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The haka: Wonderful bonding, sending a challenge in a global crisis or merely cultural appropriation?

2020; Wiley; Volume: 29; Issue: 19-20 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/jocn.15319

1365-2702

Denise Wilson,

Global Health Workforce Issues

I want to begin by acknowledging the tremendous work nurses are undertaking at the front line of health care throughout the world currently. I also want to pay my respects to those nurses and their families and friends who have sadly lost their lives from COVID-19 emphasising the risks our workplaces present. The work of all nurses globally reinforces their pivotal role in health care during this time of crisis precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic—something I never thought we would see to this scale in our lifetime. Indigenous peoples globally affected by the settlement and colonisation by other nations and endured traumatic dispossession of their lands, language, cultural identity and the very protective factors embedded within their unique cultural ways of being (Smith, 2012). As a result, they continue to endure the effects of ongoing colonisation and bear the burden of disproportionate disparities compared to other groups of people living in their countries (Heaslip, Wilson, & Jackson, 2019). Key to regaining their status and well-being is reclaiming and strengthening their cultural identity and connections lost through acts of colonisation and assimilation. A part of this reclamation is the restoration of cultural practices immersed in spiritual and cultural significance. Without doubt, COVID-19 has brought high levels of stress and despair and changes to our everyday lives across the globe. For many nurses working at the front lines of pandemic responses, additional stressors associated with long hours of work, critically unwell patients and extraordinary working environments have become a standard feature of health care within the pandemic. Understandably, nurses need to engage in collaborative stress-relieving activities. But doing so under the global public gaze that comes with social media can raise questions about the professionalism of nurses. I am referring to the health workers (referred to as nurses in the New Zealand media) in the United Kingdom who performed their version of a Māori (the Indigenous peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand) haka (a culturally significant performance)—Ka Mate. This is the message we wish to affirm. You'll [COVID-19 virus] never beat us, we hate you, you germ. Together we'll triumph with the strength from within. Mankind will destroy you; mankind will win. However, in New Zealand responses to this "anti-virus haka" have included it being offensive, degrading, bizarre, cringeworthy, disrespectful, offensively wrong, racist, distasteful, cultural abuse, culturally insensitive, cultural appropriation and so forth. Absent was the recognition of the passion of these health workers, their apparent need to come together at this trying time or their actual work as part of the global fight against COVID-19. When confronted on the evening news, as a nurse who is Māori, I had an immediate and visceral reaction because the haka holds deep cultural and spiritual meaning, something that was absent in the "anti-virus" version. This is not the first time the haka has come under the spotlight. For instance, the Spice Girls' 1977 performance of the haka in Bali was criticised, particularly as culturally most forms of the haka are performed by men (Norquay, 2018). Ka Mate is part of New Zealanders' cultural identity and is often performed on the international stage by the All Blacks (national rugby football team) and other sports persons and teams. However, New Zealand legislation, the Haka Ka Mate Attribution Act 2014, protects the cultural significance of the haka Ka Mate as a taonga (a cultural treasure). Composed by Te Rauparaha, a well-known warrior and chief of Ngāti Toa Rangatira (Māori tribal nation in the south-west of the North Island of New Zealand), this haka is imbued with cultural significance and mana (status and prestige). It is an integral part of the history, culture and identity of Ngāti Toa Rangatira who are the legal guardians of this haka—a taonga from their tupuna (ancestor), Te Rauparaha. Rather than sit in judgement of these nurses at a time when they need aroha (compassion, empathy and love), it is timely to reflect upon aspects of professional nursing practice. In particular, those aspects of public display that can negatively impact the respect and trust of the public—that is, cultural appropriation and the role of social media. Culture refers to the beliefs, values and practices that guide and direct how we go about our everyday life. Influenced by worldviews, culture determines what is essential in life and how it contributes to people's, families', and communities' health and well-being. It is how we undertake our daily life and determine what is and what is not essential (Wepa, 2005). The importance of people's cultures has been evident in the nursing literature since the 1970s when Madeleine Leininger introduced transcultural nursing (Leininger, 1970). Since then, the role of culture has become an integral part of nursing practice with cultural competence (Campinha-Bacote, 2011, 2019); cultural humility (Isaacson, 2014; Yeager & Bauer-Wu, 2013); cultural responsiveness (Gill & Babacan, 2012; Wilson, Heaslip, & Jackson, 2018); and cultural safety (Anderson et al., 2003; Ramsden, 2002; Wilson, 2008), all becoming part of the nursing lexicon. No matter the intention, the co-option of Indigenous/First Nations cultural imagery and traditions, like the haka, risk appropriation and when…spiritually significant practices. For instance, Native American peoples have been subjected to generations of degradation by tobacco companies appropriation of tobacco (used in spiritual ceremonies) and the misuse of cultural headdress to encourage smoking (D'Silva, O'Gara, & Villaluz, 2018). To be culturally safe requires nurses to act in respectful ways that uphold the rights and dignity of those from a different culture. Unsafe cultural practice "… comprises any action which diminishes, demeans or dis-empowers the cultural identity and wellbeing of an individual" (Nursing Council of New Zealand, 2011, p. 7). By looking through the window of another group's cultural practices bound in distinctly cultural imagery, and performance only captures superficial aspects of the culture. Such an approach to "knowing" another culture fails to see the complex tapestry, spiritual depth and significance associated with every image and performance that makes up Indigenous people's culture. Cultural artefacts tell stories that transmit knowledge across generations. Any use of other people's culture, whether it is the use of the language, images or performance, must be done with guidance and the utmost discretion for it to be culturally appropriate and, importantly, acceptable. The rise of technology has created positive contributions to our functioning in the contemporary world. But it also comes with the need to be cautious, particularly regarding social media and its overlapping interfaces between the various groups (Thompson, 2010). Ironically, in a world where once information is released on social media it is difficult if not impossible to retrieve and can travel to other places of the earth instantaneously. Social media enables a wide range of people to see everything posted. At times, postings can be an abrasive response to an event, as in the case of the nurses' haka. Social media has implications for nurses and the perception of their professionalism (Thompson, 2010). So why does this matter? Globally, social and health equity issues exist for Indigenous peoples with histories of colonisation. Indigenous inequities manifest as differential access to determinants of health and health services, and differences in quality and safety health care. Differential healthcare experiences for Indigenous peoples result in avoidable hospitalisations and mortality, with Indigenous peoples having notable life expectancy gaps. For instance, New Zealand Māori are more likely to have noncommunicable diseases early in life and die prematurely by seven years compared to non-Māori living in Aotearoa/New Zealand, with avoidable mortality explaining 53% of the life expectancy gap they experience (Walsh & Grey, 2019). When Māori do engage with health services, they are more likely to experience sub-optimal quality in care (Wepa & Wilson, 2019). The experiences and outcomes Indigenous peoples experience negatively impact their trust in those people delivering the services and can act as deterrents from seeking timely care. It impacts on Indigenous people's perceptions of how credible and trustworthy health professionals like nurses are. Therefore, social media can impact Indigenous people's views of nurses—it can be taken as positive or negative. Fundamentally, culture counts when it comes to how people interpret what other people do. In closing, the haka lays down a challenge for visitors. And yes, the nurses probably acted with good intentions in laying down a challenge to COVID-19 that is testing us in ways we could not have imagined. When I look back on my early nursing career, nurses were coming together in the form of solidarity and unity when frustrated working within a system not working as it should. This unity enabled us to garner support to navigate "choppy waters" and go to work to survive another day. But, the events of this week are a timely reminder that we must examine the flip side of appropriating a cultural artefact, like haka, and question the purpose and reasons we are doing it. This is crucial because we should examine the unintended consequences and responses of getting it wrong. I would like to believe these nurses acted with good intentions but got it wrong, and instead of offering a challenge to COVID-19 were themselves challenged engaging a culturally offensive activity. Thompson (2010, p. 26) provides an essential consideration for nurses, stating that while "Social networking sites are valuable communication tools which continue to evolve, but which require wisdom to use safely."