Te Aitanga a Hauiti plans pōwhiri for Tupaia and Cook uri

Te Aitanga a Hauiti is stepping in to welcome a replica of Captain Cook's ship Endeavour to the East Coast after four iwi from Tūranganui a Kiwa refused to offer a pōwhiri.

Spokesperson Wayne Ngata says when manuhiri come they need to be welcomed, wherever they are from.

He says at the start of planning for Tuia 250, Hauiti made it clear they wanted to welcome both the descendants of those who came with Cook and the descendants of Tupaia the Tahitian ariki who guided the Endeavour to Aotearoa.

"Knowing full well that Tupaia came on the Endeavour in 1769, he spent time with our people at Ōpoutama, which is also Cook's Cove. That was a fruitful time for our people with Tupaea, the kōrero of Hawaiki to reconnect in particular," Mr Ngata says.

While he appreciates Tūranganui a Kiwa's stance based on the negative encounter their ancestors had with Cook, it sets a troubling precedent for how to treat future manuhiri with connections to colonial history.

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