A modern take on Māori identity - Shilo Kino’s All That We Know

All That We Know by Shilo Kino. Source: Maia Aramakutu.

Opinion Piece

“This is Aotearoa, New Zealand. This is a novel about who we are now. Past, present and future. All that we have is All That We Know”.

All That We Know is a new pukapuka by acclaimed, award-winning author of Pōrangi Boy, Shilo Kino (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāpuhi). All That We Know is a character driven literary fictional novel centred around Māreikura Pohe, a girl in her late teens or early 20s. This novel focuses on Māreikura as she starts a full year te reo immersion class, while she unwittingly goes viral as a Māori activist, becoming a “voice for change against the far-reaching consequences of colonisation.”

First off - I would like to say that this book is a refreshing add to ever growing collection of Māori media. It is a book that is based in modern times, which is reflected throughout. Māreikura is a modern Māori who is dealing with generational issues, alongside issues that stem from the 2020s. In the context of Māori media, a lot of what is being released focuses on the past - which isn’t a bad thing. But I was so happy to see something that focused on the now. Especially with a focus on a character that is going through a similar struggle that myself and many other Māori face.

Shilo Kino on Piha Beach. Source: Edith Amituanai / The Spinoff NZ.

Māreikura is a complex character who has grown up in an urbanised setting, without her whenua, language, or what she describes as a ‘proper family unit’ as she is being raised by her Nana. Māreikura is also faced with exploring her self-diagnosed ADHD, navigating the world without her long-term and only friend Eru who has gone on his Morman mission and without her queer identity.

When talking to Te Ao Māori news Kino described Māreikura as “a wahine Māori with bold opinions, embodying themes that resonate deeply with the Māori experience.”

Māreikura is outspoken and bold throughout the novel, however, I also found her to be aggressive and stubborn - not negative traits in this context but are important to know when going into this novel.

For many this book may be deeply confronting in the sense that Kino does not hold back. Kino confronts colonisation head on and how colonisation has directly affected different Māori, not just the main character but other characters that we meet within Māreikura’s life.

For me it was less confronting but more challenging because I can relate to some of the issues that are discussed in this novel. Challenging because I too am a wahine Māori without my language, trying to navigate my identity. Challenging as I found Māreikura to be unlikeable, but at the same time, I wanted to give her a hug and tell her she is not alone in what she is going through.

I found Mārekura to be an extremely angry character, she is angry that she grew up disconnected, angry that Pākehā came and colonised her people, angry with everyone around her - she is even angry at other Māori. Māreikura is a person who is not comfortable in her identity and takes it out an everyone around her. Although I come from a place where I can understand this anger and I also believe that her anger expressed was completely valid, I still found this book hard to read as Māreikura said certain things and acted in certain ways that I do not agree with. I found myself cringing at some of Māreikura’s activism and getting annoyed at her obvious projection of issues onto others. I would like to acknowledge that Māreikura was intentionally written like this.

This opinion that I carried about Māreikura was challenged within the novel and made me reflect on my preconceived notions about what Māori activism should look like, and furthermore what Māori people should believe. This book explores these ideas and begs the question, do Māori activists speak for all Māori?

Do we put pressure on Māori to reflect our own views of te ao Māori?

Is there such thing as right and wrong kōrero?

Do all Māori need to have the same whakaaro?

What I appreciated about this novel was the author does not offer a solution for overcoming generational trauma caused by colonisation. When Māreikura finishes her immersion te reo course, she is not fluent. When she is on her whenua, her identity issues do not magically disappear. I feel that this is reflective of what it means to be Māori in the contemporary era, the answer to our identity issues or our generational trauma cannot be easily fixed after an attempt at connection. As Māori, we are always learning, decolonisation of the mind is not easy, your Māori identity is not defined by your ability to speak te reo Māori and you are always welcome to go home - to your whenua.

You can purchase All That We Know from any bookstore, or it is available to read as an Ebook.