7 June - 13 June

Week 6 (June 7-11): The Myth that Māori Didn’t Settle New Zealand

Success Criteria

Students will use critical thinking and mainstream science to understand claims that Maori were not the first to settle New Zealand.

Activities

1. Read & Writing

2. Critical Thinking

Homework

Complete Lessons 1 to 3 by Friday at 3 pm.

Lesson 6.1 Understanding Current Debates in Racism

Read pages 63 and 64. In May 2017, the Northern Advocate and New Zealand Herald newspapers published a story about a group of people who settled the country before Māori arrived. A spokesperson for the Advocate later said that the story was an example of a “healthy debate” about who settled New Zealand first.

1. What is wrong with this claim that it was part of a healthy debate?

2. Go to p. 81 of the section on ‘Memorable Quotations’ and read the section: ‘How Kiwi Media Contribute to Rewriting History…’ How could the actions of the Howick Times be viewed as contributing to inaccurate information about Māori – specifically the suggestion that they were not refused drinks? Do you think the newspaper was justified in not placing Mr Bartholomew’s letter online?

Lesson 6.2.

Read pages 64-68. Why is it doubtful that the Bombay ‘Obelisk’ was created by a group of early Celtic settlers who arrived in New Zealand before Maori? (see pp. 64-66).

Why is it unlikely that features on the outside of the boulder on p. 66 were created by humans?

Are the Maori of mainland New Zealand and the Moriori on the Chatam Islands, believed to be separate groups? Support your answer with evidence (p. 67).

Why does Dr Kerrie Mills think that some people want to believe that Maori were not the first people to settle New Zealand or want to paint them as ‘savages?’ What is the view of Archeologist David Veart? Does he agree with the position of Dr Mills? (pp. 67-68)

Lesson 6.3

We are going to watch the first 15-minutes of the ‘documentary’ Skeletons in the Cupboard. The narrator discusses the existence of fairy people who were the first to settle New Zealand. She also mentions a race of red and blonde-haired people. She suggests that these were the first New Zealand settlers. There is no evidence to support any of the claims in the program, yet some people believe it because it has been made into a TV program. ALL OF THE EVIDENCE POINTS TO MAORI SETTLING IN NEW ZEALAND AROUND 1250 in a mass migration and they were the first permanent human settlers.

Class Discussion: We are going to discuss the history of this program and why it is that it can be allowed to be shown on Youtube (it also briefly aired on TV), despite a lack of evidence for their claims.

We will discuss as a class, how Mr Bartholomew went about verifying the claims made in the documentary. Not only did he consult scientific journals, he interviewed many of the scientists who were mentioned in the program to get the perspective of the mainstream scientific community.

FOCUS / ARONGA learning intentions:

• Students will FOCUS on what it was like for Māori to grow up in Pukekohe and the various forms of the racial segregation (separation) that took place there from the 1920s to the early 1960s. Students will focus on gaining an understanding of recent incidents of racism in New Zealand that have been reported in the news media involving people of Indian, Chinese, and Maori ethnicity. Students will also focus on learning about the extent of Maori racial segregation across New Zealand (and not just South Auckland) during the 20th century including cases involving employment, housing, rental accommodation, hospitals, and in general. Students will focus on becoming familiar with iconic images from the era of Maori racial segregation (1925-1962) and how to analyse them. Students will focus on becoming familiar with present-day issues about racism in New Zealand including controversies surrounding the use of Golliwog Dolls and Black Face. They will come away with an understanding of why these are considered inappropriate.