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Ok a few notes about the use of the N word in Aotearoa that are missed by Lachlan Patterson in this story, and one point that is plain wrong.
That word was not "occasionally" used against Maori. In my parents and grandparents day it was frequently levelled against them. 1/n https://twitter.com/TheSpinoffTV/status/1350209647290900481
That word was not "occasionally" used against Maori. In my parents and grandparents day it was frequently levelled against them. 1/n https://twitter.com/TheSpinoffTV/status/1350209647290900481
It was commonly used by police and the state against Maori as well so its no surprise that it made its way into ManguKaha language - it was reflective of Black American language, in a gang that referenced Black American resistance, but IMPORTANTLY created by racist state violence
It was also a common nickname, I have 2 Uncle Ns (more people know them by that name than their actual Te Reo Māori names). My brother too 4 a time (not since 80s)
Theres also "mea nika" in Te Reo for dark skinned folk (it's in decline but I heard it recently as last year.)
Theres also "mea nika" in Te Reo for dark skinned folk (it's in decline but I heard it recently as last year.)
And there is a Maori potato variety called "urenika" that is not traditional but a colloquial term for the variety otherwise known as tūtaekurī.
Now, in all of these instances its important to acknowledge multiple points:
Māori and Pacifica, across time, have been minstrelled, called "blacker than darkest Africa" (hence the name Melanesia"), lampooned and called the N word since the 1800s.
Māori and Pacifica, across time, have been minstrelled, called "blacker than darkest Africa" (hence the name Melanesia"), lampooned and called the N word since the 1800s.
And while the article suggests the N-word took root here as a part of the "aftermath" of slavery, that misses the fact that we have a very complex shared history full of intersections and divergence. US settlers brought it here as whalers, sealers, and plain old land grabbers.
It's worked its way deep into the Maori world through a very particular history... Its not just a case of us grabbing a pop culture term and decontextualising it. Unpicking it's use in Maori/Pacific communities is best done understanding that history and its poorly understood.
Most of that deep embedding predates the civil rights movement, and the work done by Black American and African scholars to expose its brutal and offensive history in that context. NO WORK has been done to understand our own context for that word.
And of course no antiracist education has been provided by to carry the work done in Africa and the USA into our schools and communities, or contextualise it. So understanding and responding to its political and cultural depth is, in part, dependent on education pathways.
But ALL THAT SAID... And this is the most important point which is why its the last point. We express ourselves every day based on what we learn and what we believe to be right.
And although our own history is important, that only gains true power and liberation when we connect it to the global history of colonial oppression, and stand alongside our allies, brothers and sisters to put an end to imperialist oppression here and everywhere.
So yeah, While it has a history here, and has a specific context here, that in no way stands as a reason to continue its use EVEN IF you are Māori/PI. Nemind what you see oseas peeps doing. Rātou ki a rātou. We can educate it out of our own whānau and communities AND WE MUST.
(ht @ranebowen for this example)
