In 1860, at the Kohimarama Conference, Māori chiefs from across the country chose Christianity. They didn’t want to return to the gods of war, utu, cannibalism, or ancestor worship. They had lived under that system — and rejected it. They publicly embraced Christ for themselves, their iwi, and their whānau.
“We follow Christ. We do not return to the gods of old.”
Today, we are doing the opposite. We are not giving Māori children any choice. Or non-Māori children, for that matter.
- There is no opt-in.
- There is no parental consent.
- There is no room for dissent.
Instead, we are:
Below is a comparison of what Māori children experienced in 1860 — and what they are being subjected to in 2025:
- Teaching daily karakia (prayers to atua)
- Embedding wairua, mana, and mauri into lessons
- Normalising spiritual rituals in public schools and early childhood centres
- Calling it “culture” — so we can bypass the law against religious instruction
Below is a comparison of what Māori children experienced in 1860 — and what they are being subjected to in 2025:
A Christian Mission School in 1860
This was not a state school. It was funded and run by Christian missionaries — Anglican, Wesleyan, or Catholic — and welcomed by Māori chiefs who had freely converted to Christianity. Children were taught to read the Bible in both te reo Māori and English. The school bore a Christian cross, symbolising peace, order, and unity. At the Kohimarama Conference, the chiefs said: “We follow Christ. We do not return to the gods of old.”
A State School Devoted to Atua in 2025
This is a modern, publicly funded New Zealand school. There is no cross. Instead, children are surrounded by pou (carved ancestors), paintings of Māui, and wairua symbols. Karakia to atua is a daily ritual. Children are told wairua is wellbeing, mana is inherited power, and atua are guardians. This belief system is taught as “culture,” without parental consent.
No choice. No neutrality. No exit.
Let Māori Children Choose.
In 1860, they chose Christianity. In 2025, their children are denied all choice.
Full document re the Kohimarama Conference is available here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/lz0x8ut9otk2l84avma4r/Kohimarama-new-design-vvv.pdf?rlkey=vkxbdjoqsjkavjo63qodv8le8&st=8orh7v2l&dl=0
Full video re the Kohimarama Conference is available here:
https://youtu.be/8CB7Spn_Doo?si=uAK0TYXSTy9JEb5c
Judy Gill BSc, DipTchg, is a parent, former teacher, and a staunch advocate for secular education.
17 comments:
It needs to stop. We need to reinstate a secular culture.
Bravo. Minister of Ed take note.
Very interesting. How does thus get changed? Who will lead?
Indeed this is true, but Judy for that statement of truth you will be labelled as a racist, bigoted settler by the activist class and worse the middle class PAWGs.
It wouldn't be the children who would choose. It would be the adults who control them
There is a naivete about the first paragraph of this article that reflects a mindset I have often come across over many years living in both developing (inc. PNG and Botswana) and Western countries. People at large appear to think that primitive peoples adopt the ways of the colonisers lock, stock and barrel, including their religious beliefs. The reality isn't quite as simple as that. Primitive tribal peoples are henotheistic - among other things, that means they acknowledge the existence of the gods of other tribes. A tribe that is advanced in military and economic terms must have a very powerful god (so the reasoning goes), and should that god extend an invitation to them to worship it in return for material favours, they will do so. But that doesn't mean they abandon their own god(s). What you end up with is a mosaic of beliefs of both indigenous and exotic origin that can be very hard to navigate for observers. The term 'conversion' is not usually all that appropriate as that implies trading one belief set in for another.
Westerners should be particularly wary of local 'strong men' ordering their subjects to 'convert'. The Whites present would have understood what this entailed - a tribe ordered to pay homage to their god in the expectation of rewards. A lot of modern people don't seem to see that.
I don't understand why the writer suggests Maori children should do the choosing. Decisions about abstractions such as metaphysical beliefs are best left to adults. Children do not have the capacity, which is why their adult guardians should make such choices on their behalves. Having said that, should not be any 'choice' to make in a secular State system.
Actually who cares if they get "labeled a racist bigoted settler"? If you are a person of integrity and aren't a sheeple, you won't care what opinion idiots have of you.
Having spent a lot of time (as a visiting yachtsman) in tribal organized villages on isolated outlying S. Pacific islands, I concur with the above. Many of these villages were nominally Christian of various denominations (Mormon, Pentecostal, but not many Catholic). One tiny island in Tonga has 6 churches of different denominations including a huge Mormon one.There was a lot of social pressure on the villagers to adhere to the behavior mandates of their professed religion (for example no swimming or work on Sundays, compulsory church attendance), but as far as I could see, not much understanding of the complexities/metaphysics of the Christian religion beyond "Jesus saves", "sin" and the concept that Jesus would reward believers and punish non-believers.
At the same time I was aware of an undercurrent of superstition and vestiges of the original tribal poly-god religion.
I am extremely concerned with the insidious introduction of Maori religious beliefs and practices into our secular school system under guise of "its just culture". This is pure bullshit from activist Maori and their deluded woke European enablers. If say, Buddhist, Muslim, or Hindu religious practices were to be introduced into our secular school system there would be a huge backlash! But Maori religion is OK because its "just culture" and if you disagree you are "racist".
All this indoctrination should be a "opt in" , in writing by parents, not an "opt out" with intimidation to accept this cultural pressure.
Why are so many of you anonymous? Should I copy and paste your comments as anon? Or are some of you willing to stand by your position?
I'm happy to stand up and be counted. I only use "anonymous" because sometimes I get turned down when I post under my Goggle account. I'll try it now...
Judy, it looks like my comment just went through under my Goggle account. I'm happy to have you copy and paste my comments under my real name which is Mr. Sandy Fontwit.
As regards the poor educational showing of some part-Maori children, my opinion is that there are several factors:
1) Solo female parent households with multiple (usually ratbag) men in and out, no stability, and no consistent discipline.
2) Poverty (which is a factor in non-Maori households as well, part-Maori don't have a patent on poverty)
3) Maori culture itself which traditionally didn't have any sort of structured "education" and was illiterate. Contrast that with Chinese, Jewish, and Asian cultures which, for thousands of years, highly valued literate education as the mark of the superior person and as the way to "get ahead" in the culture. This is generally why here in NZ you see Asian children excelling in school.
4) Again, traditional Maori tribal culture was entirely hierarchical. There was no individual freedom as such and the concept of the individual apart from the tribe was not even thinkable by pre-contact Maori. Hence part-Maori children from households which adhere to traditional tribal Maori culture are at a disadvantage in modern schools which tend to emphasize individual achievement over the group. In a tribal culture, individuals are not generally encouraged to be innovative, think for themselves, question authority, and yet these are all habits of mind and character that are held to be positive and helpful to individuals in modern liberal democratic societies. My guess is that middle class part-Maori children, coming from stable families that don't follow or prize traditional Maori culture, do as well as non-part-Maori in the state educational system. Maybe Judy could do research on this.
Of course Part-Maori activists and their woke European enablers will NEVER admit that Maori culture itself has anything to do with poor educational achievement, truancy, prison population, gang membership, poverty. Its MUCH easier to blame non-Maori and thus keep up the illusion of Maori cultural superiority which is implicit in much of "brown people/Maori=good, White people/Western culture=bad" narrative being pedaled by academia.
Call me racist or any other pejorative term, I don't give a sh_t because ad hominem arguments are the fall back position of ignorant irrational people.
Perhaps "Anon" speaks volumes..... fear of reprisals, loss of income, address abuse... Somethings gonner 'give' - and soon. Note the AuckGirlsGrammar School gang behaviour noted in NZHerald recently, and now in hand of police, all blew up within a weeks or so of "yooth" parliament, where the girls were in offices of TePati Maori.... Do you make a connection?
Judy, did you not read the threats to the bloke who was cleaning the Te Parti billboard and was accused of damaging it ?
That's what happens when Maori think they have the right of "utu".
I'll stay anonymous and safe.
I have no idea how those responsible can justify , forcing religious practices on others.
Religious beliefs are a very personal matter and free choice is mandatory and distinctly Christian ( but not so in Islam which historically gained converts by conquest ).
There are religious practices like prayers , singing hymns etc , then there are ethical standards which most of the main religions have.
These can be called Cultural Christianity, and include things like monogamy , respect for human life, freedom of conscience , equality of women, freedom of speech , unselfishness, not stealing , work ethic, forgiveness ,universal education etc
I do wonder what values Maori culture/ religion give our society . Certainly commitment to family is one they talk about but not very evident in their present high rate of killing children. Surely killing off the Moa was disrespectful of the natural world.
Western Christian culture and values condemned and rid original Maori culture of cannibalism, slavery , female infanticide, tribal warfare with utu, as well as providing material items like domestic animals , a universal language , vegetables and fruit , warm clothing and substantial housing with power and all modern technology provides, which was actually developed from Western Science . This was largely brought about , but not entirely , from the beliefs to begin with of Christians like Bacon, Copernicus , Galileo , Kepler , Newton, Faraday etc. To suggest Maori in their Christian conversion , concentrated on mostly on material gain and not Christian values is questionable and insulting to them. There is a determined attack by militant atheism against recognizing genuine Christian contributions to our world , especially from academia. I don't try and pretend bad things have not been done in the name of Christianity but those involved were not following the true teachings of Christ. What about the atheist regimes of Stalin , Pol Pot and Mao who killed multi millions last century ?
Judy, what is the Maori population of Sydney ?
Worth an inquiry.
Many tens of thousands when I last heard.
How are the children doing in those Maori families mostly removed from all this privileged nonsense they get here ?
I understand that they just fit into the normal pattern of mixed suburbia, and do as well as the other children.
So much better than here - so that social lesson has been learned - stop all that cultural nonsense and treat the kids like everyone else in the western world.
Stanford - you can, and need to address this urgently.
Luxon if you, or your staff, are reading this - stop worrying about the economy, that will sort itself out, meanwhile the kids are going backwards.
I want some mana! It is so unfair!
Signed
HURT FEELINGS
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