It has been interesting to follow the "Standing Rock" protests over sacred land/waterways etc. with the threat of being desecrated or polluted by an oil pipeline being built through their lands and it was very encouraging to see the defeat of the oil companies now having to re-route to yet another space to take their pipeline through. Although, we hear that it's not entirely over as money speaks it's language and there is much to lose for this company and investors.
In teaching and learning more about Indigenous Research space my class has followed events in Dakota through Facebook feeds and also articles and discussions. It was encouraging to see Maori and the Maori haka engaging with Sioux representatives as so many of the issues for indigenous peoples are worldwide and I wanted my class to see the subtle differences but also the similarities.
We, of course, have our own "Standing Rock" right here on the outskirts of Mangere, close to our Auckland International aiport, in fact, only minutes away where a quiet community of Maori have lived for many centuries are now being threatened with the very sure objective of 480 urban houses being built right on/next to their sacred lands.
The land was originally confiscated back in the 1860s for tribes who didn't agree with the sovereignty of the Queen of England and they were told to move to the Waikato or face the crown's wrath. Most did but when they were able to return, laws had been put in place and they only had a small area "reserved" for them to stay on which they still live on to this day.
However, with encroaching urban sprawl, over the years the English settlers who had "bought" the land off the crown, started making quite a profit over the years and have parceled and sold land to make quite a sizeable profit. One of the last of these was a big block of land at Ihumatao close to where the Maori village is which was bought for around 19 million $ by one of the biggest, if not the biggest development company, Fletcher lifestyle, and now they face eminent development against their wishes.
If "Standing Rock" is anything to go by, there is now a shift in the wind and things that the crown/government used to get away with a couple of centuries ago, no longer are the acceptable and are being challenged non-violently. Ihumatao is awaiting the verdict and when the first bulldozers and soil turning ceremony begins that's when protesting will move into action and we will have our own massive protest just waiting to begin on our back doorsteps.
I hope that Fletchers "re-routes" it's position and looks for other lands to develop. Ones that don't have the history and the sacredness that these sacred lands possess. I hope they learn from "Standing Rock" that it's not over, even when their fat purses sing...
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