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Kelly is the National Maori Crime Issues Specialist for the Sensible Sentencing Trust. She has a background in research, investigation and writing and is the Taupo Coordinator for the Trust. Website >>>

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By Kelly Te Heuheu
Maori Crime Specialist, Sensible Sentencing Trust
Grief, Pain & Division of our People over Maori Land & Tribal Politics

Since early childhood, I remember the punch-ups and arguments between our people over land and tribal politics. The worst issue with Maori Land is most of it is in multiple ownership which is disastrous.

For the children playing around the Marae we got used to this fighting as the norm of our lifestyle. Many of our people moved away from home due to friction and fighting. Families broke up, the feud lasted for many years - sometimes a lifetime.

Even worse, animosity goes down through generations like a plague. Grief, pain and division between whanau (family), hapu (sub tribe) and iwi (tribe) over land and tribal politics is so bad that many of our people distance themselves from our culture.

As we were growing up, I remember clearly the misery of our own whanau grief. Being the arikinui lineage (Chief), my grandmother had to be very protective of all of us because of others’ distrustful agenda. They were so bad that we were like a dartboard and had darts thrown at our whanau from all directions. In fact, Pakeha New Zealanders treated us better than our own people treated us.

A few of our people used our whanau for their own selfish wayward ways and did everything they could to turn the whanau against each other. We had the “wannabes” trying to be important for all the wrong reasons. More people wanted to be chiefs and tribal leaders than just to be themselves.

Resentment and jealousy causes so much pain. My aunty always said it’s been a very hard life being who we are. I did not realise this until I was older and found out for myself. The hatred is so bad it affects the innocents for years. The saddest memory is many of our people prefer not to get buried at their home land because the grief and pain was so bad. My father wanted to be buried at a public cemetery to ensure we children did not have to be around the Marae. Unfortunately, to save the whanau grief and embarrassment we had to bury him at our marae cemetery.

Over the years our people - especially the children - come back and would love to live on their homeland but the excitement does not last long once they find out the ugly side of politics and the situation regarding Maori land. They soon realise in reality there is nothing here for them. Tribal funds do not allow for homes and businesses for the people. Instead, it’s used for building an empire with the people unlikely to know what really happens to these funds. The rich land assets and tribal money is not worth thinking about because in reality it does not go down to the very people that need it the most. We are well known for having one of the most successful forestry farming and asset bases, but in reality our people have nothing.

We urgently need to round up our land base for homes and businesses for our tribal people. The leaders need to work with Local and National Government to unblock the legal bureaucratic red tape nonsense that prevents our lands being lived on to create economic wealth. This would enable our people to come home and be independent. However, that looks unlikely to happen with the vision of our leaders anyway. Nothing has been done and if any of us want to do it anything out comes the darts from all directions driven by the jealously and ugly side of our people.

One whanau tried for so long to put a house on a block of land. Yet they came up with resistance and animosity from so many. This block of land was in bush for decades, but the minute someone wants to build, all the darts come flying out. This is why if any of our people do want to come home and build they prefer to buy private land from a real estate agent. This way they are safe and secure and will not get involved in tribal fights and grief. This also provides security for their children at times of death.

When our women go home, they are offended that Maori protocol oppresses women: they are shunned for speaking out and are expected to take a back seat. It is not surprising that we have high statistics of domestic crime considering we have a culture where women are treated as second class to Men.

In our Maori world it is very common to have dictators controlling the whanau. The eldest man of the whanau is considered the hierarchy of the whanau and typically takes advantage of the situation. To control and dictate is a form of abuse in real life and it breeds resentment and anger among the many people who are victims of this life style. The cycle continues.

Our youth are extremely affected from the sense of dispossession that their parents feel - no sense of pride in belonging somewhere. The violence and aggression escalates through generations from tribal grief. The respect for others disintegrates and travels along the pathway in one's life. Culminating all of these issues, what do our people have? In addition, what happens to society when we have people grieved with pain, friction and aggression? At the end of the day what do we have to look forward to in our culture?