People of the land say Maori a Pakeha name they dislike

By AINSLEY THOMSON

The word Maori is out for some tangata whenua.

Associate Maori Affairs Minister Tariana Turia said yesterday: "Maori really is a word that means natural. It's a word that was used by non-Maori to describe the collective of our people and I think we should be using terminology that is our own."

Ms Turia said Maori had been relegated to being just another ethnic minority by the use of the term Maori.

Her view has support among Maori academics.

Dr Ranginui Walker, retired former head of Maori studies at Auckland University, said the words tangata whenua made it quite clear Maori were the people of the land and not another minority group.

He said the term Maori was first used when Europeans arrived and the Maori needed a term to distinguish themselves from the Pakeha.

The word Maori is not used in the Declaration of Independence or the Treaty of Waitangi. Dr Walker said once Europeans became dominant the word Maori became a "colonial artefact" that placed Maori in the minority and was part of the "Pakeha power and domination of Maori".

"So when the Maori get out of line, they get thumped in the press. Maori this, Maori that." Waldo Houia, a senior lecturer at Waikato University's school of Maori and Pacific Development, said Maori had become a recognised term, but it was contentious.

He said some iwi would regard themselves as Maori and others tangata whenua.

"I would say, personally, that tangata whenua is what Maoridom wants. Tangata whenua is free from derogatory implications."

He said it was something that should be debated, with Maori given the option to choose the term tangata whenua.

Maori Language Commissioner Dr Patu Hohepa said both terms were used, but as tangata whenua meant people of the land it had more identity than the word Maori, which meant normal or natural.

National MP Georgina te Heuheu said she was neutral but preferred to identify herself using her iwi.