Category: Te Ao Māori

Source: Radio New Zealand

A collective of indigenous chefs are using WIPCE as a springboard for cultural connection through kai.

The group includes Māori chefs Kārena and Kasey Bird, Joe McLeod and Kia Kanuta, as well as Hawaiian Kealoha Domingo, Native American Crystal Wahpepah and Samoan Henry Onesemo.

Nearly 4000 delegates from indigenous nations around the world have descended on Auckland for the education conference held once every three years.

Chef Joe McLeod told RNZ the idea to collaborate was born at a food festival in Hawai’i where the Hawaiian chefs suggested showcasing their kai together at WIPCE.

“So, it’s a partnership between New Zealand, Hawai’i, Canada, Australia, Samoa, Tonga… There’s only a handful of us for now, so we’re kick-starting this group to hopefully expand it out over time as we progress moving forward. But the whole purpose of the kaupapa is to show off the best of our cultural food. Our culinary cultural identity.”

The events the collective is running at WIPCE include an exclusive dinner where international chefs were paired with Māori chefs to create dishes like Kangaroo Laab, roasted turkey and Hapuka Hinu-kōhue.

The dinner was sold out but McLeod said in “typical Māori” fashion he added an extra four seats for his whānau.

It hasn’t all gone to plan as well with some of the suitcases not making it on to the plane, he said.

“So, it’s been a real dog’s breakfast of a nightmare trying to sort it out. So, I don’t think we’re going to get the food that’s part of their luggage that was supposed to come over yesterday with our guests coming over from Hawaii.”

McLeod said meeting for WIPCE was the first time the collective had all met each other, so he thanked the conference for kick starting the journey.

It’s just the start of the initiative and he is hopeful it will continue to grow.

“I’ve been in the industry almost 56 years, so this is not new to me, but to our young ones coming through, oh mate, it’s stunning to watch them get all excited like how I used to 50 years ago. But my role now is mainly kaumātua rangatira, leader, and someone who can open a lot of doors for the next generation.”

McLeod said that is his gift to the next generation of Māori chefs, to open doors for them once they decide where their vision lies.

Hawaiian Chef Kealoha Domingo told RNZ it’s “been nothing short of amazing” to connect with the other chefs.

Domingo said he is fortunate to have fallen into the role of reconnecting indigenous people in Hawai’i with their traditional foods.

“It’s motivating me to continue the work and to connect with other people who are doing the same, to just build the bonds and build the strength and, you know, increase everything exponentially as the network grows.”

The Chefs also had the chance to visit Velskov native forest farm in the Waitākere Ranges, ostensibly to relax amongst the hustle of WIPCE but also a chance for the international chefs to forage for native plants.

Head of Tourism at Tātaki Auckland Unlimited Karen Thompson-Smith said Velskov is a fantastic new venture that allows tourists to learn a little bit more about kai Māori.

It’s fantastic to see indigenous chefs from around the world visit Auckland and be able to utilise local produce, she said.

“Auckland is a melting pot. We have so many different cultures that make up Auckland. So we’ve got this incredible, different cuisine that’s been built on the back of our indigenous people being the Māori people and how they prepare their food.

“There’s this real cross-pollination coming through. And what we’re seeing in our food scene here in Auckland is just this development of different food offerings.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Hōkūleʻa, the Hawaiian double-hulled voyaging canoe that helped spark a revival of Pacific navigation, returned back to Tāmaki Makaurau after 40 years.

Hōkūleʻa and her sister vessel Hikianalia were welcomed into Ōkahu Bay by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, joined by Haunui, a waka hourua from Te Toki Voyaging Trust.

Waiata, pūtātara and a pōwhiri marked the historic moment, with around 200 people gathering along the shoreline waiting for the waka to appear.

The arrival is part of her six-month stay in Aotearoa during the Moananuiākea Voyage, an 80,000-kilometre haerenga (journey) around the Pacific.

The crew were welcomed to Te Tii Marae in Paihia on Friday, after a 17 day sail from Rarotonga, their last major leg for this year.

It was an emotional occasion as some crew who were in their 20s when the Hōkūle’a first arrived in New Zealand, were now the master navigators heralding in the next generation of Polynesian wayfinders.

A vessel that revived an ancient practice

Hōkūleʻa, whose name translates to “Star of Gladness”, was launched in the 1970s to demonstrate the deep-sea voyaging knowledge of Polynesian ancestors.

Haunui waka Kaihautū Hoturoa Barclay-Kerr (Tainui) said his 1976 voyage from Hawaiʻi to Tahiti showed the world that Indigenous Pacific navigation had never been a myth or accident.

“For centuries, we grew up with stories of how our ancestors sailed to places like Hawaiʻi, Rapanui and South America,” he said.

“But the difficulty for us, is that as we grew up, everybody tells us that those stories are fairy tales. That there’s no way people who don’t have a book and a pen can achieve these kinds of stuff.”

He said for hundreds of years, they grew up knowing that deep-sea navigation was what they could do as a people, “but sometimes you have that belief dropped out of you”.

That changed, he said, when Hōkūleʻa’s founders sought help from Micronesian master navigator Mau Piailug of Satawal.

Mau agreed to lead the historic 1976 voyage, bringing with him ancestral knowledge of reading stars, currents and swell patterns.

“He brought back the practice of how to sail canoes across vast distances without a pen or paper or instruments,” Barclay-Kerr said.

“That voyage reopened an 800-year-old pathway.

“That canoe was only supposed to do one journey. And now, 50 years later, she’s sailing into Auckland.”

Billy Richards (Oʻahu, Hawai’i) is an original member of Hōkūleʻa, and was in Auckland for her arrival and WIPCE.

He is part of what voyagers call the ʻohana waʻa, the “family of the canoe”. A community that has grown significantly since the early years of Hōkūleʻa.

“At one time there was just one canoe,” he said.

“Now there are 27 voyaging canoes in the ocean.”

He told RNZ his interest in voyaging began long before Hōkūleʻa was built. His father kept a copy of Te Rangi Hīroa’s Vikings of the Sunrise, a book he would “sneak in and read” as a child.

“People had always thought that every voyage or every island was discovered by accident, that they drifted there or what not – but no,” he said.

“Once I learned about Hōkūleʻa being launched, I remember thinking I’d love to be part of that.”

He was eventually invited to join the training crew in the summer of 1975, and recalled joining the training crew on Hawaiʻi Island.

“Where they lived there was no wind, so they’d motored around for a month,” he said.

“When we finally reached the breeze, I could see they were lost. I’d sailed before, so I started translating what the captain was asking for… Eventually they said, ‘Get up here!’ and I’ve been there ever since.”

Now 77, Richards said voyaging had shaped most of his adult life.

“I had plans for my life, but they turned upside down,” he said.

“But I like to say that since that time, I’ve lived with one foot in the present and one foot in the past.”

He said he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I love this. And I always say that I’m at my healthiest mind, body and spirit when I’m on the canoe.”

Hōkūleʻa and Hikianalia will now spend the coming weeks in Tāmaki Makaurau, where Te Toki Voyaging Trust is running daily waka excursions for Indigenous educators attending the World Indigenous Peoples’ Conference on Education (WIPCE).

The visit also marked 40 years of voyaging relationships between Aotearoa and Hawaiʻi, a kaupapa that Polynesian Voyaging Society CEO Nainoa Thompson will speak about at WIPCE on Wednesday.

“Aotearoa, land of the long white cloud, I mean, an extraordinary place. It is a powerful definition of our country, Polynesia,” Thompson said.

“They reminded us how connected they are to their earth, to their oceans, to their place, and the things they fortify in their world that they bring into the 21st century.”

He said the next phase of the Moananuiākea Voyage in Aotearoa would focus on strengthening ties between Pacific voyaging communities.

“We want to use this time very wisely in the time that we are there and see if we can do one thing, bring our Polynesian people together, especially from the voyaging communities, train together, work together and look at the transition of leadership to the next 50 years.”

The waka will be docked near the New Zealand Maritime Museum over the next week, with opportunities for public engagement and dockside tours as weather allows.

Later this month, the crew will sail north to Aurere, the home of the late Māori Pwo navigator and waka builder Sir Hector Busby, to honour his role in reviving Māori deep-sea voyaging.

Hōkūleʻa and Hikianalia will remain in Aotearoa through the cyclone season before resuming the Moananuiākea Voyage next year.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Master carver Rei Mihaere has been awarded the prestigious Hamilton Kirikiriroa Civic Award for over 40 years of service to his community, marae and education.

Mihaere was honoured with a ceremony at the Hamilton Gardens on Monday after being nominated by three other community leaders.

He is kaumātua for Te Kōhao Health, Kirikiriroa Marae and the Tipu Ake school carving programme. The programme began at Hillcrest Primary School in 2022 before expanding to fourteen schools in the area with the goal of empowering ākonga Māori.

Te Kōhao Health managing director Lady Tureiti Moxon said Mihaere’s contribution to the city was immense.

“Through his carving programmes, cultural leadership, and unwavering service, he has uplifted whānau for generations. It couldn’t have happened to a better person, and we are thrilled that Hamilton City Council has honoured him in this way,” she said.

Born in Ōpōtiki in 1951, Mihaere was one of 15 children. Mihaere told RNZ his early life was spent on his whānau farm tending to animals and helping with other farm work.

“My upbringing began in a local community where the kōrero was ‘it takes a community to raise a child’. For us, it was an iwi that took the responsibility and we were always at the pā.

“It was vibrant with activities… the nannies would be weaving whāriki, kete, potai for harvesting time while the men would be maintaining the wharenui or wharekai, upgrading tepu, turu, and this was the time where the younger generations would be upskilling their carpentry and building skills.”

Mihaere said he started carving in 1980 after moving from Whanganui to Hamilton to work on the railways. He was soon approached by his whānaunga Wikuki Kingi, another master carver, to come to his home to carve.

“This was the beginning of my carving life under the kaupapa of Te Ranga Carving Kura, which stemmed from the tōhunga whakairo Piri Poutapu, who was Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu’ head carver.

“We had to return back to Tōrere to seek approval from mum and dad because these areas of Te Ao Māori were taputapu and Wikuki wanted to make sure that they felt I was going to be protected in this world of whakairo,” he said.

The art form of Whakairo, or carving, then became the “pinnacle” of his life, Mihaere said.

“Whatever we did in support of the many kaupapa at local marae, churches, schools, sporting events, if we needed to be there we would go without question.

“Carving was a pinnacle of my life, often ensuring that my immediate family, my wife Kathleen and son Anthony were looked after. Carving is a way of life that keeps one grounded and safe, it’s my therapy where I can switch off from the hustle and bustle of pressures of everyday life.”

Mihaere said there were still two Tipu Ake graduations scheduled before the end of the year.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

‘If you’re on a canoe, you’re in the same space your ancestors were – just a different time.”

Those are the words of Billy Richards, an “OG sailor”, one of the original Hōkūleʻa navigators whose 1976 voyage helped reignite Pacific wayfinding.

On Monday, his presence – alongside fellow original navigator John Kruse – gave added weight to over a dozen Indigenous educators who stepped aboard Haunui, a double-hulled waka carrying the legacy of their tūpuna.

Guided by kaihautū from Te Toki Voyaging Trust, manuhiri (visitors) from Indigenous nations around the world spent the morning learning the whakapapa of waka hourua and the mātauranga that carried their tūpuna across the Pacific.

The excursion is one of many offered at the World Indigenous Peoples’ Conference on Education (WIPCE), which has returned to Aotearoa for the first time in 20 years.

Leading the voyage was Kaihautū Hoturoa Barclay-Kerr (Tainui), who said the aim was not just to sail, but to reconnect with the knowledge of their tūpuna.

“Here we are today on board Haunui as part of the WIPCE conference,” he said, welcoming delegates.

“A living, breathing example of the kind of waka that our tūpuna sailed from Hawaiki to Aotearoa.”

He said it was important for not only Māori, but other nations to “recover, relearn and relive the wisdom of our ancestors”.

“That knowledge got them through centuries and it can guide us today, for people, for the planet … for all our resources.”

Haunui carries the mana of Kāwhia Moana and the people of Tainui. The waka began its life as Va’atele, built under Te Mana o te Moana, a project to grow ocean literacy and revive Polynesian wayfinding.

Gifted to American Samoa, Va’atele returned to Aotearoa for repair after the 2009 tsunami.

That return allowed a new vision: a double-hulled canoe capable of open-ocean voyaging. It was restored and renamed Haunui, in honour of Barclay-Kerr’s uncle – tohunga Hone Haunui.

The vessel now sailed under Te Toki Voyaging Trust (TTVT), which was founded more than 30 years ago by Barclay-Kerr. Built around the values of aroha, whanaungatanga, manaakitanga and kaitiakitanga, the Trust trained navigators, maintained a fleet of waka hourua and paddling canoes, and ran environmental, leadership, and education programmes for rangatahi across the motu.

For many on board, the biggest surprise was seeing Billy Richards and John Kruse – known as ‘Uncle Billy’ and ‘Uncle John’ – also on board the waka.

Known as kaitiaki in the voyaging world, the pair were part of the first Hōkūleʻa voyage in 1976, the journey widely credited with sparking a Pacific-wide cultural renaissance in ocean navigation.

“The only reason I’m standing here on this waka, and we can sail around on the waka, is because of things they did in the early 1970s,” Barclay-Kerr told RNZ.

“These are the original OG sailors of waka who revitalised and rejuvenated this whole thing in 1975 and 76.”

Barclay-Kerr said when Hōkūleʻa was built, it was the first canoe for over 600 years that could carry people and journey across vast distances without instruments.

“Uncle John and Uncle Billy helped build that waka, sailed it to Tahiti … and here we are 50 years later and they’re sitting here with us.”

He said, with only a few original crew members alive, their presence was “a great gift from our ancestors”.

“I can’t be more happy than that.”

‘One foot in the present and one foot in the past’

Richards, now 77, first stepped onto Hōkūleʻa in 1975.

“I’ve been a voyager for … well, let’s put it this way,” he said.

“I first stepped aboard when I was 27. You can do the math.”

Half a century later, he describes voyaging as living with “one foot in the present and one foot in the past”.

“I like to think of our canoes as portals to the past,” he told RNZ.

“When you’re on a canoe and you’re sailing, you’re in the same space, doing the same thing as your ancestors … just a different time.”

Richards said the voyaging community had grown from one waka to 27 across the Pacific.

“We call ourselves the ‘ohana wa’a, the family of the canoe. At one time there was just Hōkūleʻa, but now there are 27 voyaging canoes in the ocean,” he said.

“It’s an extension of everything that happened the first time.”

Teaching the next generation was central to that growth.

“It’s okay that we move on, because you make room for the young to come up. Otherwise we might lose it again,” he said.

“A lot of what we do is, when the canoe is coming out to be fixed, you come down and volunteer. If you put your energy into the canoe, we have an obligation to invite you aboard.”

That intergenerational thread is part of what drew WIPCE delegate April Iwalani-Harris (Moku o Keawe – Hawai’i Island) onto the waka.

“What brings me here? My DNA brings me here,” she told RNZ.

“I’ve worked in education for 35 years, and I was blessed with the opportunity to come and learn from all nations about how we better support our keiki, our children.”

She said stepping onto Haunui felt like reconnecting with something familiar.

“Everyone said it was like coming home. It was connecting with family members you have yet to meet.”

That feeling deepened when she recognised a cousin, a crew member from Makali’i and supporter of Hōkūleʻa, standing across the deck from her.

“My kūpuna (ancestors) say there are no coincidences.

“Being able to spend this time with him and with everyone else we were introduced to… that was really special.”

Iwalani-Harris hoped to take back to Hawai’i lessons on how to be a better ancestor.

“Oceans separate us, but there’s so much commonality,” she said.

“Where we come from, there’s a saying, nō nā keiki maua mau. It’s forever the children. We keep our eyes on them.

“So coming here and understanding strategies, understanding the journeys others have taken… it helps us be better stewards of our keiki, our aina, our oceans.”

Barclay-Kerr said this was exactly what voyaging offered.

“When you bring young people on a waka like this, they’re learning stuff by default.

“On the waka, they’re doing maths and science without knowing that’s what they’re doing.

“The great thing about waka is that it becomes a secret agency to educate people. People come on board for fun, but they get off having had fun and being a bit enlightened as well.

“Ancient wisdom can’t be relegated to a museum or a textbook,” he said.

“It needs to be lived.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The world’s largest indigenous education conference has kicked off in Auckland, bringing with it thousands of indigenous educators from around the world.

About 3000 people were welcomed by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei for the World Indigenous Peoples’ Conference on Education 2025 (WIPCE) with a pōwhiri at the city’s waterfront on Sunday.

Around 3800 delegates are expected to attend the conference at the Aotea Centre over the week.

Auckland University of Technology (AUT) is hosting the event which is set to be the largest academic conference hosted in New Zealand this year.

WIPCE 2025 Co-Chair and AUT Vice-Chancellor Damon Salesa said it was an honour to host such an extraordinary range of speakers.

“Each kaikōrero brings their unique perspectives and knowledge. This conference is an opportunity to listen, learn and be inspired by those who continue to lead and shape Indigenous education across the world,” he said.

The four-day conference features keynote presentations from a number of Māori academics including educator Professor Linda Tuhiwai Smith, linguistic and cultural revilitalists Professor Leonie Pihama and Raniera Proctor, legal academic Eru Kapa-Kingi and Māori movie star Cliff Curtis.

There are also a number of break out sessions, guest speakers and panels discussions featuring academics from around the world.

WIPCE 2025 Co-Chair Meihana Durie said the gathering comes at a pivotal time for indigenous education and indigenous rights more broadly.

“We are immensely grateful for the pōwhiri yesterday hosted by iwi manaaki, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, which highlighted the sheer importance of those themes within the unique dimensions of Indigenous ceremony, language and ritual.”

“WIPCE is the only educational platform designed specifically for native peoples from around the world to come together to share our stories, our challenges and our successes with each other.” he said.

Outside of the conference is the Te Ao Pūtahi, a free, public festival with live performances from Māori artists inlcluding kapa haka rōpu Ngā Tūmanako, Sons of Zion, Corrella, Jackson Owens and Betty-Anne and a number of food and gift stalls.

Tewnty-one cultural excursions named Te Ao Tirotiro will also be held across the city including an onboard waka sailing demonstration and a hāngi.

The conference ends on Thursday.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Hundreds of people will this week commemorate the loss, arrest and deportation of their ancestors in a siege that took place 160 years ago on Waerenga-A-Hika near Gisborne.

Over five days, the pā was flattened, 71 Māori living at the pā and 11 government soldiers were killed and many more including elderly, women and children were captured, arrested and deported to the Chatham Islands.

The lands were partitioned and given to soldiers whose families today are sixth generation farmers, orchardists and viticulturists.

Artist, iwi historian and Gisborne District Councillor Nick Tupara’s five times great-grandfather was killed in the battle, he was a carver and teacher of the arts.

“His loss marks the total destruction of that school and the removal of our mātauranga and our knowledge and that weighs very heavily on the family,” he said. “From that point we took the name Kerekere from a reference to te Pōkerekere a deep intense darkness and not only a darkness because of the loss of ancestors land but also the loss of that ancestral knowledge.”

This years commemorations begin on Tuesday evening with the opening of the Waerenga-a-Hika exhibition at the Tairawhiti Museum, it features a collection of historic pieces including taonga from the battle and contemporary artworks.

On Saturday, there will also be a commemoration at the battle site.

Tupara said that by 1865 when the pā was attacked the East Coast was the only area that was untouched by war between the Crown and Māori.

“Colonial settlement was occurring pretty rapidly across the whole of the country and the Tairāwhiti was the last of all of that and eventually war was going to come here in some form or another.”

Waerenga-a-Hika was established where it was because it was a fertile area, whare wānanga that taught carving and weaving were also based there, he said.

“It was a place where people could feel safe and settled… it’s probably the last place I would classify as being a fortress or a place of military action, we have far stronger examples of that in our rohe, but this place was a place to gather, grow kai.”

Tupara said local iwi were well connected with the settler communities, many tīpuna had been baptised in the church and many had also married settlers.

The principle reason given for the attack on Waerenga-a-Hika was a clash between followers of the Pai Mārire religion and Europeans and Māori who opposed the religion, he said.

“My personal view on that is that was a tool to instil fear and anxiety amongst the settlers, to create significant worry to justify the intervention of troops.”

Tupara said another motivating factor was to clear the land for settlement.

With the exile of a large number of people to the Chatham Islands the land was surveyed and parcelled out to settlers, he said.

Tupara said he is hopeful that the commemorations can raise the consciousness of the battle among the local community.

“It’s remembered rather poorly, it’s remembered by the families who lost ancestors, it’s remembered by the hapū and the iwi who lost their land and their resources.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A growing number of schools across Aotearoa are pushing back against the government’s plan to remove the requirement for school boards to give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, saying their commitment to the Treaty will remain unchanged.

The Treaty requirement previously in the Education Act said schools would give effect to Te Tiriti, including by ensuring plans, policies, and local curriculum reflected local tikanga Māori, mātauranga Māori, and te ao Māori; taking all reasonable steps to make instruction available in tikanga Māori and te reo Māori; and achieving equitable outcomes for Māori students.

The Education and Training Amendment Bill, which passed its third reading on Tuesday, removed this requirement.

Associate Education Minister Penny Simmonds, who moved the bill’s third reading, said it was “unreasonable to expect elected parents, who volunteer their time, to discharge the Crown’s legal responsibilities in respect of the Treaty.”

“This government is relentlessly focused on lifting student achievement and closing the equity gap,” she said.

“Boards will still be required to seek equitable outcomes for Māori students, and to take reasonable steps to reflect New Zealand’s cultural diversity and provide te reo Māori learning if requested.”

Simmonds said the bill “clarifies expectations” and “keeps schools focused on educational achievement as their highest priority.”

But education leaders say the move – made without public consultation – “undermines” boards’ legal responsibilities as Crown entities.

The National Iwi Chairs Forum (NICF), supported by a coalition of national education organisations, also launched a petition against these changes, saying “removing Te Tiriti from the one place every child in Aotearoa passes through… deprives our tamariki of the opportunity to learn about identity, belonging, and partnership in a culturally responsive environment.”

Kura commit to Te Tiriti

From Whakatāne to Tāmaki Makaurau to Ōtautahi and Invercargill, school boards have issued public statements reaffirming their obligations to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Te Uru Karaka Newton Central School in Auckland said the government’s move “does not change who we are or how we operate.”

“Our commitment to Te Tiriti is deeply embedded in our co-governance model, which is clearly reflected in our school constitution,” the Board of Trustees said.

“This structure ensures shared leadership and genuine partnership between Tangata Whenua Ahi Kaa and Tangata Tiriti. It reflects our identity as a school community and anchors the values that shape our relationships, decisions, and aspirations for our mokopuna.”

In Whakatāne, Allandale Primary School said its direction would remain “unchanged.”

“We will continue to proudly work to support mana motuhake – the right of Māori to determine and shape their own futures including educational pathways,” the board wrote.

“Our kura will remain grounded in te reo Māori, mātauranga Māori, and local tikanga, guided by the aspirations of Ngāti Awa whānau and hapū, and the whānau of our school hapori.”

Nearby Apanui School said Te Tiriti o Waitangi was the foundation of its strategic plan.

“We work in partnership with Ngāti Awa to ensure Māori aspirations guide our curriculum, culture and decision-making,” Alexandra Pickles said on behalf of the school board.

“Apanui School will continue to uphold Māori rights as tangata whenua and to enact Te Tiriti o Waitangi as a living, practical foundation of all we do.”

“This is not only our legal responsibility but also our moral and educational one. We stand firmly in this position.”

In Ōtautahi Christchurch, Somerfield Te Kura Wairepo said the removal of the clause would not change its priorities.

“Our commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi remains unwavering,” presiding member Lucy Green said.

“The principles of partnership, protection, and participation are core to our responsibilities and integral to success in our kura.”

Another school in Ōtautahi, Ao Tawhiti Unlimited Discovery, responded to the changes by learning a new waiata Māori for staff and students.

“The Board and staff at Ao Tawhiti Unlimited Discovery would like to reinforce our commitment to valuing our bicultural heritage” the kura wrote on Facebook.

“We will continue to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi.”

In a letter seen by RNZ, the New Zealand Catholic Education Office (NZCEO) also reaffirmed its support for Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Chief Executive Dr Kevin Shore encouraged Catholic schools to continue giving effect to Te Tiriti, embedding tikanga Māori, te reo Māori, and local mātauranga Māori into school policies, curriculum, and daily life.

“Catholic education in New Zealand has a long history of support for tangata whenua and for the inclusion of tikanga and te reo within the culture and practice of our schools,” he said.

The letter outlined practical steps for Catholic schools, including developing community understanding of te ao Māori, recognising Māori as tangata whenua, consulting with local Māori communities, and embedding Māori spiritual and cultural practices into school life.

Lawyer and Māori rights advocate Tania Waikato has been compiling a list of kura who have publicly reaffirmed their commitment to Te Tiriti, and as of 13 November the list had reached 195 schools.

Waikato said this response shows that the government had “failed” to remove Te Tiriti, and she expected the list to grow.

“The people are speaking. Not the politicians, not the activists, the people,” she said.

“They are telling you again, that we will not dishonour Te Tiriti, because Te Tiriti protects us all.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Te reo speakers of all levels and stripes gathered in Hastings on Thursday for Toitū te Reo.

The two-day Māori language symposium attracted several thousand people to celebrate, with zones catering for beginners through to experts with the hope of welcoming more speakers on to the waka.

One of the many guests of honour was Sir Timoti Kāretu, who perhaps more than anyone else has seen more of the ups and downs of te reo Māori as the first Māori Language Commissioner, a famed kapa haka composer and one of the founders of Te Panekiretanga o te Reo the Institute of Excellence in Māori Language.

Now in his late 80s, Kāretu had inspired fear in countless students with his philosophy of “ma te hē ka tika” – learning comes through errors.

“Engari kaua e mataku ki te kōrero, ki te mataku koe e kore au e mōhio pēhea rā tō reo. Nā te mea ka taea e au te āwhina, mena kei te kōrero ka hapa, waiho kia mutu tō kōrero ka noho tāua ki te kōrero ki te whiriwhiri he aha ngā mea i hē, me pēnei te whakatika me pērā te whakatika, engari tukuna te tangata kia kōrero.”

While he was famous for his high standards, Kāretu said it is good to show some aroha to te reo beginners, but they would need to turn to speak only in te reo at some point.

But, he said he was impressed by the amount of reo coming from younger generations of Māori.

“I au e mātakitaki ana i ngā mahi haka i tērā atu wiki i āhua tumeke ahau i te pai o te reo o ētahi o ngā tamariki pakupaku e kōrero ana… i te pātaihia atu ana e whakautu Māori mai ana me taku whakamiharo i te pai o te reo, nō reira he tohu pai tēnei.”

Festival founder and director Dr Jeremy Tātere MacLeod said Toitū te Reo was a dream of Kāretu’s, even though he may not agree with how everything was run.

Going into a te reo only space was a very daunting thing, MacLeod said.

Learners needed to find their own way to overcome the whakamā, the shame of speaking te reo, but Toitū te Reo could offer some inspiration, he said.

“As I sit here and look across at the City Fitness gym which gives me intense anxieties the thought of going in there and the pain it’s going to take, but it’s about trying to create that welcoming space where we can all come together and those who are in the beginning stages of their journey can take something away.”

The festival was divided into two zones – Rangimamao entirely in te reo and Pūmotomoto entirely in English. MacLeod told RNZ that allowed people to participate regardless of their level of language.

Even non-speakers play a huge part in championing the language, he said.

“The future of the language rests with everyone regardless of your level of proficiency and language champions come in all shapes and sizes and some of those people that championed the language back in the initial stages of the renaissance in the 70s weren’t speakers of the language but they were prepared to die for the language.

Te reo advocate Leon Blake was leading a session on the evergreen topic of the A and O categories of te reo, two small letters that can be a big hōhā for learners.

The zones were a great addition to the festival because it allowed those still getting used to te reo to understand all the kōrero, he said.

“Kia kaha tātau i roto i ngā piki me ngā heke o te wā, ahakoa ngā raruraru o tēnei wā, koira te ātaahua o tēnei kaupapa, ko tēnei kaupapa kei te whakakotahi i a tātau ko to tātau reo te taura here i a tātau kia kotahi ai tātau i tēnei wā.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Thousands of te reo learners are gathering the Hawke’s Bay for the second year Aotearoa’s national Māori language festival Toitū te Reo.

Described as a two-day “celebration, inspiration, education, and activation of the language and culture”, it is hosted in Heretaunga Hastings on Thursday and Friday.

The audience has the chance to hear from those still learning te reo, such as broadcasters Mike McRoberts and Moana Maniapoto while rubbing shoulders with long-time advocates such as Sir Timoti Karetu.

The festival is divided into two zones, Rangimamao which is entirely in te reo Māori and Pūmotomoto which is entirely in English.

Part of Hastings Street North is also cordoned of for kai stalls, Māori businesses and musical performances.

Festival founder and director Dr Jeremy Tātere MacLeod said it was pleasing to see people enjoying themselves and hearing the language being used.

Having two zones is to make this a welcoming space so people can participate regardless of the level of language, because even non-speakers play a huge part in championing the language, he said.

“The future of the language rests with everyone regardless of your level of proficiency and language champions come in all shapes and sizes and some of those people that championed the language back in the initial stages of the renaissance in the 70s weren’t speakers of the language but they were prepared to die for the language.”

MacLeod said one of the themes of Toitū te Reo was “te Tiro Whakaroto what can we do?”

“Toitū te Reo is about what we can do. And what we can do is look to ourselves, we can be resolute, we can be steadfast and we can put a stake in the ground and have an unwavering commitment to the language regardless of policy, rhetoric, social media, newspapers, because like anything the tide will ebb and flow.”

Te reo advocate Leon Blake was leading a session on the evergreen topic of the A and O categories of te reo, two small letters that can be a big hoha for learners.

“E rongo ana e rere haere ana i waenganui i te iwi kua tae mai nei, no reira kua tino koa kua tino tau hoki te mauri.”

I’m hearing the language flow freely among all the people who have arrived today, so I’m feeling very happy and settled.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

A 10-year rāhui following Tongariro’s devastating wildfire is causing confusion according to the Department of Conservation.

The weekend blaze torched almost 3000 hectares in the national park.

Local iwi, Ngāti Hikairo ki Tongariro, placed an immediate rāhui preventing public access to the fireground and walks in and around Whakapapa, which lifts on Monday 17 November.

However, it said a second decade-long rāhui wasn’t about keeping people out, but reinforcing a focus on restoration.

Spokesperson Te Ngaehe Wanikau said restoration was about the spiritual, emotional and physical wellbeing of Tongariro.

“We’re being very strategic in placing this rāhui. Our biggest fear is two weeks, two months down the track everyone forgets about the fire, and we’re left with a landscape of weeds.

“Instead, we’re reinforcing a focus on restoring Tongariro. It’s a rāhui for people to come together, pool resources and heal.”

He said iwi still expected people to walk on tracks.

“But we’re looking to a future where people will come here just to be a part of the healing of the maunga.”

Department of Conservation (DOC) operations director Damian Coutts said DOC supported the restorative rāhui and looked forward to welcoming people to help with the recovery.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand