April 18, 2023
Te Ara o Tūrongo chance for fresh start
A Ngāti Maniapoto spokesperson says the weekend’s Te Ara o Tūrongo ceremony draws a line under the past and allows the iwi to walk into the future.
The ceremony, attended by Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister Andrew Little, marked the anniversary of the start of building the main trunk line through Te Rohe Potae in 1885, ending two decades of self-imposed isolation and opening the tribe up to massive land loss.
As part of the ceremony, the railway returned to Maniapoto as part of last year’s settlement was symbolically handed back to the people of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Sam Mikaere, the chief executive of post-settlement governance entity Te Nehenehenui, says Maniapoto wants to go forward into the future on its own terms.
“It’s about the understanding of making this a mana-enhancing process for us, to be able to walk away from it head held high. We’ve got our focuses, we’ve got our people together now. And now we need to go forward under the banner of mana motuhake, and rangatiratanga,” he says.
The iwi has elections coming up and a new 5-year strategic plan to develop.