traditional knowledge conference 2008 te tatau pounamu

Māori Grandparents:Raising Mokopuna FulltimeCherryl SmithTe Atawhai o Te Ao: Independent Māori Institute for Environment and HealthHe tupuna, he mokopuna.Ma wai e whakakī ngā whāwhārua o ngā mātua tūpuna?Mā ō tātou mokopuna!He mokopuna, he tupuna.Who will fill in the spaces left by our ancestors?Our grandchildren will!Respect our whakapapa by caring for our children!Respect your whakapapa by caring for your children!(Nā Tū Tama Wāhine o Taranaki, tēnei kōrero)(These words are composed by Tū Tama Wāhine o Taranaki)There is significant evidence that suggests that over recent decades the number of Māorigrandparents raising mokopuna (grandchildren) full time is increasing. The main State financialassistance for grandparents raising mokopuna is received through the Orphan’s and UnsupportedChild’s Benefits. There has been a steady increase in the number receiving this benefit over the last 10years. In July 1998 there were 6,440 recipients nationally and in April 2008 this number sat at 10,526.Anecdotal evidence from communities also suggests an increase, for example, reports from kohangareo, schools, Māori health workers and Māori social workers, who are noting a steady rise in thenumber of grandparents raising mokopuna. This could be for a number of reasons: there is an increasingyouth population which could mean that the percentage of grandchildren is actually staying the same;with fewer grandparents, there are more taking over this role; and there is possibly more reporting andmore action taken by whānau when a child or children are viewed to be at risk, especially with theintense focus by the media on Māori children at risk and their families. Child Youth and Family’s(CYF’s) notifications by family/whānau members have increased in recent decades (ChildMaltreatment Report 2006), which suggests an increased willingness for reporting to report to statutorychild protection systems. Statistics New Zealand notes that there is a lack of information aboutgrandparents raising grandchildren: “Some information on grandparents in a parental role is availablefrom the 2001 Census, although a limitation of this data is that it excludes situations in which theparent(s) of the child are living in the household. Due to quality issues, this data is not available fromthe 2006 Census. If these quality issues are resolved, it is intended that this information will beavailable from the 2011 Census.” Several of the people I spoke to have the parents living in the houseor close by, but the grandparents are the ones raising the grandchildren.For Māori, the task of raising grandchildren is considered an honour. It is generally considered thatmokopuna raised by grandparents are treasured because they will learn the knowledge of the oldergeneration.Relationships between grandparents and mokopuna within Maori society are regarded as specialin that love is shown freely and openly in actions, words and affection. Children that are whangai[foster children] of their grandparents or older whanau [family] members are sometimes chosenas repositories of whanau and hapu [clan] knowledge, ancestral lineage, tikanga [correctprocedures] and tribal history. Grandparents often whangai their grandchildren to keep theextended family together. For whatever reason, when a whangai relationship is established,positive value and connotations are attached to this customary practice. (McRae & Nikora, 2006) 11 This report uses the term whāngai for grandparents raising mokopuna. However, when speaking to grandparentswithin this study they tended to just talk about mokopuna and whānau and tended not to use whāngai. The term261