Huhana Rokx has been recently been appointed as the new Chief Executive of Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori and therefore also as the Chair of Te Rōpū Tautoko, the Mā Te Reo Fund Management Committee. Huhana is of Te Arawa, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Awa and Ngāti Maniapoto descent. She has an extensive background in education, having held a number of senior management positions in the sector. Huhana will be joining Te Taura Whiri in May, just in time to lead Te Rōpū Tautoko through the assessment of Round Seven applications. As well as her extensive background in education and management, Huhana has a personal commitment to te reo.

“I have a personal interest in ensuring that the Māori language continues to flourish and that all New Zealanders come to appreciate its beauty and uniqueness."

Huhana Rokx

We have recently had a beautiful new poster designed to help promote Mā Te Reo. There are two key themes encompassed in the poster. The first theme ‘Whakapakari whānau’, ‘Whakapakari reo’ conveys how integral te reo Māori development is to overall whānau development. The second theme stresses the community focus of Mā Te Reo, that there is only one funding round a year and the need to apply during April. If you would like a copy/copies of the poster to display in your community please send an email request to Clayton .

Meetings with our Horowhenua providers took place on February 9. Thanks to Sonya Daly for organising a room at Te Wānanga o Raukawa and for the hospitality on the day. It was great to meet some new providers and to hear about how your projects are progressing. It was also great to be able to complete the paper work and conclude some long overdue projects. Meetings were held with the project co-ordinators/representatives from:

• Whakatupuranga Rua Mano Inc. Society
• Raukawa Marae Information and Support Services
• Te Kāhui o te Tonga
• Kirsten Hapeta (individual)
• Te Rūnanga of Ngāti Rangitihi

During the 14-16 February, we were lucky enough to visit providers in Taupo, Turangi, Tokoroa and Te Kuiti. Thanks to you all for making yourselves available and sharing information about your projects and the general reo Māori development occurring in your communities. Again it was heartening to see the emerging trend of planning and co-ordination of local language activities in some communities.

Meetings were held with the project co-ordinators/representatives from:

• Te Whare Ahorangi
• Tūwharetoa Trust Board/Hei Ara Kōkiri Tūwharetoa Education Trust
• Ngā Uri a Maata Ngapo Charitable Trust
• Kamureti Merenia Moeke Whānau Trust
• Tui Trust Board
• Otukou Marae
• Raukawa Trust Board

As a follow-on from the monitoring visit to the Raukawa Trust Board, on 22 March Jasmine attended a hui at Pikitū Marae, to talk to representatives from approximately 20 Raukawa Marae about the Mā Te Reo application process. The Raukawa Trust Board, Tokoroa, has been working with their marae over the past year to help get them to the stage where many are now poised to begin the development of their own marae language plans. This development is part of the implementation of the overall iwi language strategy, ‘Whakareia Te Kakara O Te Hinu Raukawa’, which was funded through CBLI (Community Based Language Initiatives) administered by the Ministry of Education.

Ka rawe Ngāti Raukawa - another good example of the emerging coordination of language planning activity mentioned above.

‘Whakareia Te Kakara o Te Hinu Raukawa' (Te Rautaki Reo Māori o Raukawa)
The Raukawa Reo Strategy publication.

We are inching our way towards the completion of Round Four projects with just four very close to completion. If you are responsible for one of these projects, please give completion of your project priority.

There are currently 30 live projects for this Round. If you were funded for a project during 2005 and that project is not yet completed, we need to be talking. If Clayton has not already made contact with you he will definitely be in touch over the coming weeks. Please do not feel whakamā about contacting him if your project is late. We are very good at extending dates and can also formally vary a contract to allow you more time to complete it, but we need to know what the status of your project is.

All Round six contracts are now underway and 31 are completed. Please check your contract for your Milestone due dates, and if any of these are overdue, contact Clayton to discuss.

When completing your Final Monitoring Report (upon completion of your project) please ensure that you complete the first part/first page, which asks for a description of your project. We have noticed that a few of you have overlooked this. All questions must be completed, otherwise we have to return the template to you for completion and this holds up payment of the final milestone.

As many of you may already know, we are currently in the throws of our third internal evaluation project, this time focusing on the development of an outcomes evaluation framework for Mā Te Reo. A generic email has been sent out to everyone, informing you about the project and the ways in which you might be asked to contribute.

A provider sample has been selected based on random sampling of all completed projects over the last six funding rounds. A set of three survey questions will be sent to these providers to complete and send back to us here at the Mā Te Reo office. We anticipate that the first stage of the current project will be completed by the end of June 2007.

We will provide you with an update in the next Mā Te Reo ī-pānui. In the meantime if you have any questions relating to this, please contract Nerissa Aramakutu at nerissa@tetaurawhiri.govt.nz

On Sunday, 17 th December 2006, Clayton was happy to attend the launch of Toi Whenua, held at Te Awhina Marae, Motueka. The book launch was held during the kaumātua Christmas function. The resource, which was partly funded by Mā Te Reo, is a glossy booklet titled Toi Whenua - Ancestral Home . Toi Whenua was created as a guide for the descendants of Te Ati Awa and Ngāti Rārua whose lands in Motueka are administered by the Ngāti Rārua Atiawa Iwi Trust.

“Toia ngā tuhi, he tuhi mā wai. He tuhi māku, he tuhi māu, mā te whakatau. He tuhi nā nuku te māharahara. He tuhi nā nuku te awhiawhi. I ahu mai i ngā kōrero mō te rangi. I ahu mai i ngā kōrero mō te whenua. I ahu mai i ngā kōrero mōu. Mō ngā iwi nō te takiwā nei.

He wā ia ka whakatōngia ki te ngākau, ka titia ki te rae. Kapohia ake aku ringa ki ngā tohu o te raukura hei oranga wairua. Ko te aroha anō tērā e kaha ai tātou. Ka herea to manu weka ki te motu hangaia ki te taura tangata, hei oranga mōku, i te hau-ā-kiko. Takoto ake rā he ara ki te maungārongo e tangata ai tātou, e puta ai i ngā taimahatanga o te wā. Kei ngā tētēkura whakakī whāruarua, kei ngā awe toroa o te tai whakauru, kei ngā kaiwharawhara o ngā waka manu o Tainui, o Tokomaru.

Tēnei hoki te whakatau ake ki aku manu whakahirahira. Kua tau te tuhi kōrero o ngā iwi nei, e kōrero ana te whārangi o Rārua, e waha ana te aute o Awanuiārangi.

He tuhi māreikura. He tuhi rangi. I riro whenua atu, kua hoki mai te whenua, hei oranga mō te iwi”.

This book in no way attempts to be a comprehensive history of these tribes and the hapū who settled in Motueka, but rather it is a small beginning, the first steps towards a rediscovery of the past. From a Māori worldview stand point, we must first look back to where we came from to enable us to see clearly the way forward. And so this book takes the reader on a journey back in time beginning, as is traditional, with a karakia. Genealogy, tribal sayings, and traditional songs pertaining to Te Ati Awa and Ngāti Rārua tribes serve to further enhance a sense of belonging. The book follows these tribes as they migrate southwards from their original homes on the west coast of the North Island to finally settle in the Nelson - Marlborough area, known to Māori as Te Tau Ihu o te Waka a Māui. From there you will hear about our tūpuna who were living on the land at Motueka when it was appropriated, and their journey to gain what is now known as the Ngāti Rārua Atiawa Iwi Trust.

The stories within this book will lead the descendants of Rāruaioio and Awanuiārangi homeward, wherever they may now reside. This is a journey of the heart, the mind, and the spirit. And we will converge once again, as did our ancestors, on our ancestral home - Toi Whenua”. (Article contributed by Oliva Hall, NRAIT, Mā Te Reo project coordinator)

Toi Whenua - Ancestral Home book

Some crowds were big, some crowds were small but they all grooved to the sounds of the new reo Māori CD appropriately called ‘REO’. Mā Te Reo helped fund the national tour, where artists spent a fortnight on the road promoting the CD and their own material. Project coordinator Neil Cruickshank, of Maorimusic.com. said tours are essential to ensure music and, in this case, te reo, gets out to people in a fun and exciting way. The tour was led by veteran performer, Ruia Aperahama and saw shows in Te Waipounamu, Tokoroa, Kaitaia, Turangi, Te Upoko o te Ika, Whanganui, Whakatane, Taranaki and Hastings.

Piripi Christie

The CD ‘REO’ is a collection of original Māori waiata from a wide range of musical genre including rap, reggae and R’n B. There’s even a song about road safety for preschoolers. Iwi radio stations helped select the successful artists and waiata. The CD showcases the songs of Maria Elliot, The Big Three, Rochelle Biddle, Tūmamao Harawira, Riana Atama-Adams, Erena Tōmoana, Piripi Christie, Rānea and Awha, Charnao, Kommikal, Morgana Watson and Cilla Gardiner. (Article by Ana Tapiata)

Ranea Aperahama

In our last ī-pānui we said we were hoping to profile a Kura Reo ā-Iwi. We are delighted to bring you the following article on the Tauranga Moana Kura Reo ā-Iwi.

“In October 2006, at Otawhiwhi Marae, Tauranga, several months of planning culminated in a first time Kura Reo ā-Iwi for Tauranga Moana. Approximately sixty people from Ngāi Te Rangi , Ngāti Ranginui and Ngāti Pukenga attended the Kura Reo ā-Iwi. Mā Te Reo funding enabled Ngāi Te Rangi Iwi Rūnanga to ensure that the Kura Reo ā-Iwi was well publicised and resourced. Ngāi Te Rangi Iwi, invited Ngāti Ranginui and Ngāti Pukenga to participate as co-hosts and also participants of the Kura Reo.

Riri Ellis, the project manager for the Kura Reo ā-Iwi said, “the aim of the Kura Reo ā-Iwi was to provide medium to fluent speakers of te reo Māori with an opportunity to be immersed in a total reo Māori environment over a period of five days”. Pohe Luttenberger, the Ngāti Ranginui Iwi representative, and co-project manager of the Kura Reo said, “the Kura Reo fused two methods: wānanga and taught classes into one, possibly being a first time approach to delivering Kura Reo”. Luttenberger also stated that “the highlight of the Kura Reo for him was the collaboration of our three Iwi to achieve the kaupapa”.

Hauata Palmer, Chairperson of the Ngāi Te Rangi Iwi Rūnanga and one of the lead facilitators for the Kura Reo said “he hui tino whakahirahira tēnei i te mea i taea e ngā kuia koroua te whakahaere i ngā mahi katoa i roto i tō tātou reo rangatira. I taea hoki te whakakatakata i te katoa i roto i ngā whakataetae hei whakaohooho i te katoa ahakoa pakeke taiohi rānei. Ko te tumanako ka whakahaeretia anō ētahi Kura Reo hei painga mō Tauranga Moana”.

Rarely does Tauranga Moana have an opportunity to be in a wānanga setting with esteemed koroua such as Hauata Palmer, Kihi Ngatai, Pae Wanakore and Hauoterangi Tutua, all at the same time. The panel discussion on whaikōrero facilitated by these koroua offered those in attendance, an amazing insight into tikanga and kawa as seen and felt through the eyes of such kaumatua. Ellis said “we hope that these types of Kura Reo ā-Iwi are held every year, and that Tauranga Moana Iwi will each share the responsibility of organising the programme.” She hopes that each year the Kura Reo ā-Iwi will improve so that people will be queuing to participate in this programme. The Kura Reo ā-Iwi was a success for a number of reasons - rangatahi were provided with a rare opportunity to learn te reo from key koroua and kuia of the area. For koroua and kuia, an opportunity to hear various jokes, phrases and be involved in an interactive teaching/learning environment in te reo Māori, were indeed highlights of the programme. One koroua commented that he was simply mokemoke to speak te reo with others his age, and that this Kura Reo gave him that opportunity. The Kura Reo concluded with hakari and waiata were sung during that evening”. (Article contributed by Riri Ellis, Mā Te Reo project coordinator)

Participants at the Tauranga Moana Kura Reo ā-Iwi.

Contacts:

Riri Ellis - Ngāi Te Rangi Iwi Rūnanga - (07) 5753 765 x 210.
Teraania Orsmby - Ngāi Te Rangi Iwi Rūnanga - (07) 5753 765 x 216.

General Reo Māori Notices of Interest

Note: If you would like to promote any upcoming Mā Te Reo funded events, wānanga reo or reo Māori classes in the Mā Te Reo ī-pānui, please email Nerissa Aramakutu at nerissa@tetaurawhiri.govt.nz

Repeated again for your information, your key Mā Te Reo contact people and our direct dial numbers are:

Jasmine Cooper
Project Manger
04 471 - 6727
jasmine@tetaurawhiri.govt.nz

Nerissa Aramakutu
Project Advisor (Monitoring and Evaluation)
04 471 - 6728
nerissa@tetaurawhiri.govt.nz

Clayton Reiri
Project Advisor
04 471 - 6733
clayton@tetaurawhiri.govt.nz

Catherine Sinclair
Project Administrator, part-time
04 471 - 6730
catherine@tetaurawhiri.govt.nz