Being Maori is.......

[Cam_NZ]

This i got from another forum enjoy

BEING MAORI IS:

"Having the greatest grandparents in the world.
Respecting your elders because they have earned it.
Having 250,000 brothers and sisters.
Fouling up the Government and its statistics.
Having nowhere for the kids to go, and getting a visit from the police who want to see them.
Not laughing at your children when they mispronounce your language.
Talking tough.
Not giving up the struggle for survival.
Waiting patiently for another Ngata, Buck or Te Kooti.
To love paua and mussels and to be told you have to have a Pakeha permit to go out and get them.
To know the difference between a Maori, a Maori-Pakeha, a Pakeha-Maori and a Pakeha and to beware of the last two.
To never drink alone.
To be able to dodge daggers at Pakeha social gatherings.
To listen to all-white administrators and Uncle Toms tell you that we are all New Zealanders and not know what that is, or even pronounce properly the name of his home town hes been living in for the last 30 years.
To pray to God before a meeting.
Having a Pakeha tell you it is wrong to believe in more than one God and listen to him tell you about God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost, The Virgin Mary, St Patrick, St Francis, Joseph Smith etc.
To welcome a Pakeha at a marae with the height of Maori poetic art and to receive a cup-of-tea conversation in reply.
To miss work because so many of your relations are dying.
Fighting for the New Zealand Government to save the country from the evils of communism and fighting the New Zealand Government to save your land.
Owning land and not being able to use it.
Going to school to eat your lunch.
Watching the teacher teach the other kids.
Punching a Pakeha in the mouth for saying you are dumb.
Getting your Pakeha spouse to go and ask the landlord for the flat.
Belonging to a particular tribe which is the best in the country.
Believing that your canoe is most certainly better than the Queen Mary.
Having your friends and relatives accuse you of being a traitor if you earn
more than $7000, wear a tie and drive a new car.
Thinking there's something wrong with your television when it appears to be always hooked up to Great Britain.
Watching Tarzan save Africa.
Liking Air New Zealand's tail.
Feeding everyone who comes to the door and hunting for your best china for the Pakehas.
Buying your son new shoes because he gave his to his cousin.
Running yourself broke to service the marae to service the whole world.
Being Maori is hard, being Maori is sad, being Maori is to laugh, being Maori is to cry, being Maori is forever.

Some time back the above article came out "Being a Maori Is". With acknowledgements to its Tuhoe originators, the following selection was offered some 20 years ago to measure against the one-people myth. ('We are all one nation) One of the questions asked was "What does it mean to be Maori?"

One person can't answer that - and given the shortness of time - the question for all Maori out there - for you what does it mean to be Maori?

Cam

[Prowd_Keewee]

A really interesting piece of poetry. Humourous in one sense but serious in another.

Being Maori has a different meaning for all Maori people. For me, being Maori is being a proud indigenous person of this country but it is also being a proud New Zealander.

All around, especially in the media being Maori is sadly portrayed as being a bad thing, maybe someone that beats up your children, a murderer, a theif. This is a sad, but a true fact.

Maoridom's problems need to be solved and it is up to New Zealand to address this problem as a whole, not as a single group. We are all New Zealanders, and if a group of New Zealanders are having problems in certain areas we should find a solution to the problem not make it worse by critisicing it and making deragatory comments.

We are one nation in a sense but need to settle the treaty issues fully before we fully recognise ourselves as one people. I believe a step towards a republic is something to look into doing.

Cheerz

Aaron.

[Cam_NZ]

A step towards Aotearoa becoming a republic may not be in the best interests of Maori, (my thoughts n e way). The Treaty was signed by the Crown and Maori, so to break ties with the common wealth without resolving treaty greivances would be disastorous (cant spell hehe) for Maori. I would prefer NZ becoming a republic, the only thing we have in common with Britain is the Queen who resides on the opposite side of the globe from us. Our cultures are different, our English is different, and our needs are different. Aussie is heading towards a republic, mind you they werent settlers but convicts.

Its true though, Maori are the weakest link GOODBYE!! hehe
and as they say a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
Being Maori is hard, being Maori is sad, being Maori is to see the shock on my geography teachers face when she finds out that me the only brown face got the highest marks in class. But best of all Being Maori is Forever.>>>>>>>>

Cam

[imported_lene]

He, I am a teacher from Denmark and I would really like to know more about how it is to be a maori in NZ? Do you feel that you a treated with less respect than the european? Is it possible to hold on to your traditions? You write that it really pleases you when you see the surprised look on your teachers face. what do you mean by that? Hope you or somebody else can help me out here cause I'm a bit lost.
Lene

[Dawnovan]

Tansi(hello),
I am a Native Cree woman from a reserve in the North part of Canada. I have always been fascinated with the Maori people & culture for as long as I can remeber. Being Native, Indian or Indeginous makes me very proud to be who I am. You have described yourself and your people in words that grab you by the heart and makes me realize that yes we are all brothers and sisters. Be proud of who we are & where we come from.

Ekosi(thankyou),
Petapun(Dawn)

[Ngeruita]

Originally posted by Cam_NZ
This i got from another forum enjoy

BEING MAORI IS: ...
Being Maori is hard, being Maori is sad, being Maori is to laugh, being Maori is to cry, being Maori is forever.

Some time back the above article came out "Being a Maori Is". With acknowledgements to its Tuhoe originators, the following selection was offered some 20 years ago to measure against the one-people myth. ('We are all one nation) One of the questions asked was "What does it mean to be Maori?"

One person can't answer that - and given the shortness of time - the question for all Maori out there - for you what does it mean to be Maori?

Cam

You got it off my forum Turangawaewae. If people wish to learn about Maori I would not recommend this site I recommend you go to http://www.aotearoalive.com/forum2/

Kat