Listen Now: 
December 20, 2024
Otaki wānanga leader reflects on legacy
Gideon Porter
Posted On December 20, 2024
Download AudioThe retiring tumuaki of Ōtaki’s Te Wānanga o Raukawa, Mereana Selby, says she leaves with a sense of great accomplishment, built on the foundation laid by those who came before her—especially the first tumuaki, Professor Whatarangi Winiata.
Selby says that during her nearly 18 years at the wānanga, she has watched Ōtaki become almost bilingual, with four kōhanga reo and two kura—where once, fewer than 70 elders kept the reo alive.
Mereana Selby notes that nobody foresaw Ōtaki becoming a te reo Māori oasis.
“It is a wonderful place, and its an example of what can be achieved. A lot of people have asked how to pick up the model here and put it elsewhere, and I think that’s one of the challenges going forward. Even just Raukawa, Te Ati Awa, Ngati Toa – how to make the magic that’s happened in Ōtaki felt further afield,” says Selby.
For her, the greatest wānanga accomplishment was when they became a non-Crown entity by law in 2023—marking the realization of true tino rangatiratanga.
RELATED NEWS
