Eyes are on the United States as its political leadership sends shockwaves around the world. For those living in America, the consequences are being felt firsthand.
Hera Smith and her husband, who is of African American, Blackfoot, and Cherokee descent, are raising their children in New York.
Since President Donald Trump regained office, New York has felt like a different place for Smith (Ngāti Kuri, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Rehia, Ngāpuhi, and Te Aupōuri).
“We’re deeply concerned because what we’re seeing is an overwhelming profiling and attack on black and brown people and marginalised communities that have far too many generations of seeing this oppression, and it’s very disheartening to be living under these circumstances,” she told Te Ao Māori News.
“On the year my oldest daughter was born she was actually born in November 2008 and how much of a contrast it was then in terms of how people are feeling about the leadership in this country because of course that was when Obama was voted in as president and there was a lot more hope in general but what we’re seeing here is you know very much the opposite.”
With ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) arrests and deportations numbers at a high since Trump’s administration took office, Smith and her whānau have taken precautions.
“Every day my children go to school, I am always worrying that they may not be safe, especially for my older daughter, who travels often by herself. So we’ve had to prep her so that she’s carrying her ID, so that she understands what she needs to do. If there’s ever an emergency, you know, we’ve got our networks sort of ready to contact if we need help.”
Although Smith has American citizenship, there is no place like home.
“I miss my children being able to be on their whenua and myself.
“I miss the space that we have to really just take a deep breath and to connect with our tikanga and our ways of life so that our kids can live and breathe being Māori because living abroad, you know, obviously cuts those ties.
“It’s a lot harder to be able to practice our own ways of being on a daily basis when we’re not on our own whenua.”
