Fears cartoon backlash may undermine vaccine efforts

Putting a moko on a cartoon Covid-19 virus that ‘‘gets the boot’’ has been labelled a slur on Ma¯ ori identity and a return ‘‘to the dark ages’’.

The cartoons featured in a now withdrawn Bay of Plenty District Health Board booklet that urged readers to ‘‘give Covid-19 the boot’’.

Dr Rawiri Taonui, researcher and New Zealand’s first professor of indigenous studies, described the imagery as ‘‘gross’’.

‘‘The ta¯ moko mataora, that goes to the heart of a person’s identity.

‘‘In pre-European times that was a map of someone’s life,’’ he said.

‘‘That makes it, in the Ma¯ ori world view, tapu, very special.’’

He said the imagery was ‘‘immediately insulting’’ and that he was shocked it could have come from a DHB.

‘‘A bit like the virus is bad [the imagery suggests] Ma¯ ori and the mataora is associated with people that are bad.’’

Taonui also said he was concerned the swift backlash against the booklet could hinder vaccine rollout efforts, saying he had already been contacted by people telling him their view on the jab was now ‘‘get stuffed’’.

He said that in the wake of efforts from Government departments to be more inclusive, the move was ‘‘a giant step backwards’’.

‘‘It undermines a lot of the good work going on to bring Maori and Pa¯ keha¯ culture on to a more equal footing,’’ he said.

‘‘A huge backfire. Something like this is a major concern.’’

University of Waikato Ma¯ ori and Indigenous Studies Professor Tom Roa was equally shocked at the images.

‘‘We’ve gone back to the dark ages,’’ he said.

‘‘Why did the DHB choose a moko? What message are they trying to give in having someone kick that moko.

‘‘The message I received is they want to get rid of it.

‘‘I would suggest that this is an abuse, someone to kick something with a moko

. . . shades of the haka incident.’’

Roa also echoed Taonui’s concerns that the backlash could damage vaccination efforts.

He also said he believed it would have been ‘‘a given’’ that any Ma¯ ori staff who viewed the images before the booklet’s release would have flagged the concerns, though Stuff later ascertained the image was designed by a Ma¯ ori artist and consulted on.

‘‘It’s a cartoon figure. It’s meant to be funny, but from my perspective and most Ma¯ ori, it isn’t.’’

Unsurprisingly, the backlash has not gone unnoticed at the DHB. In a statement from the joint chairs of the Bay of Plenty

District Health Board and Te Ru¯ nanga Hauora Ma¯ ori o te Moana a Toi, Sharon Shea and Linda Steel, the CEO, Pete Chandler, and the Manukura – executive director Toi Ora, Marama Tauranga an apology was offered to ‘‘local Ma¯ ori, iwi and hapu¯ partners, and wha¯ nau, for the use of an inappropriate design on Covid19 marketing collateral’’.

‘‘Te Ru¯ nanga Hauora Ma¯ ori o te Moana a Toi which consists of 17 iwi from Mai I Nga¯ Kuri a Whaarei ki Tihirau are beyond offended that the most sacred part of our tinana has been depicted in this manner and unreservedly apologise to all our wha¯ nau, hapu, iwi and ha¯ pori communities.’’

‘‘It undermines a lot of the good work going on to bring Maori and Pa¯keha¯ culture on to a more equal footing’’

Dr Rawiri Taonui