In early August 2024, members of the Whakauae team visited Robinvale, Victoria, Australia. Our trip followed an earlier visit and cultural exchange with our Naarm (Melbourne) manuhiri in June 2024 at Whakauae’s offices in Whanganui. See news article here: https://www.whakauae.co.nz/latest-news/visit-from-members-of-the-arc-life-course-centre-melbourne
On August 6th, the team participated in a cultural mapping workshop with the Tati Tati mob. The event began with a Welcome to Country ceremony. The workshop brought together a diverse group of participants, including Tati Tati whānau, representatives from the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, advocates from Treaty for Victoria, Whanganui whanaunga Ned Tapa and Stu Reweti, and the Whakauae team—Anthony Thompson, Amohia Boulton, Utiku Potaka, and Luke Enoka.
A highlight of the day was the release of the book "Margooya Lagoon Purinya Kaiejin Manmarnepu" (Tati Tati Cultural Water Futures). This publication is a collaborative effort between Tati Tati Kaiejin and the Murray-Darling Basin Authority combining indigenous ecological knowledge with hydrological analysis, focusing on climate risk information related to Tati Tati aspirations for Margooya Lagoon. Tati Tati elder Brendan Kennedy emphasised the project's significance in exercising self-determination for First Nations People. First Nations People need to have a say in decisions that impact First Peoples' lives, or as Brendan often shared, “healthy country, healthy people”.
Utiku Potaka, our Pou Tikanga at Whakauae, shared pūrākau and narratives about the Rangitīkei Awa from a Ngāti Hauiti perspective. These pūrākau shared a Ngāti Hauiti worldview and our special relationship with the awa. Utiku spoke of Hauiti tūpuna Tamatea Pōkai Whenua who placed many mōkai and mana at the awa, and Matangi who following a flock of tūī, or whirikōkō up the awa, named many sites of significance before eventually reaching Ōporoa. Other concepts like wairuatanga and kaitiakitanga were shared, as well as other tikanga that are exercised today by whānau and hapū, such as how we erect pou at significant sites to remember and honour our stories, or how we place rau on to the whenua for safe passage when travelling.
Utiku’s presentation resonated with the Tati Tati mob and paved the way to wānanga for the following session; for Tati Tati mob to re-imagine a Tati Tati-centric map that locates and shares their stories.
The workshop concluded with a gathering on the banks of the Murray River, before we were invited to join the community premiere of the recently released movie, I am the River, The River is Me.
The following day, Brendan led the Whakauae team on a tour around Tati Tati country, along the Murray River, to Lake Benanee and Margooya Lagoon, stopping first at his offices in the centre of town. Brendan wears many pōtae, and we were fortunate to visit his studio and workshop where he showed us his many artworks - colourful paintings, possum skin cloaks and hunting weapons as well as get a closer look at the “cultural flow” maps that had been discussed in the workshop the day before.
As Brendan showed us his whenua he shared many stories about being on country and the diversity of Tati Tati culture. He shared stories about hunting, fishing, arts, and cultural revitalisation. Lake Benanee for example, which translates to “plenty of food and water”, was described as a pātaka kai where mob have lived for thousands of years. The water levels are maintained by the inflows from the Murray River. However, the construction of dams and weirs, combined with the effects of climate change, creates challenges for the health and connectivity of the rivers, wetlands, and floodplains. At Margooya Lagoon, Brendan recounted the importance of the lagoon to the Tati Tati people, and pointed out how the damming of the Murray River was impacting the health of both the lagoon, and the surrounding bush – a source of medicine and kai for the people. It was here that we were privileged to take part in a smoking ceremony—a cleansing tikanga.
Our Ngāti Hauiti and Tati Tati stories are different. However, there are many shared similarities that we acknowledge and celebrate. Through collaboration, we can create projects that can produce mutual benefits for all of our communities. As Whakauae broadens our hauora scope into environmental projects, we look forward to collaborating with other iwi and Indigenous peoples to strengthen our research and contribute towards flourishing communities. We are working towards formally developing a relationship with Tati Tati mob and look forward to hosting their team in the near future and returning the manaakitanga that they so graciously afforded us.
In early August 2024, members of the Whakauae team visited Robinvale, Victoria, Australia. Our trip followed an earlier visit and cultural exchange with our Naarm (Melbourne) manuhiri in June 2024 at Whakauae’s offices in Whanganui. See news article here: https://www.whakauae.co.nz/latest-news/visit-from-members-of-the-arc-life-course-centre-melbourne
On August 6th, the team participated in a cultural mapping workshop with the Tati Tati mob. The event began with a Welcome to Country ceremony. The workshop brought together a diverse group of participants, including Tati Tati whānau, representatives from the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, advocates from Treaty for Victoria, Whanganui whanaunga Ned Tapa and Stu Reweti, and the Whakauae team—Anthony Thompson, Amohia Boulton, Utiku Potaka, and Luke Enoka.
A highlight of the day was the release of the book "Margooya Lagoon Purinya Kaiejin Manmarnepu" (Tati Tati Cultural Water Futures). This publication is a collaborative effort between Tati Tati Kaiejin and the Murray-Darling Basin Authority combining indigenous ecological knowledge with hydrological analysis, focusing on climate risk information related to Tati Tati aspirations for Margooya Lagoon. Tati Tati elder Brendan Kennedy emphasised the project's significance in exercising self-determination for First Nations People. First Nations People need to have a say in decisions that impact First Peoples' lives, or as Brendan often shared, “healthy country, healthy people”.
Utiku Potaka, our Pou Tikanga at Whakauae, shared pūrākau and narratives about the Rangitīkei Awa from a Ngāti Hauiti perspective. These pūrākau shared a Ngāti Hauiti worldview and our special relationship with the awa. Utiku spoke of Hauiti tūpuna Tamatea Pōkai Whenua who placed many mōkai and mana at the awa, and Matangi who following a flock of tūī, or whirikōkō up the awa, named many sites of significance before eventually reaching Ōporoa. Other concepts like wairuatanga and kaitiakitanga were shared, as well as other tikanga that are exercised today by whānau and hapū, such as how we erect pou at significant sites to remember and honour our stories, or how we place rau on to the whenua for safe passage when travelling.
Utiku’s presentation resonated with the Tati Tati mob and paved the way to wānanga for the following session; for Tati Tati mob to re-imagine a Tati Tati-centric map that locates and shares their stories.
The workshop concluded with a gathering on the banks of the Murray River, before we were invited to join the community premiere of the recently released movie, I am the River, The River is Me.
The following day, Brendan led the Whakauae team on a tour around Tati Tati country, along the Murray River, to Lake Benanee and Margooya Lagoon, stopping first at his offices in the centre of town. Brendan wears many pōtae, and we were fortunate to visit his studio and workshop where he showed us his many artworks - colourful paintings, possum skin cloaks and hunting weapons as well as get a closer look at the “cultural flow” maps that had been discussed in the workshop the day before.
As Brendan showed us his whenua he shared many stories about being on country and the diversity of Tati Tati culture. He shared stories about hunting, fishing, arts, and cultural revitalisation. Lake Benanee for example, which translates to “plenty of food and water”, was described as a pātaka kai where mob have lived for thousands of years. The water levels are maintained by the inflows from the Murray River. However, the construction of dams and weirs, combined with the effects of climate change, creates challenges for the health and connectivity of the rivers, wetlands, and floodplains. At Margooya Lagoon, Brendan recounted the importance of the lagoon to the Tati Tati people, and pointed out how the damming of the Murray River was impacting the health of both the lagoon, and the surrounding bush – a source of medicine and kai for the people. It was here that we were privileged to take part in a smoking ceremony—a cleansing tikanga.
Our Ngāti Hauiti and Tati Tati stories are different. However, there are many shared similarities that we acknowledge and celebrate. Through collaboration, we can create projects that can produce mutual benefits for all of our communities. As Whakauae broadens our hauora scope into environmental projects, we look forward to collaborating with other iwi and Indigenous peoples to strengthen our research and contribute towards flourishing communities. We are working towards formally developing a relationship with Tati Tati mob and look forward to hosting their team in the near future and returning the manaakitanga that they so graciously afforded us.
