Reading the article on the Smithsonian’s Enola Gay exhibition and visiting the Auckland War Memorial Museum, there was a clear theme. Both acknowledged the tension between commemoration and scholarship in relation to conflict. This got me thinking about how we often learn most from the things that make us slightly uncomfortable – when our opinions are challenged by the views of others.
In the article on the Enola Gay exhibition, a quote from historian Bernard Lewis is used:
“What happened, what we recall, what we recover, what we relate are often sadly different… The temptation is often overwhelmingly strong to tell it, not as it really was, but as we wish it to have been.” 1
Especially when faced with conflicts of national significance, it can be tempting to justify the violence by instead focussing on a “victory” that was won, and the chivalry of soldiers to fight for the freedom of our country. The article stated how America and Japan’s ambivalence towards the effects of their actions in WWII “involve a common reluctance to think too carefully or long about anything that threatens the national sense of legitimacy,” and sadly, I think this is all too true. 2 In a New Zealand context, serious conversations around colonisation are few and far between, dominated by the Western, colonial culture New Zealand has developed.
Since the beginning of the Māori protest movement in the 1970s, Waitangi Day celebrations have been called out for what they really are: celebrations of an agreement that has not been honoured. Celebrations of colonialism. A protest group, Ngā Tamatoa, once appeared at Waitangi for the commemoration on February 6th, 1973. 3 The group wore black armbands, declaring the day was one of mourning for the 25.2 million hectares of Māori land that had been lost, and along with it, the tūrangawaewae of hundreds of Māori communities. 4 The protest was a call for the government to “honour the Treaty”. 5 For how can Māori express their identity as tangata whenua when the whenua has been taken away from them?
Ngā Tamatoa and groups like them have caused moments that spark this crucial conversation of colonisation and equity. These are moments when society is forced to view history and conflict through the lens of the minority. In these uncomfortable moments, we recognise that although our “national sense of legitimacy” is threatened by acts of the past, we can make steps now towards an equitable nation. The results of the Māori Language Petition of 1972 (Māori Language Day and the teaching of Te Reo Māori in schools), or the efforts of the Waitangi Tribunal to ensure Māori land is returned, are testament to this. 6
Colonisation, the physical conflict that led to it, and the personal and societal conflict that arises from it, are not issues that can be fixed overnight. But the willingness to get a bit uncomfortable, finding that middle ground between commemoration and scholarship, is needed to bring change and equity.
References
- Kohn, “History and the Culture Wars: The Case of the Smithsonian Institution’s Enola Gay Exhibition,” 1037. ↩
- Kohn, 1037. ↩
- Keane, “Ngā rōpū tautohetohe – Māori protest movements – Waitangi Day protests.” ↩
- Walker, Ka Whawhai Tonu Matou: Struggle Without End, 211. ↩
- Keane, “Ngā rōpū tautohetohe – Māori protest movements – Waitangi Day protests.” ↩
- Walker, Ka Whawhai Tonu Matou: Struggle Without End, 211. ↩
I loved reading this, Kylie! An informative and optimistic piece that can accompany a lot of the current debates on indigenous rights, especially now during Maori language week and the 2020 election.
I do resonate with your comment that there’s a “common reluctance to think too carefully or long about anything that threatens the national sense of legitimacy.” Dealing with one’s colonial history is tricky, especially as racist and bigoted beliefs often underpin nationalist pride and feelings towards one’s country. And in the age where social liberalism dominates the collective consciousness of society, it’s becoming almost taboo to deal with your own feelings of New Zealand’s colonialist history. Which I think personally should be encouraged.
I have to admit, I’ve only seen brief sentences about how Germany dealt with their Nazi past, and how german schools approached teaching their Nazi past to school-age students. But the general vibe I’m getting is that they’ve dealt with that issue MUCH better than how other countries approach teaching their own torrid past. And (completely different tangent) but I believe that the way we teach Nz history in primary, intermediate, and secondary schools, is sorely lacking. The efforts to include Te Reo Maori into the curriculum is fantastic, but perhaps we should also teach about why it’s important to teach in in the first place?
also lastly: You introduced me to Ngā Tamatoa’s protest at Waitangi day, and the way you wrote about it was so clear and concise that I almost believed that a Facebook post about this issue would be well received by the entire New Zealand population.
Really sweet post! It was such a pleasant read 🙂
Kylie, I thought this was a very thought provoking post – it speaks not only to the construction of history itself, but also to our perception and remembrance of it. It was only studying law this year that I really started to gain a true understanding of the widespread impacts of new Zealand’s colonisation – the Treaty and Waitangi day are celebrated when we are in primary school, but as one gets older you can start to see what wasn’t taught to us at that age – the true extent of forced assimilation, land confiscation and the erasure in many ways of Maori tradition and culture. The idea of discomfort having the potential to evoke change is a potent one – I agree that we learn the most from the things that make us slightly uncomfortable, because it challenges us to confront any biases or preconceived notions we may have about a subject. I was talking to my granddad about the internet being very problematic in the way that it doesn’t present us with ideas or viewpoints different from our own – instead the algorithm feeds us what it thinks we want to hear. In regards to this, it becomes even more critical that we can access media and accurate information that allows us to hear opposing viewpoints, and lets us formulate our opinions in a more natural way. Bring on the uncomfortable/difficult topics – they’re how we can actually make beneficial societal change through conversation :))