Te Paepae o Tangaroa Symposium

Join us for this two-day forum about our ancestral ocean, Te Moananui a Kiwa

Sunday 6 October 10am – 5pm
Monday 7 October 10am – 4pm
Te Poho o Whirikoka Campus, Te Wānanga o Aotearoa

Te Paepae o Tangaroa is a rare chance to kōrero about the challenges facing Te Moananui a Kiwa – the Pacific Ocean. Our panelists will share their knowledge, experience, and solutions going on to have a series of facilitated, engaging and encouraging conversations with attendees about the life and voice of the ocean.

The ocean that connects our coastlines also connects us as people all faced with a rapidly changing environment.
We start with a wealth of local knowledge from people doing critical work in Tairāwhiti and around Aotearoa. We then hear from inspirational environmental leaders from Tahiti, the Cook Islands and Samoa, all doing ground-breaking work for their own communities.

Designed as an intimate forum for those who share an interest in our ocean, tickets to Te Paepae o Tangaroa are limited and selling fast.

Rā Tuatahi | Day One - Sunday 6 October 10am – 5pm

Join MCs Ngahuia Mita and Te Aomihia Walker, as the symposium opens with kōrero about the long history of our region and the amazing mahi of local people to protect and restore the places we love. Manuhiri from around the Pacific will share about how their communities are using their own knowledge to revive and maintain connections to the ocean.

Mihimihi and Karakia

Welcome
from Dr Wayne Ngata and Dame Anne Salmond.

Session One
Ngā Kōrero o Te Tairāwhiti | The Stories of Te Tairāwhiti

Local voices begin our conversation. Understand our deeper story of connection to the ocean by exploring the history of Te Tairāwhiti and Tūranga, and our relationship to Te Moananui a Kiwa.
Presented by Walton Walker (Ngati Porou, Ngati Rangi, Te Whanau-a-Takimoana, Te Whanau-a-Iritekura and Te Whanau-a-Rakaihoea) and Peter Boyd (Te Whanau a Tuwhakairiora, Ngati Porou).
Panel facilitated by Dr Wayne Ngata.

Walton Walker is an expert in the Māori history and whakapapa of the Tairāwhiti region, and currently works at Gisborne District Council. Walton formerly worked as a Senior Advisor for the Ministry of Education, as a researcher for the Department of Justice, an editor of Te Reo Māori educational publications, and as a tutor in Māori Studies at Tairāwhiti Polytechnic. Walton wrote Ngā Maunga Kōrero o Te Tairāwhiti involving hours of reading, consultation, travel and photography.

Peter Boyd is an all-round waterman and has been a key figure in the revival of ocean culture in Tairāwhiti through waka ama, waka hourua and water safety. Peter has been a surf life saver since 1984 and founded the Ngāti Porou Surf Life Saving Club in 2013, reconnecting his people to the sea by helping to patrol over 200km of Tairāwhiti coastline.
Peter is also a co-founder of Ngaru Toa Tribal Surfwear and is passionate about supporting Māori in business and marine industries.

Session Two
Ngā Take Kei Mua i te Aroaro: Tuatahi | The Challenges We Face: One

We explore the current state of Te Moananui a Kiwa from the perspective of those who interact with it every day and know the signs - our researchers, scientists and sportspeople who have the opportunity to observe the ocean, the wider environment, and its impact on us.
Presented by:
Dr Amber Dunn (Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti, Te Whānau-a-Apanui, Ngāi Tāmanuhiri; Coastal Scientist), Regan Fairlie (Ngāti Porou; Lead Researcher, Manaaki Te Awanui Trust), and some of our local Moananui ambassadors from the world champion Aotearoa J19 waka ama crews.
Panel facilitated by Dame Anne Salmond.

Dr Amber Dunn spent most of her childhood at Wainui Beach where she developed a great passion for competitive surfing - becoming a New Zealand champion and national representative.  This addiction to saltwater flowed through to her career where she studied marine and coastal science.  By profession, she is a coastal scientist; by choice, she is a project manager, talent developer and local (elected) politician.

A journey spent rediscovering the wayfinding abilities of his ancestors has led Regan Pahewa Fairlie to learn more about our marine environment and the effects of human impact. Originally from Tokomaru Bay, he works for Manaaki Te Awanui, a Māori marine research organisation in Tauranga, investigating ways to enhance and empower the work of kaitiaki in the ocean. Regan has been a competitive surfer and kaumoana on the waka hourua Ngahiraka Mai Tawhiti.

LUNCH

Session Three
Ngā Take Kei Mua i te Aroaro: Tuarua | The Challenges We Face: Two

We widen our frame to explore larger scale problems prevalent across Aotearoa, understanding the signs from both Western science and traditional mātauranga perspectives.
Presented by Ian Ruru (Te Aitanga a Mahaki; Ngāti Porou Fisheries Ltd, Te Aitanga a Māhaki Fisheries Ltd, Ngāi Tai Fisheries, Iwi Collective Partnership, Te Wai Māori Trust), Stephen Harris (Pākehā, Te Whanganui a Tara; Special Representative, Commonwealth Clean Oceans Alliance), Liliana Clarke (Ngāti Porou, Waikato, Te Rarawa, Ngapuhi; Maramataka Māori and climate change expert) and Maia Ingoe (Pākehā, Te Tairāwhiti; School Strike 4 Climate Gisborne).
Panel facilitated by Dr Wayne Ngata.

Ian Ruru has a scientific background in marine and freshwater fisheries, is a director of several commercial fishing entities and is a customary fisheries kaitiaki for his iwi Te Aitanga a Māhaki. Ian gained his appreciation for mātauranga Māori from his father, the late Bill Ruru, as they taught qualifications in aquaculture and customary fishing at 300 marae.

Liliana Clarke  is an expert in maramataka (the Māori lunar phase calendar) and researches how present-day climate change is affecting indigenous calendars. Her team recently ran a series of workshops around Aotearoa, asking iwi and hapū how the traditional environmental tohu (signs) of the maramataka are changing. Liliana lives in Whakatane, and also works on environmental contamination issues affecting Māori communities.

Stephen Harris is midway through a two-year assignment to lead a Commonwealth-wide collaboration to reduce the harm of marine plastics pollution: working to bring communities, nations and regions together to act internationally on a challenge that respects no borders. Stephen is a former journalist and diplomat, with much of his work in the small island – or ‘great ocean’ – states of the Pacific and Caribbean.

Maia Ingoe is a local climate change activist through the School Strike 4 Climate movement. Currently, Gisborne SS4C (Tairawhiti Environment Youth) are campaigning for the district council to declare a climate emergency and are preparing for September 27th's Intergenerational Strike for Climate. Climate justice is SS4C’s overall mission, and Maia is excited to discuss these issues in relation to the ocean.

Session Four
He Huarahi ki Mua | Ways Forward

Recognising the importance of indigenous environmental knowledge, we host a cross-Pacific conversation exploring the different ways we protect the ocean and the communities who rely on it - identifying the issues and opportunities that present themselves as we negotiate, cooperate and express our different responsibilities to our wider environment.
Presented by Teurumereariki Hinano Teavai-Murphy (Mo’orea, French Polynesia. President, Te Pu Atita Cultural Center, Mo'orea. Associate Director, University of California Berkeley Gump Research Station), Aroha Te Pareake Mead (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Awa. Independent political scientist and researcher), and Kennedy Warne (Pākehā, Tāmaki Makaurau. Co-founder and editor-at-large, New Zealand Geographic).
Panel facilitated by Dame Anne Salmond.

Hinano Teavai-Murphy is Associate Director of the University of California Berkeley's Gump Station: a world-leading research station on Mo’orea focusing on biocomplexity and sustainability science. Hinano is also president of the cultural association Te Pu Atitia, which aims to preserve and promote Tahitian biocultural heritage for the wellbeing of local people. She has been a school teacher and an education advisor for Polynesian language teaching.
Hinano's attendance is supported by the Royal Society Te Apārangi.

The grandson of a boatbuilder and swordfisherman, Kennedy Warne has a masters degree in marine zoology, but chose not to pursue a career in the sciences. Instead he leaned on his other great love, writing, to become the founding editor of New Zealand Geographic magazine in 1988. He relinquished the editorship in 2004 to pursue his own writing and photography. Kennedy is an accomplished author, and contributes regularly to National Geographic, New Zealand Geographic, Radio New Zealand and e-Tangata. He is also an experienced sailor, and regularly puts to sea.

Aroha Te Pareake Mead is a political scientist who works across disciplines on indigenous rights and sustainable development issues. She has held senior positions in public policy, academia, international organisations and the not for profit sector. Aroha's work focuses on biocultural heritage and conservation, indigenous intellectual property, Māori representation and engagement in international processes, and indigenous perspectives on biotechnology. She is also advising the voyaging community in Aotearoa on a major new kaupapa about the protection of Te Moananui a Kiwa.

Whakakapi | Concluding Remarks
with Dr Wayne Ngata and Dame Anne Salmond

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Rā Tuarua | Day Two - Monday 7 October 10am – 4pm

On our second day, key thinkers in indigenous environmental law launch new proposals to recognise the rights and voice of the Pacific Ocean. This is a new kaupapa with its first public forum right here in Te Tairāwhiti – making this an opportunity to be involved at the start of this important initiative for Te Moananui a Kiwa.

Symposium Recap
with Dr Wayne Ngata

Session One
Ngā Tātai Hono | Connections and Obligations

We explore the connections that Pacific communities have to their own ocean environments, and how they express their obligations to these places, particularly through modern and traditional practices of rāhui.
Presented by Astrid Drollet (Tahiti, French Polynesia. Vai Ara o Teahupo’o), Tiffany Laitame (Rapa, French Polynesia. President, Raumatariki), Sheridan Waitai (Ngāti Kuri, Te Rarawa, Ngāi Takoto, Tainui. Taiātea project lead, Ngāti Kuri Trust Board) and Arna Whaanga (Rongomaiwahine, Rakaipaaka, Ngāi Tāmanuhiri. Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Parehuia).
Panel facilitated by Dame Anne Salmond.

Astrid Hinano Drollett is a retired Tahitian language teacher whose knowledge was passed to her through her grandparents, linguist Turo a Raapoto, a cultural association named Haururu, personal research and studies for a Masters degree at the University of French Polynesia.  Astrid will speak of the protection of marine resources as seen and practiced in her community of Teahupo'o, and the process of setting the first Rahui in Tahiti since colonisation.

Tiffany Vehiatua Narii Laitame has a Masters degree and is a PhD candidate in environment. She is the president of a local NGO called Raumatariki, which aims to preserve the inland and coastal natural and cultural sites of the island of Rapa. One of her missions is to support the Rāhui committee in their task of managing and maintaining this traditional system, and in reviving traditional fishing practices. Tiffany is also an experienced voyager on Fa'afaite and Haunui waka.

Sheridan Waitai is a servant for her iwi and a strong advocate for the proposed Rangitāhua Sanctuary (Kermadec Islands). She coordinates a range of relationships for Te Moananui a Hiva, a collective of Pacific peoples focused on the protection of the ocean. She is also a founding member of Taiātea: a movement to put mana whenua at the heart of sustainable ocean solutions. Sheridan leads the WAI262 'fauna and flora' claim to the Waitangi Tribunal.

Arna Whaanga navigates pathways to engrain and enhance Mātauranga Māori at the forefront of Environmental Science for her children, nieces and nephews. The roles of Ohu Taiao Leader, Chair, and a founding whānau member of Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Parehuia, aligned with her Masters in Māori Studies research at Te Whare Wānanga ō Awanuiārangi, has enabled Arna to activate relationships and spaces to transfer intergenerational mātauranga. This is supported by pūrakau o te whānau (family stories) and whakapapa to the moana (connection to the sea) harnessed by karakia, tohu o te taiao (environmental indicators) and Te Toiroa Ikariki.

LUNCH

Session Two
He Atua, He Tipua | Who is the Ocean?

In this session, we come to the heart of Te Paepae o Tangaroa. We kōrero about the life of the ocean, as atua and ancestor, and how we might reflect this in our systems of governance.
Presented by Dr Daniel Hikuroa (Ngāti Maniapoto, Tainui, Te Arawa. Senior Lecturer in Māori Studies, University of Auckland), Jacqueline Evans (Cook Islands. Formerly Marae Moana Director, Office of the Prime Minister, Cook Islands), Professor Jacinta Ruru (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāti Maniapoto, Pākehā. Professor of Law, University of Otago) and Kosi Latu (Samoa. Director-General, Pacific Regional Environment Programme).
Panel facilitated by Dr Wayne Ngata.

Jacqueline Evans, from the Cook Islands, helped create the Marae Moana marine park, a protected area that covers the entire Cook Islands Exclusive Economic Zone with special use zones for local island communities. Jacqui was recently awarded the 2019 Goldman Environmental Prize, known as the 'Green Nobel Prize' for grassroots environmental activists.
Jacqui's attendance is supported by the Royal Society Te Apārangi.

Professor Jacinta Ruru is an award winning Professor of Law at the University of Otago, and Co-Director of Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga Centre of Māori Research Excellence. Her extensive research considers Indigenous’ peoples’ rights, interests and responsibilities to own and care for lands and waters. She seeks to disrupt colonial legal norms and inspire a more just legal system.

From Samoa, Kosi Latu is Director General of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), a collective of 26 countries including Aotearoa with the purpose of protecting and managing the natural environment of the Pacific. Kosi is one of the Pacific’s greatest champions on the international stage, where he argues for the health of the ocean and the wellbeing of Pacific peoples.
Kosi's attendance is supported by the Royal Society Te Apārangi.

Dr Dan Hikuroa is an Earth System Scientist and established world expert on weaving indigenous knowledge and science to realise the dreams and aspirations of the communities he works with. He has previously been Research Director of Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga, and he is currently a member of Ngā Kaihautū Tikanga Taiao (EPA Statutory Māori Advisory), Watercare & Pāmu Environmental Reference Groups and Pūniu River Care Board.

Session Three
He Huarahi ki te Ora | Pathways to Wellness

We close by reflecting on the many ways that the health of our ocean affects the health of our people.
Presented by Ngahuia Mita (Te Aitanga a Mahaki, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Hako. University of Otago; Tairāwhiti Voyaging Trust).

Whakakapi | Concluding Remarks and Close
with Dr Wayne Ngata and Dame Anne Salmond

Book Now

Your MCs

Ko Maungahaumi, Pukehāpopo me Te Rae o te papa ōku maunga
Ko Turanganui-a-Kiwa me Tikapa ōku moana
Ko Waipaoa, Waiomoko me Waihou ōku awa
Ko Horouta, Tereānini me Tohorā ōku waka
Ko Te Aitanga-a-Mahaki, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Hako ōku iwi
Ko Ngāti Wāhia me Ngāti Konohi ōku hapū
Ko Parihimanihi, Whangara me Tirohia ōku marae
Ko Ngahuia Mita tōku ingoa
Nō Te Tairawhiti me Hauraki ahau.

Kia ora, ko Ngahuia Mita tōku ingoa i te taha o tōku kuia he uri ahau nō te Tairawhiti, i te taha o tōku koroua he uri ahau nō Tikapa Moana, tēnā koutou. I am currently a PhD student based in Tairāwhiti. My kaupapa is working alongside the Tairāwhiti Voyaging Trust examining Tairāwhiti voyaging philosophies and how Tairāwhiti waka hourua can be positive for the health and well-being of our rohe.

Ko Hikurangi te maunga.
Ko Waiapu te awa.
Ko Horouta me Nukutaimemeha ōku waka.
Ko Ngati Rangi me Te Whanau-a-Takimoana ōku hapū.
Ko Reporua me Ohinewaiapu ōku marae
He kākano āhau i ruia mai i Te Tairawhiti.
Ko Te Aomihia Walker tōku ingoa.

Te Aomihia Walker is a Policy Analyst at Te Ohu Kaimoana working to advance Māori interests in the marine environment through providing policy and fisheries management advice and recommendations to iwi and the wider Māori community. Te Aomihia formerly worked as analyst at StatsNZ, with a passion for evidence-based decision making. Being raised on the beaches of the Tairawhiti, Te Aomihia has always been passionate about the moana which flowed through to her career where she studied marine biology and statistics. She has also represented Tairawhiti and Aotearoa in a number of water sports including waka ama, surf life-saving and swimming.

Session facilitators

Dame Anne Salmond is a Distinguished Professor in Māori Studies and Anthropology at the University of Auckland.
In 2013 she became the Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year. In 2017 she hosted Artefact, a TV series about the power of iconic taonga, past, present and future; with more episodes to come in 2020. Dame Anne has written many prize-winning books on Māori life and early cross-cultural encounters in Aotearoa, Tahiti and the Pacific, and received the Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement. She has a strong interest in Maori and Pacific philosophies relating to land and sea, and a fascination with voyaging, reflecting on these in her latest book Tears of Rangi: Experiments across Worlds. Dame Anne is the patron of many cultural and environmental organisations, and co-founder of the Waikereru Ecosanctuary in Gisborne.

Dr Wayne Ngata was raised in Ūawa (Tolaga Bay), and is of Ngāti Ira, Te Aitanga a Hauiti and Ngāti Porou descent.
Wayne has been Raukura/Chief Advisor Te Ao Māori at the Ministry of Education since September 2017. A former teacher, Wayne has a lifelong professional and personal commitment to transforming the futures of Māori through education. He has previously been the Ministry’s Group Manager, Te Reo Māori Schooling. Wayne is the current Board Chair of the Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (the Māori Language Commission). He has also been an Associate Professor with the School of Indigenous Graduate Studies at Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi, and a Principal Investigator with Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga, New Zealand’s Māori Centre for Research Excellence at the University of Auckland. Wayne has a keen interest in traditional navigation and waka hourua.

Find the symposium

Please note: Programme is correct at the time of publishing but may be subject to change.