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UTUA KI TE AROHA. LET LOVE CONQUER ALL

But remember - Utua ki te aroha. Even in the darkness that’s surrounding us, we can choose to respond with love. Aroha is strength. Aroha is WHY we stand in solidarity to protect our whakapapa. Aroha is the legacy we want to leave for our tamariki mokopuna. And aroha will always prevail....

MAHI NGĀTAHI, AROHA NGĀTAHI

Hope for change. Hope for more. Hope for better. Hope for understanding and aroha and equity. When you think about the legacy you want to leave for your mokopuna, what do you hope for? One of the things we hope for is for Māori to work together collectively like we did during the rāhui. We hope for a return to tūpuna wisdom to guide the way we mahitahi. And that doesn’t necessarily mean that existing structures and systems will guide the way forward. Mahi ngātahi Aroha ngātahi Be a good a...

WHAT LEGACY DO YOU WANT TO LEAVE FOR YOUR TAMARIKI MOKOPUNA?

We say to you: Black lives do matter. We all have the right to breathe. Whānau, we can speak out on social media, and we should. And even more than that, we have to stamp out racism right here in Aotearoa. Change needs to start at home. First, wāhia te tūngaroa o tō whare. Look at yourself. Take off the rose coloured glasses that make everything beautiful when you look in the mirror. What assumptions and judgements do you make about the people around you? We ALL have subconscious bias. And t...

TAKOHA KI TE AO - CONTRIBUTING TO OUR FUTURE GENERATIONS

To our brothers and sisters in America: We see you We hear you We stand in solidarity with you We say to you: Lives do matter. We all have the right to breathe. Whānau, we can speak out on social media, and we should. And even more than that, we have to stamp out racism right here in Aotearoa. Change needs to start at home. First, look at yourself. Take off the rose coloured glasses that make everything beautiful when you look in the mirror. What assumptions and judgements do you make about the...

BE A GOOD ANCESTOR

This is the same in the transition of creation from te kore (potential) through to te pō (a time of growth like the rahui) and moving to te ao mārama (understanding or new ways of living). As Aotearoa moves into the next stage of Level 2, let's reflect on what we learnt during the rāhui. It’s too easy to revert back to what we did prior to lockdown, whānau. So, let’s take those learnings into this next stage of life to help us be better versions of ourselves and to be good ancestors for ...

KIA TAPATAHI, KIA KŌTAHI RĀ, TĀTOU, TĀTOU E

Remember the spirit of cooperation that was there during the rāhui. Let’s hold that close. Let’s maintain it. When our vision is short term, we’re selling ourselves short. This is a chance for us to work together. Kotahitanga brings collective purchasing power, collective investment power, collective influence. That’s how we make change. That’s how we hāpai and whakamana each other. Support local, yes. Support Māori business, yes. AND, think beyond ourselves. Think bigger. Think col...

ESSENTIAL ITEMS

We can’t pretend these are just one-off things and hope nothing else will happen. Acknowledge the tohu. Give mana to those tohu. And get prepared. How? Let the pandemic, the earthquakes, the floods be a reminder to us to prepare. Think about: Does your whānau have emergency packs in case you need to leave the house in a hurry? Do you have some kai stored away or your māra growing for when you can’t get to the shops? What water would you source? How would you cook if there’s no power? Do ...

KA ORA PEA AU I Ā KOE KA ORA KOE I Ā AU

Yeah, us too… So how about this, whānau? How about we don’t just assume that everyone feels the same about the rāhui restrictions and tikanga right now? Everyone has different ways of feeling ok. We move at different paces. We’re still being encouraged to be mindful of hygiene, physical distancing, and the possibility of infection - whether it’s COVID-19 or anything else.. We can show our aroha for each other by NOT assuming. When you catch up, just pause - don’t put someone in ...

MĀ WAI RĀ E TAURIMA

Whether your marae is planning to open or you’ll be holding hui and tangihanga at home, here are some things to think about as we make informed decisions around tikanga while the coronavirus pandemic and rāhui continue. Shout out to Ngati Hine a Hineamaru for sharing some simple messages and clear whakaaro. Hui mate plan - Marae and whānau should develop a hui mate plan so you’re ready. Register the hui mate - Funeral directors need to register the hui mate with the Ministry of Health Liai...

KA MATE, KA MATE, KA ORA, KA ORA

Through Mahi ā Rehia we record and remember our history. We celebrate. We commemorate. We grieve and heal. Through kapa haka we access so much mātauranga and so many traditional practices: Kākahu, Tā moko, Mau rākau, Pakari tīnana, Oro Pūtaiao, Te Ao Tūroa, Pūrakau, Whakapapa. We see our rangatahi perform and we know we’re watching leaders emerge. They gain confidence, become grounded in knowing, ko wai, nō hea. Now we see our kaumātua taking to the stage to entertain, reminisce abo...

HE MAHI TOI HE TOI ORA

In this time when the world is changing, when we’re reimagining, reinterpreting, and reinvigorating our future, let’s turn our minds to the artists - kaitoi. Through toi we explore and we express. We challenge perceptions and lean in to discomfort. Through toi we connect. We heal. We find new ways of seeing things. Without our artists our world would be…less. Which Māori artists have work that speaks to you and your whānau? Let’s promote them. Because we need them to help shape ou...

WHAKAMĀTAURIA!

It’s easy to feel, as we head back to mahi and kura, that life is getting back to normal. But the key to getting rid of the COVID-19 ngārara is tracking it. We can’t track it if we don’t get tested. So, remember: Hupe? Cough? Fever? Aches and pains? DON’T WAIT. WHAKAMĀTAURIA. GET TESTED....

WETEWETEA TE TOIMAHA

A key part of resetting is identifying and acknowledging the issues that weigh us down, working through those and letting them go. Matariki set a few days ago and while we can’t see it in the night or morning sky, this is the time when our tūpuna would put to sleep the past and go through a rebirth when it rises again. This year Matariki rises in July and the best time to read it for what lies ahead of us, is during the Tangaroa phases of the moon around 13-16 July. As we let go of the past r...

WHĀIA TE TINO RANGATIRATANGA

The budget has been announced. There’s a lot of money being put into public services. But that investment doesn’t foster our independence and self-sufficiency - our tino rangatiratanga, our mana motuhake. Only we can do that. For some of us, the rāhui has helped us go back to the essentials: baking, planting kai, preserving, cooking healthier meals - we’ve had the time at home to do it. So let’s build on that. What can your whānau do to continue to reduce dependency on services, money,...

MATUA KIA MĀ

At rāhui level 2, we might be tempted to think life is back to normal. It’s not. We’re still in a state of change - te whāiao. So remember what we know. Just the basics, whānau. Keep it simple. Keep it basic. Keep it clean. Protect Our Whakapapa....

E TŪ STAND PROUD KIA KAHA SAY IT LOUD

Legislation, being passed under urgency today, gives Constables the right to search marae without a warrant. These things combined suggest that the public can be trusted but that Māori are problematic. It infers that we can’t take responsibility for our own safety and wellbeing against COVID-19 even though Māori mobilised and responded to help our whole communities. No one told us to do that. We acted to #ProtectOurWhakapapa. Whānau, we have a voice in the democratic process, so let’s use...

TURAKINA TE NGĀRARA TŪKINO

We’re moving to level 2 and it kind of feels like life’s going back to normal, BUT IT’S NOT. Things are gonna be stressful for a while yet, whānau! We know these things for a fact: During the rāhui, demand for Women’s Refuge increased 35% - When times are hard we self-medicate. We get mad. We hurt people - even when the All Blacks lose - family violence increases. We also know that in Level 2 and beyond: Whānau are gonna struggle. The stress of feeling pohara and worrying about paying...

HE AO ĀPŌPŌ HE AO TEA

When Dr Rangitākuku Metekīngi made this statement he was dreaming about a future where Te Ao Māori and Western knowledge would come together to equip us to navigate the new world. Now, as we head towards a post-COVID-19 future, it’s time for us to think about what we want life to look like tomorrow, next year, next century. As for #ProtectOurWhakapapa, we’re thinking about a future that: Enhances our taiao. Puts well being of people at the centre, and Ensures equitable distribution of res...

TŪ KOTAHI I TE AO TŪ KOTAHI I TE AROHA

Today we stand to acknowledge our Indigenous brothers and sisters of the world as they rise strong, fight the virus, and protect the legacy of their tūpuna. All through North and South America coronavirus is tearing through indigenous communities. The Navajo Nation in Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona has cases 20 times higher than ours. With a population half the size of Māori, they’ve had 75 deaths so far. The Brazilian government has prioritised their economy over their people, and they haven...

E TŪ I TŌ MARU TŪPUNA

Stand in the legacy of our tūpuna, for their wisdom brings greatness and strength in action. Whaea Tariana said yesterday, “Trust us to do what we know to be right.” Matua Te Ururoa says, “Our people [have always been] ready to serve as a backbone for the whole of the country.” We’ve seen it in the rāhui checkpoints. We’ve seen it in whānau distributing kai and hygiene packs. We’ve seen it through the mobilising of our Māori Health Services. E tū i tō maru tūpuna. E tū i t�...

HE ITI MAUREA KA TUPU TE TOIORA

Today we mihi to our Māori Health providers! Why? Because all through coronavirus rāhui we’ve been watching, concerned about testing rates for whānau. We’ve encouraged us all to get tested. And it was only once our Māori Health providers (so often small, on the ground, local) FOUGHT for us all, only then did we start to see Māori testing increasing. “The mobilisation of Māori and Pacific health providers has made a stark difference to the testing of Māori and Pacific communities.”...

MANA TANGATA MANA MOTUHAKE

Whether it’s a tangi, COVID-19 checkpoint or distributing kai out to whānau, we just muck in and get it done. This is a te ao Māori way of doing things and it works every time. We don’t need permission, especially when we are helping everyone in the community. We kick into action like we do at a tangi. We get no notice but everyone knows their job or are given a job. So we are well prepared for the crisis and can share this experience with the rest of Aotearoa....

KIA AWHI AWHI MAI TAKU MOKOPUNA

We know that rāhui has raised stress-levels through the roof, and we know that as stress increases, so does violence in the home. But what can you do about that? Take care of yourself. Make sure you’re all good, or it’s hard to be patient. Notice what’s going on in your whare and in your extended bubble. Make sure you have whānau timeout zones, and that everyone’s having turns using them. Remember it’s ok to not be ok. Ask for help if it’s getting too much. You know how we can see ...

KEI TE KAPO O TE RINGA TE AO

It’s becoming clear that our businesses who have been guided by tūpuna wisdom have the resilience to last through the COVID-19 economic crisis. When we use that as our foundation, we are resourceful. We maintain an intergenerational view. The answers are within our whakapapa. It’s in our DNA. Share with us - what or who has inspired and guided you during the rāhui? A whakataukī ? A pūrākau? A particular tupuna? Share with us and tag your whānau, so they can be inspired, too....

MĀ TE MĀTAU KA ORA

Māori are getting tested for COVID-19 at increasing rates! We’ve got mobile testing units in rural areas and visiting whānau in their homes! Clinics have been set up at freezing works and marae! Ka mutu pea! But we’re not out of the danger zone yet. Stop self-diagnosing and CALL YOUR DOCTOR OR HEALTHLINE 0800 358 5433 if you’re sick. They’ll help you decide if you need to go in. YES, we’re all staying home. NO, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go to the doctor when you need to....