Author Olivia Pierson’s Offensive Comments About Nanaia Mahuta’s Moko Kauae: The Backlash

An author who made offensive remarks about Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta’s moko kauae is at the center of a backlash, including, she says, death threats.

Olivia Pierson has come under fire for her comments and her book has been withdrawn from sale by online retailer Mighty Ape.

Pierson said Jacinda Ardern had been “completely awakened on stilts” by appointing Mahuta as Minister of Foreign Affairs; the first woman in the country to hold the position and the second of Maori heritage.

“Face tattoos are not exactly a polished and civilized presentation for a foreign diplomat in the 21st century,” he said on Twitter.

“Facial tattoos, especially on a diplomatic woman, are the height of ugly and uncivilized freedom.”

Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon said the Mahuta kauae moko was special for Maori and should be celebrated.

“What I would say to those bad people is [to] stop your racism, stop your prejudices, grow up. Let’s face it, the world is changing, the Maori economy is growing. If the Maori economy grows, it is good for all New Zealanders. “

Mahuta, who declined to comment when approached by the Herald again today, is the first government minister to wear a moko kauae.

Pierson’s book had been sold through Mighty Ape, however, when the company found out, they decided to remove it from their stock.

Pierson said he didn’t know until yesterday that the Mighty Ape was a seller of his book, “so that doesn’t bother me too much.”

However, he claimed to have received “hundreds of disgusting threats of violence against me, including countless death threats.”

Pierson said it was his “prerogative to express my point of view.” He found all the facial tattoos “disgusting”.

In 2015, author Tryphena Cracknell said there were still negative reactions to moko kauae in New Zealand and internationally, and she challenged people to learn more before passing judgment. “It is a visible connection with whakapapa [genealogy] and the culture: it is clear that the women who use it are deeply proud of that culture.

And in 2018, during a controversy when a Pākehā woman was wearing a tā moko, University of Waikato associate professor Te Kahautu Maxwell said that the tā moko had become an important symbol in Maori culture in the 20th century.

“It is the Maori who decide to regain their heritage and identity.

“We have to protect the last strongholds we have as Maori to make ourselves different.”

Mera Lee-Penehira, Associate Professor at Te Whare Wānanga or Awanuiārangi, said: “Moko kauae is the exclusive right of Maori women.

“Not only is it ‘okay’ to make a decision based on race when ordering moko kauae, but it is a ‘requirement’. In my opinion, gifting moko kauae to Pākehā is not the right of any Maori, be it wāhine or tāne – regardless of what happened before. “