Bay of Plenty iwi Ngāti Awa has stepped in to the row over the removal of trees from Ōwairaka Mount Albert, aligning itself with the Honour the Maunga protest group and asserting its historic connections to the maunga.
Former Māori Television executive Pouroto Ngaropo from the Matatā hapū Ngāti Awa ki Te Awa is leading a wānanga this weekend on the mountain to mark the two-month anniversary of the occupation.
He says in addition to sharing the history and whakapapa of Ōwairaka maunga and the surrounding area, the wānanga also aims to model the benefits arising from creating a respectful and spiritual partnership between Māori and non-Māori.
The Honour the Maunga group refused to attend a hui on the mountain called by the representatives if its tribal owners, the Tūpuna Maunga Authority, and some of the non-Māori protesters have declared themselves to be indigenous and mana whenua.
Mr Ngaropo says trying to position it as a Māori versus Pākeha issue is shameful “because back in time all of us – people, trees, birds and everything – ultimately came from the one source.”
He says Tūpuna Maunga Authority’s plan to clear 14 Auckland volcanic cones of exotic trees has caused widespread concern among Māori.
“From a Te Ao Māori perspective, the authority’s planned action is deeply wrong because all trees give life and come from Papatūānuku, Mother Earth. Removing hundreds of trees all at once from Ōwairaka, and thousands more from other Auckland maunga, will harm the environment and ultimately the people,” he says.
Honour The Maunga spokesperson Anna Radford says the group has been saddened by criticisms of cultural insensitivity, especially given that it accepts the authority’s long-term vision to cloak the maunga in native plants but wants to see that done over many decades rather than weeks.
The wānanga runs from 5pm Friday to noon on Sunday.
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