Cultural Identity and Language in New Zealand

Setting and Background

• Describes a personal connection to the land: mountain, river, marae (meeting place)

• Located in the North Valley of New Zealand, twice the size of Auckland, and twenty-five times bigger than New York.

• Represents the ancestral home of Ngai Tuhoe (the children of the mist).

Cultural Identity and Language

• Raised by grandparents speaking only Maori; language is an integral part of identity.

• Introduction of the concept of Mana:

• Represents prestige, authority, spiritual power.

• Comes from knowledge of self, heritage, and connection to land.

• Empowers individuals and grounds them in their identity.

Challenges of Authority

• Experiences at school reflect institutional authority undermining personal identity.

• Headmaster forbade speaking Maori; punishment for non-compliance (writing lines, cleaning up).

• Learning English in a hostile environment; picked up inappropriate phrases first.

• School experiences contrasted with cultural heritage education received at home.

Resistance and Assertion

• Importance of challenging authority and maintaining mana.

• Authority figures should respect the mana of others; true equality is eye to eye, grounded in mutual respect.

Political Awareness and Activism

• Moving to Christchurch opened exposure to global issues and political activism (women’s liberation, anti-apartheid).

• Awareness of shared struggles across cultures: land theft, community struggles, police brutality.

• Encouragement to occupy spaces, demand attention to uncomfortable truths.

• Maintain pressure on authorities to acknowledge concerns and histories.

Historical Context of Struggle

• Mention of attempts to reclaim land through political action (Crown negotiations).

• Use of symbolic acts (horse blanket) to assert identity and remind authorities of responsibilities.

Key Historical Movements

• Land claims, the Maori language petition (Hamlet Jackson, 1972) and other significant Maori rights movements.

• Acknowledgment of struggles shaping national identity:

• Examples: Bastion Point, Springbok Tour, anti-nuclear movement.

Apology and Recognition

• After 170 years of struggle, the Crown finally issued an apology acknowledging its failings regarding Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Tuhoe mana.

• Emphasizes the importance of recognizing shared history and respecting each other’s place within it.

Conclusion

• Reminder to acknowledge and respect each other’s mana in the present for a shared future.