Finding my Culture at University

Opinion Piece 

UC Puaka-James Hight Library. Source: Charlotte Thornton.   

Growing up I didn’t know that much about my culture or what it really meant to be Māori - I knew I was Māori, my name is Maia Aramakutu, it’s kind of hard not to. I knew my iwi, I had been to my marae, I had participated in pōwhiri, learnt of Te Tiriti, and been taught a bit of te reo Māori - but that was the extent of it.  

If I’m being honest, at that time I wasn’t really interested in exploring my culture any deeper because I didn’t think that was something I could do. I was also made to think Māori culture was koru art in classrooms, kapa haka, and pōwhiri. Although I identified as Māori on forms, I really felt like I was Pākehā.  

That was until I started university and my perception of myself changed. 

There were two catalysts in first year that made me want to start the long, hard journey of connection to my culture. One was deciding to take MAOR165 in semester two of first year, and the other was making strong friendships with other Māori students. 

On the first night in halls in first year, I hit it off with two people on my floor who were Māori. These were the first friends I had made that were Māori and it was eye opening. For the first time, I met people who were on a similar page when it came to identity.  

Like me, they had grown up urbanised and one of a few Māori at their schools. Talking to them was comforting and also made me realise a lot of the identity issues I had been having - let’s be honest, who doesn’t have them? - stemmed from being Māori, growing up urbanised and being away from people like me and my culture.  

Me in halls in first year. Source: Tia McCallum  

In first year, I was doing a Bachelor of Communications. In semester two, we had one elective and I made the decision to change whichever paper I had been signed up for to MAOR165, with one of my other Māori friends.  

MAOR165 is a paper all about identity. We learnt some aspects of Māori culture and what it means to be Māori. Although this paper did make me upset, it really put a lot of things into perspective and saw me to confront some complicated feelings I was having. It also sparked a passion for learning that I only really felt when I was learning about media. I wanted to learn more about Māori from other Māori. Before, I’d only been taught about Māori from Pākehā, and there is something different about learning about your culture, from someone who is part of it.  

In second year, I changed my degree to Māori and indigenous studies. Although I am not actively learning te reo Māori, I decided this was the right move for me. I have been able to understand a lot of things about Māori culture and what it means to be Māori, as well as being introduced to concepts like re-indigenisation and Māori development - which I now want to explore more in the future. I have also had the opportunity to build relationships with other Māori, which is important.  

Cultural connection doesn’t just happen because you decide you want to put the work into connection. In my two years of actively wanting to learn, I have only touched the tip of the iceberg.  

I also feel as though I am limited by the university, as in a university setting you are learning about Māori culture in academics, which isn’t bad, it’s just different than if you were on the marae.  

Striving for cultural connection can feel daunting and it kind of is. It’s like you are walking up a maunga and you might never reach the top. But it’s the little things that make it so worth it. For me, this might be an endless journey - as we are always learning about our tipuna. Even culturally connected Māori learn new things every day, because colonisation has tainted our history.  

I am happy with it being an endless journey.  

Going to university has made me proud to be Māori, something I will never forget.