Today was another fascinating day. We got a brief overview of the history of the Maori people and a quick introduction to education in New Zealand. So far, everything I've listened to has raised more questions than answers. I'm struck by the ways in which the issues indigenous people in Hawai'i and New Zealand struggle with, while specific to their cultures, are also so similar to the struggles of marginalized people everywhere. A theme that has come up numerous times already is control of language; who gets to speak their language and who doesn't, who makes decisions about official languages, which language version of a treaty is considered official, what language schooling is conducted in, all of these choices have amazingly powerful consequences.

We heard a poet read today, Brandy Nalani McDougall, a former Fulbright Scholar to New Zealand, who writes about the importance of language reclamation. Her poetry has recently been published in a wonderful anthology, Whetu Moana: Contemporary Polynesian Poems in English.

Now might be a good time to explain why this journey began in Hawai'i. Aside from the beautiful surroundings and it's location half way between New Zealand and the U.S., Hawai'i forms one of the three points of the Polynesian Triangle. Easter Island and New Zealand form the other two points. Between these three islands, and the many other islands that fall into the area of the triangle, including Fiji, Samoa, the Cook Islands, Tonga, the Marquises, the Society Islands, and others, there has much migration--so much so that the language, customs, and beliefs of the Native Hawaiians are very similar to those of the Maori. To learn more about the Polynesian Triangle, as well as the voyaging accomplishments of the Polynesian people, look here.