Colonisation has its roots in racism and white supremacy. Any society that has a history of colonisation will have racism and white supremacy embedded into its social values.

This is a sad reality but I tend to see it as a Pākehā reality. The more Pākehā feel threatened by Māori excellence (eg success in tertiary education), the more vicious some will become because they cannot accept our full humanity.

Understanding this doesn’t mitigate the harm to Māori students nor the denigration of Māori rights to live, study and work free from discrimination and propaganda such as this. It is incumbent on our institutions to protect students from this violence and review the status of students who are perpetrators and provide suitable support for students who report having being harassed in this way. As staff we continue to push for appropriate institutional action.

Meanwhile, I believe that our real strength comes from being really settled in our identity and our rights as tangata whenua, our commitment to becoming an excellent team of health workers, and our aroha for the health and wellbeing of our whānau and communities. Our aim is a better health deal for Māori. We are our ancestors greatest hope.

Kia kaha, kia maia, kia manawanui

Nōku te whenua

Papaarangi