As I travel further along on my journey through Aotearoa, New Zealand, I have come across amazing new discoveries about Māori culture as well as some disappointing aspects as well, whether that be through government or history. Since our arrival in the South Island of Aotearoa, I have been exposed to more modern day consequences that the Māori people have to face. A specific example of this is a card Anna showed me at the University of Canterbury. The card read “Radical Māori are taking over our country, Fight back, Join the resistance!”. This was one of my first exposures to this perspective of politics in New Zealand. As someone who was raised to be proud of my Māori heritage, I thought about this card a lot. It has burnt itself into the back of my brain and has been clawing back at me ever since I read it. I hate to bring politics into my blog, but it has given me a different mindset about New Zealand, and that it isn’t always the perfect paradise that I always imagine it is. There was a conversation in the honors class about the tearing of the “Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill” that also has stuck out to me. In my opinion, the tearing of the bill and the Haka performed in parliament were not meant to bring negative attention to themselves. It was an act of protest to make themselves heard and express their deep disapproval of the new interpretation of the treaty. At the University of Canterbury, my group’s selected student shared her perspectives on the topic of tearing. She also believes that the new interpretations were not meant to benefit everyone and actually hindered some of the Māori people’s rights, ones that the original treaty gave them. I did find it both helpful and interesting to hear different perspectives from both Native New Zealanders and Americans because it gave me insight into how others outside of Aotearoa view the issues that parliament must face. My first journey through the South Island has been filled with much joy and excitement, but it has also expanded my knowledge of Māori culture and the world that affects the modern-day iwi. While ziplining here in Queenstown, I was able to learn more about the steps to sustainability as well as the ancient creatures who used to dwell in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Two of these creatures are the Giant Moa and the Haast’s Eagle. Both creatures have long been extinct, but the reasons were because of my Māori ancestors. In modern New Zealand, sustainability and protection of the endangered species that reside in Aotearoa are stressed everywhere we have been and everywhere you can go. It was different to hear that the Māori generations centuries ago took some of these creatures out of existence, whether they meant to or not. The Giant Moa was discovered by the Māori and became one of their top resources, for their meat, feathers, and dense bone that was used for weaponry. But with the Giant Moa being hunted to extinction, the Haast’s Eagle, which also preyed on the Moa (as well as Māori children), eventually died out along with their prey. Seeing how New Zealand has evolved and grown to protect its natural world has been astonishing to experience. Throughout all of my new discoveries, good and bad, I have expanded my historical, cultural, and political knowledge about Māori culture, New Zealand politics, and Aotearoa sustainability.
