Time to front up, says Northland kaumātua
Some fundamental changes have been happening in Northland in the way public servants and iwi do things.
Bay of Islands, New Zealand (image care of Tourism New Zealand).
If Matutaera Te Nana Clendon has one key tip for government officials, it’s this: get out from behind your desks and front up to Māori communities.
“That’s the way you turn relationships around. If government officials are serious about changing the culture of the public service, then that’s what they have to do. It’s the only way to build bonds of trust,” says Matutaera, of Ngāti Kuta and Patukeha descent, who became an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Māori in 2018.
Hapū history with government
Matutaera has a long history of dealing with public servants, with some of it straightforward and some of it downright dodgy.
On the plus side, he’s had the opportunity to present evidence to the Waitangi Tribunal on behalf of his iwi and negotiate land conservation deals for his people.
He’s secured a voice for hapū members in discussions about major government events such as the Tuia 250 James Cook voyaging commemorations.
Over two decades, he’s helped set up kōhanga reo, a role that frequently took him to Wellington to meet Ministry of Education officials.
Some of his earliest dealings with the Crown, however, weren’t so constructive, Matutaera explains over a cup of tea in Heritage New Zealand’s Kerikeri office.
In 1968, Matutaera’s family were forced off their family land at Moturua Island by a ratings sale penned by the then Bay of Islands County Council in collusion with government agencies.
“They changed the valuation for the island and made it unaffordable just as my brother and I were about to buy out our elders and take over the farm. We were forced off the island, leaving it to become a rich man’s paradise.”
Te Rawhiti marae, Northland New Zealand (image by Jacqui Gibson).
Lessons from the past
“That’s the starting point for so many iwi–Crown relationships today. Public servants need to understand that. For everyone to move on, government people have to learn about this shared history of ours.
“Change will come if public servants learn what their predecessors did in the name of the Crown and can understand how and why they need to do things differently.”
In 2006, Andrew Blanshard, the newly appointed historic ranger for the Department of Conservation (DOC) in the Bay of Islands, began his journey of doing things differently.
Armed with a box of archaeological artefacts from an unpublished excavation at Mangahawea Bay on Moturua Island in 1981, and with vexing questions about their provenance, he went straight to Matutaera and Heritage New Zealand’s Dr James Robinson for answers.
By taking that one small step to include local hapū in his inquiries, he changed the course of the archaeological work carried out on the island.
Not only was Andrew able to piece together information about where the artefacts had come from and what they said about the island’s early settlement, he was able to set up a project team with Matutaera and James to take the work further.
A new beginning
By 2017, they’d completed the first of three archaeological digs at Moturua Island, uncovering breakthrough evidence of one of New Zealand’s earliest Polynesian settlements at Mangahawea Bay.
The latest excavation, completed in January, unearthed evidence of what they think might be an early and rare taro garden relating to the initial period of Polynesian settlement in New Zealand.
“Plant cultivation has always been the foundation of Māori society. We found evidence of early taro gardening, kumara cultivation, which was carried out later, and finally, extensive commercial potato gardens dating back to the era of the musket wars,” says James.
Matutaera filled the role of project kaitiaki (caretaker). He was responsible for site tīkanga and upholding the project mauri (life force), with support from Robert Willoughby, of Ngāti Kuta descent, and DOC cultural advisor Kipa Munro, from Ngāti Rehia.
For Matutaera, his role has meant working hand in glove with government officials to plan and carry out the excavation, as well as staying on Moturua Island for all of the two-week excavations and opening and closing each day with karakia (prayer).
A unique partnership
James Robinson says the project’s partnership approach, while standard for DOC and Heritage New Zealand now, was unique at the time.
And it’s permanently changed his perspective on how archaeologists should work.
“It’s allowed for a more complex and nuanced interpretation of the past – an interpretation not just based on science and history but one that includes traditional knowledge about places, social organisation, and oral connections to the Pacific. By drawing on traditional knowledge of the site and how it might’ve been used hundreds of years ago, we’ve been able to work out where to put our excavations. We’re also corroborating our findings with Matu’s kōrero about the site’s links back to the Pacific.”
James believes the positive spin-offs of partnership with hapū go much wider too.
“Thanks to Matu’s leadership and mana, we’ve been able to ask whānau and the wider community what they want from the project findings. They’ve come up with ideas like school resources and online video stories, so the results of our work will land in the laps of the next generation, as well as academics and other groups.
“I’d also say that over the course of the three excavations, our responsibilities to look after the team’s health and safety standards has expanded to encompass the site’s cultural health and safety – treating both with equal respect.
“It may sound unconventional to some people, but regardless of whether an excavation is investigating Pākehā or Māori places, I believe if you get the tīkanga right, your project runs better. Things will work out well. I believe the Mangahawea Bay site has a very good wairua [feel] about it now. You can tell that when you’re there. People want to be part of it. Graduates, scientists, archaeologists, and volunteers keep coming back and getting involved whenever they can.”
(Left to right) Matutaera Te Nana Clendon, of Ngāti Kuta and Patukeha descent, Heritage New Zealand Northland area manager Bill Edwards and archaeologist James Robinson (image by Jacqui Gibson).
Heritage New Zealand’s journey
Heritage New Zealand chief executive Andrew Coleman believes the Mangahawea Bay project is a good example of how things are done within his organisation nowadays.
But it hasn’t always been this way.
Three years ago, when he became chief executive, Heritage New Zealand shifted the responsibility for engaging with iwi from a single team to the whole organisation.
That same year, Heritage New Zealand’s Māori Heritage Council (MHC) – whose role is enshrined in law – published their first-ever vision statement for the organisation, a bilingual document called Tapuwae.
Heritage New Zealand’s Kaihautū Māori position was elevated from tier three to tier two, and MHC members were invited to join Heritage New Zealand’s regular board meetings for the first time.
The organisation also adopted a policy of engaging and collaborating early with iwi.
To help staff get up to speed, Heritage New Zealand introduced te reo and tīkanga classes, with around 95 percent of staff signing up.
On Tuesdays, a full immersion programme runs in offices across the country where staff practice Heritage New Zealand’s waiata, “E hara”.
Across the ditch, meanwhile, Heritage New Zealand officials are talking to their Australian counterparts on how to better recognise and respect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island heritage in their work.
Reflections on partnership
Andrew is pleased with the organisation’s progress so far, but admits it’s early days.
“To me, Mangahawea is a staggering example of what can be achieved when you go down this path. It’s proof you’ll get better results through partnering with iwi, and it’s a good reflection of what’s possible when you share the kaupapa and don’t try to take ownership of a project like we might’ve in the past. Saying that, it would be interesting to ask hapū what their experience has been.”
Putting the question to Matutaera, he says he rates his experience with the Mangahawea Bay project very highly.
“Don’t forget we weren’t even consulted during the early survey and excavation work carried out on the island back in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. This time, we were involved from the outset, so it’s a huge change.”
Matutaera says Heritage New Zealand Northland area manager Bill Edwards and archaeologist James Robinson feel like family to him.
“They’ve become trusted friends. We are whānau now.” He has the same respect for Andrew Blanshard and Kipa Munro, as well as many others involved in the partnership.
“To me, it’s the people at the coalface of government organisations who deserve recognition – people like Bill, James, Andrew, and Kipa. They’re the ones you look in the eyes every day, who you sit down and discuss the issues with. If you want my honest advice about working successfully with Māori communities, I’d say again to government policy makers that you need to get out of the office, get out of your glass towers, and come to our communities to meet us face-to-face.”
Maintaining the mauri at Mangahawea Bay
Having Matutaera Te Nana Clendon act as kiatiaki of the Mangahawea Bay Partnership Project excavations was a highlight for Andrew Blanshard.
“Despite all the work that had been done at Mangahawea Bay before 2016, there had never been any iwi involvement, let alone any maintenance of the site’s mauri,” says Andrew.
“So it felt very different working under Matu’s guidance. It felt right. I personally felt more comfortable. And I think we all felt much safer, culturally. I know I’m not alone when I say Mangahawea Bay feels like a very spiritual place. It’s very much a living site, connected to a living culture.”
Every morning and every night of the excavations, karakia were led by Matu, who stayed on the island for the entire three two-week digs to uphold the tīkanga of the site.
“Honestly, I do think things went smoothly because of Matu and because we took the time to pay our respects,” says Andrew. So, has his experience at Mangahawea Bay changed his practice as an archaeologist? “Absolutely, yes. Working with iwi and hapū in this way is just how we do things now in Northland.”
What is the Mangahawea Bay Partnership Project?
The Mangahawea Bay Partnership Project is a joint initiative between Northland hapū Ngāti Kuta and Patukeha, Department of Conservation, University of Otago, and Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga.
Set up in 2016, the project aims to understand the early settlement of Mangahawea Bay on Moturua Island in the Bay of Islands by combining archaeological evidence and traditional Māori knowledge.
To date, three excavations have been carried out at Mangahawea Bay, building on an unpublished excavation in 1981 and a number of informal archaeological surveys of Moturua Island.
At the same time, hapū oral histories, genealogy stories, proverbs, and place names are being collected and published online and are being used as education resources and at wānanga.
Did you know?
A pou called Te Pou Herenga Waka o te Moananui o Kiwa was erected at Mangahawea Bay this year to commemorate the site’s links to early Polynesian, Māori, and European voyaging in the Pacific.
Mangahawea Bay is considered a site of very early Polynesian settlement, reflecting the period of voyaging and navigation that brought the first people to Aotearoa New Zealand 800 years ago.
In 1769, James Cook arrived in the same waters when he anchored off nearby Motuarohia Island, accompanied by British naturalist Joseph Banks and Polynesian navigator Tupaia.
Both Cook in 1769 and French explorer Marion du Fresne in 1772 visited Moturua Island to look for water, with Du Fresne setting up a forge and hospital in Waipao Bay near Mangahawea Bay.
This story was first published in the Public Sector Journal.