People from the Western Civilization discovered Antarctica. Or that’s what many history books told us. Newly research published in The Journal of The Royal Society of New Zealand suggests that the very first discoverer of Antarctica was actually a Māori named Hui Te Rangiora.

Hui Te Rangiora’s explored new lands in the seventh century which is in a significantly earlier period than Western explorers who first recorded their discovery of Antarctica in the 19^th century.

‘Right from the early voyages of Hui Te Rangiora and Tamarereti and others, right through to the 19th century when Māori participated in whaling and other voyages to Antarctica, right through to today, with scientists going down to the ice every year – (there’s) an amazing connection that we didn’t really expect,’ University of Otago associate professor and project lead Priscilla Wehi told Radio New Zealand.

Her research project Wehi lead is based on Māori oral traditions and in cultural marks such as carvings – sources which is often overlooked in contemporary history research about Antarctica’s connection with humanity. ‘Over the last 200 years, Antarctic narratives have contributed to conceptions of Imperial adventure, carried out by predominantly European male explorers,’ the academic article notes, while also highlighting an aim to ‘provide significant first steps for uncovering the rich and varied ways in which Antarctica features in the lives and futures of indigenous and other under-represented communities.’

‘One of the exciting things coming out of this work is it shows how oral tradition can really be considered as a reliable source of evidence, along with archaeological and paleoecological data,’ Wehi said.

Undermined by colonisation

Oral history – sometimes referred to as oral tradition – is one of the oldest ways to transfer cultural knowledge from generation to generation. Like many other civilizations, indigenous communities used oral traditions to share accounts, achievements, history and ways of survival just to name a few. Scholars have often used these primary sources to outline perspectives from indigenous communities.

But colonisation threatened a large part of oral traditions. Kimberley TallBear, associate professor at the University of Alberta’s Native studies, told Radio-Canada that she is concerned over how Western culture always have dominated that of First Nations, ‘Western knowledge … [is] privileged over Indigenous knowledge,’ she said.

According to the Canadian Encyclopedia, Western states have considered writings more trustworthy than oral histories for years. This has ultimately damaged how indigenous communities have transferred knowledge about their culture, especially after aggressive campaigns aimed to assimilate the native communities.

Even then, some stories have survived. And this can be very useful for present scholars who continue to research human history. There’s an understanding that oral history should be included in the research process, as a collaborative effort to investigate certain cases.

Professor TallBear agrees, that one solution could be recruiting more indigenous people for scientific positions.

Undeniable acknowledgement

Including sources from oral tradition has already added significant value to many contemporary academic research projects. In 2014 the journal Science published a study concluding that the Inuit weren’t the first humans to settle in the Arctic by investigating the DNA from ancient human bone, teeth and hair samples from Arctic Siberia, Alaska, Canada and Greenland. Results showed that it was in fact the Tunit travelling from Siberia who first settled the Arctic. However, this wasn’t new information for the Inuit, who already told a tale about the Tunit in their oral tradition.

‘In the future, I would certainly pay much more attention to oral traditions among Indigenous people because they could really guide us into understanding where the interesting problems are to be investigated scientifically,’ Eske Willerslev, a Danish evolutionary geneticist and one of the study’s authors told Radio-Canada.

Oral tradition is becoming a complimentary method in the decolonialisation process.

The Canadian Encyclopedia notes that oral histories reinsert ‘Indigenous narratives that historically have been overlooked or ignored.’ It adds information to various indigenous artefacts collected by people of European descent. And by including these stories, researchers can now gain more perspectives on what these objects were originally used for, instead of solely relying on European accounts.

This study shows how tradition is a way to reclaim indigenous history because of the acknowledgement of its value. Acknowledging this is important if we truly want an accurate view of human history.

The post Indigenous oral history can rewrite human history first appeared on The Postcolonial.

It may seem like a small victory, but it is not insignificant for members of the New Zealand parliament with indigenous descent.

Until Wednesday week the dress code required male MPs to wear ties when speaking in parliament. Alternatives such as traditional indigenous neckwear were not deemed legitimate.

The rule changed because Māori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi refused to wear a tie during Question Time on Tuesday this week.

Arguing that his hei tiki, a human formed jade passed down through generations, as ‘Māori business attire,’ Mr. Waititi was still kicked out of House for continuing speaking in Question Time after being warned about the dress code breach, reports New Zealand news outlet Stuff.

Not just a tie

When send off by Speaker Trevor Mallard, Mr. Waititi said, ‘it’s not about ties it’s about cultural identity mate’ on his way out of House.

Mr. Mallard told Stuff that it was regrettable, but he had to enforce the rules and that ‘there’s nothing stopping Rawiri wearing his hei tiki if he wants to, but it’s not an alternative to a tie.’

Later that day, Mr. Waititi elaborated his action in a post on Social Media.

‘I took off the colonial tie as a sign that it continued to colonise, to choke and to suppress out Māori rights that Mallard suggests gives us all equality,’ he writes on Facebook.

‘I have every right to represent my people and reflect their dress, their culture. There is only one indigenous people in this country and it is not a white man from Wainuiomata,’ referring to an earlier statement from Mr. Mallard saying that he regarded himself as an indigenous New Zealander from Wainuiomata.

Mr. Mallard himself supported the idea of changing the parliament’s dress code rules, but deciding not to over the summer break, as an overwhelming majority of those who wrote him did not support the change, writes Stuff.

‘I took off the colonial tie as a sign that it continued to colonise, to choke and to suppress out Māori rights’

Rawiri Waititi

Māori Party co-leader

‘Having considered those views, I have decided that no change in current standards is warranted. Business attire, including a jacket and tie for men, remains the required dress standard, Mr. Mallard said according to The Guardian.

Old colonial rule revised

While the incident spread around international publications, Mr. Mallard led a subcommittee on Wednesday to debate abandoning the tie rule and include the hei tiki as business attire in House, writes The New York Times.

The tie rule got discarded Wednesday evening.

‘The committee did not reach a consensus, but a majority of the committee was in favor of removing the requirement,’ Mr. Mallard stated.

‘As Speaker, I am guided by the committee’s discussion and decision, and therefore ties will no longer be considered required as part of ‘appropriate business attire,’’ he announced according to Stuff.

‘This was never just about a tie. The tie is symbolic of everything that is wrong in this country’

Rawiri Waititi

Māori Party co-leader

Huge satisfaction and a declaration of a win for Māori resonated on Facebook.

‘Thank you all very much for your overwhelming support on this kaupapa. Your kind words and messages means a lot to us,’ Mr. Waititi wrote on Facebook and continued:

‘This was never just about a tie. The tie is symbolic of everything that is wrong in this country. It has always been about pushing back on an agenda of assimilation that is still active in our country. It was always about ensuring the recognition of our right to be Maori in a whare that is half ours.’

‘Today was a win for all Maori. Taking small steps in indigenising parliament the way our tipuna intended; towards the ultimate vision of the liberation of our people,’ his post says on Facebook.

According to The New York Times it was Britain’s colonial rule in New Zealand that first required men to wear ties in House.

The present parliament is the most diverse seen to date in New Zealand with Māori representing 21 percent and Pacific 8,3 percent.

More parliament members have called for allowing to wear cultural interpretations of formal wear in the New Zealand chamber, writes The Guardian.

The post Tie down first appeared on The Postcolonial.