I Ōrākei Marae, e whakaako ana ngā kaiako o Te Kaa i ētahi rōpū nō ētahi kamupene huri noa i Aotearoa me pēhea e whai māramatanga ai, e whai hononga anō ai ki te ahurea Māori i runga hoki i te ngākau pai.

Read the English language version of this story here.

He rau kōrero mō te hītori matatini o Aotearoa e puritia ana i te whenua rongonui o Takaparawhau. He poto noa te hīkoi ki Ōrākei Marae i te pito whenua i nōhia mautohetia ai a Takaparawhau e ngā uri Māori, ko tō rātou mana ki te whenua te take, i te tohe i roa ake i te 500 rā e haere ana, i tōna whā tekau tau ki muri. I te marae, i tētahi rangi paki i te Ākuhata, kua huihui tētahi rōpū ki te ako mō te hiranga nui o ēnei tū kōrero ki ō rātou tuakiri hei uri o Aotearoa, ki tētahi hōtaka i whakaritea ai e tētahi wahine i whānau atu ki taua noho whenua.

I te hiku o ngā rangi kōpeke o te hōtoke, kākahuria ana te manuhiri ki ngā kahu matatengi i te ata, tōmua i te kārohirohi o te rā ki ngā wai o te Waitematā. Ka tae ki te wā e tīmata ai te pōwhiri, ko ngā koti kua whakairia ki ngā ringa, kua whakahokia rānei ki ngā waka.

I te tomokanga ki te marae ātea, ka tū te mātenga o te toa, ka tīmata i a ia te wero.

Tū tauaro ana ki a ia ko te Tumu Whakarae o Vodafone, ko Jason Paris (Ngāi Tahu), e whakatika ana ki te tiki ake i te taki i Ōrākei Marae, nōna e ārahi ana i tana kāhui māngai o Vodafone ki te pōwhiri nei. Ki ētahi, he wheako hōu tēnei, otirā, he wheako e manawarau ai rātou. Koinei te otinga o tētahi wānanga e rima rā te roa, kua tapaina ko Te Kaa – Igniting your Māori Cultural Competency. I tū te wānanga nei i ngā marama e rima kua hori, otirā, e arahina ana e Maurea Consulting, he whakahaere i tīmataria e Precious Clark (Ngāti Whātua, Waikato, Te Uri o Hau, Ngāti Hē, Ngāti Pāoa, Pākehā). He hōtaka tēnei mā ngā whakahaere o te motu, otirā, kua whakaritea hei kaupapa ārahi i te tangata kia whai māramatanga ai, kia whai hononga anō ai ki te ahurea Māori i runga i te ngākau pai. Ka pēnei mā te ako mō ngā tikanga Māori, mō te reo Māori, mō te hītori matarau anō o te Māori ki Aotearoa – otirā, ka ākina ngā whakahaere ka whai wāhi atu, kia whakaarohia te ahurea Māori nō rātou e whiriwhiri ana i ngā whakatau ā-pakihi.  

“Kua whakaritea a Te Kaa e whai wāhi ai te tangata ki te ao Māori, otirā, e piki ai te māramatanga ki tēnei ao, kia kawea ai ki te ngākau, ki te hinengaro, ki te puku anō o te tangata. Ki a au, ka kawea ana te mātauranga ki tō puku, ka whai wāhi motuhake hoki ki a koe, ki ō whiriwhiringa whakatau anō,” ko tā Precious.

Nō Precious e noho ana, e mahi ana anō i tāwāhi, ka mārama ia ki te arokore o te nuinga i Aotearoa ki tōna ahurea.

“I haere au ki Rānana, ā, aronuitia ana taku ahurea e te ao, heoi, hoki mai ana ki Aotearoa, kīhai i pērā i te kāinga nei. I kite ake au, huri noa i te ao, i aronuitia te ahurea Māori. Ki te aronuitia tētahi mea e koe, kāhore koe e kaha ki te turaki iho. Nā reira, i taku hokinga mai ki te kāinga, i hiahia au ki te whai wāhi ki ngā whanaketanga e whakanuia ai te ahurea Māori.”

Nā, i tana hokinga mai ki Aotearoa, ka whai pau te kaha a Precious kia whakatairangahia ai ngā ātaahuatanga o te ao Māori ki ngā tāngata kei konei kē e noho ana. E whakapono ana ia ka huakina tētahi ao hōu ki te whakaae te tangata ki te ako e pā ana ki tā te iwi taketake noho ki tēnei ao, ka mutu, e nui haere ana ngā uri o Aotearoa e pīkau ana i tēnei utanga.

“E whai nei ngā uri o Aotearoa kia hōhonu ake tā rātou whakaahua i ō rātou tuakiri, ā, kei te ahurea Māori te ara e taea ai. Mā te pepeha e taea ai e te tangata tōna tuakiri motuhake me ōna anō wheako ā-rongo hei uri o Aotearoa, te whakaatu ake. Nā reira ka kite ake au i te whanaketanga o te māramatanga, o tā te tangata aro anō ki te ahurea Māori.”

Mangu pai ana ngā akoranga reo Māori i ngā kura tuarua me ngā whare wānanga i ngā ākonga nui katoa i ngā tau tata nei. He hua tēnei nō ngā whakapaunga kaha kia nui ake ai te hunga kōrero Māori, a ngā whakahaere pēnei me Te Rangaihi Reo Māori, otirā, rātou e whai ana kia tutuki te whāinga kia kotahi miriona te nui o te hunga kōrero Māori hei te tau 2040. 

Hanga pēnei anō ana te whāinga o Te Kaa: e whai nei rātou kia 10,000 ngā tāngata ka puta ngā ihu i tā rātou wānanga ahurea Māori, me te aha, kua oti kē tā rātou ārahi i ētahi kāhui nō ētahi o ngā kamupene nui katoa o Aotearoa ki tēnei hōtaka.

E rima ngā wāhanga o te wānanga nei, kotahi hoki te rā e whakaakona ai ia wāhanga. I te nuinga o te wā ka whakahaerehia ēnei wāhi wānanga ki te whare mahi ake o te kamupene i mua atu i te wānanga whakakapi ka tū ki Ōrākei Marae. He nui ngā rōpū ka whai wāhi ki tēnei kaupapa ka ohorere i te rā ka pau i ngā akoranga mō Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

“Ko ngā uri o Aotearoa, ahakoa Māori mai, Pākehā mai, Āhia mai, katoa, katoa e kimi nei i tētahi tūrangawaewae mō rātou. Ka kite ake rātou, i matakitea ai tō rātou taenga mai e te Tiriti, me te aha, mā konei hoki rātou e whai tūrangawaewae ai,” ko tā Precious.

Tōpū mai ana ki te rōpū nō Vodafone Aotearoa kua hui mai i tēnei rā ko ētahi o ngā rangatira o te kamupene, tae atu ki te Tumu Whakarae, ki a Jason Paris, rātou ko te tumu o te whatunga whai wāhi ā-pūrere kawekawe, ko Thaigan Govender, ko te tumu o te ohu Pūmanawa Tangata – wheako tāngata, ko Emma Kelly (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Kahungunu). Ko tā Thaigan he whakahaere i ngā mahi waihanga, tautiaki anō i ngā hanganga ā-pūrere kawekawe – pēnei me ngā pourewa waea pūkoro – mō te whatunga a Vodafone. Nā tēnei, he nui ngā wā kua mahi ngātahi tana tīma ki ngā iwi kia wānanga tahitia ai ngā whakamahinga whenua, heoi, nā Te Kaa i miramirahia ai te hiranga nui o tēnei momo wānanga tahi.

“Nā runga i te mōhio e pāpā ana mātou ki ngā taonga, otirā, ki te whakapapa, ki te taiao anō, me mātua wānanga tahi me te tangata whenua,” ko tāna.

I tupu ake a Thaigan hei uri nō tōna whānau Īnia, ki Āwherika ki te Tonga i te wā o te whakatāuke tangata. Ko tāna, kua mātau ia i āianei nā ki ētahi o ngā ritenga i waenga i te ao i rangona ai e ia i reira, me ngā wheako o te Māori i Aotearoa. Ko ngā kōrero i whakapuakina ki te wānanga e ngā uri mana whenua pēnei i a Precious, tērā i whānau mai i te nōhanga mautohe o Takaparawhau, hei mea whakamārama i ngā taimahatanga pono o te tāmitanga, he mea tauhou katoa ki ētahi mema maha o te rōpū.

“Ko te momo o tā te rangatira Māori ārahi, ko te aro ki ngā taimahatanga kua rangona e te tangata he āhuatanga i tino titia ki taku ngākau,” ko tā Thaigan. “I hōhonu noa atu te ruku i tāku i pōhēhē ai, ā, nā runga i tērā i pupū ake aku kare ā-roto, inā hoki, i rite tonu te tōia atu o taku aro ki te taimahatanga, otirā, ki te oke.”

Nā te wānanga i whai wāhi ai a Emma ki te whai māramatanga ki tōna tūranga i te ao Māori, ā, nā konei hoki i mārama kehokeho ai, ehara i te mea ka taurite te āhua e rangona ai e te katoa i Aotearoa ngā wero o te wā. He wāhi ka taea e tātou katoa e rongoātia ai tērā, ko tā Emma. Nā Te Kaa i mārama ake ai ia ki te wāhi ka taea e ia, hei kaiārahi i tētahi tīma ka whakarite i tētahi ahurea mahi, ehara i te mea e tuwhera noa ana ki te kaimahi Māori, engari kē, e haumaru ake ana mō rātou, ā, he nui ake hoki ngā hua ki a rātou.

“Kei te ohu tāngata ahau, nō reira ki a au, ko tā mātou he tuku kia haere te tangata i tāna anō haere ki te whai mātauranga,” ko tā Emma. “Ko te whai kia whakaritea he taiao i Vodafone e mārama ai mātou ki te hiranga nui o tērā momo haerenga, otirā, ko te tuku kia whai wāhi atu te tangata – ehara noa tēnei i te whakawātea i a rātou, engari kē, ko te tautoko atu hoki i te taha wairua me te taha hinengaro – e rangatira ai tā te tangata takahi i tēnei huarahi.”

I ngā rā e rima e noho ai tētahi rōpū ki a Te Kaa, ka whai wāhi rātou ki ētahi akoranga e rima ki te ao Māori, ā, kapia ana i ēnei ko ngā kaupapa pēnei me te Tiriti, otirā, e aro nui ana ki te āhua e whai hua ai rātou i te mātauranga Māori i ā rātou mahi, i ngā rā anō o ō rātou ao. Ko tā te kaiako, kaiwhakahaere hoki o Te Kaa, ko tā Carlin Shaw (Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Ngāti Koata, Ngāti Raukawa, Tainui-ā-Whiro, Te Waiohua, Taranaki, Te Āti Awa, Te Arawa, Ngāti Whakaue) e nui haere ana ngā whakahaere e mātau ake ana ki te wāhi nui o te mātauranga Māori ki tō rātou anō angitutanga.

“Mēnā e pēnei ana te nui o ngā whanaketanga me ngā panonitanga o tētahi kamupene pēnei i a Vodafone, e tika ai, e pono anō ai tana aro ki te ao Māori, e hīamo katoa ana au ki te kite ko wai atu hoki ka whai ake.”

Ehara i te mea ka oti te panonitanga nui i te pō kotahi, heoi anō, kua whanake te taha ki ngā whakawhanaungatanga ā-iwi mai anō i te nōhanga mautohe o Takaparawhau, otirā, he mana nui tō taua whanaketanga ā-whakareanga, ahakoa pēhea nei te iti, te pōturi rānei. E tūmanako ana a Carlin ki tētahi Aotearoa e whakanuia ai te mātauranga me te reo Māori hei pūkenga, otirā, koia te Aotearoa e pīrangi nei ia hei ao whakatupu i āna tamāhine.

“He rerekē ō aku tamāhine wheako ki te reo me te ao Māori hei tamariki, i ō mātou – he rerekē i ō te kuia, i ō te whānau anō, otirā, kīhai ērā i pai. I āianei nā, e whiti ana te rā, me te manako ia, ka pūmau tonu taua tūāhua.”

Ko te āhua e whakatinanahia ai ngā akoranga ka riro i ia rōpū i te wānanga ki ō rātou wāhi mahi tētahi o ngā wero nui ka oti ana i a rātou te wānanga. Kua takahia e Vodafone tētahi ara e whakaritea ai tētahi anga pakihi e whakarangatira ana i te mātauranga Māori, mai anō i tana whakarewa i tana kaupapa here mō te whakarangatira i te Tiriti i tērā tau, heoi, arā tonu ngā mahi hei whakatutuki ake.

He mea whakaawe nā Te Kaa, nā Thaigan i whakatakoto tāna anō mānuka kia nui ake te whakaruruhautia o te Māori ki te rāngai hangarau.

“Kua kaha titia ngā mātāpono o te whanaungatanga me te manaakitanga ki taku ngākau, me te aha, e hiahia nei au ki te mahi tahi ki taku whānau, ki aku hoa mahi, ki aku hoa kē atu anō, e whanake ai, e pai ake anō ai taku whakatinana i ētahi o aua mātāpono,” ko tā Thaigan.

“Ka ū ahau ki te whakarite i tētahi hōtaka mā ngā kaipūkaha Māori, ka mutu, ka whakapau kaha ahau ki tēnei hei ngā hāora i waho atu o te mahi.” 

Ka ora tonu i tēnei tētahi tikanga whakaruruhau, whakawhanake pūkenga anō i te whare o Vodafone. Ko tētahi kaupapa pēnei nō nā tata nei ko te tuku i ngā kaiārahi Māori, i ngā kaiārahi Pasifika hoki e mahuta ake ana, ki te kaupapa o Kāwai, he akoranga whakawhanake rangatira e whakahaerehia ana e ngā hoa mōwaho, e Indigenous Growth Ltd. Kua whakaritea hoki tētahi hōtaka whakangungu pia me Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu hei wāhi nō tētahi piringa hoa rautaki i mana i te tau 2020, me ana whāinga matarua kia kaha ake ngā hononga ā-matihiko i waenga i te iwi, kia hanga kanorau ake hoki te rāngai hangarau.

Ki a Precious, ko ngā mahi pēnei i ēnei he wāhi nō te ānga whakamua o te whai māramatanga ki te ahurea Māori, o te mātauranga Māori anō. Heoi, hei tāna, ko te ānga whakamua nei, me he tārere, ehara i te ānau pere. Pēnei tonu i te pararē o ngā reo whakahē o te iti huri noa i te motu mō te tohe kia whai tūru Māori ai ki ngā kaunihera, he nui tonu ngā wā e ātetehia ai te kokenga.

“Kua tupu mārika te hiahia o Tūmatanui ki te ahurea Māori, heoi, ka māmā noa te pēhia whakamurihia atu o taua hiahia. Ka pēhia tonutia atu, nā reira ko tā tātou he tō mai i te rahi ki tēnei taha o te tārere kia kore ai e tawhiti tana piu whakamuri.”

E tūmanako ana a Te Kaa ko te kāhui kua puta kē ō rātou ihu i tēnei wānanga, otirā, ko te kāhui nei e nui haere ana, hei whakapakari i te ānga whakamua o te tārere, kia piu tawhiti ai ki mua. E mātau ana a Precious, mā te tika me te pono o te aro ki te ao Māori e pakari ake ai ā tātou pakihi.

“Ka nui ake te hunga e ngākaunui ana ki te ahurea Māori, ka iti iho te hunga e whai nei kia turakina mātou, ka nui ake hoki te hunga e whai nei kia angitu te Māori – inā hoki, ka angitu ana te Māori, ka angitu ana ko Aotearoa.”

This story was translated by Pae Tū Ltd.