Of Kuia and Kaumatua

Abstract

We are probably all familiar with elementary school projects involving young students getting to know and interact with senior citizens in their community. Usually this multigenerational activity involves seniors discussing memories of childhood and life at school and answering questions from elementary school students about the olden days. Instead of leaving this as once-upon-a-time, astute classroom teacher finds connections with past and leads an activity in which multi-generational differences and similarities surrounding education and childhood experiences are explored, and in which past is seen as informing present.In Aotearoa New Zealand, Kuia (female) and Kaumatua (male) are respected tribal elders in a Maori community who, by their remembering, guide community into future. They are never selfproclaimed, but are recognized by community for their wisdom, humbleness, honesty and integrity. They are historical conscience of community; guides to future. As with NAEA's Distinguished Fellows and other mentors, such designation should not be simply a reward for service given, but be seen as recognition of contributions yet to be made.In an address given at opening of my university's Center for Study of Historical Consciousness, American scholar Michael Schudson, (2002) noted past shapes present whether or not people in present notice past. The past sets up some choices and some possibilities for what follows and forecloses others. (n.p.) In art education have few public monuments and markers to help us recall, celebrate, or mourn past events. Aside from publications, perhaps come closest to public memory sites only in die names of a few awards and memorial lectures, named buildings, and community artifacts such as signature wall in Arts Cottage at Penn State. After documenting how quickly Americans forgot Watergate, Schudson concluded Does America not have shortest collective attention span of any nation on record? (n.p.)Not only do easily cast past events aside (and I am including Canadians here!), do same with people and ideas; ignore historical precedents. We become suspicious of reading lists for graduatelevel courses that list too many pre-1996 books and articles. We weed older books from our libraries and personal collections. We characterize some colleagues as out-of-date. We jump on a new bandwagon before exhausting possibilities of preceding wagons. As Walter Smith (1875) told Massachusetts art teachers more than 130 years ago, live in a pre-eminendy fast age, where we think no more, but perhaps less; have no time to think, but go crashing on to save ourselves from being crushed in die hurry of progress (p. 11).Last weekend I attended three intergenerational functions associated with opening of an exhibition, Manawa: Pacific Connections, at Spirit Wrestler Gallery in Vancouver, British Columbia. This was an exhibition of work emanating from ongoing contact between some of British Columbia's First Nations' artists and Maori artists from Aotearoa New Zealand. Among visiting was distinguished sculptor Fred Graham. In 1966, (the same year that many of those that I would consider kaumatua and kuia of today's art education were meeting at Penn State [See Mattil, 1966]) I completed my student teaching in Fred's art room and following year joined him in my first teaching position at Papakura High School in South Auckland.Reflected in presence of both groups, and interwoven with singing, dancing, and extensive oratory, as well as within many of artworks, was great respect for ancestors, and for living elders who have shown way. …

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