Epsom Girls Grammar School will receive cultural support from local Iwi. Photo / NZME
Epsom Girls Grammar School will receive cultural support from local Iwi. Photo / NZME
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Ngāti Whātua Ōrakei leadership has moved quickly to offer support to students, parents and teachers at Epsom Girls' Grammar School who may be feeling culturally affected after two pupils were asked to bless bones found at the school.
Ngāti Whātua Ōrakei Trustdeputy CEO Ngarimu Blair said he had spoken with the leadership of Epsom Girls' Grammar School, after it was yesterday revealed a teacher asked two students to perform the blessing - not keeping in line with proper protocols.
The two students performed the karakia before the kōiwi (bones), thought to have been used in the past for teaching purposes, were removed from the school and taken to the University of Auckland.
Epsom Girls' Grammar acting principal Karyn Dempsey admitted the incident highlighted a lack of adequate resourcing to support the growth of tikanga within schools and to embed understanding of te ao Māori.
Blair said it was an unfortunate incident and parents who felt betrayed had every right to feel that maemae (hurt).
"I am now in contact with the principal of Epsom Girls' and as the tangata whenua of their kura, we will be providing both them and the affected whānau and staff our support to address any maemae that has resulted from this event.
Ngāti Whātua Ōrakei deputy CEO Ngarimu Blair. Photo / NZME
"Our role as tangata whenua is to tautoko all those in this matter who need it.
"There will no doubt be learnings from this incident which will necessarily inform Epsom Girls' policies, and no doubt many schools will be able to learn from this event also.
"The nature of such policies and protocols are not yet known as we have only just entered into the dialogue."
The father of one of the students who performed the karakia was upset that his daughter was put in that position.
He told Radio New Zealand rather than ask his daughter to perform a karakia, a kaumātua or tohunga from the local iwi, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, should have been consulted over the tikanga.
"In my view, we've got to acknowledge the role of te Tiriti in all of this. There is a very clear disjoint between Māori and Pākehā throughout this process, when in actual fact te Tiriti requires a partnership at the table, yet it doesn't look like there's one. And because of the lack of one, then what you've got is people that go ahead and do things without the knowledge of doing them in a specific way, ie a Māori way," the father said to RNZ reporter Ella Stewart.
"There's potentially a number of conversations where Māori should've been involved, and they just weren't and had they been involved this would not have happened, and as a result of that, that's what angers me, is that our children are put at risk because of that."
The teacher had the right intentions, he said, but what was asked of his daughter was not right.
