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Mana leader Hone Harawira is dismissing criticism from academic Paul Moon that Māori culture has been cheapened by the way it is presented to the world.
In a new book published this month, the AUT University professor claims the haka has become a corrupted spectacle and the Māori culture presented in tourism villages is stuck in a Victorian time warp, ignoring modern developments.
Mr Harawira compared Professor Moon to the ad man behind the National Party Iwi versus Kiwi billboards, John Ansell.
"I think a lot of his stuff is done deliberately, at a politer level, as John Ansell, which is to stir up resentment, stir up people being angry with Māori. He makes all of his money off Māori. He writes books about Māori, he makes commentary about Māori, he lives off Māori. The fact is he is not Māori and he is not a person you could truly say understands the Māori psyche, so who really cares what he has to say," he says.
Copyright © 2013, UMA Broadcasting Ltd
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