Matt Hippolite (Ngāti Koata, Ngāti Kuia, Ngāti Toarangatira, Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō, Rangitane ki Wairau, Ngāi Tahu) from the Department of Conservation and Noela McGregor (Ngāti Koata, Ngāti Kuia, Ngāti Toarangatira) tell us about their vision and hopes for the Lake Moawhitu restoration project.
Questions for discussion
- What does Matt mean when he says that kaitiakitanga cannot be practised from afar?
- Is there a location that has similar connections for you?
Transcript
Matt Hippolite
It’s our responsibility to maintain and restore Moawhitu to what it could be. Responsibility to restore things is about our responsibility to the next generation. A lot of indigenous cultures base their actions on responsibilities, not rights. It’s about doing things the right way to ensure the things that we enjoy and appreciate today are there for our children’s children in the future.
Noela McGregor
The cultural significance of this project, yeah, is to reconnect our whānau to the whenua – to be able to come back here and harvest and remember our harvesting techniques.
Matt Hippolite
The whole Moawhitu and the lake itself can help improve the wellbeing and connection of our people to the place. Because of the long association, because of its history and because of the unique mauri and wairua that that place has and through us actively engaging in restoration work out there, it connects us to that whenua, to the awa and to the spirit that exists there. And so actually restoring something else can restore ourselves in the same process. Kaitiakitanga cannot be practised from afar. You have to go to the place and connect both physically and spiritually.
Noela McGregor
My hopes for this project is to see this place flourishing with birds, forests, beautiful wetlands, the lake just thriving, you know – its natural, natural state.
Matt Hippolite
What I would say to rangatahi is be bold, be brave, find your roots, find your own journey in life. Let yourself be guided by others and take that knowledge forward and do whatever you can to make things right.
