Traditional Māori way of life still recovering from actions of the Crown

Tuesday, 1 June 2021

Many aspects of Manawatū iwi Ngāti Kauwhata’s life are still recovering from the effect of actions of the Crown in the past 200 years.

More Ngāti Kauwhata members told the Waitangi Tribunal hearing at the Feilding Civic Centre on Tuesday about how they have been negatively affected over the years, with the loss of their language, pollution of rivers and the inability to gather food are among the things which have made life hard for Māori.

The hearing is part of the Manawatū ki Porirua inquiry, which claims the historical purchase of thousands of hectares of land between Kāpiti and Manawatū was not done legitimately.

Venessa​ Pokaia of Ngāti Kauwhata spoke about how Māori in the area, called Kawakawa ki te tonga by the iwi, had lost many parts of their traditional lifestyle.

**READ MORE:

* Crown conquered iwi with 'the pen', leaving them with little land to support whānau

* Waitangi Tribunal hearings to resume in Feilding

* Iwi lost spiritual connection to its whenua after land confiscation

**

Māori customs had disappeared, the rivers had become polluted, food supplies had vanished, forests were cut down, they had lost the practice of Rongoā, a traditional form of healing, and the loss of the use of te reo had negative affect on the iwi, she said.

Waste going into the Ōroua River meant the iwi couldn’t gather food there.

“Our mana as tangata whenua has been downtrodden for generations.”

She had hopes for the future of the Ōroua River becoming pollution free, having iwi reps in local government and te reo being taught in schools.

Caleb Graham had lived in Feilding as a child, but moved away and then returned as an adult. He noticed things like the waterways were polluted and people did not go to the marae regularly.

Graham would like more Māori-based healthcare to encourage Māori to go to the doctor, more Māori in managerial roles in employment and in education, iwi-owned businesses to employ people, upgrades for marae and steps taken to protect the environment.

He believed if children were taught Māori history, it would make a big difference in their future.

“It takes the brave to stand up and take these first steps. These changes would make Aotearoa a better place to be.”

Ruth Inu told a similar story about how the iwi had been displaced and there was very little for Māori children to learn te reo and to learn about their history.

“Issues facing Kauwhata start from land loss. Kauwhata are not recognised by many people as an iwi in this rohe.”

Inu said the iwi faced challenges of displacement, division and identity loss.

She would like to see European names of sites of significance restored to their original Māori names, and she would like to move the Te Kura o Kauwhata school from Cheltenham to the Te Arakura site south of Feilding near their marae.

Sariah Naiomi Graham said the iwi needed to be nourished in order to flourish and would also like to see funding to upgrade their marae.