Maranga Mai! The destruction of whānau The loss of the land base, and colonial laws and assimilationist policies, forced Māori into urban areas during the 1950s where they were subject to racism and discrimination at all levels in housing, education, health, justice and employment. Ties to homelands became tenuous. Identity and whānau became fractured. Multiple layers of disjuncture impacted Māori youth. The social welfare system took thousands of young Māori into State care where staff subjected them to physical and sexual abuse, including torture and rape. Many youth sought support in gangs. Māori suicides and imprisonment spiralled upwards. Unjust legislation More than a century of unjust national legislation and policy, local by-laws and governmental and business practices affecting every area of life oppressed and suppressed Māori society and whānau in the areas of housing, education, health, justice, employment and wellbeing, as outlined in Chapters 1-8. 28