Who will bury our people?

The Covid-19 lockdown has a huge impact on grieving. Picture / File

Ngāti Tawhaki hapū chairman Hemana Waaka accepts that if a coronavirus crisis point was met, the Bay of Plenty region's DHBs and hospitals could not cope, and people would die. But iwi and hapū in the rohe wanted to know, if the worst-case scenario were to happen, who would bury their people?

Mr Waaka said the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic served as a stark reminder of the cause and effect of outbreaks, and the subsequent high death rate of Māori, seven times that of the Pākehā population, raised questions about the care and protection of Māori whakapapa.

And while he saluted Prime Minister's decision to initiate a Level 4 lockdown, the priority had been saving lives, with no thought spared for Māori policies or Māori protocols and tangihanga.

"Perhaps someone has forgotten to address what our processes are when we move into tangihanga mode," he said.

"There was no consultation from the government in regards to leaving our homes to support grieving whānau, and, further to my point, no thought was given to the burial of a loved one.

"Have they consulted with our Māori leaders outside of politics? I don't think so."

Confusion reigned when it came to tangihanga, and government directives for whānau to remain at home posed a huge problem for Māori.

"Only allowing one member from that family with their deceased is not okay," Mr Waaka said.

"Who's going to accompany the body from the undertakers? What about the return trip to the urupa for burial? Hapū and marae have their own burial grounds, so who do they think is responsible for preparing the hole? Whānau will have to breach the government self-isolation rules to support the grieving process by preparing the hole and to allow a minister to conduct the ceremony.

"Nobody seems to have thought about our own tikanga and protocols when it comes to funerals. Māori should be allowed out of their bubbles to support the grieving party. As kaumātua to the whānau of the deceased, we have an obligation to support that whānau if they belong to our marae or hapū, and more so if the body is coming back to their final resting place."

Mr Waaka recalled Te Puea Marae offering accommodation to the homeless in South Auckland, and Mataatua Marae and Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiarangi opening their doors following the White Island crisis.

"We as Māori put our hands up to assist during natural disasters and crises. It's called Māori manaakitanga (hospitality)," he said.

"We didn't wait for the government to tell us what to do. Instead we rose to the call of aroha and addressed emergency situations.

"Now I ask the question of our government and our Māori MPs, what measures did they take to support their local Māori electorates prior to the lockdown in support of hapū and marae when it came to tangihanga during Level 4?

"Common sense prevails for supporting the bereaved whānau (with) hapū or marae tikanga, but there is no indication by government to support Māoridom and allow whānau to assist with burial duties at our urupa and the protocols that go with that.

"My view, and many share the same view, is that our government has not consulted enough Māori. We want to bury our own with dignity when it comes to preparation and conclusions at the urupa."