Beyond Pākehā paralysis

Opinion: About five years ago, a small group of us were sitting around a kitchen table, eating chocolate biscuits and planning a book together. The table was Dr Moana Jackson’s and the bickies were fresh out of his oven. As he tidied crumbs and talked about decolonisation, re-indigenisation and an ethic of restoration, Jackson reflected on contemporary politics.
He warned us that right-wing lobby group Hobson’s Pledge shouldn’t be underestimated. At that point, the group – led by Don Brash, the former head of the National Party and later the Act Party – was reigniting white fears that we Pākehā were being hard done by and that Māori were getting too much somehow.
If you grew up very Pākehā like I did, maybe you haven’t heard of Moana Jackson, or you’ve seen his name a lot but not quite connected it to his work. He was one of the most astute political minds our society has been blessed with, a profound orator and quiet mentor to many budding revolutionaries.
Here in 2024, the fires of white fear are being stoked on a daily basis by politicians who are either ignorant, or crude and cynical enough to build their politics around fear and disharmony. One of the latest: Act leader and Associate Health Minister David Seymour calling for Pharmac to abandon its commitment to Te Tiriti, despite extensive evidence of health inequities.
But just as there is a set of people who are angry and fearful of Te Tiriti and Māori, there are many more people who understand the importance of Te Tiriti and the promise it holds for a country based on justice, with a politics specific to this whenua.
In recent research, people were asked to recall the most important event in the history of Aotearoa New Zealand. The most often given response – for Māori and Pākehā – was the Treaty of Waitangi. This was the result across age groups but younger people were significantly more likely to name Te Tiriti than older age groups.
I suspect, though, that for many of us whose education about Te Tiriti has been shallow or lacking, we feel a little confused about what to do in the current political climate. For Pākehā, what is our role? What next?
Back to the group of us writing a book together. One thing we were clear about from the start was that while many Pākehā might think of decolonisation as a ‘Māori issue’, really the work of decolonisation mostly needs to happen within Pākehā communities, with Māori leadership. There is work to do in other tauiwi communities too, but there is a particular responsibility among those of us who benefit quite directly from colonisation and colonialism through our whiteness and Eurocentrism.
At this critical moment, many Māori are calling for us to step up and do this work.
In an interview recorded in 2021, Moana Jackson said:
I’ve been very privileged over my working life to meet lots of young people, both Māori and Pākehā, Asian, and others. They have a very clear vision of how this country could be better, how this country could live up to the promises in Te Tiriti o Waitangi. And I think the number of rangatahi who are committed to that is increasing.
And that gives me a great deal of hope and inspiration. The only thing I can say to those young people is that change that challenges power is never easy … I have no doubt that there are enough of our people, and there is an increasing number of others, who have that courage and are willing to act on it. So that gives me hope. It’s not a forlorn, pious hope, but a genuine hope that is based on the belief that things will get better.
So, this is it. It is time to move through Pākehā paralysis. The call has been issued. Take the deep breath and gather your courage.
Start with where you are – who are mana whenua and have they issued a particular ask? What other groups are working in your community or region? Find the people who you like working with and build strong relationships that will keep you well in the tough debates ahead. Build and embrace good Tiriti relationships that will sustain us and exist well beyond the contemporary moment.
Equip yourself with what you need to have conversations in your homes and communities. Plan for how you might help build other people’s understanding of Te Tiriti. You don’t need to be an expert in all things Tiriti, but it probably helps to have a sense of what living up to its promise looks like. Read, listen, reflect, and organise.
Do all this with grace and humility (there is little energy for white saviourism). Build relationships with Māori not because you need their help but because that is Te Tiriti brought to life. Listen to Māori leadership, while acknowledging that there is no singular Māori experience or perspective. If you get things wrong, be ready to be called to account. View that as an act of generosity and an investment in your Te Tiriti relationship.
There is a beautiful, flourishing Aotearoa New Zealand ahead. It can be characterised by democracy and politics that are specific to this place, where we are held in relation to each other and this whenua through Te Tiriti. Ahead of us, the fires of white fear are quelled and the ahi kā burn brightly and warmly. But it’s going to take some work.
Let’s go, Pākehā.