No place like home

During the past week, I had the privilege of attending the World Indigenous Housing Conference in Vancouver, along with a delegation of tangata whenua from Aotearoa. I went with the intention of sharing our stories of success, to share our challenges and to learn from the experiences of others.

As tangata whenua, social housing is a major concern, but it is not the only one.

Our housing needs, are not only determined by our socio-economic status, but also, the value we place on the land, our identity as members of whanau, hapu, and iwi, and our connection to the world around us.

One of the great sayings that come from our oral history has been left to us by Kingi Tawhiao, of Waikato, who said: "Maku ano e hanga i toku whare. Ko tona tahuhu he hinau, ko ona pou he mahoe, he patate. Me whakatupu ki te hua o te rengarenga, me whakapakari ki te hua o te kawariki".

"I will build my own house. Its ridgepole and support posts will be of humble soft-wood. Those who live within it will be raised on the scatterings of rengarenga and strengthened on the fruit of the kawariki."

This saying talks about the elements of wellbeing in relation to housing. Self-determination is a key part of this equation, as is connection to the knowledge that is spread throughout their land as captured by the rengarenga, and the critical element of health and wellbeing, depicted by the kawariki.

This truly is a vision for housing for tangata whenua, and it is something that I, and many of our whanau, hapu and iwi are committed to pursuing.

It was wonderful and unexpected that I would travel halfway around the world to meet with people who shared this vision. Whose values were like mine, whose story reflected our story, and who had developed a multitude of solutions to many housing issues that face indigenous people.

To say that I was inspired is an understatement. What really hit home for me, is how far behind we are in being able to demonstrate this vision through tangible housing options for whanau. Let me say it is not for want of trying! In fact, I left Vancouver more determined than ever to work towards supporting our Maori housing aspirations.

Where we view housing as primarily driven by social needs, other countries view housing as economic opportunity. This is a considerable mind shift from "deficit" thinking, to a strengths-based approach, something that we are working hard to change through the Whanau Ora approach.

Where some look upon housing as a burden on the state, other countries look at the ways in which housing can create further opportunities to develop people, to strengthen communities, and to further enhance the wellbeing of their nation.

I particularly admired the experience of the Squamish Nation, who extended their manaakitanga to our group, by taking us through their reservation to see what housing solutions have been put in place.

Their experiences and indeed solutions are based on the acceptance by the government of their inherent right to self-governance.

Some of their initiatives are extremely entrepreneurial.

In one area for instance they have built 150 one- to two-bedroom apartments for women and children escaping domestic violence.

This village of homes provides 24-hour security as well as a raft of complementary services to support the women.

While they shared with us the potential and the challenges of their experience in housing, what I took from it is this; that the simple acceptance of a powerful principle such as self-determination, or strengths-based thinking can create huge changes in the way that policy is enacted, and the way our whanau are empowered for their own transformation.

That is what we need here in New Zealand, and I believe that if we, too, viewed housing as a potential development opportunity we could achieve wonderful things for our whanau, both in the area of providing better housing options, but also in terms of supporting our health and wellbeing outcomes.

For these things are all intertwined in the intricate weaving of our lives.