Upholding te ao Māori not a zero-sum game

Opinion: The mantra of the current Government is ‘getting the country back on track’. As far as policies related to Māori go, they are definitely getting us ‘back on track’ – to the long history of government actions aimed to safeguard Pākehā privilege at the expense of Māori. You can read about that in Peter Meihana’s careful tracing of the idea of Māori privilege from at least the time of the signing of te Tiriti.
The idea of Māori privilege is what us sociologists call an ideology – and used as a smokescreen to disguise what is really going on, which I’d describe as an attack of the less powerful to protect the interests of the powerful.
If we look at the history of our country closely as Meihana has done, we see the gradual accrual of privilege by Pākehā at the expense of Māori. I guess it’s no wonder that people see the Māori-tauiwi relationship as a zero-sum game – if Māori get anything, the rest of us are losing out – because our history is a long tale of the reverse.
The Government argues that looking after the interests of all New Zealanders requires it to repeal policies that make any ‘special’ provision for Māori. From my observations of the impact of Treaty of Waitangi settlements and pro-Māori policies, the opposite is the case. What is good for Māori is good for us all. It’s a win-win not a zero-sum game, and nor is it about ‘them or us’.
Over the past few years I’ve researched the experiences of 12 non-Māori who work with and in support of Māori, and gathered their stories in a book, Becoming Tangata Tiriti: working with Maori, honouring the Treaty. It’s clear that the people who participated don’t feel that they’re losing out by honouring Te Tiriti. They feel their lives are enriched by their connections with the Māori world. They feel more secure in their own identities as New Zealanders and have a richer sense of their own connection to this country. Matt*, for example, who worked in local government, said, “I feel better about myself knowing a bit more about our first people and the history of our country and that whole sense of partnership.”
Learning a bit of te reo Māori and tikanga and getting comfortable with entering the Māori world wasn’t about trying to be Māori themselves. It makes them more comfortably Pākehā or whatever ethnicity it is they identify with. Former Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon said his relationship with te ao Māori had “made my life easier in terms of participation and being able to move in many worlds”. Shane, another local government employee, talked about the importance of being ‘anchored’ in his Samoan values. And Andrew Judd, former mayor of New Plymouth, talked about how he had shifted from rejecting the idea of being Pākehā to embracing it: “I’m proud to say I’m Pākehā! What a privilege! Imagine signing over to share your country with someone!”
Tim, who works for a Māori research team, encapsulated the win-win nature of working with Māori when he talked about the “extraordinary generosity” he experienced: “Māori actually want to share, want to relate, want that honourable relationship to flower and to enrich their lives and vice versa.”
There were two principles that guided these people in their work. Some emphasised the importance of supporting the flourishing of te ao Māori. As Shane said, “If I’m thinking that’s going to be really good at resulting in Māori becoming better Pākehā, then it’s my right to say ‘Nah, not interested. I’m going to do it properly’, which is how do we enable Māori to be Māori?”.
Shane, and others in this book, understand the value of the different perspectives and ways of doing things that Māori bring to an issue. Rather than being antagonistic towards difference, they embrace it. Shane talked about the value of a strengths-based approach where Western science and mātauranga Māori work together. Maureen had some great stories to tell of how this works in her area as an archaeologist on infrastructure and development projects: ‘Iwi are sitting there in that whole line of experts as expert in their own right’. Project manager, Becca said, working together in partnership is “where the magic lies”.
The other guiding principle was the need to support Māori rangatiratanga, as committed to by the British government in Article Two of te Tiriti o Waitangi. Heather, who worked in health research and education, saw her role as “trying to clear the decks, and what tino rangatiratanga looks like is defined by Māori, not us”. Te Tiriti was a crucial guide in all their work. Tiriti educator, Katherine, said when she had a problem to resolve, she asked herself “What would I do if te Tiriti was in place?” and she finds that helps. Maria, working in local government, said her guiding question in her work is “What would tino rangatiratanga look like in this space?”. For Tim, his work is guided by his desire to be “an honourable Tiriti partner”.
Rather than being driven by the fear and resentment of Māori difference that the current Government seems to be deliberately harnessing, these people celebrate difference and everything their relationships with Māori has brought into their lives. As Andrew Judd said: “We fear, I think, losing something, when the reality is you’re going to gain more than you can ever imagine.”
Becoming Tangata Tiriti; Working with Māori, honouring the Treaty will be published August 8.
* Some people I spoke to were happy for me to use their names. I have given others a pseudonym, and apart from two who are public figures and well-known, I have only used first names here and in the book.