My papa made it his mission to teach me about the history of my people both Māori & Pākehā He never shyed away from the ugly truths, I remember not wanting to hear about the massacre where one of mothers iwi almost wiped out my father's but my mother's father, my papa said to me

You need to know the truth. There are some in your fathers ppl who will hold it against you. If I didn't tell you this truth what would your reaction have been if they attacked you with this story.
Me: I would of told them to shut up, that they were liars because how can that be

If that's true then how did they come to be together. How did I end up here.
My papa: through love that's how you got here don't forget it. But if that was to be your reaction then you would be a fool defending a truth that doesn't exist. You must acknowledge it, listen but never

forget through all of the wars on all sides of your whakapapa both Māori and Pākehā they are the bloodlines that created you and maybe I'm selfish because I wouldn't change a thing in history if it meant not having my mokopuna. We just need to be better that's all we can do now.

Throughout my life he taught me about the stories of war, colonisation, the Pākehā ancestors who oppressed and the ones who fought against the oppressors his goal was to help me understand and to never deny the truth. We can't expect others to acknowledge the truth if we can't.

Be better moko, your bloodlines grant you the opportunity to see all perspectives and with that you can heal our ppl.

I never actually worked out how to do that though. He did tell me I needed to watch my temper though.