In Aotearoa (New Zealand), colonization has disconnected Māori from their land, tikanga (law), and cultural practices. In a country where Māori occupy more than 50 percent of the total prison population, this disconnect has a lot to answer for, writes Aphiphany Forward-Taua, Executive Director of criminal justice advocacy organization JustSpeak.
Outward Voices is a collection of personal essays from individuals who are doing their part to protect our planet.
Today in Aotearoa, over 50 percent of the prison population is made up of Māori prisoners, despite Māori representing only 16 percent of our population. This detachment from our law and land is adversely impacting entire generations.
Tikanga (Māori law) and restorative justice processes were used by Māori to deal with harm and crime. This was done by reciprocal notions of compensation, better known as utu (repayment/reciprocity).
The Western confinement model of imprisonment is not a model conceived or used by Māori. Prisons are an instrument of colonization. Prisons are not only inhumane and ineffective in preventing the cycle of crime, but are also harmful to the environment.
Instead of exploiting or harming the environment, we could choose connection to the environment as a justice response. Connection with the environment offers an opportunity to engage alternative responses to justice, that within context and reason, would be more effective and appropriate to repair harm and crime restoratively.
This could look like giving back to your community or iwi (tribe), or perhaps helping out on your turangawaewae (homelands) by revitalizing wetlands, protecting wildlife, and planting native forests. Of course, these responses could be made available to all people who engage in harm and crime, and would benefit communities as well as self-reflection and healing.
Since time immemorial, Te Ao Māori (Māori world) has always acknowledged their whakapapa (genealogical) connections to the environment. This connection lives on through Māori people and their practices—for example in karakia (prayer), waiata (song), mātauranga (sacred) knowledge and whaikōrero (formal speech). Tikanga guides the way Māori interact with the natural environment and ensures that Māori acknowledge and protect their ancestors.
The proverb: “whenua ūkaipō” imbues the spiritual and physical connection that Māori have to their natural environment. Whenua has a dual meaning, translating to land, and also placenta. Customary Māori practice is to bury a baby’s placenta back into the earth. The placenta represents the tree of life, whakapapa, the womb of Papatūānuku (Mother Earth).
For Māori, Papatūānuku is the paramount ancestor and ultimate life-giver.
“Before colonization, Māori lived collectively, made decisions collectively (including men, women and children) and learned collectively. Māori sought to live a life that honored and protected the environment by aligning their life to environmental cycles.”
- Aphiphany Forward-Taua
This is why the connection to the natural environment is integral to Māori sustenance and oranga (wellbeing).
Since 1840, successive New Zealand governments have actively suppressed Māori tikanga, Te Reo Maori, and Māori restorative justice processes through legislation and the law. This is the process of colonization.
Prisons fundamentally fracture the connection to the natural life force of the environment. They sap nutrients from communities by the removal of people and severing familial ties. The manifestation of outcomes for Māori today can be linked to the loss of tikanga and connection to the environment.
Before colonization, Māori lived collectively, made decisions collectively (including men, women and children) and learned collectively. Māori sought to live a life that honored and protected the environment by aligning their life to environmental cycles. Examples of this are planting vegetables and collecting seafood in sync with the maramataka (the moon cycles), and putting in place rāhui (prohibition) to prevent the overfishing or taking of food beyond need.
It is evident by way of poor statistics that the outcomes of colonization have been devastating for Māori. Institutions like state care, prisons, and the court system are stripping away traditional ways of living for Māori in their communities.
Currently in Aotearoa, Māori men are six times more likely to be in prison than non-Māori men. Māori women are now 11 times more likely to be in prison than non-Māori women and make up 70 percent of the remand population. As of September 2022, the population of rangatahi (youth) in Youth Justice centers (juvenile detention) was 120. Of that number, 66 percent were Māori.
It’s clear from the disproportionate representation of Māori in our justice system that the New Zealand government (including successive governments) has not honored its obligations to protect Māori under Te Tiriti o Waitangi (the Treaty of Waitangi—Aotearoa’s founding document).
Barriers such as unaddressed deprivation and poverty, health disparities, and parental incarceration are significant contributors to the so-called ‘prison pipeline.’ State care has been linked to the cycle of recidivist offense and lifelong incarceration. We know that young people being imprisoned or taken away from their parents deprives them of whakapapa (familial connection), and the opportunity to develop and grow with confidence in their identity and the safety of their whānau (family).
Sadly though, reports from people in prison not seeing their families in person for two to three years continue to trickle in. We must shift away from institutional, standardized ways of solving justice issues and look to alternative options that reflect tikanga and alignment with the environment and community.
Let’s imagine it’s 2040. Some 200 years have passed since the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in Aotearoa. The importance of Māori tikanga in protecting and actively safeguarding the environment has been acknowledged. Everyone is able to thrive in an equitable society that centers the interests of community and whānau. Te Tiriti has been honored, allowing Māori to develop solutions that are tikanga-centric, proportionate, and capable of healing all people involved in harm.
Most importantly, as a society, we have accepted that prisons fail to deter crime. Instead, we have moved away from a punitive criminal justice system and are looking to reconnect with the environment to create space for healing.
We must do better to reconnect to our natural world and seek out natural alignment with our environment. Reconnecting offers an opportunity to engage in alternative responses to justice that, within context and reason, will be more effective for everyone. We can choose change by shifting towards a vision that promotes effective healing and transformational justice that centers connection to the environment.
____
JustSpeak is a youth-powered movement for transformational change of criminal justice towards a fair, just and flourishing Aotearoa. Listen to the True Justice podcast to find out more about the future of justice in Aotearoa, or donate to JustSpeak to support their work today.
***
Adventure.com strives to be a low-emissions publication, and we are working to reduce our carbon emissions where possible. Emissions generated by the movements of our staff and contributors are carbon offset through our parent company, Intrepid. You can visit our sustainability page and read our Contributor Impact Guidelines for more information. While we take our commitment to people and planet seriously, we acknowledge that we still have plenty of work to do, and we welcome all feedback and suggestions from our readers. You can contact us anytime at hello@adventure.com. Please allow up to one week for a response.
Aphiphany Forward-Taua (Waikato-Tainui, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Hinerangi) is the Executive-Director of Just Speak, a justice advocacy NGO based in Aotearoa (New Zealand). She is a graduate of Law and Commerce from Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington. She is passionate about social, justice and environmental reform and is committed to Just Speak's mission of transformational change of the justice system.
