Maori

Samhällsvetenskapliga programmet Samhällsvetenskaplig inriktning Läsåret 2014/2015 Maori What has the treatment of these indegenious people to New Zealand looked like?

Author:Elias Petersson Teacher: Marika Hevosmaa Abstract The indegenious people of New Zealand are called Maori, and they have a rather intresting history to tell. I have included a bit of the Maori history in my research and I've looked at some important events in history affecting the Maori way of living, or their oppurtunities. This have included reading about the colonsation of New Zealand, the early periods of Maori life. Maori culture and traditions. I've used these things to make a better understanding to how the situation of the Maori is today. It has also included reading about Maori treatment, for example the way Maori culture is met by the society and differnt problems concerning Maori discrimination. This research will introduce you to Maori history, culture and treatment, it will also bring discussion and conclusions about how their culture has been able to survive for such a long time, etc. Hopefully the reader will be satisfied with the balance between history and analysis I present in this research.

Table of Contents Abstract.............................................................................................................................................2 1.Introduction....................................................................................................................................3 1.1Background...................................................................................................................3 1.2Aim...............................................................................................................................4 2.Method..........................................................................................................................................4 3.Results...........................................................................................................................................4 3.1 How has the Maori culture been able to survive for so long?........................................4 3.2 Willingless to adopt Christianity....................................................................................6 3.3 How does society in New Zealand treat Maori? And how does the Maori react to it?.7 4.Discussion.....................................................................................................................................8 5.Conclusion...................................................................................................................................10 Appendix........................................................................................................................................11 References......................................................................................................................................13

1. Introduction
   New Zealand today, and maybe perhaps the whole world ,is filled and mixed with different cultures, people that follow different traditions or believe in mystical things. Groups of people that stick together with their beliefs and goals but can be separated in so many ways, are all over the world. Maori for example in New Zealand. They are indigenous to New Zealand or to Aoteroa as the Maori call it themselves, and are the root for what New Zealand looks like today. It's necessary to look back at history and analyse how and why the Maori traditions could survive for so long, if you want to understand the relations the world has to Maori today and vice versa,

1.1 Background First of all I'd like to say that before choosing this subject, there wasn’t really that much I knew about the Maori more than that they had a special dance they perform before a match, or on other occasions. I have always known that culture and native people have been two subjects of huge interest to me, to compare and analyse how different people are treated is to me really instructive. By doing this I’ve in my opinion grown as a person and it has become easier to understand why people with foreign background do what they do. This is the reason I decided to write about the Maori.

1.2 Aim My main focus in my research will be to find out why the Maori culture has survived for so long, and what kind of “treatment” or response it gets as a minority group in the New Zealand society. However, to be able to do that, I will have to dig down into history to find and discover key factors to why for example the Maori had become a minority group in their own homeland. I will also read about the “early-people” and where their culture came from originally. How has the Maori culture been able to survive for so long? How does society in New Zealand treat Maori? And how does the Maori react to it?

1. Method Because this is a scientific research I’ve picked sources with extra caution of them being authentic and real. I've also tried my best to find as much information as I could so I would have more material to compare and analyse. The main source material I use in this research will be sources I find on the internet, on known places to read about history or at New Zealand's official homepage. I've also found a couple of diagrams I will use to find out how Maori are treated today. The sources tell me a lot about what the history of the Maori looks like. I wanted to use some written sources from the library or other local places, but the sources were too limited for me to get any use of them, the variation of source-material would help me get a deeper knowledge of the whole subject. I've have asked librarians after good places to find good and authentic source-material, and what they could advice me was worldbook online, which I found out was very useful in this research.

2. Result How has the Maori culture been able to survive for so long? The Maori culture (known to man) dates back to the 13th century when the oldest sources mention the fact that Polynesian people were said to arrive in New Zealand. In Maori culture, life would begin with people going by a canoe to our world, from “Hawaiki” a mythical island in traditional Maori belief1. There is still many narratives in the Maori tribes that describe and tell other stories on creation myths. These kind of narratives are a central knowledge for the “tangata whenua”- People of the land.2 The Maori are described as the best navigators by sea, they were also great at taking territory and defend their land. People used to describe them for many decades. “great warriors and brilliant navigators” This has allowed them to also develop a thriving economy. They would sometimes trade with neighbouring lands and civilizations to both keep a friendly relationship but also to advance in their own civilization.

   By the 16th century the Maori had lived by themselves for about 400 years and had been able to grow a community and get to know their land and territory, enough to say that New Zealand “belonged” to them. But it's also at this time many European voyages were undertaken, a trouble for those who had created a home, because one of the biggest reasons for these voyages was to seize new land and discover and plunder other civilizations.

The first time that to our knowledge Maori came in contact with foreigners, was on 13th December, 1642. It was Abel Janszoon Tasman and his crew consisting of different nationalities that came in contact with the west coast on New Zealands south island.3 Abel and his voyage waited for almost one week to lay anchor and to make contact with the Maori. So what happened now was firstly attempts of communication, as expected this wasn’t successful, because of their dissimilarity in language. The next day was a lot worse, Tasman's crew couldn't just go back home with nothing, they were eager to see what these warriors had, and to bring something of value back home. But the Maori warriors were defensive and didn’t want anything to do with strangers, so they pushed their defensive and brought one of their war canoes to approach the Europeans, with more canoes following. The Maori wanted them gone, and in result of that a fight escalated. This meant the death of four Europeans, and finally a goodbye from Tasman and his crew.

The only thing Tasman could bring back was his view of the Maori people, and that wasn’t very pleasant. He gave the name “Murderers Bay” of the bay he shipped at, it is today called Golden Bay (see appendix) The Maori stood unharmed this time, but that wouldn't last forever. 120 years later the Europeans came to stay. The first few times Europeans came in contact with the Maori there was a lot of bloodshed going on. But as the time passed by a friendly relationship was built and captain Cook who was the leader of the voyage would punish those who tried to steal from the Maori. Now when the Europeans had formed a connection they could start to settle down there, and in time build colonies. The establishment of British colonies was a complicated process, once again the two parts would have difficulties in language. What was to come was the Treaty of Waitangi, that simply meant that Great Britain would take control of, or gain sovereignty over New Zealand. But that was only the British interpretation of the treaty, most of the high-ranked Maori leaders had not yet learned English and were in need of a translation of the treaty. In their view, it meant that Great Britain would gain control over New Zealand and the Maori would turn into a supplement as “British citizens” and still keep everything they possessed. By time they lost more and more control, and eventually Great Britain had full control over New Zealand.

Some say that this treaty was the birth of New Zealand as a state, and others think that this is where the poor treatment of the natives started. It's a struggle to wanting to keep fighting for equality, when you've lost something that you've had for all of your life, freedom and safety but the Maori were tough enough to handle it. According to a British politician, John Eldon Gorst he writes in his book 'The Maori king' “The hopes of social advancement which the natives had formed when they first consented to share their country with the stranger, were disappointed. (…) Every function of Government seemed paralysed in comparison with the Land Purchasing Department. They (Maori) were willing to sell their land for civilization and equality, but at no other prize”4 This book was published in 1864, and you could draw a quick conclusion that Maori had in short time been transformed to outcasts of society and almost viewed as strangers in their own country by the “pakeha” meaning New Zealanders by European origin.

Willingless to adopt Christianity At first the Maori thought of adopting Christianity was out of the question. There was a lot of Aborigines from Australia that fled to New Zealand to find a new home and new trading possibilities, and with them they brought influences of Christianity, but the Maori stayed impervious to this, as it seemed strange and foreign to them. But as they came in contact with more and more British culture, which they actually had no trouble with, they started to get fond of what the missionaries taught them of Christianity. By the time of the mid 1800s the majority had converted to Christianity, and it's also now that many Maori started relationships with the pakeha. Their imperviousity and cautiousness disappeared as their civilization became a minority in New Zealand, and as they were left with no other choice.

How does society in New Zealand treat Maori? And how does the Maori react to it? The Maori culture or religion, or whatever it is interpreted as, can be compared to a range of different cultures and groups of people that have existed, vanished or still are around the world. There was more tribes than just Maori that have gotten in trouble after British colonisation, the closest example would be the Aborigines in Australia. In today's society the different ethnic groups vary quite a bit in New Zealand, since the 80s New Zealand has been able to pull themselves together and have begun accepting more than just European emigration. They have now started to accept immigrants from all over the world based on their skills, financial opportunities or family. 5 Today there is a large group that still feels that they are alienated to society and feel like they don't belong there. So it's not just the Maori that feel discriminated. By looking at some diagrams (see the appendix) there is almost a quarter of the Maori population that have reported personal discrimination, and even more people of the Asian group of society reported that they felt discriminated.6 According to an article published at “cultural survival” Claire Charters a Maori lawyer, claims that this discrimination is an on-going problem in New Zealand that hides under the surface. The non-Maori can believe that the trouble of injustice doesn’t lay in their hands, or that by giving or restoring the rights and privileges of the indigenous people would cause negative change to themselves. 7 She also states that statistically Maori suffer an higher rate of poverty, suicide and incarceration for example. These would be some of the reasons Maori could file reports for personal discrimination.

One of many other things that Maori suffer from is also the forfeit of their lands by British colonial rules. This confines the Maori and compels them to practice their culture and religion in a limited area, and that is just one of the main reasons many Maori feel discriminated today. When they lose spiritual and sacred territory, they lose power at the same time, and may cause Maori to commit suicide or even to avenge society on certain levels.

There have been several trials in New Zealand in an aim to abolish or abrogate the land-claims. One example of this happened during 2004 when the case regarding foreshore and seabed was brought to life.8 The places near the beach are and have always been the most spiritual places for Maori, because they would feel the closest connection with their spiritual homeland there and they could also practise different rituals or important things included in their culture there. Anyway the purpose of this act was to demolish the claims the Maori had in these areas. Thanks to Maori lawyers and great pressure from the Maori they succeed in

Despite discussing whether to believe or disagree with the things Maori culture has to say the history of its culture has a significant meaning to how Maori dedicate their life’s or how the people are treated by society. One prejudice against society is that the more the traditions or religion go to a mythical level, more people will feel that they are an outcast of society and therefore people will treat them as such. One great example that describes a somewhat logical interpretation for the treatment of the Maori can be read and analysed In James k Baxster's poem “The Maori Jesus” He describes the Significance blended by hate and racism and what people may lose only because of their views, that may be based out of solid air. In the poem he uses Jesus and the start of the bible to describe a man of Maori, and what a day could look like for him. James Baxter pictures an almost perfect view on how the society seems to be self-centred, and the downsides with a society like this is that, those who can't stick up with the “standards” or may follow different paths can fall down and therefore break away from society. 9

1. Discussion I've now almost finished my research about the Maori and the journey through it has been both a struggle and a fun ride. I have had the chance to travel back in time to find different patterns and use them as a foundation for my analysis, and I also learned a lot of new information which was great. If I can sum it all up I would blame almost everything on the colonisation and the egocentric Brits. On the other hand, I can't blame them for discovering New Zealand, for all the trouble they caused the Maori. Every lie they told, or every wrong decision they made, for example the treaty of Waitangi as server to make the situation worse for the Maori.The Maori people had already proved signs of cooperation and hospitality, and once they got to know the Europeans they had no trouble living in peace with them, maybe they thought from the start that the British people would not be more than just guests to New Zealand. However I discovered that this discrimination continues even after the era of colonialism and into our era, and looks as bad today as it did back then. I think that everyone has become comfortable in their shoes and to ignorant to see the problems that float beneath the surface of society. I can try to understand how the Maori meet this problem, and how they are affected by it, by comparing their situation to the Sami people in Sweden. In Sweden people tend to just get on with their lives not thinking about them, and that's a discrimination in itself. I find that the responsibility lies in the hands of the government. Minority groups in New Zealand and Sweden and in all other countries face the same kind of discrimination, unless we can see past our own interests and offer just a little help to aid these groups. That show signs of discrimination or bad treatment. It would mean a significant change to human rights.

       New Zealand expected the Maori to forget the things that are so important to them, and that they might lose hope of better or more positive changes. But as the Maori are described, they prove to be great warrior, and great in making strategic deccisions. They won't give up their fight for justice this easily.  There have been many lawyers or jurists with Maori background that have spent a big part of their life to fight for these people's rights. There have even been trials that have gone to the supreme court, which many of the trials are about land-claims.10 
   

   I have learned that the Maori culture is a really strong one and that their background means a lot to many Maori living in New Zealand today. Just as a Christian or a Muslim would feel the need to pray, the Maori people find the need of their land and spiritual places a lot more than we could imagine. One of the questions I asked myself before starting with my research was how the Maori culture survived for so long, and how it could still be integregated with society today. I believe that it's because of their ability to handle things peacefully, althou we haven't always met peaceful actions from the Maori, they are so smart that they could handle problems and negotiations by word instead. I also believe that their ability to share things and to be open for new relationships or cooperation has got them as for as they are today. What really interest me is that the Maori are more known than most people realize, the national rugby team for New Zealand uses one of the traditional haka dances before every game. This dance has been a symbol for the Maori and has given them more support than they expected from the start. It's also a sign that the culture is respected and seen as something that New Zealand is proud to represent. Thou one can ask how is it that the Maori people is still discriminated while New Zealand seems to be shameless for their traditions?

2. Conclusion The Maori have proved, along with New Zealand, that there are problems still existing in their country, and that these problems need to be apprehended together. Discrimination has always been a serious trouble, wherever you look, you can find signs of discrimination. The question I asked myself when finishing up this research is how the Maori respond to this treatment, and how many Maori that's active in trying to make a change. I've found out that the Maori people since the colonisation have had a hard time trying to adjust to every negative change that has been brought upon them. They are also still trying their best to spread their culture in New Zealand society. There have been some successful attempts and some they are still trying to fix. For example they have been able to increase the amount of Maori education in public schools, Resulting in the survival of the Maori culture. But it isn’t as much as they would want it to be. Honestly, I think if the Maori hadn't accepted the Europeans from the start, their culture would be a lot less viable today if even existing. The Europeans could act peacefully towards the Maori, because of their hospitality, and therefore Maori succeeded in a future salvation to their culture with a friendly relationship to the Pakeha. What could've happened is that the Maori, when they first met with the Europeans, attacked and forced even Captain Cook and his crew to flee. That could mean more force to the Maori in the future. The discrimination that the Maori suffer from today can be rather hard to take in for someone who doesn’t live by their standards. I’ve made the conclusion that there are more problems the Maori face rather than just land-claims. It doesn’t have to be that it's the society they are discriminated by either, some of the Maori men abuse their women to a point were they are left with no choice but to obey the men. 11

If I were to continue this work I would start focusing on all the trials that have involved Maori claims, or discriminations. I would basically try to get hold of as much public material that I could and try to understand New Zealand’s view on this problem, as well as the Maori view and compare those to each other. I wouldn’t just focus on The Maori as I have in this research, I would include both perspectives. But as said I would include more civilizations just like the Maori, aborigines for example, and I would read more source-material from the colonisation, and also early-maori time.

Appendix Image url :http://www.houseofrentalsgoldenbay.co.nz/holiday-home-rentals.html References *Internet sources

Worldbook Student- 'Who are the Maori?'- Early Peoples- Viewed on 9th December 2014 URL :http://www.worldbookonline.com/digitallibraries/earlypeoples/article?id=ar837102&st=%22maori%22&gr=Welcome+Finnvedens+Gymnasium 

Worldbook Student- 'Maori Society' Early people- Viewed on 9th December 2014 URL: http://www.worldbookonline.com/digitallibraries/earlypeoples/article?id=ar837105&st=%22maori%22&gr=Welcome+Finnvedens+Gymnasium 

Worldbook Student- 'Maori and Pakeha'- Early peoples- Viewed on 9th December 201...