' From The Nothingness, To The NIght, Into The World Of Light...'

'...I te kore ki te po, ki te ao marama..'                         

Rangatiratanga (stewardship) and kaitiakitanga (custodial care) are commonly held notions of Maori lore, law and life. Underpinned by customary foundations and principles , they are essentially key drivers for the collective aspirations of Maori.
Within this world, whakapapa (genealogy) is the core transmitter of our spiritual, physical and elemental resources. The management of these resources and the inter-relationships within and between them, ensures the political, cultural and economic wealth and health of successive generations.
Fundamental to the balance of these resources, is Papatuanuku-Earth Mother, the feminine principle, nurturer, source of food and nourishment, te whenua- the land.
Traditional Maori tribal society is generally structured as whanau(family), hapu ( large kin groups of families) and the tribe or Iwi ( groups of hapu), all are linked through whakapapa to an eponymous ancestor/s)
Tribal settlement of the islands spans centuries and previous Polynesian migrations recorded in whaikorero, waiata and whakapapa, tell the ancient histories of the current mix of people who share ancestral links to tupuna from Hawaiki. The current descendants also trace whakapapa links to Taranaki.

As discussed earlier, the pressure of inter -tribal conflict, and wars and new settlors forced tribes to find new territory. The Chathams heke was lead by well known leaders with kin links to well known warrior leaders such as Toarangatira, grandson of Mutunga, Te Rauparaha and Rangihaeta ( second husband of Wi Naera' Pomare's mother) but it is the testimonies of Rakatau and Toenga at the 1870 Maori Land Court Hearings on the Chatham Islands, that give us an insight into the minds of the Taranaki leaders of the time.

" We have come from Taranaki to Kapiti in accordance with a previous arrangement that we should go and take possession of lands. Thence to Queen Charlotte Sound, thence to Banks Peninsula and Otago. Some of our party went in whale ships and returned telling about the place . And we held meetings and discussions. The question whether we should come here or not. We came to the Chatham Islands and took possession. I took possession of these lands,as was the custom..."

"I am the oldest man , I came from Taranaki. I formed a wish to come here. . i came from Taranaki to Kapiti. I took possession of Kapiti and then Wellington. Part of my tribe went south across the straits to Queen Charlotte Sound and that land was taken, and we came to the Chatham islands and we took possession of the Chatham Islands."

Despite the challenges to its validity in recent times, the conquest was defining in terms of the status and mana of Mutunga on the islands. As was the custom of conquest throughout the world, the conquered were absorbed into the new order and over the intervening 150 years, a peaceful co-existence was built. There are many testimonies of this phenomena.,the most significant one in recent times is that of Charles Preece. (see previous posting).
As land wars, settlor companies and new governing rules continued to bring changes , Mutunga continued to live in a world much larger then the Chathams. They had to keep up with the new government regulations ,political changes and to maintain political links with other tribes especially Taranaki.

" Te Whiti was well supplied with eels by his Chatham Island adherents. 2000 were caught in one small lake and hung up to dry. 5000 from another required 14 bullocks to drag them to the surf boat to be shipped in Hood's vessel, the 'Omaha'. Altogether the Maori exported 20,000in February alone, followed by huge quantities of grey duck and swan, then mutton birds and young albatross. Deputations of food and money regularly went from the Chathams to Parihaka taking gifts of food and money."

Nevertheless, land loss, new governance and global economic readjustments over the years, brought great changes for whanau, hapu and iwi throughout Aotearoa. It resulted in tremendous shifts in the political, cultural and socio-economic life of Maori. and different relationships and management systems evolved as tribes adjusted to the significant changes wrought by history. The impact of these changes can be clearly viewed in the current political, social and economic environment of the Chatham Islands. It is a mess!
Evidence abounds in the Waitangi Tribunal and other forums, showing that since 1842, government administration of the Islands has been one of indifference and neglect.
But what can one do when a fundamental premise of service and priority of the governing system is based upon population. Chatham Island Maori is 1% of the NZ Maori population and 0.0% of NZ's total population so we ought not to expect that government or anyone else for that matter, will take much notice of any call for anything really!

But there is the matter of the $6 million pay out that remains a mystery.

However, what I know about change is that there is always opportunity for better things to come.

"A positive future cannot emerge from the mind of anger or despair"
~ Dalai Lama

History can be changed in a moment but it needs people to take responsibility for what is happening now - and we all must carry some responsibility.
It did not have to happen this way.
The past 30 years has has seen mega wealth produced from our waters - but what is there to show for it ? what was the return to the islands? Where did it go to?
As the global financial and economic crash continues , our islands ought to be a safe haven to nurture the tribe, instead of a hell for failing businesses and desperate & stressed whanau..

It will not take much to turn things around BUT we must do it as a team. No person can survive on their own on that Island in the current financial climate. No one person can make things happen on their own. You have to do it together as one tribal community.
Governments come and governments change, but communities are formed and made successful by people, not governments

" This achievement is larger than any individual. While individual projects can be completed, the sum is so much greater than its parts. Learn to see yourself not on where you have reached, but on the Path you are traveling. ..."

And so I can only do my part.

I started this paepae at the beginning of January, to communicate with you and others because I was concerned at the lack of information coming out to members of Ngati Mutunga o Wharekauri.
I was also deeply concerned about the destruction of the Runanga, its assets and Treaty negotiations and the opportunities that were lost, for economic development and education services to the islands, because of internal political & economic ignorance, greed and ego. If you had picked up the option to build a meatworks, you would have been up and running now, with alternative power units in place - for $2 million dollars approx.

Dare I mention the $6 million 'Find me Fund " again ? where is it and what is it being used for? Does anyone know ?
Who gets the benefits and how many are on the register to justify such a huge a government handout ? Is that why they need the whakapapa of our Kuia Ngahiwi Dix to fill up their waka?That was just a little less then the $8 million government allocated to set up what is now the Enterprise Trust , back in the days of devoution. !

Anyway, back to the case:
The lack of skill and knowledge of those "controlling' others in charge of the organisations , on how to make proper financial and management decisions, coupled with the closed, rigid attitude against seeking skilled help when it is obvious things are going wrong, is a major factor contributing to the lack of growth within our whanau and Iwi. The case is an example of a bad decision made out of ignorance and egoism and the damage that it has caused, is probably irreparable.

Someone has to say it up front & you may hate me for doing so, but it needs to be said and faced. We are here to leave a legacy for our mokopuna, not a mess.

We have not inherited the world from our forefathers.
We have borrowed it from our children."~ Kashmiri proverb

I previously told you I would put the statement of claim for the case on the site ( " Evelyn Tuuta vs Te Runanga o Wharekauri Rekohu..") that is to be heard on April 1, in Wellington. [ If I knew how to do the technology, I would, but I can't . So if anyone can tell me - i would be grateful. I am no techie! Just email me at the blog e90249@gmail.com ]

What I can tell you is this.
This whole case did not have to happen. There has been two years of doing nothing based upon a statement that the Runanga was insolvent -it wasn't. I took a case for wrongful dismissal and won. They refused to sign off the settlement agreement , dragged out responding and still haven't signed it off. ; I had no choice but to challenge for such wrong doings and there are many. While doing the case I have had to go on a benefit because the impact has been so stressful. I have lost all my assets and have borrowed from 2 family members to help pay my bills. My car under threat and I am living with my daughter until I can find somewhere to stay while I do this case.

And now I see they want to negotiate an agreement on a settlement for this case. FOR WHAT?

So why have I told you all this about my situation?

Because real stories of history are about what happens to the people in the middle of the conflicts. it is not what the learned student writes , seeking information to expand their knowledge so that they may embellish their prowess in the famed halls of cerebral longdrops.
It's about those who are not clear and may have never even thought about visions for the future or simply don't care.

The world is abound with evidence of people in positions of power who control and make decisions that destroy the lives of families and communities - just like the Chathams.
Real stories of history are about ordinary people , families and communities having to survive against all odds ,the egoism and destructive power of individuals who seek to empower themselves. above the good for all people.

"So What do you think I should do - negotiate? '

"What would you do if you were me ?

Do you think they deserve to have a day in court to have a proper yarn about what went wrong ?

Who knows, we might all learn something and that maybe a good thing

If there was any other way of getting information out to you or if hui were being held to inform you of what has been happening, I would not be doing this . There is, however, no other way to inform you or seek your opinion on matters that affect your Iwi.

Please feel free to Email or write what you think in a comment section below.

Cheers

Evelyn
e90249@gmail.com

"Haere ki o tatou tupuna ....."

Tena koe Roger.

So.! .You have left . Your life well lived and done, your legacy your whanau, who will carry on those things you have passed to them , often by you just being who and what you were.

We cannot teach attitudes, they are caught..- and you left some great moments .

But before you go - a quiet moment to reflect on things you did that few may know of.

Of a small window in a moment of time, that made a huge impact , that will go down in history, for reasons as diverse as those who were present.

Can we ever forget that moment in the court? We caught our breath and shrunk - you tried to hide behind the centre pole as the Peter's voice boomed in a overcrowded court room, embellishing those words that were follow us where ever we went, from that point on.

We did not expect it - it was unplanned and we sat like statues of stone, not daring to look at each other - the room went silent and we were as stunned as everyone else was, but silent in support of each other. We did not have to speak .

Yet, we were so vulnerable- in a strange paddock , surrounded by the herd of marauding predators seeking access to the benefits of the fish inside our 200 mile zone. We had tried everything to be heard but it was you who played a key role in a strategy to be heard, that brought us to the court room. We were so far from home.

It was you who 'went fishing' as lawyers from NZ, tried to make contact with you to agree with the national will, but you went fishing..... we had heard it all before. The cray boom the paua boom, the introduction of the QMS, this was not a new to us.

We had been doing this since the 1960's .

Yet here we were, on our own ,so far from home, fighting for the fish.
Few understood , many could not keep up and most had no idea what it was all about, and still don't.

You lead us with Rodney at the helm- held the space , in a room overcrowded with busy people. Little did we know it was to become an historical event as decisions were made, policies and Acts put in place that were to change the social and cultural structure of the nation. And then you went back home - fishing - or so we thought. ! It must have been freezing waiting all day on that balcony for us to come home.

You played such an important role, and carried the message and mana of your father and mother, our Kaumatua and Kuia.

You so believed and wanted what we all wanted.

The words of your father in the Tribunal hearings, leave a public legacy for us all.

" I am Charles Henry Preece, and I am 75 year old, my mother was part Moriori and part Maori. My father was pakeha from London. my mother never spoke Moriori only Maori. They are both buried at Manukau. But we very definetly got on very well with everyone back then. There was no animosity between Maori and Moriori. The fact that Maori had come from Taranaki and taken over Moriori was never discussed. People just accepted that the Maori had conquered the Moriori. That was in the past, we just got on with our lives. When they say these things I feel they are talking about my wife. it upsets me. I know -- I am the oldest Moriori on the Islands..... We never lived as tribes, we lived as one people...., As far as I am concerned i am just another Chatham Islander. .......And me with more Moriori in me then most other people. ...I am a Chatham Islander. I have been that way all my life and I will stay that way. I was born here and I will stay here. "

In a time when most of our fish have gone offshore, families are leaving the islands for work and the economy has sunk through the floor, the words provide a message of hope for a better future.

Moe mai, e te Rangatira, moe mai ki to moenga roa, Haere Haere Haere

what to do when the wires are had-it in a closed circuit box..

One of the greatest legacies I inherited from my parents, was the childhood I had. There is no way I would have achieved any of the things I have done, if I had not had those experiences, skills and strengths that I absorbed from one of the most powerful learning systems in the world - the family.

I am not saying I had a challenge free childhood but I learnt how to deal with complex human relationship things that happen every day in any country, in any community, in any family throughout the world. The only thing that was different was the context in which it happened .

In an isolated place like the Chatham Islands, your world is constructed from the memories , feelings, thoughts and scars on your skin about the events that shaped your life in an island environment. From bullying at home and school, to amazing teachers who reached out and drew out your thinking to embrace the world around you no matter what you did, to parents who never smacked. In all this, while surrounded by nature at its best and the freedom to explore to an extent that is impossible in most countries throughout the world. It is little wonder we all long to go home.

So when the place of your childhood is moved to a place of crisis and destruction by the actions of others, it is a primal instinct that kicks in and moves to protect that which nurtured you.

I remember the horrific gut wrenching paralysis I felt when I realised that there was nothing I could do to stop the incurable disease that eventually killed my son. The only thing to do was to watch it happen. I learnt some things about life & people & institutions & human behaviour then. And I m still here - so there must be work to do.

I have just heard about a hui held on the Islands this weekend, where the Ngati Mutunga Iwi Trust was presented with a petition by a group of people who are objecting to holding a financial audit of the Ngati Mutunga Iwi Trust's books. Isn't that a bit strange? I thought audits were a normal financial process of accountability to make sure things were being done properly? Can you petition against a financial audit of an organisation? Something funny going on I think!

AND I also heard that the Chairman of the other Mutunga group, the Runanga, is not interested joining together with da cousins on the Ngati Mutunga Iwi Trust !!!

Hmmm! did he ask the members of the Runanga ? Or did he just make the decision himself? Not again, Charlie!! Haven't you learnt anything yet? You have to call a meeting of the people, especially as they are your Ngati Mutunga relations ! You have to ask them what they think about things, that is what the law says. How else are we going to know what's going on?

Ohhh gosh , that's right! you fired all the staff, didn't you! But that was two years ago. Have you told members yet?

You cannot run an Iwi organisation on your own, without an Iwi. Charlie! You just got to have an Iwi if you are the Chairman of an iwi organisation. You have to have a committee elected by the people as set out by your constitution. And you can't keep running to TPK for help .

Anf there's a new party and new rules in place now! They can't call a Hui, you have to, you are the Chairman. Why hasn't your lawyer told you these things? Something funny going on I think !

Come on, Charlie, there's work to be done. e hoa!

The government has told everyone in as many forums as possible, that there is a major economic slam dunking coming . Our families and farms deserve better a better deal then then the one you're giving them. Talk to the people.

And I sent a message just for you, just in case you were stuck for ideas, suggesting the Mutunga groups should form one group to work out how to deal with the major crisis that will hit the Islands and all our families this year. but it seems you are not interested in doing that? Why not? There should only be one Mutunga group for the Islands which includes all iwi members.

YOU as the leader, have to set up things to PROTECT not DESTROY the people.

My view is you should move now or get out of the way of Mutunga!

What have you done for Mutunga in the past 2 years ? Perhaps your loyalties lie somewhere else?

You are not trying to undermine Mutunga are you, Charlie? Or is someone else telling you how to drive your car? You wouldn't do that would you? I trust you.

I mean, your Mum is Mutunga , a Pomare, she is my mother's cousin. Your Grandfather had tremendous mana. He fought for better deals from government for Maori farmers way back. The world only knows about his brother, Maui but you carry the mantle of your grandfather who did just as much. Get on with your job!

Stop hiding behind your lawyer and talk to the people!

This does not have to be way forward for Chatham Island Maori. The people deserve a better deal.

Evelyn