Page 18 - Beyond_the_Classroom
P. 18
Susan Reynolds 1983
SUSAN’S KORIMAKO SPEECH PAKEHA! Where does he
DELIVERED IN WHANGAREI end up? In a prison where
E nga iwi, rau rangatira ma, aku hoa approximately 70% of the
tamariki, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou inmates are Maaori.
katoa. It’s alright for me to stand up here and moan
Oh, you Maaori people and groan about the low position of Maaori today.
You are the ones But are you and I, as Maaoris, really making an
The key to the moon and sun attempt to get up and do something about it? NOT
Such a proud race REALLY!
Yesterday, today, tomorrow Face the facts - we cannot all step forward,
You will always be the ones. push the Pakeha back, and then attempt to
I look back, back through time and I silently overpower them. We must aim for equality.
view the beauty and splendour of our Maaori Otherwise, all we are really achieving is to change
heritage. the colour of the headman and all his little helpers.
The old world created by our polynesian Many years ago the New Zealand scholar Sir
ancestors has passed away, and a new world is in Peter Buck made the prediction that the New
the process of being fashioned. Zealander of tomorrow would
The stone temples have been inherit from both Maaori and
destroyed and the temple drums Pakeha heritages; the qualities
and shell trumpets have long been which would make him “an
silent. Tane, Tu, Rongo, outstanding figure among the
Tangaroa and the other members differing races of the world”.
of the divine family of the Sky- He was not seen in Sir Peter
father and the Earth-mother have Buck’s time, nor has he yet
left us. The great voyaging arrived in these modern times.
canoes have crumbled to dust and The ideal New Zealander
the sea-captains and the expert continues to exist as just that -
craftsmen have passed away to simply ideal.
the spirit-land. The regalia and Cultures are not static. They
symbols of spiritual and temporal do not stand still. Both Maaori
power have been scattered and Pakeha cultures will
amongst the museums of other gradually merge and a New
peoples. The old net is full of Zealand culture will evolve in
holes, Its meshes have rotted and their place. This is what the New
it has been laid aside. Which net Zealander of tomorrow will
net goes fishing now? inherit. His inheritance will not
Today the Maaori is more or less thrown onto come easily. It is something which even he,
the ‘trash heap’ of modern society. Why? Because perhaps, will have to fight for. But the reward will
the Pakeha is attempting to overpower the Maaori be truly worth the effort.
in all aspects of life. To all the Maaori people, remember that
The world of the Maaori rotates rotates in confidence is the key word. Without confidence
one vicious cycle. It begins with our education achievement is nigh. It is a high compliment for
where the majority of staff members are PAKEHA! any man to say that those who know him best, love
Where the highest position, being that of Principal, him most. This may be truly said generally of the
is more often than not - PAKEHA! Our curriculum Maaori race. Those who dislike the Maaori people
revolves around the PAKEHA way of life. are those who know nothing of them in reality. For
Where does this leave the average teenage a thousand acts of unselfish kindness, for
Maaori? Brought up with Maaori traditions and unbounded hospitality, for tender care, for heroic
customs and yet when the real world hits him, the devotion, my love and gratitude bind me to the
whole reality of his being and his heritage are of Maaori ‘till I die.
little or no importance. This is where we watch yet Oh, you Maaori people
another confused Maaori fall from the rotational You are the ones
PAKEHA wheel. He lands on the carpet of The key to the moon and sun
unemployment where the majority of each fibre is Such a proud race
populated by a Maaori. He then senses even more Yesterday, today, tomorrow
rejection which rapidly leads him to the criminal You will always be the ones.
world of petty theft. Who is he arrested by? A No reira, kia ora, koutou katoa.
PAKEHA! Who is he tried and sentenced by? The
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