I see social media being used to gain support for the ’cause’ and probably appropriately so to. The crown are never going to give Moriori what they are rightfully entitled to. Justice (according to the Crown) will involve lots of concessions by Moriori. I can hear it now already: “but why not share it with the entire Island or with Ngati Mutunga for mutual benefit?”  Why the hell should they share anything with anyone? Just because that makes it more politically expedient and presentable and removes the discomfort of having to really engage with Moriori and acknowledge the wrongs that have been (and continue to be ) done.

I like what I see in the Justice4Moriori facebook page about 97% and Justice. That is an aspirational goal, but aim high and still succeed fellas.

Yes. Thats right: stop the genocide. Someone said to me very recently that you cant blame the Government for everything thing that happened to Moriori. Well actually, you can. Its really quite simple. The Crown / Government has a treaty with the natives of New Zealand and in that treaty it says that it will guarantee them protection (as well as a few other things that never happended either). And even if you dont subscribe to that aspect and must hold to the view that the treaty is between Maori (and not maori) and the Crown, Moriori are just that. The Waitangi Tribunal ruled that Moriori are eligible as they are descendants of the same ancestors that todays Maori are, ergo: they are Maori and therefore entitled to protection under the treaty.

But the Chathams was not part of NZ when the treaty was signed. Firstly: the treaty was not written to only apply to those people that signed it and not the following generations, so when the Chathams came into New Zealand ‘ownership; 2 years later…… bingo all those Natives of New Zealand were ‘covered’.

But Moriori didnt sign the treaty: nor did half the Maori tribes of New Zealand- but they are still covered by the treaty (read above AGAIN) Sorry, but duh!

So what has the government done that has contributed to the genocide of Moriori? Well they let it happen for a start. they never did anything to stop the abuse, the slavery, the murder and mutilation, the slow (actually , it wasnt that slow) steady destruction of a people, the ethnic cleansing, the public ridiculing and the blatant marganilisation of Moriori – all designed (whether deliberate or not) to further erode their mana and future.

In the schools it is mandatory to acknowledge and teach about Maoridom, the tikanga and Te reo. There is no compunction to learn about Moriori. Most parents in NZ would never have heard of Moriori, yet they are an important part of NZ history and an important model of peace in a crazy world.

anyway. I for one support the 97 percent and justice cry. Good on them. #Justice4Moriori

Classification: Us= Maori  and them = Moriori

Symbolsation: The Moriori’s distinct culture,ethics, and way of life that set them apart from others . The percieved weakness of their pacifist ways. This was emphasised to illustrate just how weak and sub-human Moriori were.

Dehumanisation: Referring to them as possessions, inhuman, inanimate. “We took possession,… in accordance with our customs, and we caught all the people. Not one of them escaped.”  Referring to them as

Organisation: Maori were organised. Two separate trips on a sailing ship to a land of kai and a weak (soon to be) foe. Maori divided the Island into two halves, one per Tribe.

Polarisation: After the initial slaughter, and despite ongoing random killings Maori deliberately impregnated as many Moriori women as they could in order to erase the pure Moriori lineage. Moriori were forbidden to consort or produce offspring.

Preparation: Maori had arranged for TWO separate trips to the island by the ship, delivering two sets of Maori. Maori went there well-armed, with clubs and muskets.

Identification: At the time of the arrival of Maori, Moriori were easily identified by their clothing and physical appearance. After the onslaught, those that survived were treated as the

Expropriation: Their land was taken as was their possessions, their hunting rights, their tribal areas their mana and their dignity.

Concentration: Taken from their kainga and herded like animals. Those from Rangihaute were dragged across and assembled with others for slaughter or slavery. Bound together and herded together.

Transportation: Groups pf Moriori were sent away. 22 to the Auckland Islands alone.

Extermination: The initial onslaught accounted for some 300 Moriori men, women and children, many of whom were eaten. By then forbidding union between surviving couples and impregnating as many as possible, this began the process of extermination.

Denial: It didnt happen. There is no such thing as Moriori. They are not able to claim under the treaty. It wasnt really that bad. That was what we did then. It was our custom. Moriori: myth or legend?,

No, of course genocide never happened in New Zealand, in the Chathams. No, no, no.

In the 1980s we witnessed the beginning of something remarkable here on Rekohu, with the gradual re-establishment of the mana of Moriori through the filming of a television documentary and the simple act of erecting a statue. Some of those folk that were involved in that task were ridiculed and laughed at from behind the curtains by many. Many of whom still reside here today. Others, those with the mental acuity to understand the gravity of what they were witnessing, conceded that it was probably appropriate, and anyway, all those that might be threatened by this resurgence of a dead people, those who might potentially be guilty of an historical crime, and their children’s children had all moved on. (Few carried any guilt and nor should they have, but the meaning of guilt and the reasons behind it change with the times. A crime against society today may well be commonly acceptable in thirty years time. Cultural practices 5 decades ago may be an embarrassment for the next generation.) There were many that challenged the motivation of those pushing for recognition. There still are today. Whatever the reasons for how people viewed this act, the statue in question is a magnet to those that are prepared to understand some of the history of these islands. Few doubt the importance of the figure, historically and even the moderately intelligent can understand how he became such a pivotal, recognisable figure in what was to follow.

At the end of the 1980s we saw the publication of those two wonderful books by New Zealand’s acclaimed historia, the late Michael King. Working with the narrative of Moriori of that time, he wrote an essential expose of what had passed, interspersed with actual images and some breathtaking accuracy and research. These books bought it home to a lot of people who maybe subconsciously knew that things were not right at home. They certainly gave the national consciousness some food for thought, although by the end of the decade/century everyone was more worried about Y2K and aeroplanes falling out of the sky than they were about an embarrassing ‘distraction’ in the story of New Zealand’s history.

Such an embarrassing distraction, that we will not acknowledge it in our education system in case it upsets too many people and disturbs the status quo.

In the 1990s we saw the wranglings and threshings of the Waitangi Tribunal and those sad, but determined attempts to thwart natural justice by those who (at the time) could barely bring themselves to admit that there was even such a thing as a Moriori people. Doggedly, they turned on their neighbours, and fought to protect ….. what? Their way of life, … (that wasnt under threat.) The natural order of things? (Well that was obviously wrong wasnt it.). Perhaps they saw themselves as the descendants of the 1835 invaders and these Moriori upstarts preening themselves in the court room of the Waitangi Tribunal were nothing more than the great great grandchildren of their previous vassals and therefore should be treated as such. No, the reality is that the arguments were over greed. They thought that Moriori were going to get something that they werent going to get. (Truth is, they should have.)

“Ngäti Mutunga claimed that Moriori were not Mäori and therefore not covered by the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975.” Te Manutukutuku 2001

Moriori sought recognition of their continued identity as the rangata hunu (Tchakat henu – people of the land) of the Chatham Islands, along with compensation for cultural and material losses. The 2001 Waitangi Tribunal report found that:

• Moriori were covered by the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975.
• Slavery inflicted upon Moriori was contrary to the law and to standards of human rights recognised at the time. It was also a breach of the Treaty.
• Slavery continued on Rekohu long after it had ended elsewhere, and was tolerated by the Crown.
• It was feasible for the Crown to have intervened. Failure to do so cost many Moriori lives, and prejudiced their later land claims.

Anyway, I digress,….. So this rising up of Moriori-dom certainly kicked off with the claims process (at least in the wider ‘public consciousness) and Te Iwi Moriori had a mandate to proceed. Most of New Zealand had no idea about what was going on and many would have been horrifed to know that there was even another ‘people’ of any part of New Zealand, including the Chatham Islands. Some knew where the islands were, but few would have been there.

The claims process gave Moriori recognition locally, nationally and through the ingeniousness of a few, internationally. There were lots of hiccups at home though as people felt that the claims process caused them to have to take sides. Some families found themselves split with their loyalties as many by this era had maori, european and moriori ethnicity and bloodlines.

Albatross feathers, once worn proudly in the hair and beard by Moriori as a symbol of peace, re-emerged as a political statement during the 1991 bicentennial celebrations of the Chatham’s arrival. They were worn by Moriori and their supporters, and presented to visiting dignitaries.

In 2005 the first Moriori marae to be built on Rēkohu in over 160 years was officially opened. Seen from the air, its design resembles the wings of the great white hopo (albatross). This bird has great symbolic resonance for Moriori. The name of the marae, Te Kopinga, refers to the sheltered groves of kopi (karaka trees) where ancient Moriori held their meetings.

Taking a step back, Moriori were united politically  (at least) when in 2001 the Hokotehi Moriori Trust was formed and mandated to pursue claims under the Treaty of Waitangi. They were still united, in front of the country and the world with the opening of Te Kopinga in 2005.

In 2007 Richards released his book Manu Moriori, (see my earlier comments) which I believe was un-sanctioned by HMT. Despite the beauty of the book, I raise it as an example of someone making unauthorised use of the intellectual property rights of an indigenous people. The apparent lack of consultation at the time seemed to me to illustrate the imbalance between the rights of Moriori and the rights of Maori, as consultation (under the RMA?) was necessary  to change the All Black’s haka etc etc.

In 2010, Learning Media -the publishing arm of the Ministry of Education published a series of School Journals, essentially bringing Moriori to the consciousness of 2500 schools around the country that received free copies of the journals.

In 2008, the crown put Hokotehi’s claims on the back burner and inter-‘tribal’ dissension amongst the various factions, both political and social caused a lack of faith among members. Financial pressures, structural changes, attempted coups and long-running disputes took its toll on Hokotehi.

In 2012, a movie starring Tom Hanks and Halle Berry  was released called Cloud Atlas, with one of the central figures being based on Ko Che “King of Pitt Island”. Sadly, it was filed in Spain, the Uk, Scotland and Germany, with some ocean scenes filmed in Hawaii. Moriori characters were played by moko-ed Afro-Americans. Not a Moriori or a Rekohu scene to be see.

Whilst there have been bouts of chest beating and loud voices and much gnashing of teeth in the interim, some of the wiser figures in Moriori-dom understand that Moriori cant afford to stop moving forwards. They cant afford to just stand still arguing either, because they dont have to actually take a physical step to the rear to be dragged backwards into being an often-overlooked footnote in history – they just have to stop pushing. The rest will happen as the world passes you by. Since 2012 much work has been going on behind the scenes at Kopinga and further afield. Finances have been consolidated, expansion of the economic base grounded to a halt resulting in the need for restructuring and retrenchment. Numbers working there were cut, positions were dis-established and the commercial arm of the Iwi (Imi) shrunk to next to nothing. The cultural and spiritual arm continued to work away, often in the background and a renewal of energy was being harnessed from within.

In December 2015 a fresh mandate was sought from the hundreds of members around New Zealand and Rekohu and once again Moriori are back on the path to recognition.

But…..

But one of the ways in which successive governments (or is it society itself) have effectively stymied aspirations of acknowledgement or acceptance has been through both deliberate and incidental marginalisation. And that process continues unabated today. (To me, it appears that National Governments have less of an appreciation of Moriori than do Labour led Governments. They (Labour) have at least showed remarkable empathy towards the plight, dating back to David Lange. Even Helen Clarke understood the significance and importance of ensuring that Moriori are empowered as a people.)

Each of the local schools have to report student achievement data annually. This data is then published on several websites by various bodies. The TKI.org website has one of the easier viewing platforms for looking at this data.

(The government loves data and one of the reasons why they have these national standards and why they publish all this data is that they can then identify those subsets of the student population that are at the bottom end of achievement. So, since the introduction of Nation Standards, the subsets that cause the most concern, and that schools are now MADE to concentrate on and report on specifically are Maori, Pasifika and Boys. Also schools have to focus on lifting achievement in Numeracy and Literacy)

On Rekohu there is another subset of society that is completely overlooked in the reporting of academic achievement: Moriori.  Irrespective of the Moriori population in those schools, these schools are the very place that Moriori culture should be thriving and should be the main context

Of all the places in the world where this should be important!

200 moriori in the 2013 Census were aged under 15. Now I understand that they don’t all live here on Rekohu, but some do. Some of those statistics live here and should be counted where it really counts. If the numbers are so low as to be not worth mentioning, then that should be of concern and should be being reported and some questions should be being asked.

The three schools do not differentiate between Maori and Moriori and I can tell you from experience: Moriori are not Maori! Dont make that mistake. They might be maori, but definitely identify as not being Maori (its all in the capital) An easy answer is that there is no capacity on the forms to include Moriori stats. Nonsense. A simple refusal by all three schools to provide the data until the ministry “includes ” the ability would be all that it takes.

These three schools are the future of these islands. They educate every child (nearly) and they influence the thinking that these children have. These same children that grow into the leaders of tomorrow. If the students that pass through these schools are shown the casual disregard for Moriori that the statistics suggest, then the renaissance has been dragged backwards by thirty years or more, and the effects will show for a long, long time.

Another common argument is that families with proven, known Moriori heritage are not enrolling their children as Moriori in schools because of the perceived social stigma and lack of advantage for the child compared to being enrolled as Maori. THAT needs to change. That is part of the on-going marginalisation. (Discourage them from acknowledging their own culture)

But even more puzzling, is the way in which the schools, through their ERO reports are participating in the marginalisation of Moriori. The following table illustrates several things, including how “Moriori” is once again fading from some of our local education establishments. The tables have the number of times that each word (Maori and Moriori) is mentioned in each respective ERO report AND they contain the number of students on the roll, broken down by ethnicity – Maori and Moriori. (Remember, the child has to actually be enrolled as Moriori to be counted as one).

Before you carp on about “Well, we dont write the reviews, ERO does!”  Sorry. Incorrect! Schools do get to negotiate the shape and content of the final report. If your school is actually doing anything meaningful about Moriori and using it as a context for learning, ERO would have no choice but to include it throughout each report.

It may well be that there is no appetite for all that Moriori stuff within your school setting. (Schools are empowered to use contexts and evetnts in their local curriculum that have meaning to the students arent they?) Perhaps that in itself is just the reason for doing it. If not here on Rekohu, then where else?

Those School journals that were published in 2010 were percieved as an opportunity to educate hundreds of thousand of kids across New Zealand about the history and story of Moriori AND about the Chatham Islands and life here for our moko. One set of publications was never going to do that alone. I would bet that few if any teachers actually used the journals. None of my kids, or whanau ever have, apart from when they were fresh because some of our moko were featuring in them. They probably sit gathering dust, when they could be built on, added to and improved, as an ongoing narrative. But, oh no, Learning media are no longer charged with producing school journals as they were. So that has cut that opportunity down. One teacher that I spoke to before writing this, had spotted them on a shelf, but she had never used them because she didnt understand the issues and there were no supporting materials with them, unlike most journals since.

Statistics New Zealand say that there was 750-ish people that identified as being Moriori back in 2013. Statistics also say that the Moriori population of Rekohu in 2013 was only 39 folks. 39 out of 650. 5% of the population. Some folks would think thats great. Some folks would think that was cause for alarm. What do you think?

Marginalisation does not have to be deliberate. It can be a side effect of our actions without us even knowing (or caring).

Yes. I need to get with the programme. I have been very remiss of late and have not had the time or the opportunity to keep this site updated and I have been very rude to several guests who have kindly submitted comments. I apologise for my inaction. (Well,…inaction on this site maybe!)

News and views from the motu: I see that Hokotehi Moriori Trust need a pat on the back for finally getting their own website up and runningf, and what a site. Its a beauty and obviously built by someone with some skills. The builder(s) are some outfit called DNA and they are located in Wellington.

Also Moriori have done some really good work with their School Camps website and the Education Resources sites as well. It all helps to get the real stories out there if they have multiple websites telling the story. Obviously the changes underway on the Chatham Lodge site will eventually settle down? and we can look forward to that site looking a bit more appealing, or is the rumour true that it will be called Henga Lodge soon?  Speaking about that, how is the global recession impacting on Chatham Lodge and tourism in general on the Islands? Is it really that bad?

I believe that eventually the visitor industry down here will recieve a boost from the increaseisitors crawling across the mainland. We will have to wait and see on that one.

Kopinga Marae is generating quite a lot of interest across the web lately as people are becoming aware of what and who Moriori are. The best thing that you (or I ) can do for Moriori on the web is to create as many links as you can to their websites as that will increase search engine coverage and therefore increase peoples knowledge of Moriori and the issues.

The websites that want or NEED links are:

https://www.moriori.co.nz  and https://www.school-camps.co.nz   and https://www.chatham-lodge.co.nz and https://www.education-resources.co.nz

If you can simply create a couple of links to those sites, you will increase the exposure of Moriori and you will play a part in helping them to gain their recognition and rightful place in society.

I realise that this posting is not the usual politically incorrect posting that you all have been waiting for, and I am sorry. NO I have not gone soft, merely busy. Give me a week or two and I’ll give you something more riveting or controversial, or something.

To Terry and the other commentators, I really do apologise that your comments were kept waiting so long.

Totally unacceptable.

Me rongo

Rekohu

Quick history: Moriori have lived her on Rekohu for many hundreds of years, possibly since before the ancestors of today’s Maori landed in New Zealand and definitely since then. Either way Moriori acknowledges a shared background to Maori, but they have developed in the sanctuary and isolation of these islands, much in the same way that Maori have developed their own culture here in New Zealand.

In 1791 the peaceful existence was shattered by the discovery of these islands and this people by Europeans.

44 years later in 1835, two Moair tribes invaded the islands on chartered European sailing ships and under the watchful eyes of the resident pakeha, they “walked the land” laying claim to everything and everyone, killing those that argued and many who didnt. There were 1561 Moriori alive then, after the killing was over there were only a couple of hundred left and in less than one hundred years, there were none. The invading Maori knew that Moriori were pacifists and wouldnt fight back,so their task was easy. It didnt stop them from roasting and eating many of their victims and enslaving, raping, murdering or destroying the remainder. This all happened despite repeated protests and requeste to the Governor of NZ and pakeha residents on the island.

Slavery was outlawed in New Zealand with the Treaty of Waitangi and by the annexing of the Chatham Islands by the Government in 1842. They simply ignored the slavery of Moriori until 1863, by which stage there were only 100 Moriori left.

In 1933 the last known full-blooded Moriori died. But the race has not died. Descendantsof that last Moriori and others have revived the culture and are coming out from under the covers of oppression and myth.

Hokotehi Moriori Trust is evidence of the changing views of society. A people once denigrated and vilified, now accepted and subtly acknowedged. (Shh, cant upset Maori by being to publicly sympathetic)

Moriori are still being marginalised even today and even by Government departments. The Department of Conservation, for example has an opportunity on behalf of the Crown to dispense some justice for Moriori by allowing them to have at least commercial access and priority over lands and islands that they once owned, (and would own today if the justice system really was about justice). The islands of Rekohu were stolen or subjugated and Moriori were forceably removed and disenfranchised.

Forget the argument that it all happened a long time ago so why should we do anything about it now or why should WE have to worry about it. Because we are still doing it to them. Thats why. Get a grip and look around. This country has poured millions into treaty claims and bent over backwards to accommodate the tangata whenua because deep down we all know that it is right. Well, the same reasons for that being right only scratches the surface for what would be right for Moriori .

Denying Moriori access to the islands or access to a management partnership over access willcause a fresh treaty claim. Not including any references to Moriori in Educational publications is an insult, of gigantic proportions, and certainly would also be cause for fresh grievance from Moriori. The outfits that pubish offical school atlases cant even put the Bloody Chathams in them. The Government, through the Ministry of Education, publishes books curriculum documents in English, Maori, Spanish German, Cantonese, French and and God knows what else, but they cant even mention the word Moriori in any offical school documents to date.

That smacks (like a wet towel) of racism. Pandering to those Maori that would be offended if Moriori were given too much recognition perhaps?

I reckon that the Department should stop playing games and do the right thing by Moriori. After all,  Moriori looked after all of those bird and plant species well enough before you guys came along.

A win win answer might be a deal such as in other delicate areas around NZ where Maori act in partnership with DOC and run restricted exclusie commercial ventures on DOC estate.

There is precedent and there is desire form Moriori but for some reason DOC is making it difficult for partnership to occur, preferring instead to act like the colonial ruler that sat by and watched Moriori get eaten  174 years ago. Perhaps nothing does change in the fourth estate.

Marginalise them, frustrate them, eliminate them!

Getting annoyed

Me rongo

Rekohu

What we need to create on the Chatham Islands, is the perception that it is an awesome place to live, work, raise kids and retire too. That it is the next land of milk and honey. Which it actually is… well sort of.

We need to make it a desirable destination to visit and work, because they both go hand in hand. More visitors, more workers, more workers: more capacity for visitors, or something like that.

How can we turn this around then?

By creating, overnight, such a demand for workers, that wages exceed anything elsewhere in NZ and providing employment and housing for them.

No, I havent lost the plot.

It really is simple.

Every scrap of quota that is caught in the EEZ economic exclusion zone should be processed on the Chatham Islands.!

It is irrelevent whether it is caught by NZ vessels or JVs, it must be processed here on Rekohu.

This would solve, pretty damned quickly, the employment problems, the energy problems and the shipping problems.

Processors would need to upgrade facilities and import staff and provide housing (up to a standard).

Factories would need to be extended. Freezer capacity would need to be increased. Shipping of frozen product would need to be improved and increased significantly.

Put it this way. Would the big fishing companies that currently plunder the Chathams area, turn their backs on the millions of dollars that they are making in profits at the moment? No

They would work smarter.

They would get rid of their 180 metre factory vessels that stay at sea for 6weeks at a time and run smaller trawlers, perhaps out of here, which catch and land every week or so, based on Rekohu. They would supply land based fuel. They would process here and they would ship from here. It would probably work out more cost effective for them anyway.

All it takes is for a concerted approach, by all groups, the Trust, the Iwi groups, Council, MAF, Farmers etc, and the highly influential (in some people’s view) Taylor Baines Review team to recommend it to the Government and it could happen. It would also be beneficial to the Islands to have a Minister made specifically responsible for the Chatham Islands, such as what occurs with Norfolk Island and the Aussie government.

Thats my answer anyway. I havent done the figures but I did sit down and try and work out exactly how much value in $terms there was in all of the quota for this area, and all I got was a headache. So I gave up.

Just like everyone else is giving up.

The $20 million patch up isnt necessarily the answer either.

I agree that the redevelopment of wharfing facilities at Port Hutt may be a good idea, but if you really think that the only reason that the current shipping service costs so much is due to weather delays, then you really dont have a very good grasp on the situation at all. In fact there is really only one thing that you do have a grasp on, and its not shipping.

I am also not convinced that relying on windpower is the answer either….. Yes we all know that it can blow down here…. but it doesnt do it all of the time……… and generating the power from wind is easy…….. its storing the excess for later use that is the expensive part of the game….. Any way, more from me later.

I would love to hear your views.

Tune in for the next posting, we will discuss the impact of the global credit crunch,  local Iwi politics, local business movements and ways in which the Govt could help improve our lot.

If you have a view on any of these issues, or any issues at all, send us an email. We’d love to hear from you?

Rekohu

People have always come and gone from these islands. Some to return at a later date. Some never.

But all are always welcome and they are always whanau. If you have been there once, or if your family was once there, still there, thinking of going there, then you are whanau too.

But now, today, something more insidious is afoot. The crippling cost of living on Rekohu is driving people away. Fewer people are returning and more are going.

For my 28 years of involvement with Rekohu, the population havs always been a steady 750 folks and a good 40-50 on Rangiauria (Pitt Island). At the last census, the population was recorded as a total (Pitt and Rekohu) of 606 hardy souls, with a mixture of ethnicities,  backgrounds and incomes.

This goes against the national and global trends for population increase.

They are actually leaving and no-one is filling the gaps.

For the first time in a long long time (probably for ever) there are more houses for sale than there are buyers.

There isnt a single issue that is causing this problem. There are many and it seems like in the past 2-3 years, that they have all come to a head. This will be a conversation piece for a fair while I suspect. I look forward to getting a few comments and views on this.

One of the biggest issues though has to be the cost of living.

Electricity prices are about 5 times that of living in the mainland.

Every single item of foodstuffs that you import has a freight component. Everything that you buy here has that freight cost built in, with mark-ups from 0% to 200% on some in-store items.

Fuel prices seem to rise disproportionately to that of our mainland suppliers, perhaps reflecting the inadvisability of permitting monopolistic situations, in both the shipping, the agents and the retail sectors.

NO monopoly is good for anything.

The inextricable, complex and undoubtedly financially rewarding relationship between the shipping agent, the ships owners and the retail outlets is definitely a recipe for community disaster.

Little doubt that the locals sense a rat in the mix. Especially when one considers that the price of fuel at the pumps is a lot higher than the commercaial “bulk rates” that suppliers can provide.

No wonder that the Chatham Islands Enterprise Trust seems hell-bent on becoming involved in providing fuel, or at least an alternative outlet for us peasants. Lets hope that their commercial imperative remains firmly tainted by the social obligations and conscience that they are mandated to have, because they dont appear to have done diddly squat for the islanders over the past few years…? Correct me if I am wrong. I would relish the opportunity for the discussion….?

Conversely, though, and just before some of you stab frantically at the keyboard in response, risking cuticle damage and apoplexy, I don’t think that the anonymous mailout late last year was an answer either. It read like a Winston Peters election pledge: Long winded, conveniently omitting all of the pertinent information, unprovoked personal attacks, absolutely off the mark and pointless, and all delivered from the anonymous safety of an old womans knickers. What a rabid crock of ……….

Anyway,….. I digress……

Getting back to the conversation at hand: Population demise.

Another contributing factor is the perception that it isnt a nice place to live in, and certainly not that best place to raise your children. Bollocks. Its great. But if it doesnt suit you… then… you’re right. Leave.

If, however it does suit you, stay. Simple. Next issue please.

No seriously, it isnt for everyone. Which is great, becasue we dont want everyone living here, because than it wouldnt be our Chatham Islands would it.

A lot of modern parents are choosing to move out to the mainland while their children attend secondary school and you have to admit, thats a positive thing to do, both for the parents and the kids involved. There is nothing more important than family.

Is there another option. Could the kids recieve secondary schooling on Rekohu? No. A big fat N.O. Well, actually, they can. The correspondence school provide services here and even pay for a registered teacher to take a class several hours per week, based at Te One School.

For some Parents, this is ok, whilst other would prefer that their children recieved socialisation as well as education by attending a mainland high school. Fair enough we say.

Could we start a high school on the Chathams then?

Well actually you could, and it could be quite a well resourced little school. You would have to mnake iut an area school, with new entrants through to Form 7, much the same as Cheviot area school, in North Canterbury, Hurunui, Karamea, Taipa area school, Murchison, in fact, there are heaps of them and they all cope. Some have as few as 70 students. We could have over 100 if everybody was into it.

The difficulty would be is that the kids are still only mixing with the same kids, but that is the same difficulty as other area schools face.

Financially, a local school would be a winner as well, and should be a very well resopurced unit, providing education for all ages as well as community education.

Anyway that the end of todays wee speech. I’ll be back. Dont forget to throw in your comments though?

Me rongo (in peace)

In response to a question from “Scott” I have to add these comments about the book ‘Manu Moriori’.

Whilst it is an exceptionally beautiful book, and full of wonderful photographs of Hokairo or more appropriately: rakau momori,  it seems to me to be yet another example of someone making use of the (cultural) intellectual property rights of an indigenous people, much the same as has happened to Moriori for the past ??? years. I also note that in the acknowledgement section towards the back of the book, no acknowledgment was given to the Hokotehi Moriori Trust, who are the offically recognised, mandated representitivres of Te Imi Moriori. I further add, that reading this book, was the first time that I have ever heard the expression “Manu Moriori” and wonder why Mr Richards would call his new book something that defies the current and historical understanding of the names of the carvings. They are rakau momori, or momori rakau, not manu moriori. That could also be interpreted as saying that historical Moriori saw themselves as “Bird People”. I have found no reliable source to confirm that supposition.

I also note, that in Micheal King’s book: Moriori: A People Re-discovered, he states that, ” No one knows the exact nature and function of the Moriori dendroglyphs on the Kopi. The groves may have served a ritual purpose similar to that of marae….”

Get it?

No one does know!

I also am surprised by the casualness with which someone with as much (research/scientific/historical)experience as Mr Richards obviously possesses, can make the transition from supposition to fact: (I refer to his presentation that Moriori and the inhabitants of Rapanui (Easter Island) shared similar beliefs, habits and language) I quote from page 48; “The Moriori drew their motifs a bit differently, but their carvings represent exactly the same concept”.

or from page 50; “The parallels are too numerous, and too close, to be dismissed as chance”.

or from page 51: “The functions of all three seem remarkably similar”.

Now, dont get me wrong. I am not saying that there is no connection between the inhabitants of Rapanui and those early inhabitants of Rekohu, and I do agree that there are similarities in the language etc etc, but amongst the many things that spring to mind, the first is this:

A people that possessed the technology to create those giant carvings on Rapanui, and obviously travelled between islands etc, why didnt they continue carving them on Rekohu, as there is certainly plenty of good canvases there? And.. the Moriori certainly had the ability to carve stone, didnt they?

Anyway, that just me nitpicking again..

Scott: To answer your question. I liked the look of the book. I liked the photographs. I did not like the comparisons which eventually gave the impression that it was a done deal; that Moriori and Rapanui-ites shared close relations (perhaps even originating from there less than 600 years ago). I prefer to believe the M. KIng’s version that ” evidence of the final migration was from New Zealand is explicit”.

I also believe that the book should have been at least authorised by Hokotehi Moriori Trust as it would have been nice to have had a foreword in there from them, to lend it cultural credibility. Unless Mr Richards has Moriori hokopapa (lineage) this is just another example of what Micheal King calls, “manipulative, presumptuous and of little value”.

All of the resources cited were recorded after Moriori had been in “contact” (thats very “pc” eh?) with New Zealand Maori for over thirty years, diluting the truth, and infecting the Moriori mythology with their versions. Thats not very scientific is it?

Baucke, for example, who lived on Rekohu, and spoke fluent re, reo and english, initially wrote with respect of Moriori, recording customs and traditions, but later writings, 1922+ were vitriolic and full of nothing but distaste for the “inferior beings” that he saw Moriori as. This may or may not be related to his marital status at that time.

Hunt, in his Diary was recorded as being one of the last to see a Moriori do a tree carving, after the murder of his wife and child by Maori. Hunt didnt arriver on Rekohu (or Rangiauria) until 1841(ish). 6 years after the arrival of Maori.

Jefferson did her book in the 1950’s.  

I conclude by re-iterating that these taongas are the intellectual property of the Moriori People. They are not there for the intellectual self-gratification of others. The majority of those that remain, that havent been destroyed by agricultural practices, or firewood gathering, are located in one, of only two National Historic Reserves that New Zealand has. They are important culturally, spiritually, and historically for Moriori. They are also important for the cultural and historical conscience of New Zealand. It is not up to anyone else, apart from Moriori, to tell us what they represent, or to make allusions as to what they might mean, or whom they are related to.

Manu means bird!  There are carvings that depict nearly every living animal, insect or fish on Rekohu.

Hey, but these are my views only.

You asked the question.

I hope you got the answer that you wanted.

Me rongo

My usual response to the question has undergone a bit of a change after a wee bit of a rain check. I had to ask myself, why do people always ask me that question. The answer was simple. Obviously I wasnt communicating well enough for people to understand my take on the debate regarding Moriori, Rekohu, Treaty issues, Ngati Mutunga, Wharekauri, History, alienation, assimmilation, dispossession, murder, theft, and general skullduggery; not to mention the slavery, poverty, cultural and physical genocide and a whole range of other things, far too unsavoury to mention.

As far as I know, and between you and me, I’ve read quite a few bits and pieces over the past year ( and a few more years to boot) and I can quite happily say that nowhere have I read about Moriori complaining about what Te Ati Awa did to them.

What Moriori do have an issue with is not what Maori did to them in 1835 but what successive Governments and NZ society did to them since then.

I think that deep down (actually probably not that far) Moriori know and many will admit that what Maori did in 1835 was only what their (Maori) custom dictated them to do. Unfortunately for Moriori, those customs didnt quite match up to Moriori customs or beliefs.

At the end of the day, the Maori invasion of Rekohu was a deliberate planned move on the part of Te Ati Awa, and in retrospect probably done with the full knowledge of the provisional governing bodies at the time. But that was fine. That was what they did. They had just had their own butts kicked out of Taranaki, so why not head off to where the kai was plentiful and the locals didnt or wouldnt fight. It would have seemed like a bit of a holiday after the previous few years for them. In several accounts that I have read, it was a choice between conquering Rekohu or heading up to Samoa and taking the Samoans on. Its probably just as well for Te Ati Awa, that the chartered ship headed Southeast out of Port Nicholson and not to the North, because it may have been a different outcome for them. Sadly for Moriori they did.

The manner of what they did, should also not invite blame. Once again it was business as usual. These people were warrior people, not travelling vacuum cleaner salesmen. They went to Rekohu and kicked butt, because that was what they did.

Where society has (repeatedly) let Moriori down, was that there were Europeans living right there on Rekohu, amongst Moriori in some cases and all stood by and let the initial slaughter and invasion happen.

Okay, so that too might be understandable. 900 Maori warriors in full battle mode, claiming all in their path, in fact racing to beat the other tribe to the spoils. 1561 unarmed and non-combatant Moriori in some cases gracefully receiving their fate, in others, being hunted down and murdered, the remainder shepherded up like animals. I guess you could understand that initial reluctance on the part of the Europeans to interfere with what was obviously (to them) an inter-tribal dispute?

Now we get to the gnarlier parts.

But with all of the above aside… with no particluar blame attached, …. maybe an acknowledgement that.. “ok, now that wasnt very nice behaviour, but I guess that youve been living like that for a few hundred years or more, and fighting is what you do, and you guys, well you should have put up a bit more of a struggle, cos ya know you could have had em” 

With all that aside, how did the rest of the “civilised” (and I use that sparingly) country of New Zealand manage to sit aside and then allow the hundred and fifty plus years of racism and intolerance, slavery, assimmilation and genocide to occur. Some might say, “well we didnt know”.

Bollocks.

Moriori were not and are not the inferior intellect that many early ethnologists explained them as, thereby justifying the fact that white New Zealand condoned Maori  keeping them as slaves and concubines and holding their lives in their hands and often taking their lives. This was after slavery was abolished in New Zealand. And by the way for those of you who dont know where Rekohu is: it is actually a part of New Zealand and lies to the South east of Christchurch. It’s actually been a part of NZ since 1842. Slavery wasnt eliminated there until 1863, even though the Treaty, that wonderful “founding” document of this great racially inclusive nation of ours, sort of spells out that the  natives shouldnt be slaves.

Oh yes, but Moriori are not covered by the treaty are they? They didnt sign it, they couldnt have, they were busy running around after their Maori masters, so how could they have signed the Treaty?

They didnt, but it was well done of you to ask the question. Neither did a whole heap of mainland Maori tribes sign the Treaty.

The answer is in the wording of the Treaty. Have a look and see how many times you can find reference to the Treaty being just about Maori. From memory, I think you will find that the treaty is a deal between the crown and the natives and chiefs of New Zealand, and as Rekohu was included in NZ in 1842, and Moriori were and still are the “natives” (tchakat henu actually)of those sunny isles, ergo they must be covered by the good old Treaty of Waitangi, which ironically enough is the comon use name of the main township on Rekohu, although it is a Maori name and the original Moriori name is Waiteke, but placenames are another story.

So here is a quite good sized chunk of New Zealand citizens, in abject slavery, many murdered, many eaten, all forbidden to congregate, marry each other, have children, own land, total slavery, and everybody sat back and watched.

The Government even actively participated in the genocide some 35 years later by allowing a land court sitting to strip away the land through the courts thereby reinforcing and legitimising everything that had happened.

None of these actions were in the cultural vocabulary of Moriori. Moriori had a peaceful philosophy and had done for hundreds of years. Moriori had abolished warfare, even though they came from a volatile homeland (reportedly about the same time as Maori came to New Zealand) and lived in harmony with the environment and each other. So when the Maori arrived and the Moriori helped them recover from their sea voyage and the Maori subsequently turned on them, younger Moriori wanted to fight, but their own beliefs, developed over hundreds of years forbade them from retaliating, so they didnt.

I wonder if Mahatma Ghandi or Mandela knew about Nunuku’s law?

So whilst murder and warfare were in the cultural vocabulary of both the Maori and the colonial powers, they were unknown to Moriori.

Repeated written pleadings to the Governor fell on deaf ears. Scientific studies, both ethnographical and botannical mention Moriori and their plight, all published, but yet no-one in authority did anything to help. Slaves were removed from Rekohu and transported to the bleak and inhospitable  Auckland Islands as part of a doomed experiment in Maori expansionism, watched over by colonial expansionism. Many of these Moriori were never returned to Rekohu, with most ending up on Rakiura (Stewart Island).

There is simply no excuse for historically saying “we didnt know”.

Nowhere in todays schools are we taught anything about this fascinating part of New Zealands early history, although previous mention of Moriori by offical publications also helped perpetuate the myth that Moriori were an inferior and “indolent” race if they actually ever existed. Speaking of myths, that has been one of the most effective methods employed to destabilise the history and culture of Moriori and foil any attempts by the Moriori people to reassert themselves as a people.

Myth: Moriori never existed.

Answer: wow. One wonders then, who was living on Rekohu in 1791 when the Brig Chatham arrived, because they sure werent “Maoris” (in the strictest sense of the word)and they had a different dialect, appearance, culture, traditions, art, and no contact with mainland NZ and they had been there for many hundrds of years.

Myth: Moriori were invented by the colonial government to legitimise colonisation of NZ

Answer: Wow. So because Maori conquered Moriori, that made it alright for the pakeha to conquer Maori. Bollocks, that may be a percieved position to take in a  debate but it really is bollocks.

Myth: There are no Moriori

Answer: Wow. Wrong again! The last full-blooded Moriori was recorded as dying in 1933. Now some will argue even that point, but whatever the accuracy of that statement, and I have seen no evience to contradict that by the way, that gentleman had descendants. I have seen the hokopapa charts (genealogy to you white folks, or whakapapa to Maori) and guess what? There are heaps of Moriori around New Zealand and Australia (and a few further afeild than that too). The Moriori Imi (thats Iwi to Maori and I guess ‘tribe’ to you Pakeha) has quite a large congregation, which is growing  as more  and more people waken to their heritage and trace their legitimate hokopapa.

There are possibly even more to come, as Moriori were known to have travelled (stowed) away on whaling and sealing ships to all corners of the globe, many never to return.

Myth: Moriori were an inferior race of low intellect.

Answer: Wow. Bollocks. I have read this in many articles from supposedly esteemed scientific authors, and it is beyond me how such a statment can be written about a people. I can understand how you can say that about an individual, but a whole race of people? Wow! Some quantify the statement with the excuse that they must be of inferior intellect to have been conquered by a lesser number of Maori, and others base their assessment on the condition that they first saw Moriori in (post 1835). If you had just witnessed the murder and cannabilisation of family members, been imprisoned, beaten, deprived of ALL of your basic human rights, you probably wouldnt be feeling too flash either. Certainly not up to a game of chess with an arrogant ethnologist trying to establish your mental accuity.

Myth: Moriori are just another Maori tribe trying to get in on the “Treaty” windfall

Answer: Wow. Actually, if you take the time to read the Waitangi Tribunal’s report on Rekohu (Moriori and Ngati Mutunga) you might (as I was) be impressed by the way in which the above myths were dealt with. Where I (personally) think that they got it a wee bit wrong, was over this particular myth, but that might have been a legal way to permit them to handle Moriori claims. I guess if they had said that Moriori were not Maori (note the use of the capital as opposed to maori) then some bright spark would have challenged them through the courts. Anyway getting back to the myth at hand:

Acccording to the Waitangi Tribunal and others throughout the years, Moriori originated from the same place as Maori (Hawaiiki, which may be Tonga, Fiji,Hawaii,Rarotonga Easter Island, actually anywhere in polynesia) (but generations earlier) and left the mainland (NZ) about the same time as Maori arrived there.

Maori from Hawaiiki (and lets just pretend for the sake of argument that Hawaiiki is really Tonga) came to NZ and settled here and through that settlement and their occupation in relative isolation from their homeland they became Maori (rather than just Tongans living abroad).

At the time that they arrived, the Moriori  headed out for Rekohu, settling there in complete isolation, developing their own culture and beliefs. Yet the Waitangi tribunal, identified that Maori (mainland) are not simply “Tongans” (for example) but have developed ther own identity and have become Maori, a seperate race. Yet the Moriori who have lived in isolation for the same amount of time are identified by the Waitangi Tribunal as Maori, or at least a tribe of Maori.

Surely they deserve the same distinction of a seperate race, otherwise Maori cant be Maori either? Its all very confusing really.

The Waitangi Tribunal got it right though when they said that Moriori really were the indigenous people or Tchakat Henu of Rekohu. They also said that through occupation of 170 odd years, that Ngati Mutunga were also Tangata Whenua.

Today, Moriori are still being marginalised and discriminated against and denied their status as a unique people and original inhabitants of Rekohu. The majority of place names in common use around the island are either Pakeha or Maori, Moriori do not have the opportunities that Maori have with regard to identity in offical documents, instead being relegated to filling out the “other” category, and Moriori re (reo) which was recorded in the mid 1800’s is not an official language of New Zealand, yet it surely predates Maori Reo, even if only a dialect and not a seperate language.

Moriori recieve no recognition in offical publications in our schools, and our teachers are under no obligation to mention even the existence of Moriori in the classrooms of this great inclusive nation of ours. Some school atlases do not even have Rekohu in them.

This is the United Nations Decade of Indigenous people, with the purpose of drawing Native people into decision making, participation and opportunities for acceptance alongside mainstream culture. A seperate and unique people living among the rest.

Moriori are emerging as a people from under the clouds of obscurity and suffering that were heaped upon them, but mainly under their own power and through a peaceful insistence that they be recognised as a people and through playing the game that a colonised society forces them to learn. Justice through the Courts and appeals to Governments have historically fallen on deaf ears. Lately (decades)though with a more sympathetic approach to Maori from Government, Moriori have repeatedly taken a legal position and used the Treaty to its full effect to at least claw back some of which they were deprived of. They will never be given back anywhere near enough of the 97% of the Islands which were stolen  through the land court sittings back in the 1870’s, but with appropriate redress they will make a point and hopefully our own Government of today and tomorrow will listen and acknowledge Moriori as a seperate people, who just happen to be Tchakat Henu of Rekohu. Perhaps even Government Departments might even include reference to Moriori in their publications, as they do to Maori. One day we may even see mention of Moriori in the forewords of all education pubications as we do with Maori.

Who knows; maybe  a Moriori member of Parliament, or how about a guaranteed Moriori Seat in the House of Representatives. Why not? Maori get a few.

This debate is not about what Maori get, versus what Moriori dont though. Its about justice and redress and fixing the wrongs and ultimately about including Moriori in our society and stop marginalising them. As the late David Lange said: “Moriori are a people. They exist. They will not go away”. Recognise it. Embrace the peaceful philosophies of one of our indigenous peoples.

The ironic, impressive and (for me) overwhelming thing about the whole issue is the way in which Moriori have dealt with the continued oppression: no jumping up and down, no protests, no hikoi’s no threats, no violence or terrorism:

just …..

Peace, pride, determination and as I have come to realise of late; mana! 

Me rongo (In peace)

The Moriori people are infamous for their peaceful history and Nunuku’s ‘covenant of peace’ which was a law brought forth by the chief Nunuku hundreds of years ago.

Moriori hokopapa or genealogy goes back hundreds of years and through many generations. During this period Moriori transformed from  fierce and capable warriors, to a non-combatant people living in harmony with each other and the environment on Rekohu. This existence was uninterrupted until  1791 when Europeans ‘re-discovered’ the islands, beginning a series of events that would result in the destruction of many of the resources that Moriori had carefully marshalled for generation after generation. Ultimately, in only 142 years, it was to lead to the believed extinction of a whole ‘race’ of people. In 1933 the last known full-blooded Moriori, Tame Horomona Rehe, more commonly known as Tommy Solomon, passed away.

The covenant of peace, or Nunuku’s Law is forming the core of a Moriori renaissance on Rekohu as descendents of Tommy Solomon and other Moriori are rekindling the candle of peace. The construction of Kopinga Marae (meeting house) has been a huge step on the path to revitalising the Morori people and taking their rightful place in Chatham Island and New Zealand history, society and culture.

Visitors to the islands are always amazed by the opportunities to see and study Moriori history and culture, presumably because they think that Moriori are extinct.

Moriori are Moriori and they are a living people.

Pitt island also has some pretty awesome scenery. Check out these two pages ( Pitt1, Pitt2) for some fantastic photgraphs of Pitt Island and then contact education-resources.co.nz for details on how and where to stay on the Chathams and Pitt Island.

For the best in visitor experiences to Rekohu, try the Rekohu Experience. Contact Chatham Lodge for a quote on your next package holiday deal. You might be pleasantly surprised.

“Experience Rekohu with the Rekohu Experience.”

Chatham Lodge is the number one tourist destination on Rekohu and is the venue that best suits the discerning traveller.