Warning a Matariki holiday could be a 'double-edged sword' for Māori mental wellbeing

Friday, 7 August 2020

Marking Matariki as a public holiday could backfire if it's commercialised like Christmas or becomes a catalyst for racial aggression like Watangi Day, an indigenous psychology expert warns.

Tērā pea, he kino kē ngā pānga ka puta i te tohungia o Matariki hei hararei tūmatanui ki te whāia kia arumoni te kaupapa pērā i te Kirihimete, tērā pea rānei ka noho te kaupapa hei āki i te whakatumatuma a te kaikiri pērā i te Rā o Waitangi, hei te whakaohiti a tētahi mātanga Māori o te mātai hinengaro.

Professor Linda Waimarie Nikora doesn’t oppose the drive to recognise Matariki as a national day but says it needs to focus on the meaning of Matariki and inclusiveness to avoid race talk that often leads to high anxiety in Māori.

Kāore a Ahorangi Linda Waimarie Nikora i te whakahē i te ānga kia whakatairangatia a Matariki hei rā nui mō te motu, engari hei tāna, me arotahi kē ki te tikanga o Matariki me te kaupapa o te whai wāhitanga o te katoa hei karo i ngā kōrero mō ngā momo iwi he rite tonu te whakatupu i te māharahara nui o te Māori.

Two petitions calling for Matariki to become a public holiday were recently handed to Labour MP Paul Eagle and Stuff has launched a campaign to make Matariki a public holiday from next year.

Nō nā tata nei i tāpaea ai ngā petihana e rua e whai ana kia whakatūngia a Matariki hei hararei tūmatanui ki te Minita o te Pāti Reipa, ki a Paul Eagle, ā, kua whakarewaina e Stuff he kaupapa e tautokona ai te whakatūnga o Matariki hei hararei tūmatanui atu i te tau e tū mai nei.

Nikora is a professor in indigenous studies at Te Wānanga o Waipapa and the University of Auckland, and her career has included a specific focus on Māori wellbeing. She said the psychological effects for indigenous people when a day of significance is recognised could sometimes turn sour, which made an emphasis on inclusiveness imperative.

He ahorangi a Nikora i ngā kaupapa iwi taketake i Te Wānanga o Waipapa me Te Whare Wānanga o Tāmaki Makaurau, ka mutu, kua whai wāhi ki tana ara mahi tētahi aronga whāiti ki te oranga o te Māori. Hei tāna, he wā pea ōna ka pā kinotia ngā hinengaro o ngā iwi taketake ka whakanuia ana tētahi rā nui whakaharahara, nā reira me mātua aro nui ki te whai wāhitanga o te katoa.

Look at the examples presented by Waitangi Day and Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, Māori Language Week, she said.

Arā ngā tauira e takoto ana i te Rā o Waitangi me Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, hei tāna.

“Those are special days and special weeks for us, and they cause us to reflect on our origins as a nation, as a people, and also consider how far we have come and how far we've yet to go.

“He rā nui whakaharahara, he wiki nui whakaharahara hoki ērā ki a mātou, ā, mā ērā tātou e huritao ai ki te tīmatanga o tā tātou noho tahi i tēnei motu hei iwi whānui, e whakaaro ai hoki ki te roa o te ara kua takahia kētia e tātou me te roa o te ara kei mua tonu i te aroaro.

“I think those are really important things for our national anniversary programme of days … but they can be a double-edged sword.”

“He kaupapa tino whakahirahira ērā ki te hōtaka ā-motu o ngā rā nui i te huringa o ia tau, ki a au nei … engari he wā ka matarua pea aua kaupapa.”

Nikora said Waitangi Day, and to a certain degree Te Wiki o te reo Māori, usually spiralled into political narratives and race talk.

Hei tā Nikora, he rite tonu te huringa o ngā kōrero mō Te Rā o Waitangi me Te Wiki o te Reo (ki tētahi taumata) hei kōrero tōrangapū, hei kaupapa kōrero hoki mō ngā momo iwi.

Although Māori and people-of-colour faced microaggressions daily, on days like Waitangi Day that aggression was heightened and usually resulted in verbal or social media abuse and attacks on property.

Ahakoa pāngia ai te Māori me ngā iwi kiri-manauri e ngā punua ririhau i ia rā, i ngā rā pērā i Te Rā o Waitangi, ka piki te kaha o taua ririhau, ā, ko tōna otinga, rere ai te whakahāwea ā-waha, ā-pāhopori rānei me ngā huaki i ngā kāinga.

“Dependening upon how passionately our politicians go at it sometimes, the nature of race talk can create for Māori a fearfulness about venturing forth into the public. A fearfulness of going down the road.

“Nā te āhua o te kohara o tā ngā kaitōrangapū tohe i ētahi wā, he wā tōna, nā te āhua o te kōrero mō ngā momo iwi, ka hua ake te wehi o te Māori ki te puta haere ki waenga i te marea. Ko te wehi ki te haere noa iho i te rori.

“So you see the rise in attacks on property, attacks on a person in terms of comments that are passed relative to being Māori in public.So when both things are happening in our environment, race talk, etc, then Māori become more superconscious, super wary and indeed, in some cases, fearful that they may not be treated as we might be normally treated on other days.”

“Nā reira, ka kitea te pikinga o ngā huaki i ngā kāinga, o ngā huaki i te tangata pērā i ngā kōrero tūmatanui ka rere mō te tū hei Māori. Nō reira, ki te rere ngātahi aua āhuatanga e rua i ō tātou hapori, arā, ko te kōrero mō ngā momo iwi me ērā āhuatanga, ka kaha ake te āta aro a te Māori, ka kaha ake te mataara, ka mutu, i ētahi wā, ka tipu te wehi e kore pea e pērā rawa te āhua o te taurimatia o mātou, tēnā i tō ētahi atu rā.”

Those microaggressions led to anxiety and while some learned strategies to navigate those days, others didn’t, Nikora said.

Nā aua punua ririhau i puta ai te māharahara, ā, i whai rautaki ētahi e haumaru ai rātou i aua rā rā, kāore ētahi i pērā, te kī a Nikora.

“And so that stress, because of its constant nature, I think contributes to explaining part of the high incidence of mental health illness… and when we say mental health illness, we're not just talking about mild depression, it's everything from that, all the way through to increase in the suicide rate.”

“Nā reira, ko taua kōhukihuki rā, i te pūmau o tōna āhua, kei te whai wāhi atu, ki a au nei, ki ngā whakamārama mō te nui o te pāngia e te mate hinengaro…ā, i a mātou ka kōrero mō te mate hinengaro, kāore mātou i te kōrero mō te āhua pōuri noa, engari kē ka tīmata i taua pōuri rā, ā tae atu rā hoki ki te pikinga o te pāpātanga o te whakamomori.”

According to Ministry of Health statistics, Māori are twice as likely to commit suicide as non-Māori. Māori adults were about 1.5 times more likely than non-Māori to report a high or very high probability of having an anxiety or depressive disorder.

E ai ki ngā tatauranga o te Manatū Hauora, e huarua ana te tūponotanga ka whakamomori te Māori tēnā i te tauiwi. Kei tōna 1.5 te tokomaha o ngā pakeke Māori i tō ngā pakeke Pākehā ka kaha ake pea ki te kī, kei te nui, kei te tino nui rānei te tūpono kua pāngia rātou e te mate ahotea, e te mate hinapōuri rānei.

Action Station director Laura O’Connell Rapira, who is one of the driving forces behind the petitions, has previously denounced the commercialisation of Matariki and said the intention is to share the meaning of it.

Kua whakahēngia e te kaiwhakahaere o Action Station, e Laura O’Connell Rapira, nāna nei i kōkiri ngā petihana, te hurihanga o Matariki hei kaupapa arumoni, ā, hei tāna, ko te whakaaro kē kia tukuna ngā tikanga o taua kaupapa kia rere.

Nikora hoped those involved in planning special Matariki events would steer clear of commercialisation and political speak and stay true to the meaning of the festival.

E manako ana a Nikora ka whakatawhiti te hunga e whai wāhi ana ki ngā whakaritenga mō ngā hui motuhake mō Matariki i ngā āhuatanga arumoni me ngā kōrero tōrangapū, ka ū kē ai ki te tikanga ake o te kaupapa.

“Matariki is about generosity, at a period of time, where we wish for the promise of hope, moving into a warmer future and for me, that is the way in which it should be constructed.

“Ko te oha te kaupapa o Matariki, i tētahi wā e rere ai ngā tūmanako kia koke ki te pūāhurutanga o anamata, ā, ki a au nei, me pērā kē te āhua o ana whakaritenga.

“If It's constructed like Christmas or New Year for that matter, then I think we really miss the opportunity to really frame Matariki as a day of potential because that's what it's all about.

“Ki te whakaritea kia pērā i te Kirihimete, i te Tau Hou rānei, ka tohipa te huarahi e wātea ai te whakanuitanga o Matariki hei rā e wānangahia ai te pito mata, nā te mea koirā tana tino tikanga.

“It's about moving from Te Pō to Te Ao, it's about moving from a place of becoming and potential and moving that into the world of light.”

“Ko te koke i te pō ki te ao te kaupapa, ko te neke i tētahi wāhi e whai tikanga ai te tangata, e puāwai ai te pito mata me te tō i ērā ki roto ki te ao mārama.”

* Translation provided by Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori/Māori Language Commission.