Learning whakapapa and living te tiriti

At Sayso, we want everyone we work with to feel supported and encouraged in bringing their authentic selves to mahi. We recognise that we are all at different stages in our individual cultural journeys, which is why we believe that the wairua (spirit) and intent of the journey is what matters most.

Niki Schuck, who is one of Sayso’s Directors, wrote this beautiful reflection piece after journeying to her whakapapa in Scotland, and we hope it inspires others to connect with their own whakapapa, wherever that may be.

I had been to Scotland many moons ago (aged 27!), and although I had always been aware of my Scottish ancestry, I’m embarrassed to admit that I never even thought to look deeper into my family history.

Aotearoa is where I live, and I love this country immensely. I am committed to being a good citizen of Aotearoa and a person of the Treaty of Waitangi. I care for the whenua/land and the tangata/people in my community, but my whakapapa and my whenua is deeply rooted in Scotland and England. Aotearoa is the whenua of the tangata whenua of Aotearoa, Māori.

When I returned to Scotland in 2024 with my husband, I started digging into my Scottish connections on my mother’s side of the family. I regret not having undertaken this journey while my beautiful mum was still alive, because there is still so much more that I could have learned from her, and I would have loved sharing the results of my research with her.

It was actually through learning te reo Māori that I became super curious about my whakapapa (yes, as Pākehā we have whakapapa too!) while preparing for an immersion te reo Māori retreat. We had an online session that was all about whanaungatanga – meeting and getting to know the other attendees – and for the first time, I incorporated elements of my Scottish whakapapa into my pepeha.

I didn’t expect what happened next… After my turn, others introduced themselves, and someone said, “Ko Clan Buchanan ahau”.

Wait, what…that’s my clan!

I felt this adrenaline rush, I gave a thumbs up on the screen, and my grin was a mile wide.

Wow, we are connected, we are from the same clan. Is this how it feels as Māori when you find a connection to someone from your iwi or hapu through pepeha and whanaungatanga… you realise you are whānau?

Having grown up during in an era when such things were not taught at school, it is only in recent years that I have come to know and understand that it is because of Te Tiriti o Waitangi that my grandfather, John Black Watt (age eight), was able to travel with his family from Scotland to start a new life – a better life – in Aotearoa.

Why am I telling you this? As a wahine Pākehā, I am deeply aware of my privilege and I believe it is time for Tangata te Tiriti to publicly stand up and speak out in support of Tangata Whenua.

It is well documented that is easier it is for Pākehā to learn te reo: we are free from the expectation to pronounce everything perfectly; from the generational trauma that comes from having grandparents or parents who were punished or shamed for speaking te reo Māori; from the pressure of whānau, hāpu or iwi who desperately need you to help by stepping up and speaking the language fluently on their behalf at hui (meetings), at whakanui (celebrations), at whakapōtae (graduations), and at tangi (funerals).

My privilege in being free to learn at my own pace, and without these insidious pressures, comes with deep responsibility: standing up and supporting tangata whenua is part of that. Along with being comfortable in the knowledge of what to do and say, it’s important to know when I should be willing to step forward to karakia or kōrero, and when I should step aside while holding space for tangata whenua.

I used to think I couldn’t comment on Te Tiriti issues because I didn’t know enough about it, but now I realise that my silence could be perceived as agreement with, or complicity in, our country’s failings when it comes to honouring the Treaty and its principles. I feel incredibly saddened and deeply embarrassed by our current government’s lack of regard and respect for te reo Māori, Te Tiriti o Waitangi and our Tangata Whenua. Learning to speak te reo Māori is a great first step, but more importantly, it is time to stand up as a Tangata Tiriti/a person of the Treaty.

My own te reo Māori journey, now in its fourth year, has brought me nothing but positivity, and although I wish I had started it earlier, I’m more determined than ever to see where it can take me. My greatest desire is that ALL children in Aotearoa get the chance to learn te reo Māori, because through this experience they will have their eyes opened to the beautiful world of te ao Māori (the Māori world view). They will learn the true, unvarnished history of Aotearoa, understand why they are able to live in this beautiful country even though they are not Tangata Whenua, and have opportunities to learn about their own whakapapa.

We have so much to learn from Tangata Whenua. Within my short glimpse into te ao Māori, I have learned that alongside a deep love for whenua, it is a people-centric world view.

What’s not to love about that?

“E kimi ana i nga kāwai, e toro ki tāwhiti”

Seeking the shoots that stretch afar.

E te ahikā o Aotearoa, e mihia ana koutou, he mana nō rātou ki te whenua o Aotearoa.

#toitūtereomāori #toitūtetiriti #tangatawhenua #tangatatiriti #whakapapa #pepeha