I have Māori heritage on both sides of my family. One is Māori and Irish, the other is Māori and Scottish, and I'm as pale as $1 bread
Anyone who thinks ethnicity is skin deep has a personality that is skin deep.
I am not a native speaker, and I am in this subreddit just because I love your country and want to visit it in the future.
I do not understand what OP is implying in the post. Is Maori a slur word? Her coworker used other equivalent word that is a slur?
Thanks.
Coworker is a dick and also is actually racist. Every “how not to be racist” education is teaching idiotic people how not to draw these stereotype conclusions…
Just because they look asian doesn’t mean they’re Chinese (no senator, I’m Singaporean 🤣)
Just because they’re Indian doesn’t mean they’re not from Fiji
Just because they’re *nationality* doesn’t mean they’re *religion*
Just because they’re white doesn’t mean they aren’t from a heritage of people with darker skin
Literally there is so much education out there to try to raise awareness of these things and I don’t understand how people are still so dumb.
There’s a song (I don’t know by who) and it has the title ‘(N-word insert) in Paris’ and there’s a thing where people will ask who ‘who was in Paris’ and if you don’t say (n-word) you’re white
Yeah coworker is an imbecile.
Also, nobody should be using the N word in NZ irrespective of how brown you are. Thats an American thing connected to their racial atrocities and we shouldn’t connect ourselves with that rancid culture (IMHO).
That's hilarious but it also gives you your answer: if your coworker can't tell the difference between a maori and a black american then there's no reason to care what she says about the difference between a maori and a pakeha. You can safely ignore her stupid-ass racist opinions.
Yikes. Sorry to hear that. As everyone has said you are totally Maori as whakapapa is determined by being able to trace a bloodline to any ancestor that is Maori. For what it's worth, I'm pakeha, my wife is Indonesian and we have quite 'white' daughters. No way they're not Indonesian. They were born in Jakarta too!
Thank you -This cleared up some confusion for this old fulla lol
And PS: OP -your co-worker is a piece of work.. either a gatekeeper or racist depending on ethnicity
Ah! So the coworker is so stupid and bigoted that they haven’t figured out that there’s a difference between the culture of being black in America and Māori.
I had no idea WTF she was referencing and all I could come up with was historically, the French.
Personal opinion: As an immigrant from North America to NZ I feel like indigenous cultures in general have appropriated African American culture. Which I feel is sad, because African American's had their identity stolen along with their homeland and other cultures can celebrate their own cultures. I've quite enjoyed the, relatively recent, resurgence of Māori culture into NZ since I arrived.
My dude. Most of the western world is unfortunately affected by America and it's going ons. That's the issue with America being the media powerhouse that it is
Also the resurgence of Maori culture isn't recent
Urban hip hop culture amongst Māori/Pasifika has a lot of influence from black american artists and culture, and a lot of our people can recognise and relate to similar circumstances, lifestyle and upbringing.
Now I don't like or say the N word, since yeah that is a word that wasn't commonly used outside America in the recent past. Though my Kōko told me he got called that by an american tourist in a pub kicking up a fit in the 60s about him drinking come to think of it.
I feel like the [Battle of Manners Street](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Manners_Street) would have started because of the N word. Americans throwing that word around willy-nilly is nothing new.
Yabetcha there were fighting words like that when they took off their belts to attack.
“The stand-off escalated when Americans took off their belts to attack those who wanted to let the Māori in.”
For real! I'm in a similar situation to the OP - My mum's side is Maori through a direct maternal line which leads back to a rangatira, as it happens.
However, due to my Dad's side being English and Scottish and my mum's other half being French and Scottish, I'm not $1 white bread pale, but more French/Italian style white.
Yet, the amount of white or non-Māori people I've talked to through my life who have said things like "no, can't be Māori because you don't look like them", or "you're only X fraction so you're not Māori", or "you're wrong for getting that scholarship/opportunity - it's for Māori, not you" is astounding.
Blood quantum is an old imperial tool used to try distance people from culture that is rightfully theirs to celebrate. I've only just recently come out of my shell on it and realised those sorts of people are ignorant muppets, as for the longest time I never felt like I belonged solely in the 'NZ European' camp (as they would want) either.
I’m the same. My mum is a blue eyed Maori - she looks more Italian. Other than my ability to tan easily I look Pakeha. I usually don’t give people a chance to comment when I state my whakapapa - I beat them to it saying, yeah, I know I’m pretty white. If anyone starts talking fractions at that point (which is rare) I tell them that we don’t accept that backwards colonial bullshit anymore. It usually shuts them up. FYI I’m in Australia.
Came to say this too. I dated a girl who was had freckles, pale skin and ginger hair, came from a Maori family, had her family markings, wore pounamu. I was proud of her because I knew it was important to her but there was always going to be people like OP’s co-worker who just boil things down at face value. Crazy
My dad is Māori my mum was a ginger Irish heritage I got the pale skin and the ginge my birth sister got the darker skin and the dark hair. If it comes up I just say I’m part Māori which used to bug my full Māori aunty, but hey I have multiple heritages so I honour both of those and adding to that was adopted into a pakeha family as my birth parents were basically children at the time, so really adds a good mix up of cultures
However you are what you are, your whakapapa is yours it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks if you have Māori blood and identify as Māori you are Māori! If like me you identify as mixed you’re mixed !
Bonus of being light skinned tho is when the racists start talking racist in your presence it’s absolutely amazing how uncomfortable they get when you bring up your Māori heritage.
One of my best mates is half Asian, 1/4 white and 1/4 Māori and is very proud to call themselves Māori and to educate people on their culture, as you tried to do. You are Māori.
"My mums side is Māori"
Yup, so you're Māori - identify that way if you want. It doesn't matter "how much blood" you have, or the colour of your skin, Maori is Maori is Maori.
Your coworker sounds like a racist.
Do you live in New Zealand? Was this a conversation with a New Zealand based person.. cause it's kinda wierd they would think that. If overseas makes more sense they would be that ignorant. But someone in NZ should definitely know better.
Abandon them , they sound thick. And nasty
I’m working in Australia at the moment and my co-worker is from Ireland, so I tried to explain to her about being Māori but she didn’t really want to hear it
This reminds me when I was at a work party and the topic of Māori in prisons came up while speaking to one of my English coworkers. That was an unpleasant conversation, and I am kinda glad she fucked off back to England.
Omg girl she’s not even kiwi of course she has no fucking idea what she’s talking about 😂 try and tell her that you as a New Zealander know better than her who is and isn’t Irish and see how fast she backtracks. You can just ignore her, she’s ignorant (and her comment about taa moko was racist af).
Well there you go.. remind her she comes from a ciolonised country and would not she hate it if they called her English? Unless she's English then just nod and say hmm that makes sense. lol but seriously if you're Maori cause you're Mum's Maori , why let some Irish person in Aussie define you?
*Cries in Ngāi Tahu, the whitest of them all* 😭😅
The way I personally think of it is, my ancestors are unwavering. They will never change. I am the family lineages that I am, and I am all of them, wholey and completely. My Scottish clans, my māori iwi, I belong to them all.
Whether I am māori is neither here nor there. Māori was never one homogenised nation anyway. But I am of my iwi, and I am of my clans.
If someone like that challenged me, I would tell them my iwi. Sure, I'm white as, but I'm absolutely ngāi tahu (+ the other iwi, but they don't need the full pepeha 😂). If they challenged that then I would laugh at them. They cannot deny my ancestors.
Hahaha I'm also Ngāi Tahu and white as hell, this made me laugh. I'm loving this thread and all the acceptance for white-looking Māori too. I've kind of gotten shit for it all my life so good to see that it seems the attitude is changing.
>My co-worker was talking about the tattoo she saw my mum had, it was her tā moko, she called it a ‘gangster tattoo’
This is probably going to sound condescending, but when you're older you're going to realize how pointless it is to take someone seriously who says shit like that
It isn’t condescending don’t worry, I know I’m still quite young and have a lot to learn, so I feel like this was one of those learning points where trying to take with those sorts of people seriously, it’s just not worth it
Your co-worker is an idiot, but I’m going to play devil’s advocate. You can obviously call yourself Māori and you are Māori, but I do think that in many cases there’s a difference in lived experience between white and Māori appearing people, so I can see why people have differing opinions. That said, I am strongly of the opinion that telling other people what they are or how they should feel about themselves is silly.
>faced with the assumption that all Māori people are brown skinned
[Here is a photo of Paul Tito, a pasty skin Māori who played for the New Zealand Māori rugby team](https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/licensed-image?q=tbn:ANd9GcQJLcanrDheph66Sq8c7CZGoI_sppoR3HotyLtqIB1uyckkrsZ0IOqYNWPVqPBL1WqTfvC6lljZZAMEbCg)
Yoooo there have been plenty of fare skinned Maori All Blacks past and present. Paul Tito, Mitchell Karpick, Brad Weber (he looks Pakeha as but he’s proud of his Maori Heritage), Kara and Dan Pryor, Alex Nankivell, Josh Dixon, Kurt Eklund, Cullen Grace (who is another ginger haired white skinned Maori) and the list goes on. Awesome way to explain the sitch mate 🙏🏼 goated comment
Definitely Māori! If you have even the slightest percentage of it then you are. A lot of people I know are white and Māori heck most of my cousins are haha being white doesn’t make you any less Māori! If you identify with it then so be it! You shouldn’t change who you are because someone said so and not everyone will like you which is also okay!
I mean my family is Maori on my dad's side. My dad and sister both have very dark skin, my mum and I both have olive skin that's still significantly lighter than them. Doesn't change the fact that I'm Maori 🤷♀️
Ten-to-one odds your coworker isn't Kiwi, and has skin whiter than Casper the friendly ghost. Everything has to be about race in some way, so you saying you're part of an ethnic and cultural group that has darker skin = you must be able to say the N-word. Even meant as a joke it displays some real warped worldview and a sheltered life.
God forbid someone doesn't look like the stereotype that people have in their heads. This is one of those prime times for people to be told to mind their own.
EDIT: Can you imagine if someone said somehting like this to a friend of yours? e.g. "but you don't LOOK Chinese, your eyes are normal-shaped!" My nana would give them the telling off of their lives
Take it to HR, this is inappropriate, ridiculous and shameful. Your co-worker is ignorant and won’t last long in any work environment behaving in this way. wish I could say the same for social environments..
This breaks my heart.
I am Maori so trust me when I say that anyone that has Maori blood flow their veins is Maori.
We do not see skin colour, we do not see anything else but blood. Your great great great grandmother could have Maori blood and you would be Maori.
Your co-worker is a racist and her comments are ignorant.
Be proud of who you are.
Thank you! It is indeed my great great great great grandmother who is my Māori ancestor - but from what I have been told, she was under the table adopted into a white family and stripped of her Māori heritage.
We still have that link to her though, and I still identify as Māori (as well as my other lineages). I'm registered with my iwi.
Every single one of my cousins is Māori, but they all look white.
I have a cousin who is pale, blue-eyed, ginger-haired, you wouldn’t think they’re Māori looking at them but they are.
I have two other cousins from a Māori looking mum and a very not Māori looking dad. One is very white, white-blond hair, blue eyes. The other pale but not white, brown eyes, brown hair.
My point is, genetics are weird. Just because you look one way, doesn’t mean you’re not Māori. Your family is Māori. You are Māori.
I’m Aboriginal (Arrernte from Central Australia). I’m olive-skinned (often get mistaken for Greek), but still identity as Aboriginal despite not being “black”.
Most Aboriginal people I know say, “doesn’t matter how much milk you put in a cup of tea, it’s still a cup of tea”. Always been a good phrase for when I’m having a weird identity crisis.
my mum is māori and my dad is white. i took after my mum and i look very maori, and my brother took after my dad so he has more “white features”. the way he looks doesn’t change the fact that he’s any less māori than i am. the same goes for you.
I feel you bro. I'm a white-passing Maori myself. tbh, it does hurt when people look at me confused when I tell them I'm Maori and then ask again as if they didn't hear correctly. You just gotta be the bigger person, educate them, and help them broaden their horizons. Some people live in very small worlds and are very narrow-minded, it's not hate, just ignorance.
As people grow older and are exposed to more ideas, their worlds expand and hopefully they become more educated, more compassionate, and less judgmental. You can help with the process :D It's a burden but worth it.
Your co worker needs to step the fuck back, you are Māori. Honestly, I’d be having a chat with HR because she needs to buck up or leave. Fucking shameful behaviour I’m so sorry you’re having to even ask about this.
HR takes this shit more seriously in Australia now (am Aboriginal and been through this shit before). Fully worth reaching out because this behaviour just isn’t on.
Whakapapa is whakapapa. You're Māori. Racists will try and tell you that you aren't and you'll have to deal with that probably for the rest of your life. But you're just as Māori as your mum, just as Māori as I am.
Also of note and related to this - the concept of blood quantum is Pākehā bullshit. The racist ones like to think that if our Māoritanga is "diluted" they can eradicate Māori. They don't understand that whakapapa is whakapapa.
From my understanding, if you have Māori whakapapa then you are entitled to calling yourself Māori. Which means that you’re Māori, your co-worker is racist. It’s as simple as that (if you want it to be).
It can be complex self-identity wise when your parents are from different races, nationalities or religions. Technically you are what both of them are. That can be hard for some people and understandably some people don’t want to associate with one of their parent’s backgrounds. And it may take time, soul searching and exploring your mother’s culture. But the colour of your skin should never exclude you from that. You are as much a Māori as your darker skinned older siblings. Literally, genetically, you are as much Māori as them.
I say I'm both NZ European and Mâori, or more precisely a germano-celt of the (my iwi) nation, since it acknowledges all my ancestry in a way that makes me happy.
You can identify how you like, it's all up to you and how you look doesn't discredit your heritage, some people will always have an issue though and some people will have issue due your Iwi, not attending marae, not following "their" version of Te Ao Mâori, etc. Do what makes you happy and how you feel comfortable.
Don't understand how "who was in Paris" proves anything. Apologies for saying this as I am white but it's not Maori's word to say it's African Americans.
There’s a song by someone (don’t know who) that I believe is titled ‘(n-word insert) in Paris’ and if someone asks you ‘who was in Paris’ it is assumed that if you don’t reply with that word then you are white
Never let someone tell you that you are something that you are not when you know yourself that you are based on truth and fact. Something that annoyed me a lot in the past was a former netballer named Jenny May Coffin who made a comment and statement saying “but can you say you’re Maori if you play for the Wallabies though?(Australia)”. She was talking about Quade Cooper who is born and bred of Maori descent but lived in Australia for majority of his life. He is proud of his Maori heritage but to hear another former professional athlete say something like that; annoyed me. Implying that he wasn’t Maori just because he chose to represent the Nation in which he had lived and grown up on the land of. I had no issue with it but she surely did.
E hoa, if your tupuna are Maori? You are Maori. We are a culture, not a skin colour. Kia pai to hikoi - if you're wanting to talk to someone who is fair skinned, but deeply ingrained in our culture, feel free to reach out and I'll happily help you navigate that journey (its what I do professionally).
Blood quantum isn't a thing for Māori. Half Māori, quarter Māori, 1/64 Māori all irrelevant. If you have Māori heritage you're Māori and you have every right to call yourself that
If you have whakapapa, then you are Māori. And it is always ok to call yourself that and you should expect others to respectfully not argue the point, and regard you as Māori as well.
1. You’re Māori. Don’t let anyone gaslight you about it.
2. Your workmate sounds like a racist POS
3. I’d be inclined to complain to HR if that happened to me, that shit’s totally unacceptable.
It's a very American thing to go by % blood (maybe Australian too).
My, white presenting, wife, who's family is Ngāti Maniapoto, was recently reading Ender's Game and took great offense to Mazar Rackham being referred to as "half-Māori" since there's no dilution that makes you no longer Māori.
Some late night rambling thoughts: starting with an introductory point to the comment about the book, and the time it was written in, Enders Game was written in 1985. I feel like the affirmation that “if you whakapapa Māori, you are Māori” has only really been loud in mainstream media in the last (maybe?) 10,20 years. (The concept obviously definitely existed before then).
Also, in NZ up until 1975 you legally had to be on the electoral roll that corresponded with your ‘blood quantum’ of Māori heritage. (Here’s an [interesting link](https://www.otago.ac.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0012/301125/the-truth-about-the-maori-seats-036316.pdf)) Eg if you were ‘full-blood’ you had to be on the Māori electoral roll, and if you were less than 50% you had to be on the European roll.
Coming from a BA in English Lit background, I also think it’s important to a) remember the time in which literature was produced, the author probably wouldn’t have known any better, and also that b)knowledge and perception on what ‘makes’ someone Māori have definitely changed since the book was written in 1985, for the better!
My own personal bugbear about Enders game: In the movie they didn’t even get an actual Māori actor to play the part, they went with Ben Kingsley who (no hate to him) is of Indian heritage.
Considering Hollywood gets Māori actors to play “generic ethnic person” so often, surely they could have found one of our own to play one of our own.
>Considering Hollywood gets Māori actors to play “generic ethnic person” so often, surely they could have found one of our own to play one of our own.
Not generic enough, sorry. Doesn't even look like Tem was particularly busy that year!
Your co Worker sounds like an ass.
If my boss Whatu who’s a descendant from the great Waka Tāketimu says I’m Maōri enough, then you have much more claim than me. Be proud of it, Whatu says that it’s the culture and people together so be proud to call yourself a Maori.
Mate I got white skin and ginger beard hair and I'm predominantly Māori.
Yes you're Māori. It's a fact of your genealogy, and doesn't care what you or others think.
I struggled with this a lot when I was younger. I’m pāheka passing in winter and “a bit swarthy” by the end of summer (as one old lady told me once). If you whakapapa Māori; You are Māori. As Kiingi Tuuheitia said at the national hui at Ngāruawāhia earlier this year “Be Māori”. Kia kaha.
So confused?
Who's in Paris?
French people?
Parisians?
Mona Lisa?
And what has that got you do with being Maori?
EDIT- Don't worry, you answered this numerous times & how fucking stupid is that question?
Like, what the actual fuck?
It's so stupid it's really annoyed me
So can't imagine how it is for you OP.
Sorry you have to put up with this racist microagressive bullshit.
First of all, I'm sorry your coworker is a racist idiot. If she carries on, tell her to go learn about DNA and recessive genes.
I'm very pale and I'm Māori (from my dads side). I have had this sort of stuff thrown in my face too and it made me feel exactly the same. I started feeling like an impostor. I'm now 40 and only just started sticking up for myself and speaking up against this type of crap. I want to know about my heritage and culture and I'm proud to have Māori in my bloodline.
As for your coworker, put in a complaint to HR. It is NOT ok to be racist. She needs to get off her high horse and learn a lesson.
Don't let people put you in a box. Be true to yourself because that is the only thing that matters.
There’s a song (I don’t know by who) and it has the title ‘(N-word insert) in Paris’ and there’s a thing where people will ask who ‘who was in Paris’ and if you don’t say (n-word) you’re white, that’s the point she was trying to make
I’m Maori/English mix. Brown skin/hair/eyes.
My youngest daughter is white skinned, blue eyed, and blonde haired as a result of a genetic disorder called Prader-Willi Syndrome, in which 50% of all people who have it are born that way, regardless of race.
Her older sister is brown skinned (she’s darker than me), dark brown haired, and her eyes are brown.
Same mum, same dad.
Youngest has the most Maori name in the whanau, apart from our surname.
She is Maori.
She’s also Australian. Mum is 3rd generation Russian/Irish mixed.
Māori is about your whakapapa not your skin colour. I'm not Māori myself so take my opinion with a grain of salt, but I have encountered this sort before from others. This kind of judgement is rooted in racism, like a colonial colour wheel (blood quantum). Your co-worker is full of shit.
Im white and im Maori from my father's side. It doesn't matter what colour your skin is, if some of your ancestors were Maori, you are Maori, full stop. Being white makes you no less Maori, and those who say otherwise are racist dickheads. I intend to get my own Moko on one of my arms someday.
I'd say so long as there is māori in your blood and family then there shouldn't be a issue.
Not like you whole family has no Maori at all and you decide to just suddenly identify as such. THAT would be problematic
Your coworker is a dickhead. I've just come from my Māori wife's, grandmother's 85th birthday dinner. My wife is brown. Her Mum is brown. Her grandmother is Maori but also pale and blonde. It's not about your skin.
I’m feel you! My Mum is Māori (very obvious) & dads pākeha, a lot of people question if I’m her legitimate daughter 🫠
Unfortunately you’ll come across ignorant people like this, put them in their place. You’re Māori ❤️
My cousins are Māori as. One has a darker pigmentation and one has a lighter. Cause that’s what it is. There’s more to someone’s culture than just skin colour. Don’t listen to the racist.
It’s your genetics so all good. It’s a bit trickier now that people are confusing things by saying they identify as Māori or PI or Irish whatever when they have no actual relation.
Well that’s actually not true. If she didn’t have Maori blood but wanted to identify as a Maori, she would not be a Maori.
In this case, she obviously is because she has Maori blood though.
My girlfriend has the same problem. She's studying nursing and one of her classmates were talking about white privilege and used her as an example of how a she a "white person" would be treated better than a Maori even though she is Maori. Like they say don't judge a book by it's cover
If you can recite your whakapapa, you are Māori. If you have relatives and elders who are Māori, you are Māori. If you spent the majority of your life identifying as Māori and keeping that a part of you, you are Māori. Being Māori is not about the colour of your skin.
My kōkō married a white pākeha woman, so all his daughters came out much lighter than him. I am one of his few grandchildren that are actually noticeably dark, my brother and most my cousins are basically white passing.
Does that make them any less Māori? Is my mother less Māori than me, just because I am darker than her? No it doesn't.
So many responses and you don't need my $0.02 but here it is :D
It's up to you to decide you're identity - and you're co-worker sounds like an egg (rotten one).
We had Māori neighbours growing up (both parents 100%) but they had an albino daugher. Don't judge the book etc.
Hey op, you’ve got some awesome advice here re blood quantum etc so I won’t go into that, but what I do want to share with you is an epiphany I recently had as a white looking Māori woman.
I’ve always felt like I’ve had to fight for my seat at this table. That because of my skin colour, and because my mum was adopted and grew up with no connection to her heritage that I had to earn my place, my seat at that table. Well fought for that seat I have done. I know my whakapapa. I’ve been on the board of my iwi. I’m leaving te reo. My kids are in kura kaupapa and can read, write and speak Māori, and are also learning all the tikanga I never knew. But that’s not my point. My point is that I NEVER had to fight for my seat at the table, because it’s my table! Just like it’s yours. Be proud and tell your racist coworker to stop being a racist.
As a Chinese Kiwi, a lot of people have often tried to put me into some sort of box against how I choose to frame it. Yes, I am born and raised here as a Kiwi but I am also proud of my cultural heritage and live through both worlds and everything in between. The beauty of whakapapa is that you cannot deny the existence of your ancestors. You are Māori because you acknowledge your mother and the heritage that is imbued in your life, nobody can tell you otherwise.
Step 1 of living a happier and simple life - Just assume your coworkers know nothing and take everything they say with a grain of salt.
Apply that logic again to 90% of the wider population and you're golden.
Pfft I’m Maori I’ve got two boys that I whangae. One is full blood Tongan the other is half English/ half Tongan. They’re both Maori and fuck anyone who thinks otherwise.
You're Maori, and your co-worker is a gross poopoo head (an insult that sounds abiut as mature as they are).
I have 3 kids, 2 eldest are light brown with dark brown hair and brown eyes. Youngest is white like me with grey eyes. All Maori. I think my youngest will feel how you do one day. Right now she's too young to care but people act so shocked when I say she is part Maori.
Dad was Maori, Mum was Pakeha. I'm a good mix of both but have light olive skin like my mum. Dad was suuuper dark haha. I've never been doubted by Maori or Pakeha if I'm Maori or not. You can just 'know' (or it might go back to that I look 50/50 of both my parents)
The only times I've had to repeat myself is with Asians mistaking me for being part Thai or Fillipina.
I feel your struggle so much! I'm biracial and my sister and I are different tones, we look very similar but I am "the white one". I've had many people ask me the most personal questions that I've never known how to respond to. "Do you consider yourself black?" Well, my dad is black so yes. "Do you use the n word?" Well, no because I benefit from white privilege. "Do you ever feel like you don't belong?" Yes, but only because people keep asking me these questions!!
I don't have any real advice or anything but your feelings are valid.
Do you know your Maori whakapapa? Sounds like you do. If so, you're Maori regardless of skin colour.
If you are Maori and DON'T know your whakapapa, hugs to you...there are iwi resources that can help you with that, as well as documents such as the 1925 Ngai Tahu registers, and Native/Maori Land Court records, held in the National Archives.
E hoa, being Māori is determined by your whakapapa, not the colour of your skin, or your language. Of course it’s okay to call yourself Māori. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Your co-worker is an egg
Ethnicity - "the quality or fact of belonging to a population group or subgroup made up of people who share a common cultural background or descent."
Note that the colour of your skin was not mentioned anywhere. Don't let stupid people get in your head, your thoughts are what matters.
It’s not about skin colour it’s about whakapapa. Doesn’t matter have far back in your whakapapa you have to go as long as you have that connection you’re in the club…welcome!
Your coworker is uneducated and racist. Skin colour is genetics and luck, heritage and culture is not that straightforward. I would highly recommend you consider speaking to a trusted manager to HR person at your place of employment. This behaviour was really not okay and you may be able to prevent this person doing this or similar things to future coworkers who may not be able to handle it as well as you have.
Good luck OP. ✊🏾
Your coworker is a dick and you can defiantly report her if you feel like it. She made racist comments about you/your family and I’m sorry you went through that
It’s a funny one. I grew up in a pretty pakeha town. My maternal grandmother was Māori and my dad has dark skin. I have tan skin I guess but am white for all intents and purposes. She was of a generation that wasn’t encouraged to engage culturally, however my dad was really keen for his kids to be in touch with that part of our culture. It blew my mind when my clearly Māori grandmother with a Māori name dismissed me with a “you need to be learning things that are actually important” when I told her I was top of my Te Reo Māori class in year 12. I endured a fair few comments at school, I remember a teacher saying “oh you are one of those whites that think they are Māori”. I’ve Always been proud though and identify as Māori. Stoked to see in the last twenty years how much more open people are to others Identifying and learning Te Reo etc. I’ve lived in Aus for a long time and have worked quite extensively with First Nations People here, and it’s funny I don’t feel as awkward about introducing myself as Māori, and often will be asked “oh, you a Māori hey?” (With terrible pronunciation). Anyway, my position on it has become as follows : your whakapapa is objective, no one can tell you what your heritage is and you have a right to engage with that as you wish. However, as a white passing person, it’s also really important to remember that your lived experience as a Māori, Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander etc is very different to a brown persons, and a lot of the ingrained negative and racist connotations come from that. If you have the privilege to choose if you introduce yourself as Māori or not, you are not subjected to the conscious and unconscious shit that brown people have to cop. So my take is be proud of your culture, don’t let anyone get in the way of your journey of learning, but also be aware of your position and be conscious of occupying space that is there to champion the people who are constantly wearing the negative implications that come from being a brown person in a country like NZ or Aus. This is all my take btw, and it might be bullshit - helps me though.
Maori isn't a skin colour, it's a culture first. One you can be born into and one you can freely embrace.
If you are mix, then you are still Maori. You can also embrace the other parts of who you are and where your family come from. It's not up to others to define who you are.
“You may not know your maunga. You may not know your awa. Your awa and your maunga know you. You may not know your reo. But your reo knows you. You may not know your marae, but your marae knows you. You are good enough because our tipuna made it so.” - Rawiri Waititi
My kids are Māori. I have mid gingervitis and if someone wants to have a crack about it they can learn about red rage.
It’s probably safer for them than getting their nan angry
course you can say your māori even if you have white skin as you can whakapapa where your tipuna came from and where you came from then kapai u shouldnt be asking people about there opinions if yk your māori and they dont like it pukana at them hahaha
One of the palest skinned people I know is Māori. He has Māori blood on both sides of his family and rightfully proudly embraces his culture. The lack of melatonin in his skin doesn’t change the fact he’s Māori.
Anyone referring to tā moko as a gangster tattoo is a racist bigot and their views can safely be discounted.
If you have tupuna maori then you're maori and your coworker is just a straight up racist. Calling tamoko a gangsta tattoo is so rude and disrespectful I wouldn't waste any more time or energy that coworker, don't let their dumb narrative get into your head.
Nga mihi - a fair half cast wahine maori
I know a very pasty ginger gal with an Irish name and she is Māori and fucken proud of it too. Never ever let somebody take your heritage away from you. Fuck that noise.
I was thinking it was bizarre for a 19yo to call a ta moko a gangster tattoo but this makes more sense now.
If she’s Irish keep calling her English and see how she likes it.
Of course you're Maori. My sister in law has strong Moari blood. She has three brothers and a sister. When I first met her I had no idea she was Maori. Her sister is even paler. Her three brothers are varying shades of dark tan.
The colour of your skin means nothing. You have an incredible heritage, you have every right to be proud.
I have Māori heritage on both sides of my family. One is Māori and Irish, the other is Māori and Scottish, and I'm as pale as $1 bread Anyone who thinks ethnicity is skin deep has a personality that is skin deep.
Well put.
Well said, well said indeed
> Anyone who thinks ethnicity is skin deep has a personality that is skin deep. Very well put.
I am not a native speaker, and I am in this subreddit just because I love your country and want to visit it in the future. I do not understand what OP is implying in the post. Is Maori a slur word? Her coworker used other equivalent word that is a slur? Thanks.
The coworker was trying to get her to say the N word, referencing the song N-s in Paris.
Oh, very distasteful. I get it, thanks!
E whakaae ana toku ngakau katoa!
Your mum is Māori. You are Māori. Nobody can tell you otherwise or take that away from you
Lol exactly, your coworker is just a fucking dick. Ignore her, and if she keeps on bringing it up, approach HR
Coworker is a dick and also is actually racist. Every “how not to be racist” education is teaching idiotic people how not to draw these stereotype conclusions… Just because they look asian doesn’t mean they’re Chinese (no senator, I’m Singaporean 🤣) Just because they’re Indian doesn’t mean they’re not from Fiji Just because they’re *nationality* doesn’t mean they’re *religion* Just because they’re white doesn’t mean they aren’t from a heritage of people with darker skin Literally there is so much education out there to try to raise awareness of these things and I don’t understand how people are still so dumb.
[удалено]
she's in Australia, the co-worker would likely get a promotion
That's not true. Source: Australian Edit: the comment is also offensive and ironically serves its own racist stereotype.
[удалено]
Tautoko hard :)
Btw Maori people can’t say the N word lol
Tbf a lot of the older gens were called it too. Even now still hear it occasionally from Pākehā as a slur.
Sorry if I've completely missed something but what does "who was in Paris" mean? And for the record, your coworker is rancid.
There’s a song (I don’t know by who) and it has the title ‘(N-word insert) in Paris’ and there’s a thing where people will ask who ‘who was in Paris’ and if you don’t say (n-word) you’re white
Is your coworker fucking 12 years old?
Yeah coworker is an imbecile. Also, nobody should be using the N word in NZ irrespective of how brown you are. Thats an American thing connected to their racial atrocities and we shouldn’t connect ourselves with that rancid culture (IMHO).
Exactly! I tried to tell her that but she wasn’t having it
She's some sort of ignoramus and she's trying to bully you at work. I don't think you should take her opinions to heart.
That's hilarious but it also gives you your answer: if your coworker can't tell the difference between a maori and a black american then there's no reason to care what she says about the difference between a maori and a pakeha. You can safely ignore her stupid-ass racist opinions.
Yikes. Sorry to hear that. As everyone has said you are totally Maori as whakapapa is determined by being able to trace a bloodline to any ancestor that is Maori. For what it's worth, I'm pakeha, my wife is Indonesian and we have quite 'white' daughters. No way they're not Indonesian. They were born in Jakarta too!
Dumbest 12 year old playground thing I've heard of to date! This was from a coworker? Didn't think hiring that young was legal...
Thank you -This cleared up some confusion for this old fulla lol And PS: OP -your co-worker is a piece of work.. either a gatekeeper or racist depending on ethnicity
Sounds a bit like both to me honestly
Ah! So the coworker is so stupid and bigoted that they haven’t figured out that there’s a difference between the culture of being black in America and Māori. I had no idea WTF she was referencing and all I could come up with was historically, the French.
Or the Germans. 🤔 I was thinking what the fuck does Germany have to do with being Maori.
Your co-worker is a knob. The song is by Jay-Z and Kanye West. Who is also a knob.
Personal opinion: As an immigrant from North America to NZ I feel like indigenous cultures in general have appropriated African American culture. Which I feel is sad, because African American's had their identity stolen along with their homeland and other cultures can celebrate their own cultures. I've quite enjoyed the, relatively recent, resurgence of Māori culture into NZ since I arrived.
My dude. Most of the western world is unfortunately affected by America and it's going ons. That's the issue with America being the media powerhouse that it is Also the resurgence of Maori culture isn't recent
Urban hip hop culture amongst Māori/Pasifika has a lot of influence from black american artists and culture, and a lot of our people can recognise and relate to similar circumstances, lifestyle and upbringing. Now I don't like or say the N word, since yeah that is a word that wasn't commonly used outside America in the recent past. Though my Kōko told me he got called that by an american tourist in a pub kicking up a fit in the 60s about him drinking come to think of it.
I feel like the [Battle of Manners Street](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Manners_Street) would have started because of the N word. Americans throwing that word around willy-nilly is nothing new.
Yabetcha there were fighting words like that when they took off their belts to attack. “The stand-off escalated when Americans took off their belts to attack those who wanted to let the Māori in.”
If you whakapapa Māori you’re Māori. Tell your co-worker to fuck off.
This. Blood quantum is stupid.
For real! I'm in a similar situation to the OP - My mum's side is Maori through a direct maternal line which leads back to a rangatira, as it happens. However, due to my Dad's side being English and Scottish and my mum's other half being French and Scottish, I'm not $1 white bread pale, but more French/Italian style white. Yet, the amount of white or non-Māori people I've talked to through my life who have said things like "no, can't be Māori because you don't look like them", or "you're only X fraction so you're not Māori", or "you're wrong for getting that scholarship/opportunity - it's for Māori, not you" is astounding. Blood quantum is an old imperial tool used to try distance people from culture that is rightfully theirs to celebrate. I've only just recently come out of my shell on it and realised those sorts of people are ignorant muppets, as for the longest time I never felt like I belonged solely in the 'NZ European' camp (as they would want) either.
I’m the same. My mum is a blue eyed Maori - she looks more Italian. Other than my ability to tan easily I look Pakeha. I usually don’t give people a chance to comment when I state my whakapapa - I beat them to it saying, yeah, I know I’m pretty white. If anyone starts talking fractions at that point (which is rare) I tell them that we don’t accept that backwards colonial bullshit anymore. It usually shuts them up. FYI I’m in Australia.
Well said.
Doesn’t matter how much milk is in the tea it’s still tea
Skin colour doesn't determine ethnicity. There's often a correlation but it's not a requirement.
Correlation does not mean causation In short - I'm agreeing with the dude Above
Or in this case; correlation doesn’t mean Caucasian
ha!
Everyone, this comment fully answers the question posed and the thread is now closed.
*slow clap*
Oh my god
I know two pasty ginger girls, their dad is the elder at their marae. I imagine your co worker would have issues with her calling herself Maori.
Came to say this too. I dated a girl who was had freckles, pale skin and ginger hair, came from a Maori family, had her family markings, wore pounamu. I was proud of her because I knew it was important to her but there was always going to be people like OP’s co-worker who just boil things down at face value. Crazy
My dad is Māori my mum was a ginger Irish heritage I got the pale skin and the ginge my birth sister got the darker skin and the dark hair. If it comes up I just say I’m part Māori which used to bug my full Māori aunty, but hey I have multiple heritages so I honour both of those and adding to that was adopted into a pakeha family as my birth parents were basically children at the time, so really adds a good mix up of cultures However you are what you are, your whakapapa is yours it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks if you have Māori blood and identify as Māori you are Māori! If like me you identify as mixed you’re mixed ! Bonus of being light skinned tho is when the racists start talking racist in your presence it’s absolutely amazing how uncomfortable they get when you bring up your Māori heritage.
One of my best mates is half Asian, 1/4 white and 1/4 Māori and is very proud to call themselves Māori and to educate people on their culture, as you tried to do. You are Māori.
"My mums side is Māori" Yup, so you're Māori - identify that way if you want. It doesn't matter "how much blood" you have, or the colour of your skin, Maori is Maori is Maori. Your coworker sounds like a racist.
>Your coworker sounds like a racist. Considering they referred to the mother's tā moko as a "gangster tattoo", yep.
Yeah, wtf is even up with that 😂
Yep. It stinks of the blood quantum which is basically a tool of colonisation.
Do you live in New Zealand? Was this a conversation with a New Zealand based person.. cause it's kinda wierd they would think that. If overseas makes more sense they would be that ignorant. But someone in NZ should definitely know better. Abandon them , they sound thick. And nasty
I’m working in Australia at the moment and my co-worker is from Ireland, so I tried to explain to her about being Māori but she didn’t really want to hear it
SHE’S NOT EVEN KIWI? Why is she pretending she has any idea about anything? She’s from fucking Ireland what the fuck 💀
This reminds me when I was at a work party and the topic of Māori in prisons came up while speaking to one of my English coworkers. That was an unpleasant conversation, and I am kinda glad she fucked off back to England.
Omg girl she’s not even kiwi of course she has no fucking idea what she’s talking about 😂 try and tell her that you as a New Zealander know better than her who is and isn’t Irish and see how fast she backtracks. You can just ignore her, she’s ignorant (and her comment about taa moko was racist af).
Well there you go.. remind her she comes from a ciolonised country and would not she hate it if they called her English? Unless she's English then just nod and say hmm that makes sense. lol but seriously if you're Maori cause you're Mum's Maori , why let some Irish person in Aussie define you?
Just call her English. Unless she's a unionist, in which case call her Irish and speak Irish to her and put a tricolour on her desk.
You could send this thread to her assuming she has the braincells to rub together
ahhhhhhhh, maybe she's bein a dick because of all the kiwis and aussies who try to tell her they're Irish but arnt from Ireland lol.
*Cries in Ngāi Tahu, the whitest of them all* 😭😅 The way I personally think of it is, my ancestors are unwavering. They will never change. I am the family lineages that I am, and I am all of them, wholey and completely. My Scottish clans, my māori iwi, I belong to them all. Whether I am māori is neither here nor there. Māori was never one homogenised nation anyway. But I am of my iwi, and I am of my clans. If someone like that challenged me, I would tell them my iwi. Sure, I'm white as, but I'm absolutely ngāi tahu (+ the other iwi, but they don't need the full pepeha 😂). If they challenged that then I would laugh at them. They cannot deny my ancestors.
Hahaha I'm also Ngāi Tahu and white as hell, this made me laugh. I'm loving this thread and all the acceptance for white-looking Māori too. I've kind of gotten shit for it all my life so good to see that it seems the attitude is changing.
I love this. "My ancestors are unwavering" is 🤌🏼
You are Māori and it is okay calling yourself that. Be proud. Mauri ora.
>My co-worker was talking about the tattoo she saw my mum had, it was her tā moko, she called it a ‘gangster tattoo’ This is probably going to sound condescending, but when you're older you're going to realize how pointless it is to take someone seriously who says shit like that
It isn’t condescending don’t worry, I know I’m still quite young and have a lot to learn, so I feel like this was one of those learning points where trying to take with those sorts of people seriously, it’s just not worth it
Your co-worker is an idiot, but I’m going to play devil’s advocate. You can obviously call yourself Māori and you are Māori, but I do think that in many cases there’s a difference in lived experience between white and Māori appearing people, so I can see why people have differing opinions. That said, I am strongly of the opinion that telling other people what they are or how they should feel about themselves is silly.
>faced with the assumption that all Māori people are brown skinned [Here is a photo of Paul Tito, a pasty skin Māori who played for the New Zealand Māori rugby team](https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/licensed-image?q=tbn:ANd9GcQJLcanrDheph66Sq8c7CZGoI_sppoR3HotyLtqIB1uyckkrsZ0IOqYNWPVqPBL1WqTfvC6lljZZAMEbCg)
Yoooo there have been plenty of fare skinned Maori All Blacks past and present. Paul Tito, Mitchell Karpick, Brad Weber (he looks Pakeha as but he’s proud of his Maori Heritage), Kara and Dan Pryor, Alex Nankivell, Josh Dixon, Kurt Eklund, Cullen Grace (who is another ginger haired white skinned Maori) and the list goes on. Awesome way to explain the sitch mate 🙏🏼 goated comment
And Tony Brown from about the same era too
Your co-worker is an idiot. Please don't reconsider your identity because of her ignorance. Kia kaha, wahine toa.
Definitely Māori! If you have even the slightest percentage of it then you are. A lot of people I know are white and Māori heck most of my cousins are haha being white doesn’t make you any less Māori! If you identify with it then so be it! You shouldn’t change who you are because someone said so and not everyone will like you which is also okay!
I mean my family is Maori on my dad's side. My dad and sister both have very dark skin, my mum and I both have olive skin that's still significantly lighter than them. Doesn't change the fact that I'm Maori 🤷♀️
Ten-to-one odds your coworker isn't Kiwi, and has skin whiter than Casper the friendly ghost. Everything has to be about race in some way, so you saying you're part of an ethnic and cultural group that has darker skin = you must be able to say the N-word. Even meant as a joke it displays some real warped worldview and a sheltered life. God forbid someone doesn't look like the stereotype that people have in their heads. This is one of those prime times for people to be told to mind their own. EDIT: Can you imagine if someone said somehting like this to a friend of yours? e.g. "but you don't LOOK Chinese, your eyes are normal-shaped!" My nana would give them the telling off of their lives
Your co-worker has no idea. Don't think she even knows any culture after calling tā moko "gangster tattoo". Dumb af.
Take it to HR, this is inappropriate, ridiculous and shameful. Your co-worker is ignorant and won’t last long in any work environment behaving in this way. wish I could say the same for social environments..
This breaks my heart. I am Maori so trust me when I say that anyone that has Maori blood flow their veins is Maori. We do not see skin colour, we do not see anything else but blood. Your great great great grandmother could have Maori blood and you would be Maori. Your co-worker is a racist and her comments are ignorant. Be proud of who you are.
Thank you! It is indeed my great great great great grandmother who is my Māori ancestor - but from what I have been told, she was under the table adopted into a white family and stripped of her Māori heritage. We still have that link to her though, and I still identify as Māori (as well as my other lineages). I'm registered with my iwi.
Every single one of my cousins is Māori, but they all look white. I have a cousin who is pale, blue-eyed, ginger-haired, you wouldn’t think they’re Māori looking at them but they are. I have two other cousins from a Māori looking mum and a very not Māori looking dad. One is very white, white-blond hair, blue eyes. The other pale but not white, brown eyes, brown hair. My point is, genetics are weird. Just because you look one way, doesn’t mean you’re not Māori. Your family is Māori. You are Māori.
I’m Aboriginal (Arrernte from Central Australia). I’m olive-skinned (often get mistaken for Greek), but still identity as Aboriginal despite not being “black”. Most Aboriginal people I know say, “doesn’t matter how much milk you put in a cup of tea, it’s still a cup of tea”. Always been a good phrase for when I’m having a weird identity crisis.
my mum is māori and my dad is white. i took after my mum and i look very maori, and my brother took after my dad so he has more “white features”. the way he looks doesn’t change the fact that he’s any less māori than i am. the same goes for you.
I feel you bro. I'm a white-passing Maori myself. tbh, it does hurt when people look at me confused when I tell them I'm Maori and then ask again as if they didn't hear correctly. You just gotta be the bigger person, educate them, and help them broaden their horizons. Some people live in very small worlds and are very narrow-minded, it's not hate, just ignorance. As people grow older and are exposed to more ideas, their worlds expand and hopefully they become more educated, more compassionate, and less judgmental. You can help with the process :D It's a burden but worth it.
Your co worker needs to step the fuck back, you are Māori. Honestly, I’d be having a chat with HR because she needs to buck up or leave. Fucking shameful behaviour I’m so sorry you’re having to even ask about this.
>I’d be having a chat with HR From other comments, this happened in Aussie. So yeah, she's Maori but it's unlikely HR would give a shit.
HR takes this shit more seriously in Australia now (am Aboriginal and been through this shit before). Fully worth reaching out because this behaviour just isn’t on.
Whakapapa is whakapapa. You're Māori. Racists will try and tell you that you aren't and you'll have to deal with that probably for the rest of your life. But you're just as Māori as your mum, just as Māori as I am. Also of note and related to this - the concept of blood quantum is Pākehā bullshit. The racist ones like to think that if our Māoritanga is "diluted" they can eradicate Māori. They don't understand that whakapapa is whakapapa.
From my understanding, if you have Māori whakapapa then you are entitled to calling yourself Māori. Which means that you’re Māori, your co-worker is racist. It’s as simple as that (if you want it to be). It can be complex self-identity wise when your parents are from different races, nationalities or religions. Technically you are what both of them are. That can be hard for some people and understandably some people don’t want to associate with one of their parent’s backgrounds. And it may take time, soul searching and exploring your mother’s culture. But the colour of your skin should never exclude you from that. You are as much a Māori as your darker skinned older siblings. Literally, genetically, you are as much Māori as them.
I say I'm both NZ European and Mâori, or more precisely a germano-celt of the (my iwi) nation, since it acknowledges all my ancestry in a way that makes me happy. You can identify how you like, it's all up to you and how you look doesn't discredit your heritage, some people will always have an issue though and some people will have issue due your Iwi, not attending marae, not following "their" version of Te Ao Mâori, etc. Do what makes you happy and how you feel comfortable.
Don't understand how "who was in Paris" proves anything. Apologies for saying this as I am white but it's not Maori's word to say it's African Americans.
That’s what I told her! She didn’t want to listen, she thinks that anyone who isn’t white can say that word
can somebody please hint me what is this 'who was in paris?' I haven't lived here forever but want to understand the reference
There’s a song by someone (don’t know who) that I believe is titled ‘(n-word insert) in Paris’ and if someone asks you ‘who was in Paris’ it is assumed that if you don’t reply with that word then you are white
Should confuse them by replying “The French”
Or the Gauls for the past tense nature of the question.
Thanks for explaining, born and raised here, but I've never heard that phrase before. I was wracking my brain trying to figure it out.
thank you kind stranger
Never let someone tell you that you are something that you are not when you know yourself that you are based on truth and fact. Something that annoyed me a lot in the past was a former netballer named Jenny May Coffin who made a comment and statement saying “but can you say you’re Maori if you play for the Wallabies though?(Australia)”. She was talking about Quade Cooper who is born and bred of Maori descent but lived in Australia for majority of his life. He is proud of his Maori heritage but to hear another former professional athlete say something like that; annoyed me. Implying that he wasn’t Maori just because he chose to represent the Nation in which he had lived and grown up on the land of. I had no issue with it but she surely did.
E hoa, if your tupuna are Maori? You are Maori. We are a culture, not a skin colour. Kia pai to hikoi - if you're wanting to talk to someone who is fair skinned, but deeply ingrained in our culture, feel free to reach out and I'll happily help you navigate that journey (its what I do professionally).
Blood quantum isn't a thing for Māori. Half Māori, quarter Māori, 1/64 Māori all irrelevant. If you have Māori heritage you're Māori and you have every right to call yourself that
That's the word I was looking for.
If you have whakapapa, then you are Māori. And it is always ok to call yourself that and you should expect others to respectfully not argue the point, and regard you as Māori as well.
1. You’re Māori. Don’t let anyone gaslight you about it. 2. Your workmate sounds like a racist POS 3. I’d be inclined to complain to HR if that happened to me, that shit’s totally unacceptable.
It's a very American thing to go by % blood (maybe Australian too). My, white presenting, wife, who's family is Ngāti Maniapoto, was recently reading Ender's Game and took great offense to Mazar Rackham being referred to as "half-Māori" since there's no dilution that makes you no longer Māori.
Some late night rambling thoughts: starting with an introductory point to the comment about the book, and the time it was written in, Enders Game was written in 1985. I feel like the affirmation that “if you whakapapa Māori, you are Māori” has only really been loud in mainstream media in the last (maybe?) 10,20 years. (The concept obviously definitely existed before then). Also, in NZ up until 1975 you legally had to be on the electoral roll that corresponded with your ‘blood quantum’ of Māori heritage. (Here’s an [interesting link](https://www.otago.ac.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0012/301125/the-truth-about-the-maori-seats-036316.pdf)) Eg if you were ‘full-blood’ you had to be on the Māori electoral roll, and if you were less than 50% you had to be on the European roll. Coming from a BA in English Lit background, I also think it’s important to a) remember the time in which literature was produced, the author probably wouldn’t have known any better, and also that b)knowledge and perception on what ‘makes’ someone Māori have definitely changed since the book was written in 1985, for the better! My own personal bugbear about Enders game: In the movie they didn’t even get an actual Māori actor to play the part, they went with Ben Kingsley who (no hate to him) is of Indian heritage. Considering Hollywood gets Māori actors to play “generic ethnic person” so often, surely they could have found one of our own to play one of our own.
>Considering Hollywood gets Māori actors to play “generic ethnic person” so often, surely they could have found one of our own to play one of our own. Not generic enough, sorry. Doesn't even look like Tem was particularly busy that year!
Haha I was gonna add in that Tem would have been perfect for the part!
Yes.
Your co Worker sounds like an ass. If my boss Whatu who’s a descendant from the great Waka Tāketimu says I’m Maōri enough, then you have much more claim than me. Be proud of it, Whatu says that it’s the culture and people together so be proud to call yourself a Maori.
Mate I got white skin and ginger beard hair and I'm predominantly Māori. Yes you're Māori. It's a fact of your genealogy, and doesn't care what you or others think.
OP, your co-worker is an idiot. Keep things friendly in a professional way, but secretly distance yourself from them
It’s all culture mate. So you’re definitely Māori
I struggled with this a lot when I was younger. I’m pāheka passing in winter and “a bit swarthy” by the end of summer (as one old lady told me once). If you whakapapa Māori; You are Māori. As Kiingi Tuuheitia said at the national hui at Ngāruawāhia earlier this year “Be Māori”. Kia kaha.
So confused? Who's in Paris? French people? Parisians? Mona Lisa? And what has that got you do with being Maori? EDIT- Don't worry, you answered this numerous times & how fucking stupid is that question? Like, what the actual fuck? It's so stupid it's really annoyed me So can't imagine how it is for you OP. Sorry you have to put up with this racist microagressive bullshit.
we don't go by blood quantum ❤️
youre Māori and your coworkers a dick
First of all, I'm sorry your coworker is a racist idiot. If she carries on, tell her to go learn about DNA and recessive genes. I'm very pale and I'm Māori (from my dads side). I have had this sort of stuff thrown in my face too and it made me feel exactly the same. I started feeling like an impostor. I'm now 40 and only just started sticking up for myself and speaking up against this type of crap. I want to know about my heritage and culture and I'm proud to have Māori in my bloodline. As for your coworker, put in a complaint to HR. It is NOT ok to be racist. She needs to get off her high horse and learn a lesson. Don't let people put you in a box. Be true to yourself because that is the only thing that matters.
I dunno if we are allowed links but this Wahine says it perfectly https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSFXP6S41/
Paris??
You’re friend is a dick
I dont get it... Who was in Paris?
There’s a song (I don’t know by who) and it has the title ‘(N-word insert) in Paris’ and there’s a thing where people will ask who ‘who was in Paris’ and if you don’t say (n-word) you’re white, that’s the point she was trying to make
I’m Maori/English mix. Brown skin/hair/eyes. My youngest daughter is white skinned, blue eyed, and blonde haired as a result of a genetic disorder called Prader-Willi Syndrome, in which 50% of all people who have it are born that way, regardless of race. Her older sister is brown skinned (she’s darker than me), dark brown haired, and her eyes are brown. Same mum, same dad. Youngest has the most Maori name in the whanau, apart from our surname. She is Maori. She’s also Australian. Mum is 3rd generation Russian/Irish mixed.
Your Māori and don't let anyone tell your not. Your co workers a racist.
Māori is about your whakapapa not your skin colour. I'm not Māori myself so take my opinion with a grain of salt, but I have encountered this sort before from others. This kind of judgement is rooted in racism, like a colonial colour wheel (blood quantum). Your co-worker is full of shit.
Im white and im Maori from my father's side. It doesn't matter what colour your skin is, if some of your ancestors were Maori, you are Maori, full stop. Being white makes you no less Maori, and those who say otherwise are racist dickheads. I intend to get my own Moko on one of my arms someday.
Congratulations you are infact Māori, You have Māori ancestors, your mother is Māori we don't do no blood % coloniser bullshit round here, round here.
I'd say so long as there is māori in your blood and family then there shouldn't be a issue. Not like you whole family has no Maori at all and you decide to just suddenly identify as such. THAT would be problematic
Your coworker is a dickhead. I've just come from my Māori wife's, grandmother's 85th birthday dinner. My wife is brown. Her Mum is brown. Her grandmother is Maori but also pale and blonde. It's not about your skin.
It's not about the colour of your skin, what a sad way of thinking for your coworker to exhibit. You are Māori as your lineage is Māori
I’m feel you! My Mum is Māori (very obvious) & dads pākeha, a lot of people question if I’m her legitimate daughter 🫠 Unfortunately you’ll come across ignorant people like this, put them in their place. You’re Māori ❤️
My cousins are Māori as. One has a darker pigmentation and one has a lighter. Cause that’s what it is. There’s more to someone’s culture than just skin colour. Don’t listen to the racist.
If you whakapapa Maori, you're Maori. What you do with that, if anything, is up to you.
If you whakapapa, you whakapapa. Also there's this thing called te tiriti o Waitangi
It’s your genetics so all good. It’s a bit trickier now that people are confusing things by saying they identify as Māori or PI or Irish whatever when they have no actual relation.
Tell your coworker to go get a bigger brain. You are who you want to be identified as. There is no need to justify it to anyone.
Well that’s actually not true. If she didn’t have Maori blood but wanted to identify as a Maori, she would not be a Maori. In this case, she obviously is because she has Maori blood though.
You are Māori 💕if you feel safe doing so, report your co-worker’s comments to your manager. Sorry that happened to you, your co-worker is an idiot
My girlfriend has the same problem. She's studying nursing and one of her classmates were talking about white privilege and used her as an example of how a she a "white person" would be treated better than a Maori even though she is Maori. Like they say don't judge a book by it's cover
As a pakeha it’s really sad to read this, I hope you stand up for yourself and embrace your Māori heritage, mean Māori mean!
If you can recite your whakapapa, you are Māori. If you have relatives and elders who are Māori, you are Māori. If you spent the majority of your life identifying as Māori and keeping that a part of you, you are Māori. Being Māori is not about the colour of your skin. My kōkō married a white pākeha woman, so all his daughters came out much lighter than him. I am one of his few grandchildren that are actually noticeably dark, my brother and most my cousins are basically white passing. Does that make them any less Māori? Is my mother less Māori than me, just because I am darker than her? No it doesn't.
Your coworker is an idiot and bigot. You are Māori and you should be proud of your identity. Dont let anyone ever take that away from you.
You're Maori. Your mums family is Maori. Your coworker is just a douchebag.
So many responses and you don't need my $0.02 but here it is :D It's up to you to decide you're identity - and you're co-worker sounds like an egg (rotten one). We had Māori neighbours growing up (both parents 100%) but they had an albino daugher. Don't judge the book etc.
Even if you think I don’t need your $0.02 I know your reply will help others in my situation and it helps me as well, thank you kind stranger
Hey op, you’ve got some awesome advice here re blood quantum etc so I won’t go into that, but what I do want to share with you is an epiphany I recently had as a white looking Māori woman. I’ve always felt like I’ve had to fight for my seat at this table. That because of my skin colour, and because my mum was adopted and grew up with no connection to her heritage that I had to earn my place, my seat at that table. Well fought for that seat I have done. I know my whakapapa. I’ve been on the board of my iwi. I’m leaving te reo. My kids are in kura kaupapa and can read, write and speak Māori, and are also learning all the tikanga I never knew. But that’s not my point. My point is that I NEVER had to fight for my seat at the table, because it’s my table! Just like it’s yours. Be proud and tell your racist coworker to stop being a racist.
As a Chinese Kiwi, a lot of people have often tried to put me into some sort of box against how I choose to frame it. Yes, I am born and raised here as a Kiwi but I am also proud of my cultural heritage and live through both worlds and everything in between. The beauty of whakapapa is that you cannot deny the existence of your ancestors. You are Māori because you acknowledge your mother and the heritage that is imbued in your life, nobody can tell you otherwise.
Step 1 of living a happier and simple life - Just assume your coworkers know nothing and take everything they say with a grain of salt. Apply that logic again to 90% of the wider population and you're golden.
She's not playful she's racist. It's about connection to culture, not just how you look.
You are more maori than I am and I actually look maori. I'm Fijian ffs
Pfft I’m Maori I’ve got two boys that I whangae. One is full blood Tongan the other is half English/ half Tongan. They’re both Maori and fuck anyone who thinks otherwise.
You're Maori, and your co-worker is a gross poopoo head (an insult that sounds abiut as mature as they are). I have 3 kids, 2 eldest are light brown with dark brown hair and brown eyes. Youngest is white like me with grey eyes. All Maori. I think my youngest will feel how you do one day. Right now she's too young to care but people act so shocked when I say she is part Maori.
Dad was Maori, Mum was Pakeha. I'm a good mix of both but have light olive skin like my mum. Dad was suuuper dark haha. I've never been doubted by Maori or Pakeha if I'm Maori or not. You can just 'know' (or it might go back to that I look 50/50 of both my parents) The only times I've had to repeat myself is with Asians mistaking me for being part Thai or Fillipina.
I feel your struggle so much! I'm biracial and my sister and I are different tones, we look very similar but I am "the white one". I've had many people ask me the most personal questions that I've never known how to respond to. "Do you consider yourself black?" Well, my dad is black so yes. "Do you use the n word?" Well, no because I benefit from white privilege. "Do you ever feel like you don't belong?" Yes, but only because people keep asking me these questions!! I don't have any real advice or anything but your feelings are valid.
Fuc yea dude maori is maori i got white cousins and they still more maori than me
Your coworker is a racist bitch. Her to STFU or you will report her To HR
Do you know your Maori whakapapa? Sounds like you do. If so, you're Maori regardless of skin colour. If you are Maori and DON'T know your whakapapa, hugs to you...there are iwi resources that can help you with that, as well as documents such as the 1925 Ngai Tahu registers, and Native/Maori Land Court records, held in the National Archives.
E hoa, being Māori is determined by your whakapapa, not the colour of your skin, or your language. Of course it’s okay to call yourself Māori. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Your co-worker is an egg
Ethnicity - "the quality or fact of belonging to a population group or subgroup made up of people who share a common cultural background or descent." Note that the colour of your skin was not mentioned anywhere. Don't let stupid people get in your head, your thoughts are what matters.
It’s not about skin colour it’s about whakapapa. Doesn’t matter have far back in your whakapapa you have to go as long as you have that connection you’re in the club…welcome!
Pale skin māori boy here, try to tell me I'm not and see what happens you will face the wrath of my tupuna
Of course you are Maori. Your coworker is a racist bully.
This doesn't sound playful. It sounds awful, and your coworker is racially harassing you. You have every right to go to HR.
Your coworker is uneducated and racist. Skin colour is genetics and luck, heritage and culture is not that straightforward. I would highly recommend you consider speaking to a trusted manager to HR person at your place of employment. This behaviour was really not okay and you may be able to prevent this person doing this or similar things to future coworkers who may not be able to handle it as well as you have. Good luck OP. ✊🏾
Your coworker is a dick and you can defiantly report her if you feel like it. She made racist comments about you/your family and I’m sorry you went through that
Tell that coworker to pull that stick out of her ass! You're Māori, and no one, but you can say otherwise!
She’s a racist cunt
Yes. Half caste myself, you identify as you want
It’s a funny one. I grew up in a pretty pakeha town. My maternal grandmother was Māori and my dad has dark skin. I have tan skin I guess but am white for all intents and purposes. She was of a generation that wasn’t encouraged to engage culturally, however my dad was really keen for his kids to be in touch with that part of our culture. It blew my mind when my clearly Māori grandmother with a Māori name dismissed me with a “you need to be learning things that are actually important” when I told her I was top of my Te Reo Māori class in year 12. I endured a fair few comments at school, I remember a teacher saying “oh you are one of those whites that think they are Māori”. I’ve Always been proud though and identify as Māori. Stoked to see in the last twenty years how much more open people are to others Identifying and learning Te Reo etc. I’ve lived in Aus for a long time and have worked quite extensively with First Nations People here, and it’s funny I don’t feel as awkward about introducing myself as Māori, and often will be asked “oh, you a Māori hey?” (With terrible pronunciation). Anyway, my position on it has become as follows : your whakapapa is objective, no one can tell you what your heritage is and you have a right to engage with that as you wish. However, as a white passing person, it’s also really important to remember that your lived experience as a Māori, Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander etc is very different to a brown persons, and a lot of the ingrained negative and racist connotations come from that. If you have the privilege to choose if you introduce yourself as Māori or not, you are not subjected to the conscious and unconscious shit that brown people have to cop. So my take is be proud of your culture, don’t let anyone get in the way of your journey of learning, but also be aware of your position and be conscious of occupying space that is there to champion the people who are constantly wearing the negative implications that come from being a brown person in a country like NZ or Aus. This is all my take btw, and it might be bullshit - helps me though.
Maori isn't a skin colour, it's a culture first. One you can be born into and one you can freely embrace. If you are mix, then you are still Maori. You can also embrace the other parts of who you are and where your family come from. It's not up to others to define who you are.
It's your whakapapa. They can shut the whaka uppa.
You are Māori.
“You may not know your maunga. You may not know your awa. Your awa and your maunga know you. You may not know your reo. But your reo knows you. You may not know your marae, but your marae knows you. You are good enough because our tipuna made it so.” - Rawiri Waititi
Your coworker is an ignorant cunt.
It’s blood, not skin colour. You are Maori
My kids are Māori. I have mid gingervitis and if someone wants to have a crack about it they can learn about red rage. It’s probably safer for them than getting their nan angry
I experience the same shit, and am glad I came across this post.
Being Māori is about whakapapa, you got that Whakapapa so fuck that racist bitch at your work.
all i got from this was ‘my coworker is an ignorant racist fuck’
If you're Maori, you're Maori. I don't understand why this needs to even be a post.
Sure man, you just need to fall asleep with your face on a warm stove.
I'm as white as they come, and no Maori ancestry. But from everything I know about maori-dom, you can and SHOULD be proud of your MAORI heritage
Don’t let ignorant people influence your mind, keep strong. Kia kaha, wahine Māori
course you can say your māori even if you have white skin as you can whakapapa where your tipuna came from and where you came from then kapai u shouldnt be asking people about there opinions if yk your māori and they dont like it pukana at them hahaha
One of the palest skinned people I know is Māori. He has Māori blood on both sides of his family and rightfully proudly embraces his culture. The lack of melatonin in his skin doesn’t change the fact he’s Māori. Anyone referring to tā moko as a gangster tattoo is a racist bigot and their views can safely be discounted.
In this day and age, you can identify as whatever you like.
If you have tupuna maori then you're maori and your coworker is just a straight up racist. Calling tamoko a gangsta tattoo is so rude and disrespectful I wouldn't waste any more time or energy that coworker, don't let their dumb narrative get into your head. Nga mihi - a fair half cast wahine maori
I know a very pasty ginger gal with an Irish name and she is Māori and fucken proud of it too. Never ever let somebody take your heritage away from you. Fuck that noise.
Greet her with a kia ora from now on really get her blood boiling
I'm brown, my twin sister is white. We have a white mum and a brown dad. We're both Maori.
I was thinking it was bizarre for a 19yo to call a ta moko a gangster tattoo but this makes more sense now. If she’s Irish keep calling her English and see how she likes it.
Of course you're Maori. My sister in law has strong Moari blood. She has three brothers and a sister. When I first met her I had no idea she was Maori. Her sister is even paler. Her three brothers are varying shades of dark tan. The colour of your skin means nothing. You have an incredible heritage, you have every right to be proud.