|
From May 2007 Ka 'Ohana
by Kimberly Moa
As indigenous peoples of the
Pacific, native Hawaiians and the New Zealand Maori share a proud Polynesian
heritage, genealogy, history, and culture. In just a few weeks, participants of
the WCC Study Abroad Travel Group to New Zealand will see exactly how much these
Pacific cousins really do have in common. Starting on May 25, WCC faculty and
students in Hawaiian studies, as well as native Hawaiian educators and elders,
will begin a four-week educational tour of Maori history, culture, language and
arts. As part of a program of academic exchange, the official study abroad
tour initiates a 2005 institutional agreement between WCC and sister school Te
Whāre Wānanga o Awanuiārangi.
The tour will consist of two
weeks of intensive classroom study at the indigenous tribal university located
in Whakatāne, New Zealand, followed by two weeks of travel to various
educational and cultural institutions around the country. The trip is a full
Maori immersion experience, explained Kalani Meinecke, WCC professor and study
abroad tour leader. “We will be absorbing as much of the history,
culture, language, and visual arts as we can,” he said.
 Along with being exposed to
Maori educators and guest lecturers, participants will visit a number of
cultural sites, including the town of Whangarā (where “Whale Rider” was filmed)
as well as various museums and Maori art schools. During the two weeks of
travel, group members will be staying at eight different marae (Maori tribal
centers) and will be performing for a number of hosts, including the Maori royal
family. Having lived in New Zealand himself, WCC student Kilinahe Ah Mow
says he looks forward to rekindling the family ties shared between all
Polynesians. Acknowledging the many similarities shared between his culture
and that of the Maoris, Ah Mow says that it is the “whole concept of welcoming”
that “is universal to all Polynesian cultures.” “(In) seeing how they
live their lives on a daily basis…I hope to bring back an even closer connection
to our Hawaiian culture,” said WCC graduate Kanealoha Jeremiah. Jeremiah
believes that one of the challenges facing both groups is perpetuating their
indigenous culture while balancing the desire to move forward.
Like native Hawaiians, Meinecke
says, the Maori are a people who are struggling to regain much of what was lost
during their colonial past – “confiscated lands, mineral, fishing, and
intellectual property rights, language and culture.”
Despite many of the
social problems facing both groups today, including drugs, incarceration,
disaffected youth, and fractured families, Meinecke says the Maori have managed
to maintain a strong culture, identity and language. “From what we know
they’ve gained enormous strides in dealing with these issues,” he explains.
According to Meinecke, who is completing a doctorate in Indigenous Studies, the
Maori have become vanguards of educational, cultural, social and political
achievement among indigenous peoples of the Pacific. As a minority in
their country, comprising only 12 percent of New Zealand’s population, Meinecke
says, they serve as an example for all other Polynesian peoples.
 While learning about how the
Maori are resolving these problems, WCC’s study abroad travel group will also
serve as a Hawaiian educational and cultural delegation to local Maori
institutions. As part of this program of academic exchange, Hawaiian educators
and students will have the opportunity to share their native culture through
numerous presentations, lectures, seminars, and cultural gifts of music, dance,
friendship, and aloha. It is this exchange and the sharing of mutual
experiences that has WCC students like Kalehua Stevens interested. “I’m excited
to share what we have with them and see what they have to share with us,” says
Stevens.
|
