The government is scheduled to open its first military-styled boot camp in Palmerston North on Monday in the face of strong opposition.
And with nine out of the 10 teenage participants being Māori, there are concerns about a lack of consultation with mana whenua.
It also comes as shocking details come to light of abuse at boot camps in the 1990s, reported on Wednesday by the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in state and faith-based care.
Nonetheless, the government is standing by its boot camps, and say they will be completely different from those referred to in the commission's report.
Professor Meihana Durie. Photo: RNZ/Justine Murray
But Rangitāne Māori education expert professor Meihana Durie, who is a descendant of Rangitāne from the hapū of Te Rangitepāia - mana whenua for the location of the boot camp, does not agree with the government's approach.
"To the best of my knowledge, there had been some engagement pretty late in the piece, however, I think it's fair to say, had we been engaged with early on in this process, we would've said a clear no to the whole idea of a boot camp taking place in the rohe of Rangitāne."
Concerns lack of consultation with mana whenua for boot camps
Durie said there were other solutions which were kaupapa Māori driven and built off of 30 years of "good evidence and research".
That research suggested the best way to see vulnerable rangatahi Māori flourish and thrive was to use a kaupapa Māori approach.
He said it was not only about education and development - but about reconciliation and healing intergenerational trauma.
"I think our concern is also the fact that this particular project is drawing from a methodology which has been popularised by the US marines," Durie said.
"That has no real cultural relevance whatsoever to kaupapa Māori approaches and they're certainly not in alignment with the kaupapa of Rangitāne and … it's a reflection back for us to what our tipuna have laid in place which is really to promote the idea of flourishing through reconciliation, and also through the values that really define our culture as Māori as well."
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour and Minister for Children Karen Chhour look at the type of footwear youth at the new military academy pilot will receive. Photo: RNZ / Rachel Helyer-Donaldson
Durie said it was clear from images that had come out of the boot camps launch that the uniform young people would be wearing was "akin" to a military-style approach and proved it was the "predominant theme" of the project.
"We have issues with that because we feel that rangatahi Māori in particular need a different kind of approach, they need to be shown manaakitanga, they need to be shown aroha, and the particular issue I think with boot camps is it draws from a, I guess, a theme of breaking people down in order to bring them back up and to make them into better people, and that runs contrary to Māori cultural views.
"We are not a culture who believe in hurt and humiliation, that is a direct impact in terms of the diminishment of mana and I don't believe those questions have been sufficiently explored by those who have driven this programme."
Durie said the first thing he would do with these vulnerable young people - labelled serious youth offenders - would be to listen to their voices and the voices of their whānau.
He said Māori practitioners needed to be the ones to lead any type of intervention that was about providing a better pathway forward for vulnerable rangatahi - that was also in light of the inquiry released this week.
"The voice of survivors and the information and detail that they can provide in terms of their experience would actually be pivotal to gaining good outcomes in any kids of initiative that is about elevating outcomes or driving better outcomes for vulnerable rangatahi."