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Page 12
Alcohol and drug abuse among New Zealand's young aboriginals has reached near epidemic proportions.
But after 150 years of colonial domination, the Maori people are experiencing a resurgence of new pride and new hope for the future. And with that new-found pride they hope to overcome their substance abuse problems.
Wendy Arahanga of Auckland, New Zealand, told an audience at the recent international conference on healing that alcohol and drug abuse were unknown among her people only a generation ago.
Arahanga was one of a large Maori contingent who travelled form New Zealand to Edmonton to attend the Healing Our Spirit Worldwide conference. Arahanga works with the Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand and is chairperson of the Te Whitiki O Tamaki Makaurau, an organization which helps Maori people access services.
The Maori presenter gave a long list of statistics that paralleled many similar reports on drug and alcohol abuse among Canadian Native people.
Alcohol-related deaths were 75 per cent higher among Maori than non-Maori during the 1970's; Maori arrests for drunk driving was four to fie times higher than non-Maori.
The admission of Maori males to mental hospitals has increased four-fold since 1970 and alcohol is the prime cause of admissions; both Maori men and women who drink were found to be heavy drinkers compared to the non-Maori drinkers.
About 10 per cent of New Zealand's population of three million are Maori.
Arahanga blamed much of the substance abuse among young Maoris on the pressures of growing up in a materialistic and competitive society.
High unemployment rates, low education levels and low self-esteem give them little hope for the future, the speaker added.
Maori society is traditionally based on the family concept (whanau). But migration to the cities to find employment and the influence of the dominant colonial culture has weakened the whanau concept.
The nuclear family with two working parents and high incidents of divorce have further eroded the whanau concept and created additional pressures for youth.
"We have placed our young people in a jungle entwined with deceit and corruption, induced on many occasions by the very people we choose to love and care about," said Arahanga.
But the conference speaker said there are positive steps being taken to address the high rate of alcohol and drug abuse.
Leading up to 1990, the 150th year of colonial rule and a Maori tribal celebration, the Waitangi celebrations, young Maoris became more political and the celebrations brought a new awareness of their traditional culture.
Many of the young men took part in Rahuiu, an old tribal custom of total abstinence from alcohol and drugs.
A new program in one of the prisons, teaching prisoners about Maori spirituality, helped to dramatically reduce the number of repeat incarcerations of Maori men.
And new services have been introduced throughout New Zealand to address the needs of Maoris, whatever their ages.
Arahanga is convinced there must be a Maori solution to the Maori problems. She offers her people's long-held-beliefs in holistic approach to life, a return to the teachings of the elders and to spirituality as a way out of the dead-end of substance abuse.
"The race is poised to accept the challenge of preparing themselves properly for the 21st century.
"The challenge to overcome the effects of substance abuse is with us today and
we look forward to winning back the future for the younger generation."
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