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Ara means pathway

I use it here to signal that The Wall Walk®  works best when it’s part of a bigger package and followed up by action. For me, the ‘bigger package’ has 3 phases. The first phase is about acknowledging the past:

“Acknowledgment involves an acceptance not only of the existence of a phenomenon, but of its emotional and social significance. It presupposes a sense of responsibility for the occurrence, and an understanding of the meaning that it has for the persons involved and for society as a whole”. 

– Albie Sachs, The Strange Alchemy of Life and Law (2009)

Each phase contains a range of activities that can be tailored to meet your needs:

Acknowledge

Wall Walk – an interactive ½ day workshop designed to teach people some of the patterns in the history of bicultural relations in Aotearoa. You can do this in-person or (from April 2022) on-demand from the comfort of your own home or office.

Talanoa with the Polynesian Panthers. This is a free-flowing Q&A session with Pacific peoples who have first-hand experience of racism in Aotearoa and how to annihilate it. Get hold of Dr Melani Anae at Auckland University

Wall Walks & Talanoa can take an emotional toll that makes going straight back to work hard. The team at Aki can provide pastoral care during Wall Walks, arrange kairongoā and debriefs.

In-depth training in Te Tiriti goes hand-in-hand with a Wall Walk. Contact Dr Veronica Tāwhai and JJ Carberry, or, Kūwaha Limited , or, Tania Te Whenua

If you want to equip your team with tools for having Courageous Conversations About Race, then reach out to Matt Farry of CCAR via social media.

Relate

Use tools like Maori Maps and https://www.tkm.govt.nz/map/ to find out which Iwi’s territory you are in. Look up their website(s) - and the Aotearoa History Show podcast - to find out more about them and their history.

Put into practice any mihi and pēpeha you have learnt and ask them to work with you to understand the history of the land your premises are on. Pay them for their expertise.

Get to know your local Iwi, the things that matter to them and their hopes for the future. Try and find some common ground.

Visit memorials and unmarked sites of significance alongside Iwi. Listen to the history as told by them. Pay them accordingly.

Dig deep into the past 50 years of your own agency’s history and relationships with Māori. Share what you have learnt about yourselves with Iwi.

Act

Find ways to give Iwi the data and analysis you hold about them. Take the steps necessary to ‘pipe’ the data to te whata

Identify default settings, internal ‘business rules’, criteria and decision-making points that are affecting Māori. Make that visible.

Work with Iwi on mutually agreed projects. Don’t assume you’ll be in the driving seat. “Let it go”.

Employ more Māori and create meaningful pathways to senior roles with bigger budgets and authority.

Recognise and reward language and cultural skills just as you would any other specialised skillsets.

If you need a helping hand with historical research, see Dr O’Malley at http://historyworks.co.nz/