Traditional Knowledge and the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership

Last Monday (3 Dec 2012), thanks to Prof Jane Kelsey, I had the opportunity to present some ideas on mātauranga Māori/indigenous knowledge to negotiators who were meeting all this week in Auckland to negotiate the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership. It was a very brief opportunity which took place at Waipapa Marae, University of Auckland. Here are some of the things I said:

• Our vision is for the indigenous dimension of New Zealand society to be positive, dynamic, creative force in our nation’s life, economy and culture, something that all New Zealand can be proud of. We seek to turn colonisation and its deleterious effects on its head. 
• The contribution of indigenous peoples is not merely to gain participation in existing arrangements in New Zealand society, but also to bring distinctive aspects and creativity to our nation, to improve it according to indigenous vision, experience and action
• We remain concerned with matters of social justice – we are alert to ways in which indigenous peoples were and are marginalised
• We remain concerned with cultural revitalisation - to uplift our language, our knowledge, our customary lifestyles
• We are also inspired by our own ‘creative potential’ - to be inspired by what we have rather than what we have lost
• Traditional Knowledge is a critically important dimension within the creative potential of indigenous communities
• This knowledge belongs to our communities and it is deeply important to the ongoing realisation of our potential
• We do not regard it as ‘museum pieces’ but rather a dynamic living tradition of memory, experience, an understanding of life.
• We wish to repatriate this knowledge to our people and enable it to be utilised by our people in new and creative ways and for their benefit.
• If we are strengthened in our own knowledge, we are more likely to be open, to share, to engage in positive relationships. Conversely, if we feel our rights to our own knowledge are compromised, we are less likely to engage, to be open.

Carwyn Jones (Ngāti Kahungunu) from Victoria University of Wellington also spoke on the Wai262 Flora and Fauna claim brought before the Waitangi Tribunal. 

Information on the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership can be found at these websites:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Pacific_Strategic_Economic_Partnership

http://tppinfo.org/

Māori and māori

Māori is a term used primarily as a cultural/ethnic identifier. That is to say, it is used to label a group of people, the descendents of the aboirginal inhabitants of New Zealand at the time of European arrival. It's meaning is constructed and expressed in the context of other ethnic/cultural signifiers particularly Pākehā (European New Zealanders) and, later, Pasifika, Asian and more.

There is another way, however, of thinking about 'Māori'. Originally the word 'māori' meant 'natural'. This referred to something that lacked impurities, something that naturally and organically appeared in the world. An example is 'waimāori' or pure water.

Historically when children were considered for entry into the whare wānanga (institution of higher learning), the elders would sit and study each child to understand the qualities that were naturally appearing in each child, prior to any teaching. The elders were concerned to understand what energies and qualities naturally, spontaneously and organically manifested and expressed themselves in a child. They would debate with each other about the qualities they saw. Essentially, they were debating the 'māoritanga' of the child, what was naturally appearing in the child. When they had decided what qualities they believed were expressing themselves in a child, it was their view that an atua (deity, god) was drawing the child, the child was naturally the pathway for that atua to express itself. This was it is also meant (among other things) by the terms 'atua māori'. The elders would then dedicate (tohi) that child to that atua and impart to him/her all the knowledge pertaining to that atua.

Now in thinking about this idea, I find it liberating when thinking about my own 'Māoriness'. When one initially begins to learn one's 'Māoritanga' we gather information and knowledge which helps us feel, act and think like a 'Māori'. However, now that I am a little older, I find myself thinking about what naturally and organically springs within me without the aid of any learning or teaching. I find this a deeper way of thinking about my 'māoritanga'. I also find that this a journey toward authenticity, finding my own authentic centre (Māori Marsden uses the term 'authentic being), recovering it, understanding it and letting it flow.

The Value of Te Reo Māori

In our recent deliberations regarding research and the Māori language, we identified three major questions facing the life of the language. The first concerns "how do we increase the number of people speaking the Māori language?". The second question is 'how do increase our understanding of fluency in the Māori language and increase the number of people achieving fluency?" The final question, and the one that is less well researched is "what is the value of the Māori language?" This is vitally important question which, if addressed properly I feel, will bring even more energy into the revitalisation of our language. As a response to this question of the value of the Māori language, I offer the following ideas: - The contribution of the Māori language to the construction and articulation of identity. This leads to feelings of empowerment and mana leading to social cohesion. This is the case for the individual Māori person who is building a sense of their own identity. It is also the case for general New Zealand society/culture which seeks distinctive 'identity markers' which distinguish us on the world stage from other nations, peoples and communities. (eg Pōkarekare ana, haka, placenames, Aotearoa etc) - The value of the Māori language expressed through the benefits of bilingualism. These include increased cognitive abilities and attributes, increased memory capability, increased qualities of articulation and expressiveness and increased dimensionality of meaning. Bilingualism and multilingualism is a worldwide phenomenona. Unfortunately we have inherited a stoic monolingualism from our British forebears. The ability to express oneself in two languages significantly broadens a person's perception and understanding of life. This leads to the third value I suggest: - The value of the Māori language expressed as a vehicle of worldview, an avenue into a way of thinking, explaining and experiencing life which offers benefits. I feel that this is ultimately the value of the Māori language to us today. The point of bilingualism is not so that we may say precisely the same thing in two languages but that we may possess a variety of 'lenses' by which to view our world, to understand life, alternative ways of thinking about issues and opportunities presented by life.

Te Iti Kahurangi

Our whakataukī reads:

Whāia e koe te iti kahurangi
Ki te tūohu koe, he maunga teitei
Seek the small jewels
Should you bow your head
Let it be to a lofty mountain

For me, the small jewels are those golden moments of creativity - small, fleeting, precious, fragile. They are the moments of wonder when energy flows... flows freely, unrestrained, free from doubt, free from question. For me they arrive in music - when I discover something in composition or a spontaneous moment arrives in performance and the music takes flight. They arrive too when I am writing and an idea of quality comes forth. Again the idea can be small but precious nonetheless. They arrive too in moments when I share my knowledge, the knowledge I hold. When I speak before an audience or when I teach.

I spend my days in constant search of these moments. Tirelessly I set the conditions for them to arrive and all too often they do not. Faith and discipline is the key. I must maintain discipline myself in my daily routine to privilege this at all times.

Identity

For a long time, the struggles for identity in our communities have been framed in terms of Māori and Pākehā - who is Māori? What is Māori? Authenticity anxieties have been experienced.

My identity struggle today is not so much about Māori viz a viz Pākehā but rather how do I keep my thought and action in continuous alignment and harmony with my creative centre? Secondly, how do I then use the things I have - knowledge, experiences, relationships, resources - to give expression to this creative centre?

This is the adventure of a lifetime!

Be true to thyself, so the expression goes.

The Challenge facing Iwi Development

In my view, the challenge facing iwi development is not about money, or resources. The key challenge facing iwi development at this time is meaninglessness. That is, iwi members naturally wish to know how does participation in my iwi bring value and benefits to my life? This problem is compounded when the opportunities for participation in iwi life remain few. For many the only opportunity to participate is at tangihanga. On too many other occasions, iwi members witness poor behavior, bickering and conflict when attending meetings at their marae. Hence, for many iwi members participation in their iwi is meaningless for very little value is offered to them. Of course, there are exceptions to this as some iwi do have positive activities taking place. However, on the whole, this is true for at least part of the time. The question remains - why should I participate in my iwi? What value and benefits can I gain from participating?

Altenatively, there is the committed iwi member who participates and contributes no matter how difficult things become. Sometimes iwi activities can indeed be mana diminishing rather than mana enhancing. Yet that person still returns to the iwi committee meetings, still attends to the tasks that need to be done. Why is that come iwi members never attend iwi activities whereas others remain deeply committed?

We have a task to attend to - and that is to turn around iwi life so that it is positive, enhancing and value creating in the lives of iwi members.

Things are changing!

Recent events suggest that things are changing and in a deep way. Older ways of thinking and acting are fading and newer possibilities are coming forth. Chief among them are the need to get beyond ethnic and cultural urgencies to a common and universal human question about our relationship with Mother Earth. As distance continues to grow between human consciousness and the natural world so the costs of this distance manifest themselves. The new Indigeneity, the new tangata whenuatanga is about a kinship based relationship with each other and with the natural world. It's about healing the rift between human consciousness and the natural world. It's about enabling the universe to flow through human spirit and mind. Musicians unite! Poets unite! Artists unite! Scientists unite! Creators of all kinds unite!