Roana Bennett, Ngati Whakaue Trust

2011's tangata whenua speaker was Roana Bennett,
Executive Officer for the Ngati Whakaue Trust, an experienced researcher and community network builder. Roana is interested in the intersection between education and social services and how these are delivered at the ground level. Roana provided an inspiring opening keynote for the conference.

Keynote presentation (*.ppt)
Keynote presentation audio recording (*.mp3)

Keynote abstract

According to the whakatauki (proverb) ‘Kia whakangotea ki te wai o te kakahi, hei paenga mo te iwi - Nurture the child on the food of the kakahi, the sacred knowledge of the ancestors, and the child will thrive and the people will benefit.'

What goes on in the spaces between teachers and learners? What is it that makes the difference for tamariki? What is it that enriches, affirms, nourishes and nurtures our tamariki and their whanau? Ngati Whakaue has emphatically answered these questions by developing their own early learning curriculum based on tribal knowledge and implementing its own services. The curriculum is closely aligned with the experiences, activities, beliefs and values that tamariki and their whanau bring to the learning environment and with which they fill the spaces in between.

As an example, they bring to a centre ‘who they are' - their whakapapa - and in the Ngati Whakaue centres we reflect this back to them - through what is said, what is done, how it is done and what tamariki and whanau see and feel around them.

Roana Bennett, Executive Officer of Te Taumata o Ngati Whakaue Iho Ake Trust, oversees a number of innovative, effective programmes and projects that have a direct and positive impact on whanau, tamariki and rangatahi. Ngati Whakaue's early childhood interventions are designed to immerse Ngati Whakaue tamariki in high-quality educational settings that are distinctively Ngati Whakaue-based and fully involve whanau.

The aim of the tribe's early childhood strategy is to fully engage parents in their children's learning thereby becoming informed consumers, demanding constituents and determining contributors. It is through whanau support that the biggest step - change - can be made. A second, equally important aim is to produce school entrants that are strong, confident learners, secure in their Ngati Whakaue identity and ready to take on the next steps in their journey.

The focus on early childhood education was established after seeing the high rates of attrition amongst high school aged youth and low rates of academic excellence. A decision was then made by the tribe to intervene. This led to early discussions between Ngati Whakaue's economic entities and tribal educationalists, parents and experts in traditional lore and customs. The dialogue resulted in the early childhood strategy ‘Te Wai o Te Kakahi' which covers a number of aspects blending national education standards with a focus on Ngati Whakaue language, history, culture and lore.

Now, after establishing a number of early childhood programmes, services and interventions, the tribe is confident that a new generation of children will ensure that not only will knowledge passed down through centuries of oral tradition survive into the next century, but that they will also be well positioned to enjoy global citizenship.

A well-known Ngati Whakaue ancestor, Tunohopu said: "Hei aha au i mate noa ake ai, ka tupu aku pakarito. I will not perish, for my descendants will live and prosper". This whakatauki exemplifies the aspirations and the journey the tribe is taking to strengthen their whanau, hapu and iwi.