Editorial: Kia whakatōmuri te haere whakamua

I walk backwards into the future with my eyes fixed on my past

Ko te taha o tōku papa 

Ko Putauaki te maunga 

Ko Rangitaiki te awa  

Ko Ngāti Awa te iwi 

Ko Mātaatua te waka 

Ko te taha o tōku mama 

Ko Tarawera te maunga 

Ko Te Awa O Te Atua te awa 

Ko Ngāti Rangitihi te iwi 

Ko Te Arawa te waka 

Ko Aaria Te Waiarangi Hunia ahau 

I te tau 2024 nei, kua rongo au, kua tuhi hoki au e pā ana ki ngā take e tāmi tonu nei i te iwi Māori i tēnei whenua, ā, kua tino hōhā rawa atu au. 

Ko ngā take tāmi, koinā ake taku kai ao noa, pō noa, ā, kei te hoki mai anō au ki te tuku i ēnei kōrero. Kua toka rawa atu ēnei take, ia rā, ia rā. Mō te hia kore ōku i aro, he mana kore tēnei mahi kaua noa mōku anake, engari mō tōku iwi me tōku ahurea e kaingākau nei au.  

Kua tino hōhā au i ēnei kōrero katoa. Kua hōhā i ngā whakaparahakotanga mai ki tōku ao Māori o inamata. Kua hōhā katoa au i ngā heitara me ngā whakawhiunga ka tukua mai ki tōku tuakiri, ki ngā whakararu ahu mahi, hoko kāinga hoki e kore nei e mutu. Kua hōhā au i ngā whakatumatuma mai a te pūnaha whakatika tangata e mea nei kia ngākau pono au ki a rātou, me te aha, e takakinotia tonutia ana au e te kāwanatanga e kawe ne i i āna mahi ki te tautiaki i a au.  

Nā reira, hei aha, hei aha noa iho. Kāore au i te kōrero mō ngā take kino i tēnei wā. 

E hika mā, he Māori tātou. Nō nahea tātou i tuohu noa? Ko tātou, te iwi whai mana, te iwi māia, te iwi ūpoko mārō. Nō nāhea tātou i mataku ai ki te āpōpō, whāia, ko tātou kē he whakarangatira i ngā mahi i oti i te hunga i para i te hurahi anga whakamua. 

Kua kore au e mōhio ki tētahi Māori i tuohu noa, ka whakamā noa iho i ngā wā o te toimaha; e kore rawa tātou e pērā. I ngā wā katoa, he take aunoa me ūpoko pakaru ai tātou ki te tiaki. 

Nā, kia tau rā anō te puehu, ka puta mai te wairua harikoa, ā, ka titiro whakamua ki ngā rā ki tua. 

Ko tōku ahurea tēnei. Mehemea ko te wāhi ki a au i tēnei tau ko te pakanga me ōku ringaringa ki te tiaki, ahakoa iti nei, ā, kāti, koirā tāku. 

I’ve spent all of 2024 both hearing and writing about all the ways Māori have been and continue to be fucked over in this country, and I just can’t take it anymore.  

The issues we face are all I ever see and talk about, and I can’t help but continue to discuss them. They’re so prevalent in our day-to-day lives, and to not acknowledge it would be a disservice to not only myself, but the people and culture I love. 

But I’m so, so sick of it all. I’m sick of fearing what it means to be Māori in the present day. I’m sick of the implications and threats that come with my identity nowadays, of facing employment and housing crises that never seem to end. I’m sick of feeling threatened by a justice system that I am somehow meant to trust, and betrayed by a government that should exist to protect me. 

So, fuck it and fuck that. I’m not talking about the bad stuff, not for now at least.  

We’re Māori, for fucks sake, when did we start taking this shit so easily? We, who have always been proud, fierce and stubborn. When did we of all people decide to fear the future and what it may hold, when we should be celebrating those of us who carve a path through it. 

I have never known a single Māori who cowed their head and stood back when things seemed tough, because that's simply not how we operate. There is always a reason to fight for what we want to protect.  

Then when the fight is over, we sing and celebrate and move on to protecting our future.  

That is my culture. And if I have to fight this year with my bare hands to protect it even a little, then so be it. 

— Arohanui, Aaria and Keelin