Ratana education tie up with Kingitanga

The group trying to reestablish a Bible College and Treaty University at Ratana Pa has suggested it can share resources and facilities with Tainui.

Ruia Aperahama from the Uri Whakatipu research group sketched out the plans at the Ratana celebrations yesterday, which were attended by King Tuheitia and a large contingent of Kingitanga supporters.

Tainui is trying to revive its plans for a post graduate study and research centre based at Hopuhopu, while the Bible College at Ratana could have its first intake of students by 2010.

Mr Aperahama says the two superpowers of the Maori world have been working closely in recent years, and it makes sense for them to work together educating their young people.

“We may send them to the endowment college in Waikato, so that they may be educated in in and learn about the history of the King Movement. Being reciprocal, the King Movement encourage their children and their people to come to Ratana Pa to our treaty university where they may share and learn about the history of Ratana,” Mr Aperahama says.

He says education will help both organisations endure.

NGAI TAHU TO TRACK STONE FROM RIVER TO RETAIL

Ngai Tahu wants to develop a branding system to identify genuine South Island pounamu.

Under the terms of its claim settlement, the tribe owns all the greenstone, a type of jade found in West Coast rivers.

Chairperson Mark Solomon says the branding scheme will track each piece of pounamu as it goes through from wholesale to retail to private ownership.

He says it's part of its attempt to maintain quality in the industry and curb the rampant black market in poached pounamu.

He says there is also concern about Canadian or Asian jade being sold as pounamu.

“The experts can tell. The general public, myself included, can’t. Which is why we want to introduce a system where, when you go into a shop and it says you are buying New Zealand pounamu, there’s a methodology that guarantees you get genuine pounamu,” Mr Solomon says.

INTIMATE OPERA ON ISLAND

It's not just Opera in the Pa this weekend but Opera on the Island.
The tenth annual celebration of young Maori and Pacific Island singing talent at Ohinemutu Te Papaiouru Marae tomorrow night coincides with the Rotorua Festival of Arts.

Organiser Oscar Nathan says as a special treat for festival goers, there will be a more intimate performance on Sunday at Mokoia Island.

“We have two operas, the main Opera on the Pa, Ohinemutu, some of the artists that featured on the evening prior, we have on the Sunday on Mokoia, less numbers and we go over on the Lakeland Queen and the people get to meet the artists and experience opera in a lot closer and more intimate fashion,” Mr Nathan says.

Performers at tomorrow's event include Mere Boynton, Ben Makisi and Phillip Rhodes with support from the 30 piece V8 Operatic Choir, conducted by Peter Scholes.

TEC SUPPORTS MAORI ACADEMIC NETWORK PLAN

A plan to establish an inter-university network to help Maori academic staff has won support from the Tertiary Education Commission.

It is one of 11 projects accepted for the fourth and final round of the TEC's Innovation and Development Fund.

Massey University Maori studies head Mason Durie says the Maori Academic Network Across Universities in Aotearoa, or Manu Ao, came out of discussions between the senior Maori academic leaders at the eight universities.

“We're creating an inter-university network so that you’ve got kind of a virtual marae for Maori academics. We want to be able to share some innovative teaching models. There’s quite a lot happening but in isolation and without any critical mass, and we think sharing some ideas about university teaching will be important,” Professor Durie says.

He says there is a high turnover of Maori academics, and programmes are needed to keep talented Maori withing the university system.

MAORI ASKED TO IDENTFY WAAHI TAPU FOR MINERS

Maori living near the Kawhia and Aotea harbours are taking exception to demands they identify their waahi tapu.

Davis Apiti the kaitiaki of Okapu pa at Aotea, says they've had contact from the Crown Minerals Office, which is considering an application from a multi national company to prospect down a 1500 square kilometre coastal strip from Manukau Harbour to Taranaki.

Mr Apiti says the hapu have been asked to furnish details of all its sites which fall in the zone.

Mr Apiti says Crown Minerals expects the hapu to cover the cost of the response.

“You know why should we grant the cost of all this information that’s going out. It’s a concern to us. This information is precious, that we want to protect, and at the expense of someone else just saying we want it and we can do what we like with it,” Mr Apiti says.

He says those working for Crown Minerals seem to thnk think all the Maori in the Kawhia area are unemployed and have nothing better to do.

KAPA HAKA AT AK TOWN HALL

A combined Tamaki Makaurau Kapahaka concert will bring together the old and the new to celebrate the art form, rather than competition.

'Paorooro' will be held at the Auckland Town Hall on Sunday with the four Te Matatini National Kapahaka Tamaki Representative groups including Manutaki, Te Waka Huia, Nga Tumanako and Manu Huia taking to the stage.

Organiser and performer Amomai Pihama says the event is a first for the groups who will compete against each other next month.

Ms Pihama says the event will promote the unity of Auckland Kapahaka.

“The cool thing abut this for all four groups representing Tamaki at Te Matatini next month is that we’ve never actually been in a situation where we’ve been on stage and we’re doing it together so it’s quite a unified event rather than competition where we’re all competing against each other, so we’re all really excited about it,” Ms Pihama says.