Kia hiwa rā, kia oho, kia tū, kia mataara!
Kua takoto te mānuka, hei kawe ake.
Ka tau te mauri ora!
Nekeneke noa mai ana a Rūaumoko
i te kōpū o te whenua.
Mataku tonu mai ana ngā mokopuna a Tāne-toko-i-rangi.

Poutūterangi, poua ki runga
Poutokomanawa, titia ki raro
Kua rauika te Matatini ki te Matau o te Ika a Māui. Kārohirohi ana te kahurangi o Te Wai – Pounamu e.
Tihei mauri ora.

February marked six years since the tragic earthquakes that rocked our Canterbury whānau, and I can’t think of anything more fitting to commemorate those who lost their lives than Oi Manawa, the Canterbury Earthquake National Memorial. The name was gifted by Ngāi Tahu and means the tremor of the heart.

Ngāi Tūāhuriri and Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu played a significant role in the development and unveiling of Oi Manawa and I would like to thank everyone who was involved in the memorial development and the many months of planning for the unveiling ceremony.

February wasn’t only a time for commemoration, it was also about celebration, and it was great to be able to go to Te Mātinitini and support the four kapa hakā teams from Te Waipounamu. Everyone in the crowd was impressed by their routines and I was very proud of all the participants. I would also like to congratulate all those who completed Aoraki Bound in February. Aoraki Bound is a mental and physical challenge and it is great to see another rōpū learn about Ngāi Tahutanga and be pushed to the edge. I know there will be some future tribal leaders to come out of this year’s alumni.

As I mentioned in my last column, 2017 is a very exciting year for Ngāi Tahu as it marks the significant milestone of 20 years since the Deed of Settlement. During the year we’ll be reflecting on our journey to settlement and recognising and paying tribute to those people past and present who dedicated their lives to progress the claim over many years. Watch this space as we tell some of those stories – but for now, let’s remember some of the key historical events that have happened in the month of March that contributed to our Settlement. In 1859 the Kaikōura Deed was signed, this was one of the key land sales that helped Ngāi Tahu develop our Settlement. In addition, March was the month the Ngāi Tahu Māori Trust moved into Te Waipounamu House on Armagh Street. I’m sure many whānau have good memories associated with that building and I hope one day Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu will return to a building in the central city.

In February, I also attended the Iwi Chairs Forum in Waitangi. The Forum provided a great opportunity for iwi from across Aotearoa to come together and discuss some of the pressing issues for Māori. Some of the big discussions centred on freshwater, iwi engagement with the Crown and the Children, Young Persons and Their Families (Oranga Tamariki) Legislation Bill. Iwi Chairs will continue to strongly advocate for Māori on these, and other, kaupapa.

You will also be aware that Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu has paused the election process for the Kaiwhakahaere – a decision made by the board and announced by Arihia in late February. It has been more than two decades since the formation of TRoNT, and the departure of Tā Mark from the board late last year, who has admirably filled the Kaiwhakahaere role almost since TRoNT’s inception, was seen as an ideal opportunity to review the role.

Tā Mark leaves some big shoes to fill and a key part of this process is to review the Kaiwhakahaere role to identify whether it is appropriately structured and resourced as we enter the next phase of our iwi development, and to also identify a process that supports the smooth transition for the new Kaiwhakahaere into what is a crucially important role for Ngāi Tahu.

I hope everyone takes the opportunity to get out into the beautiful autumn air and spend some time outside with whānau before we head into winter.

Lisa Tumahai.

Lisa Tumahai

Pūkatokato ana te ngākau o tangata, kōrengarenga ana te puna roimata.
Whakangaeke ana te poho o te tangata.
He roimata ua, he roimata tangata.
Takoto mai rā te rau piopio, te rau o tītapu.
I kaha nei te ringa o aituā i ngā marama, kua hori nei.
Heoi anō, ko tātou te urupā o rātou mā.
Tihe!

Kua eke nei te tau hou, he aha ōu nei moehewa awhero hoki kia tutuki i a koe?

Ko ngā pia o ngā whare wānanga o te motu mai i Te Whare Wānanga o te Whare Tū Tauā tae noa ki ngā Wharekura, ki ngā whare wānanga whānui. He ākonga rangatahi mai, pākeke mai, kaumātua mai.

Me ki pēnei ai , whakakī ana tō kete uruuru rangi, tō kete aronui. I tutuki ai nā rau ringa, ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari, he toa takitini .

Heoi anō, e te tī, e te tā, koutou māte takitini, tēnā koutou katoa.
Tena koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

I hope everyone had a relaxing summer break and that you are all feeling energised for 2017. I spent the break on the West Coast and loved hanging out at home with friends and whānau.

To kick off the new year on a positive note, I would firstly like to congratulate all those Ngāi Tahu whānau members who graduated in 2016. It was overwhelming to see the number of graduates profiled in this magazine throughout the year and at the graduation services I attended. I graduated from Canterbury University myself and it was great to see such a large number of fellow Ngāi Tahu whānui participating in the Māori student celebration.

I would also like to congratulate all those Ngāi Tahu whānau members who were recognised in the New Year’s Honours list; and Richard Wallace on becoming the Bishop of Te Waipounamu. I attended his ordainment at Ōnuku in January and it was wonderful seeing all his whānau supporting him on his special day. It is great to have the first-ever Ngāi Tahu Bishop of Te Waipounamu – and a Coaster to boot. Kāti rā, ka tau ana, ko te Amorangi ki mua, ko te hāpai ō ki muri.

From a Ngāi Tahu perspective, 2017 is a very exciting year, marking 20 years since the signing of the Deed of Settlement. We are planning a number of initiatives to celebrate the occasion with Hui-ā-Iwi a key focus of our celebrations – watch
this space.

Initially we were planning for Kaikōura to host the event, but due to the quakes Te Rūnanga has made the decision to move Hui-ā-Iwi to Christchurch. The dates are 24 – 26 November, so put them in your calendar whānau and start making your plans to join the fun.

Other events I am really looking forward to this year include Naia te Toa, our rūnanga sports day which will give whānau from around the takiwā the chance to come together for some friendly competition; and Te Matatini, where we have four teams representing Te Waipounamu.

In February I went to the Iwi Chairs Forum in Waitangi. The Forum provides a great opportunity for iwi from across Aotearoa to come together and discuss some of the pressing issues for Māori.

Ngāi Tahu also commemorated Waitangi Day with the Ngāi Tahu Treaty Festival taking place at Ōtākou Marae This is always a great time of year for whānau to come together and discuss the fulfilment of Treaty obligations and the big issues for Ngāi Tahu.

As you are all aware 2016 was not without its challenges. In December 2016 Tā Mark Solomon ended his 18-year tenure as Kaiwhakahaere after choosing not to stand for re-election as Representative of Kaikōura Rūnanga. Over the coming months we will be completing the process to appoint a new Kaiwhakahaere. As Interim Kaiwhakahaere, I believe that it is my role to keep the waka on course, not to make any changes to our ordinary course of business, launch new initiatives or make substantive changes. I have therefore set up a wider advisory team that incorporates a cross-section of Rūnanga Representatives to help with interim decision-making.

I must also acknowledge that there have been issues at a governance level in regards to the leaking of confidential information. Te Rūnanga takes these matters seriously and I expect there to be a resolution in the very near future.

It was with great sadness that we saw the passing of Aunty Rima Subritzky and Georgina Hilda Mary (Tilly) Tainui in January of this year. My aroha goes out to their whānau.

I hope that the rest of the year brings positive outcomes for all our whānau and I look forward to a rewarding 2017.

Lisa signature

Lisa Tumahai

Ngāti Waewae electoral college is pleased to announce the reappointment of Lisa Tumahai as Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu representative and Teena Henderson has been appointed as TRoNT alternate. Lisa has signalled to the college that this is to be her last term and with that in mind encouraged the college to consider succession planning. We wish our representatives all the best in their respective roles. [Read more…]