Efforts by Ngāti Whātua to revive the Māori language and customary practices among iwi members are paying off in Auckland and Kaipara.
Thirty people graduated from a Te Matakahi o Ngāti Whātua programme, an academy that teaches traditional knowledge and practices. More than 30 students have applied for the next course.
Students are sent on haerenga throughout the geographical boundaries of Ngāti Whātua, from Maunganui to Tāmaki, where they are taught knowledge, history, whakapapa and tikanga that apply to the iwi.
For the better part of two years, students have studied everything to do with the iwi, including the knowledge of their ancestral lands.
According to one of the facilitators of Te Matakahi, Te Kurataiaho Kapea, the course has gone from strength to strength since its inception.