He whānau reo Māori: Me pēwhea rā? A literature review prepared for Te Mātāwai

This review of literature provides an a summary of some of the issues impacting on whānau who are choosing to raise their tamariki in te reo Māori. The review focuses on literature that was produced from approximately 2004, and is directly focused on the experiences of Māori who attempting to include te reo Māori as their main language of the home. This report has been sectioned into three main parts, including factors relevant to parents and caregiver, factors relevant to children, and some general themes that might be relevant for whānau. Within the section related to mātua, the literature demonstrates that if te reo Māori is to be a language of intergenerational transmission, parents (and adults within the household) must be committed to Māori language acquisition and use, and persistent in reinstating that language is to be used as the main language of the home. Findings also indicate that parents have lower levels of Māori language use prior to the birth of a child. Parents who are attempting to raise Māori speaking children may struggle if they themselves have a limited grasp of te reo. Challenges arise after children are born, as parents report having less time and resources to attend classes. Strategies need to be adapted to ensure that parents are supported to attain te reo prior to the arrival of the child. However, as the child provides motivation and a domain for use, it is not surprising that te reo use increases in homes with children

He oranga wai, he oranga whakapapa: Critical change in the health of the awa through Kaupapa Maori-led Kaitiakitanga practices

After generations of harmful exploitative environmental practices that have resulted from large scale land confiscations by the Crown (Baker, 2013; Waitangi Tribunal, 2011), the health of our awa in the Waikato has substantially deteriorated. Ngāti Maniapoto kaumātua indicate that the mauri of the awa is directly related to the oranga of the iwi. Ko te wai te toto o te whenua, water is the blood of the land. The land is the mauri of the people, keeps the people alive. If the water goes bad, the land goes… bad, the people die. (Iwi representative, Parsons, Fisher, & Crease, 2021). As tangata whenua, our waterways are interconnected with our oranga in a multiplicity of ways. Pūniu River Care Inc. (PRC) is an incorporated society that is contributing to the restoration of the Pūniu awa. During the time that this report was written, the commercial arm of the organisation was still in the development phase. Therefore, this review has not explored the commercial aspects that PRC has since developed. This study explores some of PRC’s practices with the aim of demonstrating how this kaupapa Māori-led organisation has been successful in improving the health of the awa, and achieving the cultural aspirations of the organisation, which include supporting the wellbeing of the marae and hapū that PRC are derived from

Ko te awa kia rere; ko te iwi kia ora: A study of the cultural and social impacts of Pūniu River Care

In March 2021, individuals who had whakapapa connections to Mangatoatoa and Ngāti Maniapoto and were academics from Te Herenga Waka: Victoria University of Wellington were approached to undertake a study that explored the social and cultural outcomes that have been achieved by the approach taken by Pūniu River Care. The overarching goal of this study was to understand how having a marae-based organisation who are tasked with improving the health and wellbeing of our tupuna awa also impacted on the health and wellbeing of the kaitiaki and those who interact with PRC