REFLECTIVE INSIGHT #012 - TAKING BACK OUR STORY: BEYOND THE EITHER/OR CHOICE

Standing in Two Worlds 

For a long time, many of us in Taitokerau have felt like we had to leave our Māori identity at the door when we walked into a church. Whether it was a little wooden building like St Michael’s Anglican Church in Ngawha, where I attended recently with my reo class, or a larger whare karakia, the message from the past was often the same: you have to choose. You were told you could either follow the ways of your ancestors or follow the faith, but you couldn't do both.

This "either/or" way of thinking was a tool used to control us. It tried to tell us that our ancient knowledge and our faith were at war. But that is an old, broken explanation designed to keep us small.

The Power of "Both/And" 

Our ancestors didn't see the world as a series of boxes. They understood a reality where everything is connected, a Woven Universe. When the message of faith arrived, they didn't see it as a foreign invader. They saw it as a long-lost cousin that spoke the same language of love and connection.