Apology fatigue sparks Parihaka rethink

© Parihaka

RACHEL BUCHANAN FULL INTERVIEW CLICK HERE 

An author and academic with connections to Parihaka has charted the sorry tale of the apologies for the crown’s 1881 on the Taranaki settlement, and asked what is needed to make an apology meaningful.

Melbourne-based Rachel Buchanan from Taranaki and Te Atiawa says since 1991 there have been nine government apologies, and when she heard about the latest her first thought was ‘oh no, not again.’

Writing her book Kō Taranaki Te Maunga for BWB Text was a way to look at her own family history and how Parihaka as a place and an event could be lost and found, over and over, moving into view and then disappearing, just like the mountain.

"A strong message in this book is what can be achieved when you start thinking differently and instead of expecting what the crown says is going to fix things or money or land, that we have the power within us to reclaim ourselves," Ms Buchanan says.

Rachael Buchanan is also the author of the 2009 book The Parihaka Album: Lest We Forget.

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