A Māori academic says she's worried the voices of indigenous people are not being considered in conversations around banning tattoos at the upcoming Rugby World Cup.
Exactly a year out from the start of the tournament, the sport's global governing body has warned teams and their supporters against displaying tattoos due to their association to the Yakuza, the Japanese mafia.
- Players, teams warned to cover tattoos at 2019 World Cup in Japan
- All Blacks will cover up tattoos as sign of respect at Rugby World Cup in Japan
Dr Mera Penehira from Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi told The AM Show the thoughts of Japan's indigenous Ainu people should be considered and she's worried they haven't been.
The Ainu are an indigenous group in Japan and Russia, with a population of about 25,000. Unofficially there are believed to be at least 200,000 Ainu descendants, but many have no knowledge of their ancestry.
Tattooing large lips on women as a sign of maturity was a historical cultural practice in the past, but it has now died out.
"I haven't heard that they've been part of the conversation," she said.
"We need to ensure that if we're making decisions on the basis of what is culturally appropriate we need first to speak to the indigenous nations of that country."
Dr Penehira said she was worried that New Zealand's acceptance of the request to cover up could make us part of the problem.
"I'm concerned about that and I'm concerned that if we simply say 'yes' to covering up our own moko, our own skin carvings that we may be becoming complicit in the further oppression," she said.
Japanese settlers began pushing into Ainu land when they arrived in the 15th century and they weren't recognised by the Japanese Parliament as a race with a distinct language, The Washington Post reports.
Dr Penehira couldn't say whether players covering up was right or wrong, but she did think it needed to be considered more deeply.
But mostly she wants Rugby New Zealand to consider how sport and politics interact.
"What I say to sport New Zealand and to Rugby New Zealand is that we cannot continue to separate sports from politics," she said.
"We can't separate cultural decisions from politics. We need to understand cultures from within the political context from where they come."
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