traditional knowledge conference 2008 te tatau pounamu

local institution official characterized the situation as close to hopeless, noting, “religious leaders won’twork with us, parents won’t talk to us and families won’t use the playgroups or attend parentingworkshops.” Clearly, an important element missing from this official assessment was a critical question:Why? Talanoa is critical to answering this, thus offering real, sustainable solutions to a serious problemthat impacts everyone regardless of ethnic or cultural background.The second indigenous strategy employed by Tongans in Australia to negotiate Europeaninstitutions is ‘eiki, which can be loosely translated as both “elders” and “respect for elders” given theway that the two concepts are culturally inseparable. It is obviously culturally appropriate for anydecisions affecting Pacific families and their children to be made by elders in the community, and yetthe question is how to engage Pacific elders on neutral grounds and effectively meet their needs. All ofthe Pacific elders spoken to in the course of this research expressed a desire to be educated on life inAustralia, to obtain education for themselves and to improve their children’s futures. Chiefly rulers inparticular were enthusiastic about the idea of community education.Educational transformation is possible with at-risk situations if elders are given information in theirhome language to make informed decisions for their children. In the case of a young kindergarten boywhom teachers were unsure as to the complexity of the issues he presented, dialogue by a bilingualworker with the child and parent established that his was a case of previous poverty, lack of Englishlanguage-related circumstances with no parent–child interaction, and beginning school with no Englishand a six-word vocabulary in Tongan. Immediately, reassurances were made in their home languagethat his speech was delayed and there was nothing intellectually wrong with their child and that theworker could support him by continuing to speak in Tongan to him and ensure he would be fluent in thelanguage, which would transfer to other languages such as English. Also, the benefits and impacts ofplaygroup and early schooling to children’s socio-economic futures were explained. After manydiscussions and concerns were dispelled, the parents were immediately supportive of the school placingtheir son with speech therapists, extra reading classes and English as a second language (ESL) support,a teacher’s aide and homework support. Steps were then taken by the family of their own initiative, withthe help of their aunt, to enrol their four-year-old child into preschool to give him better preparation forschool.The third indigenous strategy that could be employed in assisting Tongans and other PacificIslanders in navigating European institutions is poto, meaning wisdom or its acquisition. Parents mustbe targeted and educated, made poto by acknowledging elders and valuing them as equal partners. Thereality of course is the need to do this with limited resources while simultaneously engaging as manyindividuals in the community as possible. Activists and community members alike are currentlyattempting to bring about poto through translated newsletters, Pacific Community Radio discussiontopics and, of course, employing Pacific Islander workers to facilitate this process.One example of this strategy involves a large family with 10 children living in a three-bedroomhouse who were often juggling finances and behind on payments. After discussing simple budgetingconcepts, they saw how they could plan income and expenses for the year and had a betterunderstanding of how their income was spent. The mother realized that more income was needed andthen began searching for better-paid factory jobs as well as enrolling in community classes incommercial cookery and welding to develop career prospects. Without a Pacific worker to facilitate thisprocess, knowledge would not be extended to families who desperately wish to know how to bettermanage their priorities and simply “get ahead”.The combination of deep and diverse needs in the Tongan and broader Pacific Islander communityhas resulted in many activists and community members taking on what they term a “common centsapproach” that is key to overcoming the limitations inherent in limited resources, small group size andmarginal access to support services. This approach taps into existing Australian Government fundingfor cross-cultural programmes on parenting, household budgeting, ESL classes and computer training.Additional services include playgroups for very young children and early intervention funding for atriskfamilies. Local schools are often used as a neutral ground for such activities because they functionas community centres in their own right due to the universality of public education in Australia.181