Mihi from the Chair | Te Taru White
Te Tatau o Te Arawa chair, Te Taru White, pictured with manahautū, Jude Pani.
Kia ora koutou katoa
A legacy and historical moment took place for Te Arawa in July with the launch of the Te Arawa 2050 Vision.
With the words and values of our ancestors embedded in our DNA, there’s a firm belief we can transform our future for the betterment of our people, culture and place.
Each pānui, we'll be showcasing a Te Arawa rōpū, iwi or hapū, and the mahi they're doing to help make our shared Te Arawa vision a reality.
Te Arawa FOMA kicks us off with the Te Arawa treasury kaupapa, which is moving ahead at speed as part of the Te Arawa Technology & Innovation pou.
The foundation has been laid for our next generations to build upon, so it's exciting to see our rangatahi making waves through their own accord, with the establishment of Te Taumata o Rehuariki. There are strong emerging leaders in our next generations who are fluent in te reo, biculturally intelligent, respectful, humble and technologically savvy. I'm confident they'll pick up the challenge and shape the future Te Arawa envisages.
Finally, congratulations to our whanaunga and former Te Tatau o Te Arawa board member, Ana Morrison, who’ll be taking on a new role with NZ Institute of Skills & Technology later this year. We know Ana is an intelligent, forward-thinking and courageous mana wahine, who'll champion Māori learner success.
Nō reira, tēnā koutou katoa
Te Taru White
Chair, Te Tatau o Te Arawa
Te Arawa E! | Grace Hiini
Husband-and-wife duo, Grace & Anaha Hiini, hosted Te Arawa 2050 Vision launch.
First, Te Arawa had Scotty and Stacey Morrison. And now we’ve got Anaha and Grace Hiini stepping into the fore of husband-and-wife presenters.
Anaha translated the Te Arawa Vision into te reo Māori and provided quality assurance to other reo components of the vision, so he was an obvious fit to MC the launch. But in a cheeky little twist, the girls in the Te Tatau o Te Arawa office identified his beautiful wahine Grace as the perfect co-host to capitalise on the husband-wife banter.
We’re delighted she agreed. Indeed, Grace says it was an extreme honour to host the launch, while embracing a reorua kaupapa.
“It was only natural for Anaha to narrate in te reo Māori, while I translated in English. It was a no-brainer really and we’re always keen to support Rotorua’s efforts as a reorua city.
“To be a part of such a monumental event, which highlighted the strengths and positive characteristics of our iwi, made me very proud. Presenting the vision made me optimistic about the future,” she says.
“The vision is clear and now we need a concise and definitive plan moving forward. I believe we need to employ experts in their fields – such as technology and innovation, enterprise and economy, leadership and influence – to guide hapū and continue momentum. Many of these experts can be found within our iwi and on our marae.”
Grace says consistent evaluation will ensure Te Arawa stay focused and progress collectively, so the mauri of the vision remains alive.
“Many of our hapū already have development strategies in place but we need to work united. Always look to improve so we reach our ultimate potential not as individuals, not just as an iwi but as an indigenous culture of the world. Unity and great leadership is vital to the success of the vision,” says Grace.
Te Arawa E! | Te Arawa Treasury
Te Arawa FOMA executive director, Peter Rice.
Financial mana motuhake is within reach for local iwi with the formation of a new Te Arawa treasury.
Te Arawa FOMA executive director, lawyer, banker and economist, Peter Rice (Ngāti Whakaue) says the treasury will enable Te Arawa to manage its money and lend internally amongst each other.
“The initial concept was to help get our people into housing and use our money better,” he says.
“For a long time, a lot of our trusts and incorporations’ term deposits have been held in regular banks. So effectively, we’re depositing Te Arawa money in the banks and being charged to borrow our own money.”
Peter says Te Arawa FOMA wanted to use a mechanism where the iwi can capture the value of those deposits and put the money to work on needed social and housing developments.
“We’ve been looking at how we boost our social development. It’s not good enough to just focus on commercial return because we have fundamental issues to deal with first,” he says.
“Like, how do we create better jobs? Not just any old jobs. But jobs that are there for the future. How do we ensure we have good housing for our people? We should be directing sufficient capital to allow our people to prosper.”
Eighteen months ago, Peter and Te Arawa FOMA began conversations with Te Tatau o Te Arawa chair and Credit Union Baywide board member, Te Taru White, who had been encouraging the branch to do more for Māori in this space.
“I realised there was an opportunity to have our own virtual bank with a partner like Credit Union Baywide, so we started working on that initiative. We’ve now agreed to set-up an operation with Credit Union Baywide, however it’s still a journey to get there.
“We’re preparing to talk to our trusts and incorporations who also have a vision for long-term investing. But it’s more about investing in our people,” says Peter.
Rotorua Reorua | Te Taumata o Rehuariki
Rangatahi who represented Te Arawa at te reo Māori revitalisation summit in Auckland this year: (L-R) Maia Berryman-Kamp, Te Mahara Swanson-Hall, Areta Pakinga, Te Wehenga Christensen.
More Rotorua locals will kōrero Māori in their everyday lives when a newly formed reorua youth council makes its mark on the city.
Te Taumata o Rehuariki is being led by John Paul College student, Te Wehenga Christensen (Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Pikiao), who is keen to give Rotorua youth a voice to support the city’s reorua strategy.
Te Wehenga says the idea came from a small group of rangatahi who represented Rotorua at a te reo Māori revitalisation conference in Tāmaki Makaurau earlier this year. The rangatahi presented their idea to the summit’s selection panel, who presented them with $10,000 to develop their vision.
“Our ultimate goal is to normalise te reo Māori for future generations. Getting onboard with the reorua strategy will help create a bilingual city where Rotorua residents speak te reo Māori as a fundamental part of their identity,” says Te Wehenga.
“Moreover, we want to break through Rotorua’s current social context of speaking te reo Māori and offer our community more opportunities to learn and/or use te reo Māori within their daily lives.”
The group is currently working alongside Sonny Ngatai (Te Māngai Pāho) and Te Mauri Kingi (Te Tatau o Te Arawa) to create a robust kaupapa that will make a greater impact on te reo Māori revitalisation.
Eight local kura students and recent school-leavers sit on Te Taumata o Rehuariki.
Rotorua Reorua | ITI - Toa Māori
ITI - Toa Māori owner, Taongahuia Maxwell.
ITI - Toa Māori on Hinemoa Street is proud to embrace the city’s reorua status.
While owner, Taongahuia Maxwell, says she struggled to learn te reo Māori at school - and even now as an adult - she has always embraced the language.
“I brought my tamariki up through kohanga reo and kura kaupapa, so I’ve always been supportive of te reo Maori. While it took me a long time to be comfortable with basic speaking and understanding, there’s no reason I wouldn’t encourage or promote it in our lifestyle, including my business,” she says.
Her staff regularly promote reorua on the shop’s social media, however with COVID-19 compelling Taongahuia to run the shop herself, she gave it an overhaul to better promote Māori artists.
“It’s now more about celebrating hands-on artists, and reorua comes out through the kaupapa of the pieces. Reorua is one of the important aspects of it but also understanding our tikanga and traditions as well,” she says.
“I want both speakers and non-speakers to feel comfortable coming into the shop.”
Taongahuia says she designs fashion and clothing based on kaupapa Māori, which requires research, and through that comes a lot of information, including te reo.
“I’ve received really good feedback. My customers are enjoying the handcraft arts being promoted more by Māori artists from throughout Aotearoa. They’re hands-on pieces you won’t find anywhere else.”
ITI - Toa Māori has pieces from local artists Karl Leonard, James Rickard, Renata Curtis and Sid Tamati; along with more unusual pieces by artists from throughout motu, such as Greg Te Kanawa, Daniel Ormsby, Brady Walker; Darin Gordine’s masculine leather works; and new artist to the store, Taitimu, who creates feminine hand-dyed leather, cross-stitched with tukutuku designs. Other artists have whakataukī incorporated into ceramic bowls and stainless-steel art pieces.
Te Tatau o Te Arawa Iwi/Hapū representative
| Dr Kēpa Morgan
Te Tatau o Te Arawa Iwi/Hapū representative, Kēpa Morgan.
No, Te Arawa’s award-winning research consultant, Dr Kēpa Morgan, isn’t making a move into the transport sector – although our multi-talented board member probably could if he chose to.
This photo was taken in Waskaganish on James Bay in Quebec, North America. In the James Bay Cree language 'Kepa' means 'can do'.
Kēpa (Ngāti Te Rangiunuora, Ngāti Pikiao, Te Arawa whānui, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāi Tahu) was there in 2017 for a gathering of indigenous experts who drafted the Aashukan Declaration, a set of principles defining best practice impact assessment for development affecting indigenous peoples.
The Aashukan Declaration was subsequently adopted by the International Association of Impact Assessment (IAIA), of which he’s been the Indigenous Peoples Section chair since 2013.
Kēpa’s career highlights include becoming a Fellow of Engineering New Zealand; and receiving the Furkert Supreme Technical Award for Sustainability & Clean Technology for his Mauri Model Decision-Making Framework adopted widely by council organisations, iwi and consultants.
While he brings a wide array of skills to the Te Tatau table, he notes decision-making, impact assessment, and freshwater management and assessment as his areas of expertise.
Kēpa’s interests include kapa haka, marae, Pikiaotanga, stand-up paddle boarding, swimming and motorbike touring.
