I went for a walk/run, the running happened by accident because the darned new shoes were hurting, and perversely the only thing that releived it was jogging instead of walking. Today I have sore legs but Im not dying, perhaps tomorrow?
Seb took the kids to the skate bowl at the park for more practise and then we met up with my friends later in the afternoon for a picnic. Kate joined us, and we followed on from there to the lantern festival.
While at the skatebowl Seb was accosted by a verbose 6 year old who told his name was Seth Nicholls, a very handsome boy with a hybrid kiwi pom accent. He talked about all the stuff he liked and where he lived and went to school, he was bursting at the chance to share all his news with 2 random strangers.
" Have you heard of the Treaty of Waitangi? " he asked and I said " yes I have". He continued, " My grandfather (such and such) Otene, he signed that piece of paper" and I replied " wow, so did my grandfather, Te Ruki Kawiti, so BOTH our grandfathers signed it!"
It went straight over his head, but how fitting, me the Pommie Maori and this 6 year old Pommie born kiwi with a scratch of hori united in a wonderful chat on Waitangi Day about our grandads signing the founding document of our nation. It was a ghey but very feel good moment on a Friday morning on the grass in the park.
I feel particularly poignant about Waitangi for this reason, not because of being Maori, but because my tupuna was so intrinsically involved, Im not just an agrieved Maori on this day, Im the grandaughter of a man who, against his own better judgement, but in solidarity for his hapu and his iwi made a deal with the British and signed his name in exchange for the protection of his access to his lands, his way of life as a culture, and his right to be Maori without interference. This is not what happened, and no amount of verbosity about it being in the past and needing to move forward can make up for the lie of the treaty. Pakeha want us to move into the future, to get away from the bitterness, they want us to adopt that way of the future, the way of economics, but to me thats just using finance as a smokescreen to being more Pakeha and less Maori.
Even in all my europeaness I will always feel Maori in my heart. I was born Ngati Hine, whether it is known to me or not and I will always belong to and be Ngati Hine. This is my birthright.
" Have you heard of the Treaty of Waitangi? " he asked and I said " yes I have". He continued, " My grandfather (such and such) Otene, he signed that piece of paper" and I replied " wow, so did my grandfather, Te Ruki Kawiti, so BOTH our grandfathers signed it!"
It went straight over his head, but how fitting, me the Pommie Maori and this 6 year old Pommie born kiwi with a scratch of hori united in a wonderful chat on Waitangi Day about our grandads signing the founding document of our nation. It was a ghey but very feel good moment on a Friday morning on the grass in the park.
I feel particularly poignant about Waitangi for this reason, not because of being Maori, but because my tupuna was so intrinsically involved, Im not just an agrieved Maori on this day, Im the grandaughter of a man who, against his own better judgement, but in solidarity for his hapu and his iwi made a deal with the British and signed his name in exchange for the protection of his access to his lands, his way of life as a culture, and his right to be Maori without interference. This is not what happened, and no amount of verbosity about it being in the past and needing to move forward can make up for the lie of the treaty. Pakeha want us to move into the future, to get away from the bitterness, they want us to adopt that way of the future, the way of economics, but to me thats just using finance as a smokescreen to being more Pakeha and less Maori.
Even in all my europeaness I will always feel Maori in my heart. I was born Ngati Hine, whether it is known to me or not and I will always belong to and be Ngati Hine. This is my birthright.
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