Summer Learning Journey Day 4, Week 2

DAY 4: Indigenous Rights
Activity 1: Guiding Principles [4 points]

Hōne Heke was a rangatira (chief) of Ngapuhi iwi in Northland. He was a strong and fearless warrior, and also an intelligent leader who fought for Māori rights during the British colonisation of Aotearoa, New Zealand. He was baptized a Christian in 1835 and had much respect for the missionaries that came to New Zealand. Hōne Heke supported the Te Tiriti o Waitangi - the Treaty of Waitangi - and was the first rangatira to sign it in 1840.

However he soon realised that under Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Māori rangatira was losing their authority (power). In protest, he cut down the flagpole that flew the British flag at Kororareka (Russell) four times. He must have been very frustrated and angry.

Sometimes when we feel strongly (frustrated, angry, happy, excited, in awe...) we find it hard to put our feelings into words. Many cultures use specific sayings, proverbs or metaphors that can help people to explain their feelings or describe specific things. In Te Reo Māori, some people use a whakataukī.

For this activity, read the two whakataukī below, choose one, and then create a poster based on it. Be sure to include at least one image (a drawing or photograph) on the poster that represents the whakataukī. Share your on your blog.

Option #1: Kotahi te kākano, he nui ngā hua o te rākau - A tree comes from one seed but bears many fruit. This whakataukī talks about the fact that, while we are similar to one another in some ways, we are also quite different in others. 

Option #2: Kia heke iho rā i ngā tūpuna, kātahi ka tika - If handed down by the ancestors, it would be correct. This whakataukī talks about the idea that the elders in our community can be wise and that the information that they share could, and should, be respected.

Source: https://tewhariki.tki.org.nz/assets/Uploads/Te-Whariki-Whakatauki.pdf

Activity 2: Celebrating Diversity [4 points]

There are between 370 and 500 million Indigenous Peoples currently living in 90 countries around the world. Together, they represent over 5000 different cultures and speak 400 different languages. That is pretty amazing ‘eh?! I wish that I could speak 4000 languages!

Indigenous People is the term used to describe the people who were the first inhabitants of a land. In Aotearoa, Māori are Indigenous. Indigenous people have rich and vibrant cultures that make the world such a fascinating, varied and enriching place to live.

For this activity, we are going to become more familiar with an indigenous
community from overseas - the Ainu People from northern Japan. Please read the information below and identify three interesting facts about the Ainu people. Share these facts on your blog.

The Ainu people are historically residents of parts of Hokkaido (the Northern island of Japan), the Kuril Islands, and Sakhalin. According to the government, there are currently 25,000 Ainu living in Japan.The origin of the Ainu people and language is, for the most part, unknown. However, there have been many theories on the subject. As hunter gatherers, the Ainu lived off of the land. Common foods included deer, bear, rabbit, fox, salmon, root vegetables, and much more. Common hunting weapons included poisoned spears and bow and arrows. The indigenous language of Japan is, much like the Ainu people, of unknown origins. With the restrictions placed on the use of the language in 1899, Ainu speakers have all but disappeared. Today the language is said to have less than 15 "native" speakers, all of which are above the age of 60, making Ainu a "critically endangered" language. Originally, the Ainu language had three main dialects: Hokkaido, Sakhalin, and Kuril. However, the Hokkaido dialect is the only one that survives today. One interesting point about Ainu is that it does not have a written form. The language has lived by being passed down from parent to child for countless years and has historically been transcribed using Japanese kana. The lack of a writing system has of course hindered the ability of the Ainu to preserve their language after it was banned, and the use of Japanese kana has even influenced some Ainu pronunciations. Even so, the language has been able to live in the tradition of Ainu storytelling, or Yukar, the language of which is mutually understood by all Ainu groups and is known as Classical Ainu. 
Source: https://www.tofugu.com/japan/ainu-japan/

The 3 facts that I've learned are about the Ainu people are...

1. According to the government, there are currently 25,000 Ainu living in Japan.

2. Today the language is said to have less than 15 "native" speakers, all of which are above the age of 60, making Ainu a "critically endangered"

3. The Ainu people are historically residents of parts of Hokkaido, the Kuril Islands, and Sakhalin.

Activity 3: Wise Words [4 points]

Sir Āpirana Ngata and Dame Whina Cooper were both influential leaders who fought for Māori rights.Āpirana Ngata was a lawyer and politician. He worked hard to give rights to Māori land owners, and healso spent a lot of his career encouraging Māori to preserve the culture - haka, poi, whakairo (carving), waiata (song), sport and the construction of more marae around Aotearoa, New Zealand.

Whina Cooper was the first president of the Māori Women’s Welfare League, which worked on improving health, education, housing and welfare for Māori women in New Zealand in the 1950s. She led the Māori land hikoi (march) from Northland to Wellington to protest against the loss of Māori land. She was nearly 80 years old at the time. Both of these individuals are examples of wise, inspiring leaders and role models.

For this activity, please identify someone in your life who is a role model to you. This could be a parent grandparent, neighbor, minister, imam, rabbi, etc. Please ask them to share one piece of wisdom (advice) with you that they think you and your blog readers should hear. Be sure you tell us who you heard it from and to use speech marks (“...”) if you are writing down exactly what they said. Post the wisdom on your blog.

My role model is my Teacher. My teacher is a hard-working, Non-swearing lady. She's probably the best when it comes to wisdom. She has lots of Christians quotes, but my favorite quote goes like this. " if you don't listen, you don't learn" She would always say it to the students who weren't listening in class.