Indigenous Knowledge is the knowledge handed down over centuries, the practices, values, feelings, perspectives, worldviews, language, and beliefs. (Gay, 2002).
This is important to know as ‘the social and cultural makeup of our societies is changing as people have become more mobile. There are huge populations of people who have relocated or become dislocated from their social groups as a result of war, employment, natural or environmental disasters. As a consequence, societies are becoming more and more culturally diverse” (Mindlab course notes, week 28). Arguably this is accompanied by a loss of indigenous knowledge and as such, it is more important than ever that we strive to redress this or, where possible, to minimise the effects of this.
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I have personal experience of this… I am (in part) a child of Parihaka, a product of the disenfranchised… and a part of my life has at times been defined by this. I lacked indigenous knowledge, and all that comes with it. For years I didn’t even know that I was part Maori and that I had lost something so special. I don’t speak Te Reo naturally, or even feel like I belong in a society that is mine by birth right; I didn’t recognise my tribal carvings until someone from another tribe told me what to look for, I did not know what my marae was called until a year ago, and have yet to find and visit it. I’ve been piecing our family history mosaic together for some time (it’s hard to do without access to knowledge that is handed down). Even worse, I was ashamed by the representation of Maori depicted in negative statistics, yet oblivious that this was caused by historical events and condemned through ignorance. I was unaware of the rich heritage that was mine, of the skilful way that Maori adapted, navigated, farmed, built, and fought. I did not know that there were things to celebrate and cherish, and that my ancestors paid dearly for a peaceful protest in an attempt to retain the land that was theirs. When soldiers decimated Parihaka and committed atrocities, they robbed my heritage, my whanau’s ability to provide for themselves and for future generations. While settlements have been made to my ‘tribe,’ they have no benefit to me and the poverty of my childhood (physical, cultural, and emotional) cannot be redressed so easily. I live with the ‘disconnect’ this created, and the saddening knowledge that my grandmother had to suppress the best part of who she was just to survive (she was punished for speaking Te Reo at school).
This is the result of policies of assimilation; policies that don’t value indigenous knowledge but devalue and disregard it, something our schools often still do today, despite the precepts of the Treaty of Waitangi. “In Aotearoa New Zealand, the Treaty of Waitangi provided a platform for authentic engagement with Māori as the indigenous people of New Zealand. This has had a significant impact on how diverse groups of people are catered for in the health and education sectors through the provision of culturally appropriate services.” (Class notes week 28 - Mindlab APC). I believe that the first part of this statement is true, and the second part is becoming true, but it was not so as little as twenty or thirty years ago. This too is something to be ashamed of… so I choose to be ashamed of neither, nor resentful, but I try to understand, and to bite my tongue when others speak out of ignorance with unfounded opinions. Even today, the deficit thinking around Maori is the dominant conversation, rather than dwelling on the richness and knowledge that our ancestors had. The colonial mentality that decreed they were superior, and Maori uncivilised is, I believe still entrenched in our society and our education system (perhaps the second explains the first), and it means that taonga such as indigenous knowledge is still undervalued, and the impact of this is unrecognised or misunderstood. According to the analysis of the ‘Te Kohitanga’ model by Anita Gutschlag (2007), a lack of understanding of the importance of historical events and their implications causes ‘the provision of a false ‘choice’ and the conclusions drawn from this.’
So where to from here?
First we need to be aware, then we need to understand.
Whaowhia te kete mātauranga…
Fill the basket of knowledge (a Maori whakatauki/proverb).
Culturally responsive pedagogy is defined as, “using the cultural characteristics, experiences and perspectives as conduits for effective teaching,” and according to Geneva Gay (2002), includes these elements:
Knowledge about cultural diversity
I believe that the key to being effective in anything begins with first awareness, then understanding, but these need to be built on - otherwise we merely see things through our own lens, and end up with a tokenistic view. So knowledge about cultural diversity is essential.
Erickson (2010) discusses the visible and invisible response to culture and how this impacts students. It can cause huge disadvantages for students who are not culturally part of the dominant schema, and ensure huge advantages to those who are part of it.
Culturally integrated content in the curriculum
To my way of thinking, natural integration is by far the best way to approach this: Let children experience it (like staying at marae and experiencing marae tikanga and pedagogies), and let them learn about others’ perspectives and cultures too – it helps us understand our differences. I think education should be more focused on the individual anyway, which would allow them to engage through their cultural lens and feel valued and successful as they play to their strengths. Again, a tokenistic approach should be avoided at all costs as it continues to marginalise and undermine.
Culturally responsive delivery of instruction
Bishop, Berryman, Cavanagh and Teddy (2009) draw attention to the student-teacher relationship in the context of culturally responsive teaching. They deem it to be extremely important and suggest that cultural backgrounds need due consideration and integration into learning activities.
I agree…In my view, a blanket approach negates the individual and makes it all about the process for the sake of it, as opposed to an individual approach which values each one, validates experiences, and their heritage. Equally, an approach which believes there is a disparity or deficit between cultures undermines any attempt to value cultural diversity.
Anita Gutschlag (2007), states,
“What it calls for is an awareness of the overall context of Maori student achievement – and a theoretical approach which takes into account, rather than rules out, the historical links between culture, ethnicity, class and the education system. In the end, an ‘agentic’ position will have little real effect on achievement if the significance of these links is not understood.”
So how does my school address cultural responsiveness in practice school-wide?
To start with, we have rumaki so parents can make the choice to immerse their students in Maori language and pedagogies. We also have kapa haka which is open to all students and a second group has recently been set up to cater for the less competitive. A ‘kia maia’ programme is also in place to build knowledge and confidence in tikanga Maori. We have karakia each day and powhiri to welcome visitors. We have had professional Development relating to teaching Te Reo, and our middle team have overnight marae stay every two years so each child (except those who enrol into the senior school), has the opportunity to experience this. We have a whanau breakfast once a term where the whole community is welcome, and we have a whanau hui which is held during our school disco time so that parents can come and have their say in relation to te kaupapa Maori. This also gives parents and caregivers the opportunity to be involved in decision-making around the policies, procedures and implementation in the rumaki classes. Over the last few years, the whole school community was invited to submit their ideas and preferences on the school concept curriculum and the base concepts that were chosen, reflect their input – Turangawaewae/whanaungatanga, and kaitiakitangi are two of our main inquiries.
In relation to other cultures, we have a high Maori demographic and low student population in other ethnicity groups, so the other ethnicity groups do not has a visible profile and are way less supported. This is an area of concern that needs review.
REFERENCES:
Cowie, B., Otrel-Cass, K., Glynn, T., & Kara, H., et al. (2011). Culturally responsive pedagogy and assessment in primary science classrooms: Whakamana tamariki. Wellington: Teaching Learning Research Initiative. Retrieved from http://www.tlri.org.nz/sites/default/files/projects/9268_cowie-summaryreport.pdf.
Gay, G. (2002). Preparing for culturally responsive teaching. Journal of Teacher Education, 53(2),106-116.
Gutschlag, A. (2007). Some implications of the Te Kotahitanga model of teacher positioning. New Zealand Journal of Teachers’ Work, 4(1), 3-10. Retrieved from http://www.teacherswork.ac.nz/journal/volume4_issue1/gutschlag.pdf.
Savagea, C., Hindleb, R., Meyer, L., Hyndsa, A., Penetitob, W., & Sleeterd, C. (2011). Culturally responsive pedagogies in the classroom: indigenous student experiences across the curriculum. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 39(3), 183–198.
Teaching Tolerance (2010, Jun 17). Introduction to Culturally Relevant Pedagogy.[video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGTVjJuRaZ8
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