You Cannot Travel On The Path Until You Become The Path Itself. (Gautama Bouddha)

There can be no doubt that the path to a better future for the islands of Wharekauri, has been long entangled in its historic past.
Driven since the 1700's by a global demand for the economic gifts from the sea,and the pursuit of advantage by those who sought such riches, the island's are peopled by a mix of those who found safe haven, in those times of exploration.
Like many other NZ'ers, we grew up not knowing anything about that past, so I am always fascinated by the story of the battle with the French on Waitangi Beach - the same beach that we played on , got pipi and blind eels, and trained race horses or just raced for the fun of it.....the recent TV programme showing that Mark fella' (?) was a reminder that it is a local 'tradition' that still brings a lot of Island style fun.

And the attempt to buy the Islands ,by that astute German businessman back in the 1842, that eventually resulted in the British, ( we were under British rule - what ever that was ! ), intervening to stop the sale . The Brit's brought the Islands into the jurisdiction of NZ by moving to issue a Letters Patent , modifying the Charter of 1839 Colony of New Zealand, to include the Chathams. It shows that we have never been without importance in the economic equation of NZ as a nation, or indeed, other trading nations of the world.

Not only does it remind us of the rich history, that shaped the Islands before we were born, it also reminds us that the habits of history, are not easily discarded.. That it is the people who lived in those times, that set forth pathways for those of us who are now here. That's whakapapa...

There is nothing more frightful then ignorance in action

There are major changes going on, that will affect the economic realities of whanau on the Islands - even more, I would hazard a guess, then those of us in NZ. The Treaty settlement for the Islands , are also on the move again and we need to be reminded that the manawhenua of the Chatham Islands, has not been resolved yet.

There are those who would assume that the settlement for the fish, would be the way to go with the rest of the Treaty settlements, however, we must also realise, that raupatu has its own rules that are well laid down in legal precedent.

There's more then one issue to resolve. Lets not confuse them.

It cannot be assumed that the politics of fish will decide the land and lake settlements. That would be sheer arrogance ...even though some leaders are already pushing this....Just as well we have a independent Chair of the Runanga who is also an expert in the legislation as determined by the Maori Land Court! Lets hope we can find a way through the egoism of ignorance and self serving competitiveness of 'what's in it for me'.
You see, if there is going to be hope for the future for our mokopuna, then we must build our communities from the bottom up ....and that means focusing on what is happening inside our whanau and finding ways to bring out the best in them....Our kids and those still to come, deserve that respect and care. . .

I previously posted a story about what happened in the fish story and how the decision about islands around the Chathams, were dealt with.. well... not all of it. You see, again I am reminded of how people shape outcomes ..sometimes in a very disastrous way.

I have attached a followup to the last documents ,about how TOKM decided on how to deal with the Islands around the Chathams ..AND WHO was instrumental in making it happen. You see there were two submissions called for , within a very short time .. almost too short for credibility.. actually. the final draft was already on its way to the printer.before we finished .... but that's another story.......

Anyway , read and enjoy the game that went on...just remember, it was your islands , your papakainga, your manawhenua rights , your Treaty rights that were being decided.

My view is that the way to sort out this huha and fighting between the 'rellies, is to set up under our own Act of Parliament , seperate from other tribes ... after all we do have our own 200 mile zone outside the NZ 200 miles that's why we are 800 kms east of NZ... in most places... ... 2 + 2 = 4 and there's 4 left over..

What do you think ?. ...solves all those problems we have with the coastline calculations done by those clever people in TOKM, when they reduced out Treaty entitlements to fish species - and increased the right of all NZ tribes to our fish....around our coastline and within in our own 200 mile zone. .

Worse then that, they even took our Treaty rights and gave half away !!.. and some of our 'yes sir, no sir , three bag's full sir' whanau on the committees, nodded their heads in agreement, behind the cowsheds... but that's another story still to come....

But they forgot to ask us.....

Oh well...I suppose they got first bite at the 'fish and chips' ....that's called competitive advantage I suppose ..... good old fashion 'management technologies.' ....this is the way we do it around here.... .

That brings me to that $6million given to Hokotehi Moriori Trust

" Money is like manure. If you spread it around, it does a lot of good.
But if you pile it up in one place, it stinks like hell!"

WHAT WAS IT FOR ?
Perhaps it was part of their Treaty settlement? Does that mean all other tribes who suffered raupatu, are also eligible for compensation?
Shucks ! the government has only just given $6.5 million to hurry up settling the rest of the claims for all Maori, by 2014 !
But they are a special case...peaceful people ...so the myth goes..but whose myth is it?
..Moriori., we are lead to believe ....are different from Maori, ... ( that is , until the Sealords deal - they needed some fish! then they had to be considered as Maori ..what a drama that was ... full on fight...NO BLOOD WAS DRAWN....)......According to stories they were allowed to beat the s--- out of each other as long as they didn't draw blood...That's cool...a good idea if you are stuck on an isolated island with a fragile waka as the only means of transport and commnication . But what happens in the reality of now? Surely ,with planes and boats and trains and telephones and education and knowlege freely available to all as well as some handy colonial rules that banned slavery, female infanticide etc, the reason for crying , has long gone (I wonder if they knew about pressure points ? ancient therapies of Polynesia were well versed in these)

If they are so different , in what way? What is their whakapapa? Are they not from where other Polynesians come from? Who do they descend from?. (You might like to click on the article under WHAREKAURI on the right called = Ka haere a Kahu ki Wharekauri" Scroll down and you will reach the translation in english.)

You see , I am fully respectful of historic pasts and the colours and rich tapestries inherited from tribal cloaks. They maybe torn and tattered, but nevertheless, they are mine, handed down from times, now gone. And I am also respectful of those who are adorned by other tribal histories, that are very different from mine.
But lets clear out the weeds and scrub along the pathway .so that you can walk your path and I can walk mine.
...
There are tribal histories that are more ancient then the mists of time , and that are still untouched and unspoken by any of this modern colonial style tribal histories being dished up in the past 20 years , in the name of native rights. And I am in total respect and awe of the powerful messages, the fineness of leadership , the kaitiakitanga , rangatiratanga and manaakitanga, that those histories left as legacies for this time in our history. They are untouched and sit waiting for us to see it, to get it and to do it.

And so back to the myths of modern day Chatham Islands ! What a myth! ..but is it a myth deserving of an entitlement for more Treaty compensation then other Maori in NZ or the Chatham Islands? ..

What an ode to democracy and majority rule! .

You see, the Sealords Deal was hugely significant in customary terms as we witnessed the changing tides of tikanga Maori in a post modern Maori society, when it comes to the cutting edges of battle over territory and resources, with Crown. I have written about it as it affected us, and I will reference it on this site , when I can figure out how to do it.

SO WHAT WAS THE HUGE GRANT OF TAXPAYER MONEY FOR?
Not to save those trees surely? How old are those trees at Kaingaroa anyway ? Why are they saving those?
Why don't they use those trunks old Mrs Jefferson shipped back to NZ on te coastal trader ? - along with those bones she dug up.
All I know is most of the kopi trees around the Island, are dead . Are there any kopi tree's or any tree for that matter, 100 years old ? how old are those tree's with pictures ?
So ,I reckon our artistic uncles carved those taonga ? Leo can tell you some great stories .....like the ones we all did at some time in our younger days, on the limestone rocks and trees at home? It was part of life and what you did - if you wanted to..just for fun .outdoor learning and creativity...

Gosh, the more we ask, the less we know?

NOW WAS IT FAIR DISTRIBUTION OF TAX PAYER FUNDS?

HOW IS THAT GOING TO BRING PEACE ON EARTH AND GOODWILL FOR

THE PEOPLE OF THE CHATHAM ISLANDS?

Life is so perplexing sometimes!

cheers Evelyn

PS. Access to the documents has been changed because security systems
are changing. Click on the documents under WHAREKAURI up there on the right and
it will take you to the page.
Follow the instructions. There are plenty more to come.