Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, he toa takitini kē

Opening comments by Professor Leonie Pihama on behalf of Te Wharepora Hou

Kia uruuru mai
A hauora
A haukaha
A haumāia
Ki runga, Ki raro
Ki roto, Ki waho
Rire rire hau, Paimārire

Te Wharepora Hou is a rōpū of wāhine Māori who come together to support kaupapa across Aotearoa. Where for a number of years this blog made comment across a wide range of kaupapa we have been in recess as we have moved through covid, alongside repositioning our mahi across the motu. However, the recent election of this ‘co-governance’ government bringing together National, Act and NZ First requires us all to have a voice and to speak out about the oppressive policies that are proposed and which they are beginning to push forward in this first week of the colonial parliament sitting. What we know, as Māori and those that ally with Māori on these lands, is that we can not carry the response to these actions alone.

Ehara taku to he toa takitahi, he toa takitini kē. My success is not mine alone but is the from the strength of the many. This whakataukī is a reminder to us all that it is through collective power and strength that we will achieve our aspirations. On another level it is also a reminder that it is not for individuals to carry the load but for us as collectives. For too long we have seen individuals take on the load of struggle. Many have stood aside and waited for others to take the lead. We have had much of the movement for rangatiratanga carried by Māori activists, Māori leaders who are willing to put their voices forward, to stand, to lead hikoi, to lead resistances. Where we need those people to do that in ways that keep those in the movement safe, we also need for us all to recognise that we all have a role to play. Every contribution to transforming our current context is an important contribution. Every stand taken against oppression is an important stand. We are all rangatira, we are all born with the mana our our tūpuna. We carry that mana every day. We carry them every day. And they are here with us every day. When our tūpuna put their sacred names, their sacred tohu to Te Tiriti o Waitangi they did that, not for themselves, but to affirm the mana of the generations before them and to uphold the mana of all who were yet to be born. That is who we are. That is what we carry. That is what we saw on the streets on December 5th as the call came to stand, to hikoi, to be visible. In those actions these message to this government, was – We are here. We will always be here. We will never leave. We will never relinquish the sacred document that our tūpuna signed for us and which we must not carry, protect and defend for future generations.

There is much to be said about what is happening in the world today. In this historical moment that is a part of what Moana J referred to as a series of never ending beginnings. There is much for us to stand for and Indigenous Peoples around the world that we must stand with in whatever way we can. There is much work to be done. We can not do it alone. We need to ensure that we stand as a tūara, as a resolute back bone for those of our people who continue to put themselves on the line for us all.

Over the past week we have seen the racist, misogynist, homophobic face of this government in its full expression. We have seen much of that hatred being spewed all over the colonisers house by Māori men. Winston Peters, Shane Jones, David Seymour have taken the lead in the most derogatory, malicious, demeaning attacks on our people, in particular on Deb Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi. These three men have whakapapa connections, one who ‘once upon a time’ was an advocate in the struggle to ‘Honour The Treaty’ and who now calls himself a ‘professional politician’ and who has adopted the most culturally and socially conservative approaches and spiels the same bullying demeaning diatribe against our people as the others. In the colonisers house this week Winston Peters directly trampled the mana not only of the Māori Party members but of the iwi of Taranaki mounga and he did so with no comprehension as to the degree of insult that he was layering upon both Deb as a wahine Māori and of the hapū, iwi and hāpori that she represented. Disgusting references from Winston around the wearing of raukura, and of the relationships between the iwi of Taranaki and Moriori were weaponised by Peters without restraint. Meanwhile his sitting partners on each side Shane Jones and Chris Luxton smirked, laughed and egged on the arrogance and ignorance that Peters spread throughout his vile comments. Later Jones added to the mix with insults around the headress worn by Rawiri that connected directly with Peter’s ignorance around the role and place of raukura. The constant tirade of demeaning insults from these men can not go unanswered and we must all take the time to make comment where and when we can. Kaua e waiho mā te tokoiti hei kawe. It is not for the few to carry. Do not leave it for individuals to carry. We must all respond on all levels to the deliberate, planned misogyny, racism and homophobia that comes from this government.And as Māori we must ensure that our voices are heard.

This includes direct and informed debate, critique and voices against the raft of oppressive backward policies that are on the table. To date we have seen a small number of Iwi and Iwi chairs make public statement about the policies that are being pushed forward by this government. The 100 day plan is a plan of removal. A plan that is grounded upon the denigation of 40 years of work. A plan that undermines the incredibly powerful work that has been done in this country to deal with the growing disparities and inequities across all sectors of society. It is a plan of destruction by a coalition of chaos. A coalition that spread disinformation for years around the place of co-governance and then who formed a chaotic government through the exact same principles and practices of co-governance that they have trampled upon through this election process. A chaotic government that is focused on the dismantling of policies and practices that have been built through the blood and sweat of generations of our people through struggles that sought to affirm the relationship of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and to create ways of being that uplift those that are most vulnerable because of the impact of colonial systems that have embedded racism, misogyny, and homophobia.

In line with this whakaaro we join with others to encourage people to take a stand in ways that enable you to be engaged in having a voice. There are many ways that this can be done, for example:

1. Make clear to this government that we do not tolerate the demeaning, degrading, insulting ways that they have trampled upon and over the mana of our people.
2. Send support to those that are taking the lead in your whānau, hapū, iwi, community and iwi organisations, your hāpori, your local and national networks.
3. Be informed – make sure that you are aware of what is happening and how this government is operating and the policies that they are removing and what they are putting in place.
4. Check in on each other. Uplift the wairua of those around you. Support those that need support in whatever way you can. Help all whānau to get through these difficult times.
5. Be engaged in the processes. Make comment. Make submissions. Join local, regional, hapū and iwi actions.
6. If you need to know what is happening in the colonisers house then tune in to https://ondemand.parliament.nz/ You can see and hear for yourself what is happening.
7. Stand with those that need your support.
8. Hold firm to the fundamental rights of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
9. Kōrero Māori i ngā wā katoa i ngā wāhi katoa – speak Māori in whatever way you can, in all places and spaces.
10. Whakatīnanahia ngā tikanga o kui mā o koro mā – Enact and embody our tikanga in our places and spaces no matter what anyone else has to say.
11. Te iwi Māori – Me Māori, me whakatangatawhenua te tū – for Māori across the country, stand in your whakapapa light and be who your tūpuna aspired you to be.
12. Tauiwi & Pākehā: To Pākehā and all peoples that have migrated to Aotearoa and made this country your home – Support Tangata Whenua; Be good allies; Be good guests; Be good Tiriti partners.
    
    Where this co-governance government has a three year term, we do not. We will not tolerate these actions. We will not sit silently. We will speak. We will stand. We will hikoi. We will disrupt. We will resist.