culture | 7 december 2017

'I am hopeful' is the first of a new series of 'one takes', featuring the talented and insightful trinity thompson-browne. We'll be getting her take on a range of issues with a particular focus on māori - all in one take. Take it away Trinity!

Treaty, treaty, treating me and my people as if we,

had rights and privileges protected, a space for our

rangatiratanga to be accepted within aukati don’t cross this line

and expect it to be raumati and rainbows, rain flows from the

sky to wash away the blood split at Parihaka, e minaka ana kia

patua te Māori, time and time again our tikanga descrated as

unholy, lo and behold me, the face of my tīpuna ignorant of

too many atrocities committed on this land, understand that I am

confused.

Why did I learn about Henry the 8th and his 4 wives before I

learnt about how many of my people lost their lives to

colonisation? Why did I learn about New Zealand’s great

depression before I learnt that my people’s heads were once

bounties for collection? Why did I learn about every other

nations’ war when we have our own collecting dust right at the

front door? Nevertheless I know now what I had ought to long

before and I take it as a blessing to have learnt it at all. So

many New Zealanders don’t know our own lore — we

celebrate Guy Fawkes and Halloween but call Matariki a chore

and the founding of Aotearoa a yawn and a bore. Stealing the

skin of another nation’s tradition, grafting it onto the flesh of

our own nation’s omission in history, please help me, I am

questioning.

Lands of my warrior ancestors aggressively seized by the

Crown, then sold into private ownership with no ability to

account, recount or restore, the lands of my people who bore

the brunt of Crown brutality, calling us savage while savagely

stripping our existence down, parading our shortcomings

like prisoners of war through town. We’re building back up

though; take note. We’re not gonna stop just cause Māori Party

didn’t get enough party votes. Take note; our people are

creative masters, society allots masters in paper but it’s alloted

in our genes, we need no qualification to qualify our innovation

through Ao Pākehā means, we come in countless varieties of

genius. Take note. I am hopeful.

Where to now? The future’s awaiting; tomorrow on the edge of

its seat bating breath at the breadth of possibility, e oho Ngāi

Māori there’s opportunity abounding in all these postsettlement

packages, lets make a bid to remove these old

bandages, ahakoa he iti, he pounamu, we have enough

repatriated to start anew, ten years down the track we’ll be on

the move, up and up eyes cast on distant hues. I’m imagining

better and never settling for lesser and casting caution to the

wind cause we’re here to be the trendsetters, go-getters

and there, won't be no stopping us now, we'll be kai runga rā in the clouds,

standing here to make our people proud. I am hopeful.

Links:

Trinity Thompson-Browne: Website

Grams:

Trinity Thompson-Browne: @trin_tb

Hashies:

#iamhopeful #onetake #treatytreaty #maori #spokenword #views #people #opinions #feature #perspective #maori #viewpoint #everyday #portrait #trinitythomsonbrowne #understanding #differences #inspiration #wellington #newzealand #loandbehold #loandbehold.nz

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