More Te Arawa iwi enter talks

Te Arawa tribes Tapuika and Ngati Rangiwewehi, which together cover the territory from Ngongotaha to Te Puke, were at Parliament today to sign joint terms of negotiation for their treaty claims.

The iwi aren't part of Te Pumautanga o Te Arawa or the central North Island forestry collective.

Kahuarikirangi Hancock, a member of Te Maru O Ngati Rangiwewehi's claims team, says the main issues are Crown purchases and confiscations, land taken under the Public Works Act and the ownership and control of Hamurama and Taniwha Springs.

She says they're building on the dreams of their ancestors.

“Our people are really happy that we’ve been able to get this process locked down, particularly with the elections coming up. What we will focus on now is to bring the recognition back of what (our ancestors) were trying to achieve,” Ms Hancock says.

Tapuika-Ngati Rangiwewehi are aiming for a final settlement by this time next year.

TOURISTS FIND IT HARD TO RECOGNISE MAORI WITHOUT PIUPIU

International tourists may know less about Maori culture than has been assumed by the industry.

That's one of the findings of a four-year study by Landcare Research.
Researcher Chrys Horn told the Ecotourism New Zealand conference in Greymouth that the only way many tourists can spot a Maori is by the costumes worn by performers at concert and hangi ventures.

“It's surprising what international visitors do not see, so they don’t recognize even design elements in a brochure as being Maori. Internationals are not even at that stage. New Zealand is foreign enough so they kind of see Maori culture as a New Zealand thing. They’re just not distinguishing the nuances of different cultures within New Zealand,” Ms Horn says.

Many international tourists associate kapa haka with other Pacific indigenous performances, showing they do not distinguish Maori as a separate culture.

MARK ADAMS AND FIONA PARDINGTON AT TWO ROOMS

An exhibition of photos which opened in Auckland last night looks at where pounamu comes from and what it was used for.

It features Fiona Pardington's pictures of hei tiki and other taonga held in the Whanganui Museum, and Mark Adams' plate camera images of the Greenstone Trails.

Mr Adams says many of his pictures date back to the 1970s and 80s, when he started looking at the South Island landscape from a cross-cultural historical perspective.

“I was looking at how pre-European tribes down there used the land, how they used the resources, and then how the resources have been compromised by the burgeoning colony of us, so that set of pics is a set of images that shows the parts of the South Island where pounamu came from,” Adams says.

The show by Mark Adams and Fiona Pardington is at Two Rooms Gallery in Newton for the next month.

LEASE SIGNED FOR NEW YOUTH RESIDENTIAL CENTRE

A Rotorua Maori trust today leased its land to Child, Youth and Family to build a 40 bed secure youth justice residence.

The deal with Parekarangi Trust is for a 10-hectare site on State Highway 30 about 10 kilometres south of the city.

Chairperson James Warbrick says it was land the trust had identified for commercial development, to complement its sheep, dairy and tourism businesses.

He says Parekarangi Trust is keen to be more than just the landlord, and could offer work or training opportunities for residents.

“We believe we could offer something, I don’t know what it is, but we’re prepared to come to the table and have a range of activities that might inspire the kaupapa of the facility and we’re keen to build that picture,” Mr Warbrick says.

The trust will hold a karakia over the land next month before construction begins... and the doors are scheduled to open on the new facility in 2010.

KEY READY FOR ANYTHING UNDER MMP

National Party leader John Key is welcoming the Maori Party's overtures in his direction as a sensible response to MMP politics.

Te Tai Tokerau MP Hone Harawira, who in the past has been the most hard line of the party's four MPs in his opposition to working with a National led government, is now embracing the possibility.

John Key says that's the pragmatic approach.

“If they were only ever going to go with Labour, then they’re just and adjunct of the Labour Party and the whole purpose of the Maori Party as I see it is to give an independent voice for Maoridom which can oscillate between whoever’s in government be it Labour or National, and look aut and strike the best deals that can get the greatest representation for Maori people. And if they are only going to do that with a Labour government, history tells you at various times they will be locked out of the debate,” Mr Key says.

He says under MMP any kind of deal is possible.

ACC DVD AIMS TO IMPROVE CARE OF MAORI PATIENTS

The Accident Compensation Corporation is heartened by the response by non-Maori to a new resource on treating Maori patients more effectively.

The DVD, Te Tuuoro Maori me o Mahi or The Maori Patient in your Practice, is available to every doctor and health professional in the country.

Paula Snowden, the ACC's Maori and Community relationships manager, says it's a non-threatening introduction to tikanga Maori.

“Most people just want to do the right thing by their patients, but need a bit of guidance, what are the differences, what are the things to look out for. The majority of the people on the DVD, half of them at least are non-Maori practitioners talking about the things they have done to deliver better consultations for their Maori patients,” Ms Snowden says.

Much of the advice on the DVD could apply equally well to patients from other ethnic groups.