Te Ururoa Flavell - Graduation Speech
te-pati-maori
Sun May 17 2009 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Te Ururoa Flavell - Graduation Speech
Sunday, 17 May 2009, 2:49 pm
Speech: The Maori Party
Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi Graduation:
Whakatane; Saturday 16 May 2009
Te Ururoa Flavell, Member of Parliament for Waiariki
I have a very personal reason for being glad to be here today.
This week in the House, as the Auckland supercity proposal has clogged up parliamentary time, the Maori Party has spent every minute of our allocated speaking slots espousing the value of Maori representation.
We have defended the importance of an independent Maori voice; we have argued that the promise of Te Tiriti o Waitangi would be demonstrated in proper engagement with tangata whenua; we have stood up for the protection of mana whenua, of waahi tapu and taonga Maori.
And we have challenged the Government to invest in Maori representation which takes into account the rangatiratanga of the iwi and hapu who whakapapa back to their land.
But it appears to have fallen on deaf ears. The Bill proceeds - even if at a drawn out, tortuous pace. I have to travel back to Wellington shortly to contribute where possible knowing that a lack of representation in Auckland will likely set the scene for the whole country. I had hoped that we had moved on from the days of leaving Maori aside but it seems not. We have plenty to talk about with our partners of Government.
And so the restorative power of coming to an institution in which iwi Maori are respected; matauranga Maori is cherished and Maori participation is recognised as a worthy goal, cannot be understated.
Days like today are good for the soul.
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Today is a day to celebrate success; innovation; indigenous knowledge; whakapapa; ahuatanga Maori; whare wananga.
Today is a day to celebrate being Maori.
I begin by honouring the significant leadership of the distinguished Professor Hirini Moko Mead, chairperson of Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi council.
22 years ago, Dr Mead - as he was then – turned up to the AGM of Te Runanga o Ngati Awa with a good idea; an idea that he had been excited about through his association with Whatarangi Winiata, who had established Te Wananga o Raukawa in the bustling township of Otaki in 1981.
Fortunately, Ngati Awa liked the idea so much they agreed to become the financial backstop for the wananga, while Hirini and June started to get the wananga up and running.
There were many amazing mentors and leaders involved in those early days. The late Monte Ohia suggested the name; Maanu Paul developed a proposal with the University of Waikato; and an establishment committee comprising Hohepa Mason, Hirini Mead and Peter McLay was formed.
Later in 1997 the Government appointed an Establishment Committee comprising Dr Norman Kingsbury, Dr Linda Smith and Wira Gardiner; and then at the end of the year the first meeting of the Council was held, with Professor Graham Smith appointed Chairperson.
But of course the highlight of this history came in 1998 when the current Member of Parliament for Waiariki was appointed Chief Executive Officer.
This is a very brief summary of those early days which doesn’t do justice to the entrepreneurial spirit and the intellectual rigour that characterised the setting up of this amazing institution. Truth be known, I’d love to be back here any day. The ability to engage with students who have a hunger for knowledge is something I personally miss.
It does, however, serve to remind us of the brain power and indigenous initiative that are associated with Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi.
A reminder of those beginnings are always with us through the logo you wear with pride. I get reminded most days with the three bags, one umbrella, the wind vest and dress jacket I have received for coming back to speak from time to time.
The concept for that logo was developed by Professor Mead and designed by Len and Hinauri Hetet. Facing front on is the tupuna, Awanuiarangi and his links to the Mataatua waka. The colours represent the tears (green) and the bloodshed (red) arising from the historical raupatu of Ngati Awa and Mataatua lands while the white represents a new beginning, a willingness to move forward.
The triangle represents whanuitanga – the breadth of knowledge along the top; and hohonutanga with the triangle positioned downwards signifying the depth of knowledge.
So why have I chosen to come to this graduation to provide you with a history of your own history?
For some time now I have been waiting for, and wanting the intellectual challenge that I know has emerged from our wananga to be more universally available, more visible on the public radar.
The Education Act defines wananga as :
“characterised by teaching and research that maintains, advances and disseminates knowledge and develops intellectual independence and assists the application of knowledge regarding ahuatanga Maori according to tikanga Maori”.
These are bold words.
In 2007, close to 1000 students graduated from Wananga programmes from Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi.
To my reasoning that means close to 1000 students are out there, groomed in “intellectual independence” and skilled in their application of “ahuatanga Maori according to tikanga Maori”.
Being a graduate of wananga brings with it a distinguished pedigree. Wananga confer degrees on graduates who are bilingual and bicultural specialists, across a number of disciplines.
On top of that, being a graduate of Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi means you have qualified from a place renown as a centre of indigenous research.
All who graduate today are now competent in the field of Maori knowledge; you demonstrate the power of matauranga Maori being given voice; you are living, breathing examples that Western knowledge is not the only way.
My challenge to you all now is – what will you do with it?
Last October we, in the Maori Party, produced a research list for Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi graduates overbrimming with ideas.
The ninety or so research proposals written in our document (a document we also called our election manifesto), are just waiting for your eager eyes to feast on. There are ideas like:
· initiating a Maori Electoral Participation project;
· a proposal to encourage third party financial institutions to invest in multiply owned land;
· a project to develop an official poverty line;
· or policy to establish a Centre for Maori Language Excellence.
It would seem to me, that the histories, genealogies and everyday practice that graduates have become skilled on throughout their course of study, would see them perfectly positioned to scope out any one of these ninety projects to chart our future onwards.
If that doesn’t appeal, every week on the beehive website another list of research possibilities appears. We call this the Order Paper – a running list of the legislation that appears before the House.
Or there’s the business of the various select committees – social services, education and science; emissions trading scheme - there’s something for everyone.
My thesis is this: I believe that wananga have a responsibility to advance matauranga Maori and to do that within a strong research culture. This means both students and teachers. It seems to me that one cannot do that through a confined view of the world, a centre of the universe view like those in Te Teko talk about. It is about seeing the big picture.
My experience over the years and more particularly now as a Parliamentarian is that the whole political environment impacts not only on our daily lives but has influenced matauranga Maori over the last 170 years or so.
Therefore, we need to understand that political process as a part of our learning, and attempt to influence it.
Yes there is the assistance any of you graduands and lecturers you can give in comment on bills and the laws or there can just be talking with whanau about enrolling to vote for example. Like I say, not having Maori representation at the Council table in Auckland’s supercity proposal has ramifications for the whole country even Whakatane.
About two weeks ago or so, a person wrote an email to me and asked, “since when is it appropriate that our people, Maori, travel to the United Nations in New York, set up a paepae, do the hei runga hei raro, toia mai powhiri and welcome the Prime Minister - to the United States of America? Is that how it should be?”
You see tikanga and politics. What did that action do for our relationships with the tangata whenua? What korero might we have about the involvement of some of our leaders and iwi? We talk tikanga and yet head overseas to someone else’s land to practice our tikanga? Have we not learnt lessons from the past?
I remember some time ago being told of a kapa haka welcoming a 747 jet to its pad at an airport!!! I reckon that there is clearly a political line in both of these scenario.
My point is this.
Wananga - like universities – should be encouraged to comment competently about every day societal issues. Wananga must use their intellectual strength to address the issues that confront us today, from a foundation of matauranga Maori, and in line with the aspirations of iwi Maori.
I do not accept that wananga should stay out of political korero. Staff and students and better still graduates should be encouraged to be actively engaged because I suspect that many of your lessons are actually all about politics. Students should not be starved of this korero, this discourse and debate. Much of comings and goings in the teaching profession for example, are political so we should not be backward in getting involved.
I started off by saying that today is a celebration of you as graduates of a centre of indigenous excellence; a celebration of your intellectual independence; a celebration of your competence in ahuatanga Maori; your respect and passion for tikanga Maori.
What I would most love to see now is that this celebration isn’t just about today - but that every day is a celebration of the indigenous intellect as evidenced in the advice you provide to us at Parliament; the critique and commentary you promote across media and the general public; the cutting edge research that you are leading in all aspects of te Ao Maori; te Ao hurihuri. But it can be a simple as deciding that you will enrol to vote.
It is then that we will truly know the mission of Awanuiarangi has been honoured: “Rukuhia te matauranga ki tona hohonutanga me tona whanuitanga” – to pursue knowledge to its greatest depths and broadest horizons.
ends
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