National Maori Students' Conference

Te Ao Hou, 1970, Page 6

National Maori Students' Conference by Ani Bosch I tū te hui-ā-tau a ngā tamariki Māori o ngā whare wānanga, kāreti rānei, ki te pari o Waikato mai i te iwa ki te tekau mā tahi o Mei. Ko ngā mea i meinga mai hei tiaki i a mātou, ko Hōne Mohi rāua ko Rihi Mātene. I wehe atu au i Pōneke nei i te ahiahi o te Paraire 9 i te hāpāhi o te whā, ā, ka haere te tereina rā, pakū, pakū pīhoi-hoi haere, ā, tae atu ki waho o Hāmutana i te hāpāhi i te whā i te ata tū. Tae mai a rātou ki te tūtaki i a au, na ka haere atu mātou ki te wāhi moe i mua atu i te tātinga o te hui i te iwa o ngā hāora. Ngā tāngata i reira i haere mai i ngā Kāreti Kura Māhita o Ākarana (North Shore) Ardmore, Pāmutana, ko hau hoki (Pōneke), me ngā Whare Wānanga o Ākarana, Pōneke (Wikitōria) me Herewini Ngata o Otākou, na, me te tangata whenua hoki, rātou ko tō rātou kaumātua, a Moana Raureti. Ētahi o ngā kaikōrero, me ngā manuhiri ko Phil Amos, Vernon Penfold, Hugh Kāwharu, Pare Hopa mā o Ākarana, ko Katarina Mataira, Mata Christensen, me ētahi atu. I te huakinanga o te hui, ka mihi mai a Hōne Mohi, ka a ia ‘Te take nui o tēnei hui, hei huihuinga, arā, hei kōrerorero, hei tūtatakinga mō mātou ngā taitamariki Māori o te motu nei. Ētahi o ngā mea hei tironga mā mātou ko ngā raruraru mātauranga e pā ana ki a tātou te iwi Māori, ki ā tātou tamariki, na tae noa atu ki ā rātou tamariki, ia tau, ia tau.’ Ko te Mema Rēipa mō Manurewa, ko Mr P. Amos, te kaikōrero tuatahi i te rā nei. Ka kōrero ia mō ngā wā o mua, mai i te okinga o ngā kura, ngā whakaaro mō ngā tamariki Māori. Nā ngā Kura Hāhi anake ngā tamariki i puta hei kaiārahi mō tātou; pērā i Te Aute, i a Tīpene, i a Hato Paora. mō ngā kōtiro, ko Kuini Wikitōria, Hōhepa, Hukarere me Turakina. Ka kōrero nōki a ia mā ērā kura i ngā wāhi e kore e The Annual National Maori Students' Conference was held at Hamilton Teachers' College on the Waikato Campus. Their college representatives, our host and hostess, were John Mohi and Elizabeth Marsden. I left Wellington on Friday 9th at 4.30 p.m. by train (express) and was rocked and bashed about until I arrived at Frankton Junction, a suburb of Hamilton at about 4.50 a.m. Two of their students were at the station to meet me and they took me to the flat where I was to sleep before conference started at 9 a.m. The people there (delegates) had come from the Teachers' Colleges of Auckland (North Shore), Ardmore, Palmerston North and Wellington; and the Universities of Auckland, Wellington (Victoria) and Herewini Ngata (Otago) along with the Waikato students with their elder Mr Moana Raureti. Some of the speakers and visitors were Phil Amos, Vernon Penfold, Hugh Kawharu, Polly Hopa and others of the Auckland area, Katarina Mataira from Hamilton, Miss Christensen and others from Wellington and the South Island. To open the conference John Mohi welcomed us saying, ‘The main reason or function of this conference will be mainly a social one, where we will all gather to meet and talk with other Maori students of this country. Some of the topics for discussion will be educational problems that affect us as a race, our children and their children in the future.’ The Labour Member for Manurewa, Mr Phil Amos, was the first speaker. He spoke first on the historical aspect of education, and focused on the first schools with special consideration for the Maori children. The Church Schools were the ones that produced the Maori leaders then; schools like Te Aute, St Stephen's, St Paul's, and, for the girls, Queen Victoria, St Joseph's, Huka-

taea e tātou te haere atu, i ngā pitopito o te motu nei, ngā pukepuke, ngā pā rānei. Nāna i kī pau atu e whā, e rima rānei tau i te kura, puta mai ngā tamariki kāore kē e tino mōhio ana ki te kōrero i te reo Pākehā. Ka tini ngā pepa, ngā kōrero i pau ki te whakaatu ē, me pēnei me pēnā tātou kia mōhio ai ā tātou tamariki, ēngari hoi nā anō. Ko tātou te iwi mō te pākiwaha, ka mutu. E kore kē tātou e mahi kia tika ai. I āna tatau mai mō ngā tamariki Māori, Pākehā, i puta i ngā kura i te tau 1967, he pēnei. O ngā mea i mutu i te kāreti i muri atu i te toru, whā rānei tau: Māori 35% Pākehā 15% Tae rawa atu ki te wā kua pau te ono tau ki te Kāreti he pēnei: Māori 4.5% Pākehā 22% O ēnei, kotahi anō i roto o te kotahi rau, e toru tekau mā rima, arā, 1 in 135, i whiwhi i te mea nei, te tiwhikete mō te Whare Wānanga, arā University Entrance. Mō ngā Pākehā: Kotahi i roto o te kotahi tekau mā rua, arā, 1 in 12, i whiwhi i tana Tiwhikete. Whitu tekau mā iwa o ngā tama/wāhine Māori i mutu i te Kura i te tau 1967 i mutu noa iho. Kāore i taki; kāore he tiwhikete, aha atu rānei. Ngā mea i haere tonu atu ki ngā Whare Wānanga o te motu nei: Māori 0.8% Pākehā 7.7% Ki ngā Kāreti Wakaako Māhita: Māori 1.3% Pākehā4.3% Ka nui tēnei, nē? Kahitia pēheatia, te tau 1967, he tau koretake. Ka whakapā atu ia ki te Maori Education Foundation, ‘Nā te Māori mō te Māori’. Mena kē tēnei moni e whakapaungia ana hei tino pei atu i ā tātou tamariki ki te rapu i ngā mātauranga nunui o te ao nei. Waiho ngā kuranga o ā tātou tamariki mā te Kāwanatanga e tiaki, pēnei i ngā wāhi mō rere and Turakina. He also spoke about those isolated schools, hard to get at and found in valleys and pas throughout the country, in the rural areas. He reported that after four or five years of schooling Maori children still had language difficulties. Many papers, books and statements about our problem had been produced with suggested remedies, but that is all. We are a society of talkers but not doers. Mr Amos quoted the following statistics of Maori and Pakeha children from the N.Z.E.I. Report 1967: Those leaving school after their third or fourth form year: Maori 35% Pakeha 15% After the sixth form (college): Maori 4.5% Pakeha 22% Of these 1 in 135 of the Maori had University Entrance and 1 in 12 of the Pakeha. 79% of Maori students left school (1967) without any certificate of educational qualification. Those who went on to Universities throughout the country were: Maori 0.8% Pakeha 7.7% — 9 times greater Those who went on to Teachers' Training Colleges: Maori 1.3% Pakeha 4.3% These statistics are quite enough, aren't they? Whichever way you look at it, 1967 was a poor year. Mr Amos referred to the Maori Education Foundation saying, ‘From the Maori for the Maori… ‘ He would have liked to see this money being used as a ‘backstop’, or to push the student into further and higher fields of learning. Leave the ordinary schooling of our children to the Government, for

ērā tamariki iti atu i te rima tau. Riro kē mā te Maori Education Foundation e tāti, e rapu he moni hei whakahaere. Ehara kē tēnei i te mahi pai mā ngā moni nei. Pā atu ia ki te Waetford-Pritchard Rīpoata, ki ngā whenua. Ka haere āna kōrero, ā, ka kī ia, ‘Me mahi tātou ināianei. Ehara āpōpō, ā tērā tau rānei, ēngari ināianei. Kaua e tukuna mā te Pākehā e kōrero ō whakaaro. Māu anō, mā ō tamariki Māori, me tohetohe koe ki ngā iwi Pākehā, ki ō kaumātua pēnei i ngā iwi tamariki i haere mai nei i ākarana e kore nei e pai kia haere a tātou ki Āwhirika ki te purei whutupaoro.’ Na, ka mutu āna kōrero. Ngenge ana mātou i te nohonga, e mate ana hoki ētahi o mātou mō te kapu tī me te hikareti. Pau atu te hāora me te hāwhe i a ia. Miss Christensen: Tēnei wahine nō Pōneke nei, he wahine mōhio ki ngā mahi e pai ana mā ngā tamariki nonohi, arā, e toru tau tae noa ki te rima. Ētahi o ngā kōrero i puta mai i ā ia i pai hoki ki aku taringa ko ēnei: 1. Me kite koe i a ia, te tamaiti, ehara i ana roro, i tana āhua rānei. 2. Akongia ki te ārahi, ā, ki te whakarongo noki. 3. Ki te tipu mātau ki ngā mea I mua, i muri, i te taha rānei ōna, ki te karametau o ngā ringa, kanohi, waewae, tinana hoki. I mea a Phil Amos, tātou he iwi kōrero, tuhituhi. E mea ana au he tika. Tini ana ngā kōrero kua puta mō tēnei taha o ā tātou tamariki. Kua kōrero kē anō ahau ki tēnei mea i roto i tēnei pukapuka i ērā atu tau. Na, heoi mō tēnei. Ka haere mātou ki te kai, na kī ana ō mātou puku. Ka tini haere ngā hoa kōrero. I te ahiahi, ka kōrero a Hāmuera Eruiti, he kaiwhakaako i te Kāreti o Waikato mō ngā Kura Māhita. rāua ko tētahi tangata, Mr F. MacPherson, he māhita — taku mohio — nō te Kāreti o Tipene. I kōrero a Hāmuera mō ngā tamariki i roto i ngā kura mai i te rima tau, ā, haere noa ki te kāreti, nā tana hoa hoki, mō te taha kāreti. I te tini o ngā take i puta mai i taua ahiahi nei, ngaruru pai taku mātenga. Tēnā pea nā te hiamoe noki me te mamae o taku example, Pre-School education. The M.E.F. initiates or encourages the raising of money and administers the fund. This is not the best use for these monies. Mr Amos also referred to the Waetford-Pritchard report on land problems and went on to say, ‘We must work on now. Not tomorrow, or next year, but now. Don't let the Pakeha do your talking for you. Do it yourself. The young educated Maori of today — voice your protests, both to the Pakeha and to your elders. Be like these Auckland delegates that are against the proposed football tour to South Africa.’ And so he came to an end. We were all tired from sitting on hard chairs and, of course, were dying for a cup of tea and a cigarette. Mr Amos spoke for an hour and a half. Miss Christensen: She is from Wellington here; a woman who knows the advantages of pre-school education, that is from 3–5 years. Some of the things she said with which I fully agreed, were: 1. You must see the child as he is, not how clever he is. 2. Teach them to be leaders and also to obey, or follow instructions. 3. To grow physically he must learn from things around him (environmental) to master skills of the hands, feet or muscles. Phil Amos said in his lecture that we are a society of talkers and writers. I agree. Many things have been written and said about this field. Even I have written about pre-school education for this same publication in past years. So I shall not write more. We all went for lunch, and had a wonderful filling meal. Many friends were made over the table. After lunch, Mr Sam Edwards, a lecturer from the Teachers' College of Hamilton spoke, along with Mr F. Macpherson, a secondary school teacher from St Stephens. Sam spoke about the primary school field and Mr Macpherson spoke about the secondary school. There was so much spoken this afternoon, that my head was left spinning. Of course it could be that I was so tired physically, that I wasn't quite

tinana i te paukinga e te tereina nei — aua hoki! Ka rere ngā patai, ngā kōrero, ka puta ēnei: (1) Me huri te āhua kura na kia tika ai tātou ki te kōrero Māori. (2) Me mea he māhita whakaako i te reo Māori, ngā tikanga hoki o te Māori, ki roto i ngā kāreti Ako Māhita. (3) Hei aha atu a Kupe mā. Hōmai ngā Māori o ēnei rā hei akonga mā mātou. Ka kī atu au, na, he pukapuka tā Barry Mitcalfe, ko “Nine New Zealanders” te ingoa. ‘Ae, ēngari hei Māori katoa,’ te whakautu mai. Ā, huri atu, huri mai, ka haere mātou ki te inu tī anō. Iāianei kua toru karaka i te ahiahi. Hoki mai mātou i te hāpāhi i te toru, na, ka kōrero a Hugh Kāwharu. Tetahi wā ki a ia, tētahi ki a Moana Raureti. E hoa mā, ka kōrero a Hugh, wareware ana mātou ki te tāima. Tēnei tangata, nō te Whare Wānanga o Ākarana. Ka pai āna kōrero mō te kaupapa nei — akonga mō ngā tāngata o ngā kāreti mō ngā māhita, ngā whare wānanga, ā, tae noa atu ki ētahi kua mutu noa atu i te kura — ngā mea kua whai tamariki kē, ā. ngā mātua hoki. Tino reka āna kōrero. Mea mai ia, ‘Kaua tātou e wareware ki tō tātou iwi. Me hoki anō tātou ki ngā marae, ki ngā pā, kia kite mai te iwi i a tātou.’ Hei tana, ‘Te mate rā, ka rapu haere tātou i te mātauranga, mahue mai i muri ngā tangata mōna nei te pai, te oranga. Pēnei i a au nei, i a mātou. Na, karanga mai au ki a Moana Raureti kia haere mai kia mōhio ai au e aha ana ngā iwi o te kāinga.’ Ka tū mai a Moana, ki tōna wā hoki. Ka titiro mai, titiro atu hoki ki a Hugh, ka mea ia, ‘Pau katoa i a koe, e hoa, taku tāima, aku kōrero. Moumou taku rā i pau nei i a au hei whakatikatika i aku kōrero mō tēnei wā,’ Ka pangaa e ia ana pukapuka ki te taha, ka āhua waiata mai ia, ‘Kāore he mahi māku.’ Engari hoki i tāna kōrerotanga mai, aue! Mea mai ia, ki tāna nei mahi, na, ‘E rua aku rōpū kei konei a tangi mai ana, “Haere mai, ākona mātou ki te reo Māori, ngā tikanga Māori.” Ēnei rōpū, he Māori, te tari — Waikato. Me pēhea? Kore e taea e au te hakatika tēnei tangi. Mena e taea e ‘with-it’. Many questions and statements issued forth. Points I managed to gather were: 1. That education or the school curriculum should be geared to allow the Maori language to be taught. 2. Lecturers should be employed in teachers' colleges to teach students Maori language and culture. 3. We should not keep learning only about Kupe and others, but should learn about modern Maoris. I stated that Barry Mitcalfe had written a book “Nine New Zealanders”. ‘Yes,’ was the reply, ‘but we want one that is all about Maoris.’ And so on the delegates went until we finally went for afternoon tea. It was now 3 p.m. At 3.30 p.m. we resumed and were addressed by Hugh Kawharu. He and Moana Raureti were to share this period. My friends, when Hugh spoke we all forgot the time. He is from the Auckland University and a wonderful speaker. He spoke on tertiary education. This included people like us at Teachers' Training Colleges, Universities and Adult Education classes. I found myself agreeing with all he said, especially when he said, ‘Don't let us forget our people. We must go back to the marae and to the villages, so that our people can see us.’ He went on, ‘The trouble with us is that the further we go in search of education, the farther we leave behind us our people for whom we are working. Like myself and others in the same position, I have to call on Moana Raureti to come and tell me what my own people are doing.’ Then Moana in turn stood up to talk. He looked at us and at Hugh, then he said, ‘You've taken up all my time and stolen all my thunder. I've wasted a whole day preparing my talk.’ With that he tossed his folder aside and in a singing voice said, ‘There's nothing left for me.’ But, when he started to talk, oh boy! He told of his job (District Welfare Officer) and said, ‘I have two groups of people crying out for someone to teach them the Maori language. These are Maori people, here in the Waikato area. What are we to do? I cannot do it. If University Extension

ngā Whare Wānanga te haere ki ngā marae, ka pai rawa atu. Mauria ngā kura ki ngā marae. Ka ahatia ētahi whakamā. Ka puta hoki.’ Tēnei tangata, a Moana, he tino tohunga ia ki a au. Nā te tangata mō te tangata. Tēnei kōrero āna, he mea hōmai katoa i te reo Māori. Ka tae te wā mō te kai o te ahiahi. Ka haupapa hoki te whenua, ēngari i te mahana hoki o te whare kai, o te tini o te kōrero hei tohenga, wareware ana ngā makariri, ngā mamae. Ka tūtaki au ki a Hōne Ngata, Hannah rāua ko Sid Jackson o Ākarana, me ētahi atu; tata te rua tekau pea rātou i haere mai i Ākarana — haere tonu ana ki roto o te pari o Ngāti Porou ki te kōrero mō te āhua whutupaoro ki Āwhirika a tērā tau. Na, ka hui mātou i te pō mō tēnei take. Ko Sam Kāretu te Rewherī mō tēnei purei, nā, ka kōrero mātou. Ka ahatia, ehara kē tēnei i te take i huihui ai mātou, ēngari i te mea e pā ana tēnei mea ki a tātou te iwi Māori, ka hui mātou. Kāhore au ko te mea atu i ngā take i puta i tēnei huinga. Aku kōrero kē e pā ana ki nga tāngata o tā mātou hui. Ētahi o mātou, hore kau kē i mōhio e aha ana te aha. Ētahi, e mea kē ana ka pai te purei i tēnei mea i te whutupaoro. Ētahi i mea kaua rawa e haere, ētahi, me haere tātou kia kite mai ai ngā mangumangu i tā tātou noho pai. Nā, e hoa mā, kei a koutou anō ō koutou whakaaro. Kei roto i ā tātou pepa ia ra, ia wiki. Ēngari kia tūpato koe. Ina kōrero te māngai, me whakapono te ngākau. Kaua e mea, ‘Me penei,’ nā, ka huri koe, ka pērā kē, nē? Hore kau anō te Hātarei nei kia pau. Ka haere mātou, hui mai anō i te tekau o ngā hāora i tētahi whare ki te kanikani, ki ngā mahi tākaro hoki. Ka rawe, e hoa. Haere ēnei mahi tae noa ki ngā hāora o te ata tū. Ētahi, pea kīhai i moe. Te Rātapu I te whitu o nga hāora, tū ana ko Kēnana Wī Hūata i roto o te rūma nei e tatari anā kia tae atu ngā hunga, arā ngā iwi o te hui nei. Na, i te roa o tana tatari mai, ka huri a ia, ka haere ki te rapu i ana hipi. Kitea atu, could extend into the marae, this would be marvellous. Take the schools out to the marae. Even if some of the people are shy, they will come to learn.’ This man, Moana, to me is a real tohunga. He delivered his whole talk in Maori. And so it was tea-time. The air was very frosty and cold but still we were warm in the dining room, and had a lot to discuss and argue over. I met John Ngata, Hannah and Sid Jackson and their crowd of about 20 from Auckland. They were on their way to the Gisborne area to voice their protests against the 1970 South African football tour. So, we met once more on Saturday night to discuss the question of whether New Zealand should send a Rugby team to South Africa. Sam Karetu was the referee for this game, and so we started. Although this topic was not set down for discussion at the conference, still since it affected all of us Maori people we met to discuss it. I am not going to report all that was said, and the emotions that were aroused. I will however, talk of the general feelings I observed. Some of us didn't really know what was what, some went on about the ‘sporting’ side of it, some said we definitely should stay here, while others said we must go to show the Africans how well we get on with our Pakeha people. So, my friends, you each have your own thoughts. This topic is reported in our newspapers almost daily and weekly. However, a word of warning. Whatever you say, you must believe it in your heart of hearts. Don't say one thing and then turn round and do something else, please! The Saturday activities had not quite finished. We all left the room where we had been cooped up all day only to meet again at 10 p.m. for a social and to let off steam. It was fabulous. The social went on till the early hours, and I'm sure some of us didn't get any sleep. Sunday At 7 a.m. Canon Huata waited in the Student Common Room for everyone to come for the church service. He waited so long that finally he went in search of his flock. He found them, delivered a shortened

karakiatia e ia, nā, hoki haere ana ia ki ētahi atu o ana hipi. I ngā hāora i mua atu o te tina, ka haere ngā kōrero. I konei au ka kite i a Katarina Mataira, nāna nei ngā pikitia i roto i taku pukapuka, ‘He Putanga Maomao’. I te hāpāhi i te tekau mā tahi, ka kōrero tētahi Marikana, ko Dale Archer tana ingoa. Āna nei kōrero, mō ngā mangumangu o Āwhirika, mō tana whenua mō Amerika, me konei hoki. Tana mahi he rapu i ngā take e pā ana ki a tātou, te iwi Māori. Kei te pari o Waikato a ia i āianei. Āna nei kōrero, tino nui, āhua mamae ana, āwanga-wanga te ngākau. Me whakapoto e au ki ēnei: 1. Ko tātou te iwi Māori: kaua tātou e pai kia ‘kōrero-pēpingia’ tātou. 2. Kaua e piri i muri o te ‘Kākahu Māori.’ 3. Me tohetohe tātou. Ina meinga mai ki a koe ‘Na te mea he Māori koe … E kore e tika i a koe.’ Huri atu, tohungia atu. 4. Kaua e tukuna mā te Pākehā ō whakaaro e kōrero. Māu anō. Heoi tēnei. Kāore nā te mea heoi nāna ngā kupu, ēngari nā te mea i te kaha nunui, me mutu au i konei. Mutu atu i te kai i te waenganui rā, ka hoki anō mātou ki roto i te rūma hui nei. Nga Take: 1. Hei whakatika i te mea nei, i te N.Z. Federation of Maori Students. Ka tū anō, ka huangia hei a Des O'Connor o Ākarana hei Perehetini. Ana kaimahi mō te komiti nei, me haere mai i roto i ngā whare wānanga me ngā Kāreti Ako Māhita. Tā rātou mahi mo tērā tau, he whakatika mai i tā mātou hui mō te tau 1970. 2. Ētahi atu take, na e pā ana ki ngā mea form of service and left them to go to others in need of his ministration. Before lunch, we talked over what had gone before. It was here I saw Katarina Mataira, who had drawn the illustrations for my stories ‘He Putanga Maomao’, one of the ‘Wharekura’ series of Maori Bulletins. At 11.30 a.m. an American, Dale Archer, spoke on racim, in particular the racial problems of Africa, of his own country, America, and of course those here in New Zealand. He was doing research here in New Zealand, in particular the Waikato area. He made some very forceful statements, at times hitting straight to the heart, and speaking for myself, stirring the conscience. In short, this is what he said: 1. We the Maori people must not allow ourselves to be talked down to or categorised. 2. We must not hide behind the cloak of the race. 3. We must stop others stereotyping us. For example, we may hear it said, ‘Because he is a Maori he will act thus’. We must turn and show people what we are. 4. Don't let the Pakeha do your thinking for you. Do it yourself. This is all I shall report, not because this is all the speaker had to say but because there was so much in his speech that I feel I must stop here. After lunch at midday, we returned once more to the conference room. Topics for discussion: 1. To resurrect the N.Z. Federation of Maori Students. It was agreed that this Federation be continued and Mr Des O'Connor, Auckland University, was elected President. A working sub-committee was to be drawn from delegates representing Universities and Training College Maori clubs. Their first duty would be to arrange and organise the 1970 Conference for the National Maori Students' Association. 2. Other discussions came from Saturday's

i pāukingia e mātou i te Hātarei: (a) te reo Māori i ngā kura. (b) Mā te Kāwanatanga e tiaki ngā ‘kura tākaro’ a ngā tamariki i mua atu i te rima o ngā tau. 3. Te hui mō ngā tamariki Māori a tērā tau (1970) ki te Pari o te Ardmore Teachers' College. Kake mai au i runga i taku ‘hōiho - rino’ i Frankton i te pō o te Rātapu i muri atu i te hāpāhi ki te waru, ā, tae mai ki Pōneke nei i te iwa o nga hāora o te Mane, mamae ana, makariri ana, aua atu. conference sessions, namely — (a) Maori language in schools, and (b) That the Government take over the running of all pre-school education. 3. The next conference will be held in 1970 at Ardmore Teachers' College. So, I mounted my ‘iron horse’ once more at Frankton Junction on Sunday night at 8.35 p.m. and arrived back in Wellington at 9 a.m. on Monday morning, physically beaten, frozen and goodness knows what else.