New Book Supports Māori-led Response To COVID-19

A new book about the roadside checkpoints aims to show how Māori-led community responses can have positive benefits for everyone, especially in times of crisis. Stepping Up: COVID-19 Checkpoints and Rangatiratanga by Luke Fitzmaurice (Te Aupōuri) and Maria Bargh (Te Arawa, Ngāti Awa) discusses the roadside checkpoints that were set up by Māori communities during the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown in 2020.

Authors Fitzmaurice and Bargh carried out research in four rural settlements where roadside checkpoints were set up – Wharekahika, Maketu, Urenui and Ngataki. In each area, whānau and hapū took proactive measures to protect their communities.

‘What many people don’t realise is that running these checkpoints is resource intensive. These communities drew on the skills, histories and tikanga of their people to ensure their communities were informed about COVID-19 and ultimately safe,’ said Bargh, an associate professor in Māori Studies at
Te Herenga Waka, Victoria University of Wellington. Stepping Up explores the motivations of those who led the checkpoints and discusses how the checkpoints are a concrete example of rangatiratanga, Māori leadership derived from tikanga.

Each checkpoint had various collaborations with external organisations such as the Police, Hauora and Civil Defence. ‘As a public health measure, the roadside checkpoints were ultimately a success and show how in moments of crisis, like we have seen in the pandemic, we can be challenged to build relationships and work together in new ways. The government needs to learn that sometimes it may need to move out of the way and let hapū and whānau lead earlier on all issues,’ says Fitzmaurice, a teaching fellow in Māori Studies at Te Herenga Waka, Victoria University of Wellington.

The authors make a case for rangatiratanga being part of a broader conversation about how the Crown upholds its obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi. ‘Māori have demonstrated what tikanga-informed responses look like and how community-led initiatives are equipped to benefit everyone. Rangatiratanga at a whānau, hapū level is alive and well and has a huge part to play in the future of Aotearoa,’ says Bargh.

Stepping Up: COVID-19 Checkpoints and Rangatiratanga (Huia Publishers) by Luke Fitzmaurice and Maria Bargh is available for $15 from local bookstores or online at huia.co.nz. This is the first book in the Huatau series, a new series of thought-provoking short books on topical issues.

© Scoop Media