The Legacies Of Our Time...

Many have written about who we are , where we are from , how we lived , how we get on with each other , about who said what and who did this and who did that.....For what ever reason or cause, the words they have written , have created a history about us , that is now taken as gospel in the minds of people ...These have caused government's to create policies , that we have to live with...

But what about our stories?

what about our histories about our lives with each other, about how we lived with each other? worked with each other , built roads and schools and homes and sheep yards and fences with each other, ran the committees and Council with each other...married each other, had families, died and were buried with each other?
These first began to emerge with the Sealords case in 1992 when the Runanga challenged the Crown and the tribes of NZ, for a right of access to the fisheries settlement , in its own right.

The Legacy of Roger...

We did this by sending Roger out to sea so that legal advisors for the NZ Maori Council, would not find or reach him, to get him to agree to the settlement that had been agreed to, by the Crown and the tribes of NZ. The Chathams was included in the initial case against the Crown ( known as the Muriwhenua case) through the NZ Maori Council. ( they were members as Chatham Island Maori Committee), and Roger had signed the Claim. All members had to agree to withdraw the case from the High Court, to enable the deal with Carter Holt Harvey , to proceed.
The only way to challenge the deal, was to remain lodged in the High Court...which we did by changing lawyers. If it wasn't for the Runanga doing that, the Chathams would not have access as a seperate zone, as you have now.

The Waitangi Tribunal hearings followed and a host of stories have been told. Islanders talking about who they were, how they lived and what it was really like on the islands. Each is told through their own eyes... as they ought to be...
So why have we got such a mess now now? Why is there such a split in our whanau? What happened?

As the Tribunal hearings completed, I had a sense that our stories were not going to find a rightful place in the outcome. The Runanga immediately applied to the Chief Judge of the Maori Land Court, seeking a determination on who owned the lake bed of the Big Lake. Our request was ignored ..
When the tribunal report was released 8 years later.. we understood why..I had spoken to many experts, inlcuding Professor Alan Ward, on the issues throughout that time of waiting....including trying to understand 'Why are we waiting?'
There has been much written about the report since and much remains unsaid and unresolved.. Micheal Belgrave has written extensively about it and his findings have lead him ........

....' to the conclusion that Ngati Mutunga’s claims have been rejected, and that in doing so the Tribunal mirrors the actions of previous “courts” by handing on a fresh grievance to new generations ...'

You can read more in his book:
Historical Frictions: Maori Claims and Reinvented Histories by Michael Belgrave. Auckland University Press, Auckland. 2005. 388 p. NZ$49.95 (paperback). ISBN 1869403207

It would seem to me that there have been some huge myths created in the name of competition for resources around the Chathams.... And poor old Taranaki got blamed and done in...for it all! well...almost!

Wharekauri?

It's good to see the truth about where the name " Wharekauri " came from--- not from those Taranaki cannibals at all! And yet you will find most modern commentators of our history, attribute the name of Wharekauri, to the Taranaki invaders...the Maori name of Wharekauri and the Moriori name of Rekohu (meaning misty skies).' Wikipedia. The name 'Rerekohua' has gone and yet the translations are different.
' As for the origins of Moriori..Are they really different or just from an earlier migration? .Don't we all whakapapa back to Toi and Whatonga of our Polynesian ancestral geneology? And what of Rauru and Rongo and let's not forget those magical people from Waitaha?
In which case , is what happened to the tribal societies of Wharekauri, any different from that which happened to tribes in NZ as they migrated and settled the lands needed as they grew and sought resources to sustain themselves?

There exists a proliferation of stories by experts on the matter including Wikipedia.....

' It had been thought since the 1800s that the original Moriori arrived directly from more northerly Polynesian islands, which would make the Moriori's fishing rights claim invalid. However, current research indicates that ancestral Moriori were Māori who came to the Chathams from New Zealand about 1500.[4][5][6][7]
As Kerry Howe puts it,
'.Scholarship over the past 40 years has radically revised the model offered a century earlier by Smith: the Moriori as a pre-Polynesian people have gone (the term Moriori is now a technical term referring to those ancestral Maori who settled the Chatham Islands).'[8]

Oh well, they reckon if you cry loud and long enough, you'll get attention.

But I am not convinced that the crying was authentic in reality, truthful in content and historical fact , to warrant a $6 million payout of taxpayer funds for compensation and rehabilitation of what ? and for ...how many people?

Perhaps the root cause of the destruction of our tribal community and the split in our whanau, over the last 30 years, can be found in the policies implemented by those whose quest to gain power and control, using deliberate strategies to seek popular support. These strategies were legitimised by the policies, legislation, regulations and administrative systems, implemented by our electoral processes.

My view is that this is the prime reason for the continuing chaos on the Islands and amongst our whanau. .It rules and divides and leaves a confusion of complex issues that numbs the senses and emotions into a paralysis that cauterises the ability of ordinary people to take action.....what can you really do, to effectively have a say in the governing of the islands, so that you have a better quality of life?

Gosh.!.. so many things go on without our knowing about them, don't they!

The only way out of the conflicts that plague our whanau, is for all groups to meet, to korero for as long as it takes, with a person who knows the rules and will do what is right for us, until we find a way forward ...TOGETHER..

Thank goodness we have the Cheif Justice of Nuie, who is also a judge in the High Court of the Cook Islands and a retired Cheif Judge of the Maori Land Court , as the Runanga Chairman...

Maybe he can sort this all out....If he can't , well, I'll have to ring up God next time....

Oh..did I tell you? he is of Mutunga whakapapa... cool dude ...don't forget to feed him well when he comes home to the Chathams !
He is the first person we have had who is a strong advocate with credibility that those who govern the islands, will listen to. Lets ask him to lead us through the tangled scrub of the past years, to find a pathway forward for all., while we still have him...

That would be a great legacy for us all to leave for our mokopuna..

We are kaitiaki of the Papatuanuku.. of our papakainga... of our whenua...

cheers Evelyn

All That Is Necessary For The Triumph Of Evil Is That Good Men Do Nothing.

It has been an extraordinary week!

The continuing disaster of the oil leakage off the coast of Florida; the decision of the Judge on the death of Hawea Vercoe; the ducking and diving over the seabed & foreshore issues; the 'feigned remorse' of Minister G Brownlie as he apologised for not telling Ngati Porou and Te Whanau Apanui about the contract to explore for oil off their foreshores, that was already signed with an overseas oil interest; the protest over the attempts to push through amendments to allow local government(Councils) to privatise your water supply; and who could ignore following the news bulletins that became episodes akin to a TV soap, to keep up with the spending habits of our elected representatives of the Crown, especially Shane Jones ?
As someone once said ..

..an event has happened, upon which it is difficult to
speak. and impossible to be silent...

On the bright side, the sight of Jim Hickey's and his team on a wintery visit to the Chathams, experiencing the delights of the island, was great. However, his shots of the closed Post office and businesses, told another story, to those who
who could see. I could not help wondering whether they would have been shut, if the proposal of the Runanga to build a meat processor on the Islands, had not been opposed by the Council, the Iwi Trust, Hokotehi Trust, Enterprise Trust, when the government officials visited the islands in 2005-6 ?
That was a project that had sound scientific and economic research support and was for the benefit of all Chatham Islanders. But the Island rot could not be stemmed . It was a case of playing the person , not the ball and you lost the game. In business, you have to play team. The economy has deteriorated further, whanau are leaving the islands , businesses are closing and that means little or no money coming into the families. What's happening to the schools? What's the cost of things on the island's now ? And so, what now?

FISH? FISH? FISH?

But who's got it? who controls it and who gets the income from the fish inside your territorial waters? Chatham Island whanau or just a few select who can influence the committee's and don't have to rely on their farm incomes. ?

The deal done with TOKM was a shocka...!!

It looks like it might be revisisted..and so it should, if we are want to make sure there are no further injustices done. If we continue on the waka that was set up, it will be like the leaky homes syndrome.....things done for efficiency and commercial gain for those who did the deals behind the cowshed.

No wonder the Iwi Trust and Hokotehi committees are not interested in Treaty rights of Ngati Mutunga o Wharekauri. That would mean, the benefits have to be for all who could whakapapa to Mutunga o Wharekauri .
All members need to have a say in what's happening ... it is written into their contract with TOKM but is ignored.
The tribal right is a collective right , not an individual right, as are the rights bestowed by the Crown, via its various legal entitities. The fisheries settlement was compensation for a customary tribal right.... the rights belong to the tribe... not the committee.... The customary rights to the rohe, the turangawaewae, the papakainga, the taonga, i.e all its assets, belong to the collective i.e all members of th tribe.

Consultation with all its members , has to happen... I could not imagine the Executive committees of e.g. Tainui, Nga Puhi, Kai Tahu, getting away with the things that have happened in the tribal groups on the Islands.

You see, there is a fundamental principle of government ( or governance) at stake here and, it is one that you will need to know about, for example, if government ( or your local Council ), proceeds to privatise water and/or any other service, that you think is free

No taxation without representation....
What this means is, you have to be told before they carry out policies on your behalf, especially if they also incur levies, rates etc, i.e taxes.
If you own property and pay rates, it might be a good idea to write to your Iwi group and your local council. Ask if any services are going to be privatised, i.e like the school bus service on the islands, or your water services. Will a private company from NZ or is the Enterprise Trust, going to take over the water supply?
Click here if you are interested in any more information : www.stopprivatisation.org.nz

So, what prompted this post about things going on around us.?

I met my nephew downtown this week, while I was out on my daily walk and we had a korero over a cup of hot chocolate. What got me was his intense questioning about what was happening to Ngati Mutunga o Wharekauri ?

Questions about why there was nothing for people to learn about , to engage in and, more importantly, to develop economically as an Iwi. He asked why , despite there being a generation of highly skilled, educated and experienced members, but there was still no infrastructure that provided the trust, assurance and confidence, for them to engage in. He asked whether anyone was doing anything about the oil reserves around the islands? Was anyone looking after the Big lake?

Significantly, I was struck by the signals of his conversation about the fact that there was no sense of whanau, hapu or iwi community, that encouraged their involvement in their Iwi development. And that, is a tragic legacy of the committees' of the past 5 years. They have had millions of dollars in the bank, and yet still our whanau have left the islands. So you may wonder why I keep asking

" What were the $6 million of tax payer funds for and where is it now"

What it says is , as with the opposition to the meat processing plant, as with the collusion between the NM Iwi Trust and Hokotehi over the contract with TOKM, as with the continuing lack of accountability and transparency in the current Iwi committees, as with the destruction of the contract to be the education provider for the Chathams when the staff of the Runanga were dismissed, the negative impact upon our iwi whanau, has been significant.

The rules of the game being played by those in control, are destructive, out of date and have set up a process of developmental suicide for our Iwi.

THIS HAS TO CHANGE..
WE HAVE TO GROW OUR WHANAU

As someone once said...

THERE IS NOTHING MORE SCARY THEN IGNORANCE IN ACTION..

There are a lot of good people who just want to live ordinary lives...but sometimes, you just have to round up the mob and do some dagging....

cheers Evelyn