Most of us are well aware of the negative aspects of Colonialism, and yet there is also a positive side, the understanding of which is of benefit to 'Maori Health'.
We only need to go back about 200 years to get a picture of what was happening in Aotearoa New Zealand: In the 1830's, written requests from New Zealand to England expressed the need 'for urgent protection of the Natives, for fear that they would be 'extirpated' ' - completely annihilated! I have only come across 'extirpate' once before, and it was from the same time-period in China, when the ..'Manchu put all men, women and children named Hung to the sword, to extirpate the breed'! (The Manchu at the time were being influenced by the British).
In about 1810, Samuel Marsden (a British missionary) is in Australia and wishing to get to New Zealand. I quote from para. 10 on this page:
"But now Marsden encountered fresh obstacles. The Colony of New South Wales thought the extermination of Maori savages more desirable than their conversion; and the traders who were profiting by fraud and violence all over the Southern Ocean objected to any attempt by missionaries, whether in New Zealand or at Tahiti, to preach honesty and morality and peace. Every possible slander was set on foot against Marsden; no one supported him; no ship would take him and his mechanics across; ...At last he purchased [I assume at his own expense] a small brig of 110 tons, the Active, and sent Kendall and Hall over to make further inquiries.".
Human greed and profit from 'commerce' is the driving force that determines the objectives of the Land Companies, whose aim is to take over and control the resources of countries, regardless of the expense to humanity or environment. A counterpart of the New Zealand land developing companies in India, the 'British East India Company', had likely the largest private army in the world of over 250,000 people, bigger than most countries, and this (and their ships) were also used for the 'protection of commerce' - as though 'protecting commerce' is justification for the atrocities that occurred.
There were however others that arrived here at the same time to prevent the slaughter, many of them British, like Marsden. These people, along with natives and other ethnicities gave all they had - and some their lives, to the purpose of protecting our Native peoples from extinction.
The survival of the descendants from pre-European inhabitants in New Zealand, is due to the great work that was done by these people. To deny that, is to dishonour the very Wairua or Spirit that gives us our lives today, and I believe that this denial is a major cause of ill health, being from the subconscious grief within us for not recognising and honouring the story of what we and our ancestors have achieved; of how we got here, and who we are - particularly as individuals.
Forget about blaming someone else, and instead be thankful for ourselves and ancestors who are very close. Closer than we think!
Metoikos