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CHRIS SKELTON / THINGS / Things
Ōpōtiki councilor Louis Rapihana says he will send a complaint to Meng Foon, Commissioner for Race Relations (pictured).
A councilor will take a complaint to the Commissioner for Race Relations after his use of the Maori language to perform a karakia at a Gray Power meeting was labeled an “insult”.
Ōpōtiki councilor Louis Rapihana said he was angry at the comments in a newsletter that circulated after the Whakatāne Gray Power meeting at which he spoke late last year.
“I’ll take it further … I’ll send a complaint to the Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon,” Rapihana said.
In the newsletter, Gray Power member Siva Panadam apologized to attendees saying that “I had no idea that Louis Rapihana did not speak English.”
He added that “I would have gotten someone to interpret considering that 90 percent of the attendees were not Maori.” [sic].
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The bulletin went on to say that if Rapihana’s use of te reo was “deliberate” then it was “an insult” to two non-Maori guest speakers at the event.
Panadam told Local Democracy Reporting that he did not believe his comments were racist and that Rapihana should have translated his speech into English.
Rapihana found out about the bulletin after a concerned member of Gray Power sent it to the Ōpōtiki District Council office anonymously.
“They thought that I should see what was written about me, as I was racist and they did not agree with that,” he said.
“I was so angry that I had to put it down and then go back and make sure I was reading it right. For me, it is absolutely disgusting.
“At the end of the day, it was just Karakia. They asked me to open and close the meeting, which is natural for me, and of course I did it on my inmate. I don’t translate my sentences because it’s not for people to hear; it is only for the man above, ”Rapihana said.
The article was not only “racist and offensive,” but simply rude and not in the way a guest should be treated, he said.
At the time, no concerns were expressed about her use of te reo at the meeting.
Since posting the comments on her Facebook page on Tuesday, Rapihana said she had received an incredible amount of support that she was grateful for.
He said he would never attend another Gray Power meeting and would now file the complaint with the Bureau of Race Relations.
Panadam said that he had no problem with the Maori language and had taken te reo classes, but felt that because 90 percent of the people in the meeting were not te reo speakers, Rapihana should have translated his words.
“You should translate what you’re saying, it’s just being polite,” he said.
“There are Maori members on Gray Power and I asked them if they thought (the newsletter) was racist and they said no.”
Panadam claims that many people have thanked him for highlighting the issue.
When asked why he did not raise the issue with Rapihana at the meeting, Panadam said it would be the place for the chairman of Gray Power to request a translation and there was no time to raise it.
“It wasn’t done maliciously or anything, I was just making one point,” he said.
“I have no problem speaking. I convict you. I have nothing against you. I just wanted to explain that a lot of people don’t talk to you. If you are going to thank guest speakers, you should thank them in a language they understand. “
Whakatāne Māori rights activist Mawera Karetai said she was “upset” reading the newsletter, but would welcome the opportunity to meet with Gray Power to educate them on the use of te reo.
“When did gray power become white power? To put this in context, I would like to remind people that when Europeans came to New Zealand, the majority of the population spoke to you.
Instead of learning the language, the Europeans, through colonization, forced the Maori to speak English.
“We have spent the last 200 years fighting for our right to speak to you. Keep in mind that Europeans have also had 200 years to learn te reo, ”he said.
Karetai said that he felt that the author of the article must be truly disconnected from the local community, which was close to 50 percent Maori, and the comments were “arrogant” in the sense that they placed English above the language.
He said that it was terrible to suggest that someone could not speak their native language in their home country.
“I am ashamed of them.”
