Curious about the content in the draft curriculum of “Aotearoa New Zealand Histories” to be taught in NZ schools next year, the first obvious mistake I noticed was the title.
The content is entirely Maori history (with a nod toward Polynesia because Maori travelled from there) so why not just say so and title the content Maori History? As it is, the reader is left with the erroneous idea that whalers, sealers, missionaries, surveyors and business people made little or no impact on New Zealand, when that is obviously not the case.
The NZ History draft curriculum aligns with Critical Race Theory (CRL) which explains why the NZ draft curriculum treats all other historical elements – save recent immigration – as inconsequential.
Helen Pluckrose & James Lindsay (P&L) wrote “Cynical Critical Race Theory – How Activist Scholarships Made Everything about Race, Gender & Identity – Why This Harms Everybody.”
P&L said CRT began during the 1960s when the colonial era ended and academics, particularly those on the left, sought retribution for five centuries of European colonial authority that thought it had the right to expand territory and exert political and cultural authority over other people and regions. This extremely narrow view of colonialism CRT developed also inflicts an equally narrow view of their history on indigenous cultures.
“Though this sort of empire building attitude was a standard one typical to many, if not most, cultures before the twentieth century, European colonialism was equipped with sweeping explanations, stories and justifications of itself – or metanarratives – that proclaimed and sort to legitimatise this right in its own terms.
“The postcolonial Theorists studied the discourses of colonialism, which sought to protect the interests of the powerful and privileged, not least the so-called right to dominate other cultures that hegemonic “civilised” Western (and Christian) discourses construed as “uncivilised” and “barbaric”.”
But history has always been about the powerful and privileged protecting themselves, there is nothing new in this, but I take exception to lumping Christians into Western civilisation. This is just as wrong as assuming all indigenous cultures were barbaric.
Christians who live by the New Testament principles of life will be appalled at being tarred by the historic evils of the Christian church. Skin colour, culture, social status and wealth is irrelevant in the NT concept of Christians who become one in Christ.
Jesus challenged the commonly accepted measure of status when he said “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God”. The tale of the Good Samaritan also endorses humanity and equality and refutes the notion of cultural superiority.
Why split hairs over Christianity and the Western basis of our history? For the same reason that the authors of the draft history of New Zealand ignore all immigrants, good and bad, in their so-called history of New Zealand which fixates solely on Maori history. This is viewing New Zealand history through a very narrow lens.
Western civilisation brought murderers and thieves to New Zealand as well as surveyors and people to set up businesses, provide employment and clear the land for growing crops and farming livestock.
Western civilisation brought missionaries, but not all missionaries had the best interests of Maori at heart. Some did, but some took advantage of their position in the community to purchase cheap land and on sell it to become personally wealthy.
It is simply not accurate to view our history narrowly when people are multi-faceted. Life is just not that simple.
A paper last year, at the time of the BLM riots, by Dylan Asafo, a lecturer at Auckland Law School, suggested that NZ could lead in “dismantling systems of white supremacy”.
In needing to be careful not to co-opt, de-centre and misappropriate the black struggle, for many peoples of colour in Aotearoa this solidarity comes from having a deep understanding of the pain, exhaustion and anger that comes from constantly having your humanity denied by the white supremacist state.
Dylan Asafo is a lecturer at Auckland Law School, researching the areas of racial justice and Pacific legal issues. He holds a Master of Laws from Harvard University, specialising in Critical Race Theory and minority rights.
This guy is teaching law students and you don’t have to look too far to find CRT principles in NZ government planning. The deconstruction of colonialism is a (typically radical left wing) call to reconstruct a separatist society which ironically, mirrors the criticism made of colonialist echelons.
P&L say CRT proponents view colonialism as a “systematic denial of the humanity of colonised people“which introduces the concept of “the other” or “othering”.
A “them and us mentality”, or separatism if you like, is extremely divisive and the commonly touted phrase “white” supremacy is inaccurate when supremacy is colour blind.
Viewing history through the narrow lens of CRT is inaccurate, misleading and inflammatory.
Public engagement on the content and an online survey is open until 31 May 2021. Have your say on what our children will learn about NZ history because all feedback will be considered before the content is finalised.
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