A recent reader report for Stuff entitled ‘It’s not easy being Pākehā. Stop laughing, It isn’t’. was a challenging read – for all the wrong reasons.

The Pākehā author discusses his reflections on his Pākehā identity, with the rather startling claim that te ao Māori is the ‘key to it all’.

In short, the author discusses how Pākehā have been disconnected from their cultural roots in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, and now need te ao Māori to be whole. He bemoans those who reject te ao Māori and are afraid of its renaissance.

As Pākehā myself I also want to embrace te ao Māori and I am not at all afraid of a cultural renaissance. In fact, I would welcome it.

What I am afraid of, however, is the attitude of some Pākehā that we can move forward by claiming te ao Māori as our own; as a cultural point of difference from our kin in the UK.

We have already taken enough from Māori. We have historically stripped the whenua from Māori by subjecting them to military invasions, land grabs and corrupt purchases. Other atrocities include enforced mass imprisonment (such as at Parihaka), rape and murder.

I can’t speak for Māori (being Pākehā myself) but I kind of get the feeling that after enduring 200 years of colonial domination that they are tired of being used and abused. It must be the rotten cherry on the cake (so to speak) to hear Pākehā say that they now need Māori culture to be culturally whole.

Not only have we illegally confiscated (oops I mean stolen) almost all Māori land, but we also now want to use their culture to bolster our identity.

I am sure not laughing at that.

I am also not laughing at the claim that the author makes that being Pākehā is not easy. It sure is easy (sons and daughters of the UK). It’s as easy as colonial pie.

You can walk around fully visible in a world that recognises your culture in all the major institutions (law, education, religion, government, media). In this way you can easily get rewarded and find success every time you show your white UK face at the door.

Oh, and you also won’t get followed in the shops. Or pulled over unnecessarily on the road.

Teachers will place high expectations on you as you cash in your cultural capital at schools and universities.

You will experience better health outcomes.

If some Pākehā think that embracing te ao Māori is as simple as learning to speak te reo and say your pepeha (which is also deeply problematic) then they have another think coming.

A poem by Anahera Gildea entitled ‘Pākehā talking the reo’ draws attention to the ongoing colonial violence of Pākehā when they continue to try and take from Māori that which is not theirs. This confronting poem challenges those Pākehā who strut around, crowing about how they are learning te reo Māori and their pepeha.

Pepeha and te reo Māori have a deeper significance then can be captured in the intent of some Pākehā who want to bolster their cultural identity. Trying to learn these aspects of Māori culture for your own ends amounts to nothing more than cultural appropriation. And that is yet another trauma to add to 200 years of colonial domination.

The answer is not easy to come by. But nothing worthwhile ever is.

For Pākehā It begins with being humble and examining your own history and claiming that. There are things you won’t like there. After all, Pākehā are descended from colonists who enacted violence and betrayed Māori.

But we have no right to take Māori taonga such as te reo to show off. Rather we should wait in the wings until we are invited in. We need to earn the trust of Māori, not just take it.

I won’t say happy travels, because the journey into confronting the travesties of our colonial past is hard. That part of being Pākehā is hard.

Put simply, you can’t have your colonial pie and eat it too.

© Scoop Media