Ma¯ori artist created offensive Covid design
A health pamphlet that put a moko on a cartoon Covid-19 virus – shown getting ‘‘the boot’’ – was designed by a Ma¯ ori artist and consulted on.
The now withdrawn booklet from the Bay of Plenty District Health Board urged people to ‘‘give Covid-19 the boot’’ and attracted huge numbers of complaints.
Cartoon images depicted the virus with a moko [traditional Ma¯ori tattoo]; one showed the moko-wearing virus was being kicked by a Pa¯keha¯ man in gumboots alongside the words: Let’s give Covid-19 the boot! Another featured a person in full Covid-style protective equipment standing on top of the virus, with a tewhatewha [a traditional Ma¯ ori weapon] in hand.
The brochure was pulled after negative reaction, and the DHB chief executive said he was ‘‘absolutely appalled by the imagery’’.
DHB apologises, says pamphlets will be destroyed
DHB board chair Sharon Shea saw the brochure on Thursday night and found it offensive and wrong, she said in a statement.
‘‘Since last night, I have been informed it was designed by a Ma¯ ori artist, and had input from Ma¯ori marketing specialists and it had gone through an approval process, including consultation with some local iwi,’’ she said yesterday.
‘‘However, it is clear that the process was not as robust as needed, and this design has caused offence. On this occasion, we have failed our Ma¯ ori community, and we apologise. It’s not good enough.’’
The DHB apologised for use of the ‘‘inappropriate design’’, saying it will destroy the material and not use the design again.
It’s an unwanted distraction from getting as many Ma¯ ori vaccinated as possible, given increased risks from Covid-19, Te Ru¯ nanga Hauora Ma¯ ori o Te Moana a Toi chair Linda Steel said.
The group, a Te Tiriti governance partner which takes in 17 iwi, ‘‘fully tautoko’’ the health board’s decision to get rid of the ‘‘totally offensive material’’ and urgently review the process.
‘‘[We] are beyond offended that the most sacred part of our tinana [body] has been depicted in this manner and unreservedly apologise to all our wha¯ nau, hapu¯ , iwi and ha¯ pori communities.’’
Booklet wrong on many levels – MP
Labour list MP Ta¯ mati Coffey raised concerns with DHB board chair Sharon Shea on Thursday night.
He told Stuff he was worried widespread offence could hamper vaccine efforts, given there’s some vaccine hesitancy among Ma¯ ori.
‘‘Anything that gives Ma¯ori people a reason to screw their noses up does put in jeopardy the good work the Ministry of Health has been doing,’’ he said.
On Facebook he called the publicity material wrong on so many levels.
Putting mataora [full face tattoos] on a Covid virus ‘‘sends weird signals. And could be seen as racist’’, he wrote.
And because mataora is a tapu [sacred] practice which demands respect, nothing with a mataora should be stood on or kicked.
As soon as he saw the imagery on Thursday evening ‘‘the red light went off’’, he told Stuff.
It seemed wrong and had ‘‘shades of the bad old days’’ when Ma¯ori heads were treated as curiosity exhibit items.
I would not have approved this, says DHB chief executive
BOP health board boss Peter Chandler replied to Coffey’s post, saying he was ‘‘absolutely appalled by the imagery’’, which was ‘‘totally unacceptable’’.
The DHB was investigating the pamphlet’s path to publication and it’s not yet clear if a DHB staffer approved it.
‘‘With immediate effect from last night, all of our Covid communications now will follow the same path as other communications, which need to be signed off by me,’’ he told Stuff.
‘‘Had this come to my desk, I can assure you it would not have been approved.’’
The brochure was part of ongoing
Covid communications work and was created by a contractor, Chandler said.
‘‘To me, as Pa¯keha¯, that appeared to portray the Covid virus as a Ma¯ ori character, and that’s not okay,’’ he said.
There had been ‘‘an immense amount of feedback’’ yesterday and Chandler said he understood why people were upset.
‘‘We unreservedly apologise as the DHB. We’re going to try and put it right.’’
It was unlikely to set back vaccination efforts because many local vaccination points were run by iwi providers with strong local relationships, he said.
Chandler wouldn’t say if the DHB planned to review its relationship with the contractor which produced the brochure.
Meanwhile, the DHB was removing hard copies of the brochure, understood to have gone to GP practices, and possibly pharmacists and community centres.
Public health group and Covid leader react
Toi Te Ora Public Health’s logo featured on the brochure, but clinical lead Dr Phil Shoemack said that was ‘‘without our knowledge or permission’’.
‘‘We would never support material with imagery such as this,’’ his statement said.
‘‘We are disappointed and dismayed that this booklet has been published.’’
The booklet was branded ‘‘a disgrace’’ by Dr Rawiri Jansen, a co-leader of Te Ro¯pu¯ Whakakaupapa Uruta¯, or the National Ma¯ ori Pandemic Group.
It’s ‘‘deeply offensive, disgusting,’’ he said.
‘‘They’ve got some work to do, they’ve started right by apologising. It is disgraceful but redeemable, get on and fix it.’’
‘‘I don’t know what they were thinking’’
Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon felt whoever designed the leaflet was ‘‘culturally ignorant and insensitive’’.
‘‘To have depicted a picture of Ma¯ ori being the Covid – I don’t know what they were thinking.’’
It also degraded the mataora, which represents leadership and rangatiratanga, he said.
‘‘I would have thought that in 2021 there would have been a greater sensitivity, especially to Ma¯ ori in Aotearoa.’’
Foon approved of the chief executive’s moves to pull the pamphlet and investigate the process, and felt the DHB would learn from this.