So a piece of research commissioned by a child advocacy group is supposed to show that Maori did not mistreat their children until they were taught the dark domestic arts by pakeha.
The research and its findings are already being criticised and rightly so.
Firstly it is a shameful waste of money that would be better spent on ways to reduce the shocking Maori child abuse statistics.
This group and the woefully lily livered Childrens Commission are falling short in their duty to protect children. What they have done is create a report that provides yet another excuse - it does not provide any solutions.
Contrast this to a young woman Cherie who lived next door to Serenity Scott Dennington who death is being treated as suspicious. She organised a hui to look at ways to prevent more abuse. She called on the people of her community to act collectively to put an end to the violence. So what happened? Cherie has been vilified by her own community for talking openly about the need to find a solution and for people to stand up to those who beat their children. Labelled a nark. Cherie is a beacon of hope in a dark community - not dark because its predominately Maori but dark in deeds.
Hone Kaa should not look to our imperfect past for the answers - instead it is the here and now where his group should be focussing their attention.
The silence of a community is a cowardly sign of acceptance of child abuse. If it creates no shame then it is normalised. It needs brave people like Cherie to lead communities out of that dark place so the children can be restored to their natural place as a treasure. A value not just held exclusively by Maori of old but by every population on earth.
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