An abundance of nature and culture are the first things to spring to mind
The land of the long white cloud has left colonisation far behind
If we say ‘bicultural’ loud enough maybe it will ring true, this time
And we will all forget that to this day the Crown fails to uphold the treaty we signed
Lost in translation we were told, kāwanatanga and sovereignty were supposed to be the same
I’m just saying that you took everything and wrote the document, but the language barrier is to blame?
If we really are a progressive nation, trying to write the wrongs of the past
Why is it you can’t find New Zealand history being taught properly in a single high school class?
If you want your Māori name pronounced correctly you are flat out of luck
And people wonder why Taika called this country “racist as fuck”
Do you remember Taika Waititi, our internationally famed director, representing us without fail
Until he called us out for our issues, now he is just a brown Māori male
“But Māori get scholarships, and that’s racist to whites”
I have heard being said throughout my entire life
Māori are more likely to drop out of school, and be from a low socioeconomic background
We are over represented in every negative statistic in this country, studies found
More likely to have poor physical and mental health than any race from any nation
The only thing higher than that is our rate of incarceration
There are many factors that contribute but systemic racism is key
That is why before you play victim understand what they represent is equity
If you are claiming inequality educate yourself on what privilege may be
Understand that your scholarship was not being born into a minority
This country claims to appreciate our culture so much they want the world to know
I’m so glad the “Nau mai, Haere mai” billboards at the airports aren’t just for show
Everyone can chant the haka with the all blacks when they are on an international stage
Our language must be thriving you’d think after seeing it welcomed in this way.
Let’s make Te Reo compulsory for schools to offer, and an ‘option’ for you to take
Cue the mass hysteria “you will not force my children to learn this useless subject” they say
The irony being it was the government that beat it out of our ancestors in the first place
But as soon as a policy reform comes around it’s not government’s job to save.
No one is forcing anything; Te Reo Māori will simply die out if no longer heard
I’m sorry it has been ingrained that my ancestor’s language won’t get you anywhere in this world
But it shouldn’t be up to you to take away the opportunity of future generations to learn
Give back the voices of my tīpuna, let them be heard.
It was never once we were warriors, our people are warriors every day
Fighting for the language and culture this country tried to take away
And for some it is easy to sit there and say all this is a thing of the past
That Māori would have still fought Māori without the pakeha
And we would have, but there was no need to eradicate a culture’s identity
Now on our own land we have been reduced to a small brown minority
You can sit there and say despite all this it is not my problem and that’s your conclusion
But if it’s not your problem don’t sit there and criticize those fighting for a solution
Be aware that history is the reason why our ancestors have birthed us into this fight
Where we every day we are pushing to break the negative stereotypes
To bring back what was lost to the land our ancestors once roamed
Instil mana back into the whenua where the Māori call home
Nā Te Mahara Swanson Hall
Te Whanau a Apanui, Ngati Awa, Ngapuhi