Strong Voices

By Guest Contributor Georgie Meadows

James Normile, a youthful, 50-year-old Ngāti Porou man from the East Coast of Aotearoa, lives with an intellectual disability and receives full-time support from staff in an IDEA Services home. He is also a founding member of the Marlborough kapa haka roopu, Ngā Whaikaha Hinengaro o Wairau.

When I first began my mahi as one of James’ support workers almost 10 years ago, it was clear that his strong bond with his whānau was integral to his sense of self, and he spoke regularly of his siblings, nieces and nephews. However, James relied on his Mum to connect with his siblings and whānau, as they were not known to his support staff.

James was also proud to be Māori, yet in his daily life in IDEA Services he lacked opportunities to experience it or express himself as such.

Much of his identity and sense of belonging to both his whānau and whakapapa was tethered to memories of his younger years, leaving him spiritually and culturally unrecognised in his present home and daily life.

Since his participation in and engagement with his kapa haka roopu, changes have occurred for James. His confidence, his understanding of himself and the overall improvement in his wellbeing seem directly linked to the regular experience of his cultural heritage.

When the kapa haka roopu was founded, the tikanga, reo and kapa haka were not new to James. I heard him use Māori kupu (words) for the first time and realised he knew many of the waiata and waiata ringa (action songs). I’ve since learned from his Mum that James loved to join his siblings and cousins in waiata.

When he participates in the roopu he displays a look of confidence, holding his head high, as though grounded in his rightful place. He now often takes on leadership roles, coming to the front of the group to support other members who follow him during the waiata ringa (action songs).

James’ Mum, whaea Marie Normile, is both a kaumātua in our community and a highly esteemed representative kapa haka performer herself. James now often says to me, “I am my Mum’s son, Māori, Ngāti Porou, like my Mum.”

Our roopu now wears kākahu donated to us by Te Rerenga o Te Rā, James’ Mum’s kapa haka roopu, and given with the expressed wish to awhi our group, so they could literally be cloaked in the mauri of our region’s past kapa haka performers. We also received dresses for our wāhine (that I had performed in as a teenager) so the threads of our journey, our whakapapa, are woven – tui, tuia.

IDEA Services’ kapa haka festivals were initiated to provide a stage for the people we support, to showcase their strengths and talents. The process involved in preparing for that stage becomes the waka they journey in, bringing cultural values to their day-to-day lives.

A foundational Māori value is whakapapa: our connection to who we are, where we come from and our tūpuna who came before, so we can stand in their strength as their legacy.

It was important to James that he engage with his whakapapa and with his whānau, and on making contact with his siblings we realised how important James was to them.

It was evident James also needed assistance from his support staff to facilitate the contact. With support staff on hand to enable video calls to Australia, James connected with his sister and her tamariki, now teenagers and young adults. The strength of the bond was clear as they greeted James saying, “Kia ora Uncle, I love you Uncle”. On hearing of James’ goal to be kaea (leader) of a haka, he and his nephew performed a haka together.

Now when James speaks of his whānau, his stories are not just of the past. He proudly shares that he is an uncle and now a great uncle. He regularly sends them videos of his kapa haka performances and receives proud messages of love and encouragement. After a kapa haka performance he will often say, “Tell my sister, tell my brother.”

The name given to James’ roopu, Ngā Whaikaha Hinengaro o Wairau, reflects their aspirations to be thoughtful about their strengths and abilities; to acknowledge and participate in the community in which those strengths are nurtured and supported; and to provide learning and growth in the journey of exploring cultural identity.

One of the proudest achievements of Ngā Whaikaha Hinengaro o Wairau was being the first kapa haka roopu made up entirely of adults with intellectual disabilities to perform at Taiopenga in the 20 years it has been the Marlborough community’s kapa haka festival.

This was incredibly significant for James, who was able to share his achievements, showcase his strengths and express himself as a proud Ngāti Porou Māori man and a proud kapa haka performer, “like my Mum”.

And for James’ Mum, it was the first time she had seen him stand on the stage on which she herself had stood for many years, performing in his own roopu alongside whanaunga and James’ aunties, the kaea of Taiopenga. James’ Mum shared with me that James performs on stage just as she herself does, “With his chest lifted and his head held high, singing to the gods.”

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Caption: Ngā Whaikaha Hinengaro o Wairau.