Waitangi Day

This Waitangi Day I feel a mixture of shame and grief. I want to apologize to all the Māori that my ancestors oppressed for all the ways that they created intergenerational trauma on a massive scale, and I want to apologise for my and other tangata tiriti’s complacency in making things right. I live in Auckland and as the city recovers from millions upon millions in damage due to flooding and slips I can see how the western attitude to environment as something to be exploited for profit is starting to take its toll. I’m shocked how institutional racism is so alive and well, and I can see some of the impacts of that. Colonialism isn’t a historical shame, it’s a contemporary shame. On behalf of all tangata tiriti, even the ones that haven’t noticed what we owe for this country that’s built on crown and state theft and bullying, I am so, so sorry. My personal efforts to redress and create a system where partnership, participation, and protection are at the core will be weak and faultering, but I will do what I can. I am teaching my son about the injustice that this country is built on, I hope that he can be more helpful than me. I’m sorry, but I will do my best to make things better.