Opinion: WAI 262 claimants converge on Ratana to advance their kaupapa

Hema Wihongi's mum Del (pictured) led an ope to Japan in 1964 to to retrieve nine ancient kūmara varieties. Photo / Supplied

OPINION

Since the Wai 262 claim was presented to the Waitangi Tribunal by its original claimants back in 1992, direct descendants, along with many others, have continued the legacy of Wai 262 to the position that it is in today.

For my whānau, kūmara is what started our interest in this claim. In the original claim kūmara is described as what rice is for Japan. More than a vegetable, for us it has cultural and spiritual significance given its staple nature for Māori. The Government at the time sought to commercialise a number of native species including the kūmara.

For Māori, the history of the kūmara dates back to the time of Kupe, a renowned ancestor of the Māori, known for his feats in traversing the vast Pacific Ocean, bringing with him the kūmara to Aotearoa.

In te ao Māori, although tūpuna have passed on, pieces of whakapapa such as the kūmara are left behind for the future generations to reconnect to their tūpuna and history.

If we look back to the original claim, what is important about the kūmara is that all iwi can provide evidence of the importance of kūmara as a food source and a cultural symbol. As such, and as a gift of Papatūānuku, original claimants made it clear that kūmara came under the protective temporal authority of te tino rangatiratanga o te iwi Māori.

The Kumara requires a growing season of about five months and is suitable to grow in warm areas. Photo / NZME

Over the course of history, the Crown had permitted and encouraged extensive land clearance and habitat destruction which detrimentally affected the kūmara species.

Due to this, my mother led an ope to Japan to retrieve nine of the ancient kūmara varieties transferred from the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research to Japanese researchers at Tsukuba Science City in 1964.

This mission was ridiculed by politicians who refused to support it. Now politicians are willing to put our claim through Government to ensure adequate protection and support on Wai 262 kaupapa, and we look forward to seeing this support in action when ministers visit the Wai 262 space at Rātana today.

What is of importance about our presence at Rātana is that the kūmara is a taonga of significance for the people of Rātana too.

Wai 262 is mobilising the claim, starting at Rātana, and its proposed strategy by bringing on whānau, hapū and iwi outside the claim into the Kanohi Ora framework.

Kanohi Ora was originally requested by Wai 262 claimants in 2007 when closing submissions were made to the Waitangi Tribunal. Kanohi Ora is an ethical framework for resolution that involves a strategy for whānau, hapū and iwi, followed by a process of engagement between Māori and the Crown to develop mātauranga and taonga protection mechanisms.

This means that any whānau, hapū and iwi who are kaitiaki of a taonga, like kūmara, vital to the prosperity of their whānau or te iwi Māori will have full support of Wai 262. Whānau, hapū and iwi attending Rātana will have the opportunity to seek further information and resources on the engagement process at the Wai 262 space onsite. They will be able to discuss similar interests and seek support in the protection of their own taonga.

Beginning this process at Rātana today is an historic step for my whānau and all those involved in Wai 262.

I look forward to engaging those present to understand the national and international significance and importance of the protection of taonga and mātauranga within the Kanohi Ora framework.

And I look forward to us beginning the journey toward finally gaining adequate protection for our knowledge and taonga and a level of redress that empowers our participation in the international arena.

Hema Wihongi (Te Rarawa) is the daughter of original Wai262 claimant Del Wihongi and is helping her iwi in the continued protection of all Wai 262 taonga, including the kūmara.