Waitangi long weekend and learning Maori language...

 Loving this long Waitangi weekend with tomorrow's festivities all over the Aotearoa, New Zealand in commemoration of the signing of the founding document, at Waitangi, a document that defined the partnership between tangata whenua (indigenous people of the land) and manuhiri, (guests/foreigners) the European settlers at the time and other cultures.

It's sad that many people, including myself growing up in Auckland, were not taught much about New Zealand's history especially pertaining to Maori, the indigenous people and now in teaching about Indigenous Research, I have learnt so much with much more to learn about filling in the gaps of historical information that I was unaware of.

One of the things that was very evident in my growing up and being educated in Mangere was the racist attitudes that permeated society regarding things Maori and still do to this day. That is why with the current discussions of a political party wanting Maori language as a compulsory subject in New Zealand schools, there has been a lot of resistance from non Maori.

I must say that I too felt that learning Maori language was not relevant to me when I was given the option at University to take the perceived "easy" option of studying Maori in my undergraduate years as I had more interest in other subjects. I could speak Samoan and my career counsellors' thought it an easier option to take but I wasn't interested. Now, in having been in a Maori tertiary learning environment, I've learnt to appreciate things Maori, their histories and much more.

So I am definitely for learning Maori as a compulsory language in New Zealand for my little 5 year old not only because it is one of the 3 official languages of NZ (sign language is included) but also because when one learns a language, one also learns about the values and culture of a group. NZ has been far too racist in it's views and it's time to think outside of this colonialist and oppressive perspective.

I now see the beauty of being multilingual and an ideal for me would be to be proficient in not only English but also in Maori and Samoan (my cultural heritage) and at least one other international language like German (in the ancestry of my great, great grandfather), Spanish or French, Japanese etc. I've met many Europeans outside of NZ and many speak English as a second, third or even fourth or fifth language.

We've been far too small minded in our perspectives and policies and I'd even venture to say that the more we learn about other cultures and their languages, the more we learn about ourselves. I see so many of our youth seeing the futility of life and thinking that there is no reason to live and yet when we become more altruistic and learn more about other cultures and languages, we actually learn more about ourselves.

I've been blessed in first being a student, then on staff and now a teacher/lecturer/tutor at Te Wananga o Aotearoa because I am no longer ignorant and have a better understanding of Maori culture, its principles and the mis-management and lies that have been perpetuated around things Maori. Although they have a pantheon of gods, their many guiding principles are about creating safe spaces in relating to one another but we can't learn those principles if we are only learning the English languages and it's principles.

Happy Waitangi day for everyone tomorrow...