ki te kaiako i te whakaroatanga, engari kē, he tuku i te mahi kounga rawa atu o āu mahi katoa kua oti i taua taraimeta. He wero ki a tātou te whakaatu ki ō mātou kaiako i ō mātou whakawhetai, mā te whakapau kaha, pēnā i a rātou. Aroha mai, aroha atu.

"Gratitude is not saying thank you for the extension, but rather it’s submitting the best work you have done all trimester. He wero ki a tātou, let's show our kaiako gratitude by giving the same effort they give us".

He aroha mai, he aroha atu.