Te Kaitiakitanga o Te Taiao
“Tiaki te taiao, tiakina te iwi e - That we look after our environment so that it sustains our communities”
Manawhenua Statement
Ko Ranginui e tū iho nei, hei tuānui mō te ao; ko Papatūānuku e takoto nei, hei whāriki mō te rangi. Ka puta, ka ora ki ngā mumu tai, ki ngā whenua wawā, ā rāua tini uri whakaheke e kōwhaiwhai haere nei i te ao.
Ranginui extends above us as a canopy over the world; Papatūānuku stretches out below, a platform for the heavens. They are adorned with an interwoven tapestry of the myriad descendants, born and reborn, and dispersed amongst the murmuring waters and recesses, throughout the scattered lands and oceans of Rangi and Papa.
Ko Tāne-te-wairoa, ko Tāne-te-pēpeke, ko Tāne-te-orooro, ko Tāne-whakapiripiri, ko Tāne-mahuta, ko Tāne-nui-ā-rangi i whakarite i te wehenga ake o ōna mātua kia puta ai ki te ao mārama. He tapu anō te ira atua i whakatōngia e Tāne ki roto i tāna i hanga ai ki tāna i moe ai. Ka tiakina te mana atua i roto i te whare tangata, kia mau tonu ai te tapu o te tangata. Nā Tāne anō ngā rākau me ngā manu - a Raupō, a Kīwī, a Rupe mā, me te tini o te wao nui, ā, marere noa ki ngā takutai moana, ki ngā tini a Tangaroa. Ko te tangi a te mātui, “tūī, tutuiā” - te rangi ki te whenua, te whenua ki te rangi. Ka puta ki te whei ao, ki te ao mārama, tihei wā mauriora!
It was Tāne-te-waiora, Tāne-te-pēpeke, Tāne-te-orooro, Tāne-whakapiripiri, Tāne-mahuta, Tāne-nui-a-Rangi who instigated the separation of his parents, bringing about the emergence into the ‘world of light and understanding’. Through the act of conception, Tāne introduced his godliness to those that he created and an aspect of his divinity to those with whom he procreated. The womb transmits and protects this sacred authority maintaining the sanctity of the holistic person. From Tāne also descended Rākau, Raupō, Kīwī, Rupe and the multitudes of progeny from the mountains to the great forests and unto the oceans. The sky is woven into the land and the land to the sky from whence emerged the world of light, bringing forth the spirit essence of all living things.
Ko Tūmatauenga anō tētahi o ngā tama a Ranginui rāua ko Papatūānuku. He atua koi, he atua māia, he kaitaki, he toa. Ko ōna hoa ko te taua, ko tana mahi he karawhiu i runga i te marae ātea me te pakanga. Nā tēnei atua, nā Tūmatauenga ka puta ko āna uri – te tini me te mano o ngā tāngata e tūtū haere nei ki runga i te mata o te whenua.
Tūmatauenga – another son of Ranginui and Papatūānuku, was astute and brave, an industrious leader and the ultimate warrior. His constant companions are strife and war; he convenes the arena of conflict and the field of battle. The progeny of Tūmatauenga include all the people who live and occupy the face of the earth.
He uri whakatupu tātou nō ngā kāwai atua o te ao. He mea paihere ngā uri a Tāne rāua ko Tūmatauenga, ki ngā whakapapa atua tātai noa ki te ao.
As descendants of the gods and the progeny of Tāne and Tūmatauenga, we are enmeshed within the genealogies of the pantheon of elemental deities that form the environment.
Koia e meatia nei, kia kōrerotia ana te mana o ngā Ngāhere, ngā whenua me ngā papamoana o Te Hiku o Te Ika, kia maumahara te tangata e honohono ana te mauri o ngā mea katoa.
We speak here of our authority over the lands, forests and oceans of Te Hiku o Te Ika, as the spirit of all things is connected, empowering our ability to speak as guardians of the land, forests and seas, in the pursuit of all that we desire.
Ka mutu, i konei anō mātou e noho ana hei kaitiaki i te taiao, hei kaitaurima i te mauri o ngā tapuwae ā-nuku o ō mātou tūpuna. Nā rātou ngā kōrero i waiho, i tapa hoki ngā ingoa i honohono ai ngā tātai katoa o te ao tūroa. Kua riro iho i a mātou ‘ngā kete o te wānanga’ i tīkina ake rā e Tāne kia whai māramatanga ai te ira tangata. Nāna anō te wairua mārama me ngā āhuatanga whakamīharo o te ira atua i whakatō ki roto i ana uri e tū nei hei tangata whenua tūturu mō Te Hiku o Te Ika a Māui Tikitiki a Taranga, ā, puta noa i Aotearoa nō muri mai, ka tae mai a Kupe, a Pōhurihanga, a Tamatea, a Nukutāwhiti, a Ruānui, a Puhi, a Tūmoana, i ruirui haere ai i te kākano mai i Rangiātea, kia kore ai mātou e ngaro.
We have lived here since time immemorial, as guardians of the environment, fostering the spirits, treading in the footprints of our ancestors who bestowed names between the land and the sky, and laid down a celestial template that encompasses all of nature. Tāne bequeathed to us the ‘baskets of knowledge’ to provide his descendants with an understanding enabling us to exercise power, authority and responsibility. Tāne created his progeny with the attributes of the gods and imbued them with a divine element. These descendants exist now as the indigenous people of Te Hiku o Te Ika a Māui Tikitiki a Tāranga and Aotearoa. From the time of the arrival of Kupe, Pōhurihanga, Tamatea, Nukutāwhiti, Ruānui, Puhi and Tūmoana, they sowed the sacred seed brought from Rangiātea ensuring our ongoing existence.
Ko tōku mana, ko tōku reo Māori ngā kaiwhakamārama i tōku mātauranga ki te taiao, rere ki uta, rere ki tai, ā, taiāwhiowhio noa. Ko mātou tonu te hunga tiaki i ngā mahi tapu a ō mātou tūpuna. Kei te ture Kāwana te kawenga ki te whakatairanga i ngā tikanga a te Māori, kia hīkina ake te mana o te Iwi me ōna hapū, hei kaitiaki kia whakatutuki i te mana tapu kia taurima tonu ai te Wao Nui a Tāne i Te Hiku o Te Ika.
My innate authority and my language illuminate my inherited knowledge and responsibility of the environment, from the centre of the land to the oceans and the atmosphere. We are the original occupants and contemporary guardians of those tasks sacred to our ancestors. It is appropriate for Government to acknowledge, respect and support our inherited role, knowledge and practices as the core of conservation management in New Zealand. Better equipped and more empowered Iwi and hapū as kaitiaki, introduces an immense additional resource in the management of the great domains of Tāne, and his siblings in Te Hiku o Te Ika.
He kawenata hou tēnei tauākī mana whenua hei whakapai ake i ngā mahi whakahaere o aua whenua mā te mahi ngātahi i ngā whenua kei roto i ngā ringaringa o Te Papa Atawhai me ngā hapū, Iwi hoki o Te Hiku o Te Ika. Mā tēnei whakaritenga hou ka uru ngā whakaaro Māori, ngā tikanga Māori me ngā tāngata Māori ki roto i ngā mahi a Te Papa Atawhai – mai i te rangatira teitei, te Minita, ā, tae noa ki te Tari ā-Rohe. Kua whakaae mai te Kāwanatanga me mātou ki te whai ngākau hou mō te oranga tonutanga i ngā whenua me ngā papamoana o Te Hiku o Te Ika. Tūturu whakamaua kia tīna, hui e, tāiki e!
This is a new covenant setting out a collaborative working arrangement with the Iwi and hapū of Te Hiku o Te Ika on their ancestral lands, even though these lands are yet held by the Department of Conservation (DOC). This is a new concept that allows for Māori perspectives, practices and people to pervade the workings of DOC – from the Minister to the Regional Conservancy. We have together acknowledged Iwi mana whenua and a need to begin with new heart to ensure the ongoing sustainability of our lands and our oceans within Te Hiku o Te Ika. Hold fast and make permanent! Let us come together!
Ranginui - Long term priorities
- E kawea nei e mātou tō mātou kaitiakitanga i te paenga o tēnei rohe.
We are fulfilling our kaitiaki roles across the rohe.
- E ora ana tō tātou taiao, ka whāngai te hapori mo ngā rā kei te heke mai.
Our environment is rejuvenated and can sustain our community.
- Mōhio mātou te whenua me te moana.
We know the whenua and the moana.
- E mōhio ngā umanga kē atu, i tō tātou tino rangatiratanga, me te mōhiotanga, ko tā te iwi ko te whenua, moana, ngāhere me te taiao hoki.
Outside agencies recognise our authority and the importance of our rohe.
How are we going to achieve our long term priorities?
- By ensuring that a sustainable environmental approach is delivered at an operational level.
- Providing support to integral kaitiaki rōpū within Te Rarawa and Te Hiku o Te Ika.
- Providing advice to support to hapū and marae to achieve their environmental aspirations.
- By collaborating with others to support environmental research and projects.
- By investigating further opportunities that support kaitiakitanga.
- By giving effect to historical Treaty settlement redress mechanisms.
Statutory acknowledgments and statements of association
A Statutory acknowledgement is where the Crown recognises a statement of Te Rarawa’s particular cultural, spiritual, historical and traditional association with specified areas. This ensures that the interests of Te Rarawa are taken into account by local and regional authorities as part of the Resource Management Act. There are seven statutory acknowledgements and statements of association for the following awa and moana: [LINK]
- Hokianga Harbour
- Whangapē Harbour
- Herekino Harbour
- Awaroa River
- Te Tai Hauāuru
- Takahue / Awanui River
- Wairoa Stream