- I’ve noticed that when people are asked if
they’re Māori or not, not many people admit it. But for me, I’m actually proud
to be Māori, and I think everyone should be.
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- People saying stuff like: “Māori can’t do
this, can’t do that” - it’s just heart-breaking, because we do have a lot of
Māori achievers within New Zealand. It’s really good knowing when you have done
something and you’ve done your culture proud.
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- People in our community say, “Oh, that
person’s dumb because they’re Māori”. Being a school leader next year, I will
work against this stereotype that Māori are underachievers. It’s a privilege,
and I hope that other Māori students and our community can realise that. Just
because you’re Māori, it doesn’t mean that you’re dumb. And it doesn’t mean
that you can’t achieve.
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- When
I was receiving my awards at the assembly, there was a Māori boy who said to
me: “How did you get those awards? You’re a Māori boy. I don’t know how you got
them and why you got them. You must be paying them”.
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- Some people see Māori as a barrier. I do
believe that our people need to look straight past that, because it’s not true.
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- Learning is fun. If I could do it for a
living... well, that’s me.
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