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 Defining, Directing, and Determining our own Development. It has been inspiring to observe the incredibly innovative projects that we as Tangata Whenua Maori are engaged in.
To those only informed by mainstream media, with headlines screaming abuse, violence and neglect then our future looks bleak. However, one only needs to breath the energy that is swirling in our whanau, our marae, our hui, our hapu, our communities to see the strength, the beauty and the creativity which exists and which continues to grow.
What is important to remember is that for a very long time outsiders have defined and shaped the focus and scope of Maori development initiatives. Yet, what the research suggests is that this simply does not work.
 Take for instance te reo Maori, non-indigenous development interventionalists since the 1960s have continually suggested that learning te reo Maori was a step 'backwards'. Arguing nonsense such as, "what's the point, it can't get you a job, no one else in the world speaks it". Maori internally assessed the importance of te reo and defined its scope while utilising both innovative and traditional methods of using language to connect whanau. Initiating support structures such as Kohanga Reo, Kura Kaupapa, Wananga, and Te Ara Reo, ultimately saving our language from extinction. This initiative would have NEVER been developed by outsiders who equated development with progress and change because in their eyes learning an 'antiquated' language could not help Maori communities advance into the 21st century. Yet we can see how fundamental te reo is to culture, society, spirituality and identity and how it has served to strengthen Maori both individually and collectively (I remember Nikolasa's mother, Nan, who is from Holland, saying profoundly, "I am my language").
 Ultimately, only when a community internally reflects on their wants, needs and aspirations, then self-defines and self-determines the issues do you get sustainable and effective development. Whether outsiders deem it backwards is irrelevant (and so should it be). But then we align most closely to post-development theory (the idea that for development to be successful and therefore sustainable it needs to be locally defined and directed). After having lived, studied, worked and travelled to over 47 countries over the last 12 years, we have seen first hand how useless and ineffectual aid projects are when outsiders control development aims and scope, and control most of the evaluation indicators, methods and funding. While intentions may seem sincere, charges of paternalism, loss of autonomy and the proliferation of external agendas conspire to control both the process and the outcomes. So, it is encouraging to see so many successful Maori inspired and directed development projects. Truly a tribute to the passion, dedication and vision of our people. If you are interested in evidence to support post-development thinking take a look at the following articles. Kia ora!
Kia ora te whanau, we have been exploring various
strategies
to assist in meeting the day-to-day running costs of TangataWhenua.com. Although our cherished sponsors and advertisers have helped
enormously
by working with us, we are finding that we continue to struggle (we both work full-time and publish this ePanui in our spare time). So we are humbly asking you for help.
Although we have discussed the idea of charging for subscriptions, we feel that a key principle is keeping the panui accessible. With this in mind if you are able to support us and donate much needed funds to help keep RANGIKAINGA going we would be indebted to you. We realise that not everyone is in a position of financial strength so we are simply asking those who can afford to contribute to do so. If you are interested please click here to access our account details. Ki roto i kotahitanga.
 Our TangataWhenua.com Forum continues to
attract
thousands of viewers and inspire hundreds of posts; we thank you for keeping it alive and active. Please continue to post, share and
contribute.
In particular we had an interesting response from Maui Solomon regarding the topic "Kitzch Kiwiana or Culturally Offensive?" that we featured in Issue 13, which you might want to view.
 TangataWhenua.com would again like to thank Welcome Home Loans, supported by Housing New Zealand Corporation for choosing to advertise with us. The Economist recently reported that in the United States house prices are 3.8 times higher than the median income while house prices in Aotearoa New Zealand were almost 7 times higher that the median income!! Making the Welcome Home Loans scheme a life-saver for families who want to turn their dreams of buying their first home into a reality.
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 A nationwide survey of Maori Health Workers was launched on 19 September announced Palmerston North based workforce development organization Te Rau Matatini.
"The survey aims to capture and edit the work of Maori Public Health, and help guide workforce development and training," says Project Leader Lucy Bush.
The survey's findings will help to develop a national Maori Public Health Workforce Development Framework – and a three year implementation plan.
"When we talk about public health, we're talking about people who focus on prevention and education, rather than those who treat illness and disease. They're doing some fantastic work out in our communities, changing behaviours and environments, so that people are healthier and live longer" Lucy says.
Lucy says that Maori workers often don't recognise their own professionalism and skills. Therefore, this project is about acknowledging the indigenous expertise that is developing, and setting up learning and development opportunities which reflect Maori workforce development needs and also non-Maori working with Maori communities.
"It's important that we get as many Maori workers as possible participating in the survey" If you'd like to know more about the survey please contact Roimata on 0800 MATATINI, or visit our website www.matatini.co.nz."
As well as the survey, Te Rau Matatini will hold regional hui, click here to view their schedule.
TangataWhenua.com would like to congratulate Waikato University Masters student Summer Salmon (Ngati Paoa, Ngati Raukawa) for "putting Maori into the equation as she builds a mathematical model to predict the effects of storms on east coast beaches." Yvonne Tahana from the Waikato Times reported that under the Te Tipu Putaiao Fellowship (which we highlighted in Issue 7), a new scheme offered by the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology Summer will be awarded $10,000 a year for her project. 
Ms Salmon is currently developing a tool that predicts and "forecasts" the danger posed to communities as a consequence of flooding on coastal developments, sand dune systems, kaimoana and plants and animals. The aim of Ms Salmon's research is to design and develop a hazard warning system which forecasts 10 and 50 year storm systems which would assist in helping communities develop civil
defence
strategies. Importantly her study seeks to provide practical strategies which iwi and hapu can utilise in managing their resources, be they on land or at sea. Ms Salmon says "Waahi tapu for example, Maori don't like to relocate these. My research could be used so that Maori could say `what measures can we take to protect and preserve these places'." Ka pai to mahi Summer!
It has come to our attention that funding for Maori Primary Health Organisations has increased by more than 50 percent over the last three years. These details were released by Associate Minister of Health Mita Ririnui following questions from NZ First MP Pita Paraone. Annual funding has increased from $21.7 million in 2003-04 to $34 million in 2005. Mita Ririnui highlighted that these
figures
do not include casual fees or rural bonus and rural retention funding allocations. What would be more interesting is to find out what percent of the overall budget is allocated to this...
 Nga Ngaru Hauora o Aotearoa National Maori Health Providers AGM will be held on 29 Sept at Sudima Hotel (formerly Lake Plaza), in Rotorua and begins at 10am. For further information please contact:
Ngaire Whata, ngangaru@slgroup.co.nz or ph: 07 542 9091.
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 TangataWhenua.com is
saddened
to hear of the loss of Rangatira Sir Hugh Kawharu. Born in 1927 in Ashburton, Ian Hugh Kawharu gained an international reputation as an academic and scholar. He was awarded an Apirana Ngata Scholarship to study anthropology at Cambridge University and then at Oxford and gained his PhD there in 1963.
He was Foundation Professor of the Departments of Social Anthropology and Maori Studies at Massey University and in 1985 became the Foundation Director of the James Henare Maori Research Centre at Auckland University. Sir Hugh served on the 1978 Royal Commission on the Courts, which recommended the establishment of the Family Court, and on the Waitangi Tribunal.
He was knighted in 1989 for his services to the Maori people and education and was awarded the Order of New Zealand in 2002. He was 79 at the time of his passing. We pass on our sympathies to his whanau and his people and together celebrate his vision, leadership and wisdom. Click here to view TVNZ's coverage of his passing.
 The National Maori Music Summit will finish with a bang at The Opera House in Wellington on 17 November 2006. The four-hour long concert ‘Pao Pao Pao 2006' features some of the best bilingual Maori artists from a variety of musical genre including opera, classical, reggae, kapa haka and traditional instrumentalists.
The summit will showcase emerging artists alongside international acts like Hinewehi Mohi of Oceania and APRA Award winner Ruia Aperahama.
Hinewehi says, “I am excited to be a part of ‘Pao Pao Pao 2006' and look forward to joining with the rest of the Maori music whanau to put on an exceptional show.” This is a rare opportunity to hear and see the cream of Maori music in all its guises.
Tickets are available from Ticketek.
 Radio New Zealand's Te Ahi Kaa continues to broadcast intelligent and relevant programmes. Their Sept 17 broadcast (click to listen) featured
a story on Urban Maori, reviewed a book devoted to the art of carving and takes a look at a Marae in Bluff. Again, you can download these files as podcasts and listen to them on your mp3 players, tumeke!
 In June 2005, a group of University of Wyoming (UW) American Indian Studies (AIS) students along with two UW professors had the unique opportunity to spend two weeks in Aotearoa. This visit allowed them to be immersed in Te Ao Maori, and because of this experience they realized they were more alike than different from Tangata Whenua Maori.
Judith Antell, UW AIS director and course co-instructor, says Maori and Native Americans have much in common because of their indigenous roots.
"One of the commonalities is that Maori people, like tribal people in the United States, are str  uggling with the tension between the maintenance of tradition and the necessity to function in a modern, technological, and increasingly global society," she says.
"One tradition that often fades in favor of functionality is the native language". Antell maintains that Maori are "considered among the most successful of indigenous peoples at retrieving their language"
Antell goes on to suggest that "there is value in having AIS students see the colonial experience in other settings and other countries so students don't have the impression that what goes on (in the U.S.) is totally unique. It's unique in some ways, but there also are common experiences with others," Antell says. If you would like to read the full-text of this article click here.
 A whirlwind of controversy has been
stirring
at the recent suggestion calling for the name 'New Zealand' to be changed to a more appropriate one, in particular to a Maori name. The call has come from a rather interesting source, Wellingtonian George Holmes a toponymic, who has been responsible for changing more than 50 place names throughout NZ. An article in the Stuff suggested that Mr Holmes would like a name "New Zealanders can all warmly embrace as something that expresses the[ir] national identity and argues that a Maori name "would be the most appropriate way of bringing the nation's people closer together." What are your thoughts? Is the name that a Dutchman christened this land with over 350 year ago fine, or should we use a name that reflects the beauty and uniqueness of this land (you know our opinion!)? Click here to share your opinions. Of interest (somewhat anyway) PunkAs.com, a New Zealand punk ska and hardcore forum is running a poll which is
favouring
Aotearoa (57%) to New Zealand (42%).
 The Festival of Maori Writing, hosted by Huia Publishers, is being held Sept 20-23 in Wellington. Highlights include: Reading with the Stars (joined by Cliff Curtis, TV journalist Mihinarangi Forbes and Hera Black-Taute), Speed dating with the Writers (joined by Film-maker Kath Akuhata-Brown, journalist Libby Hakaraia and author Isabel Waiti-Mulholland) Native Sista Fashion Show, Dean Hapeta documentary, Indigenous Erotica readings (joined by Cliff Curtis), Launching of the new Manukura Series and Comedy with Cohen Holloway. For more information please contact: marlena@huia.co.nz, ph: 04 473 9262,
fax: 04 473 9265. 
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 Here is another tourism-related site offered by Te Manatu Tapoi - The Ministry of Tourism, this page provides a table of assistance available to Maori cultural tourism operators at the various stages of the business life-cycle, from Pre Start-Up to Globalised Businesses. If you think you fit this service, please make contact.
 And if you're
travelling
to Thailand, keep your head about you. The recent bloodless military coup is exactly what many groups have been asking for but it is still hard to predict what is going to happen in the future.
Keep abreast of information, talk to the locals and look for help if necessary.
Massey University's Te Ohu Whenua Hui a Tau (Maori Succeeding in Agribusiness) Conference has been postponed until further notice. We featured a  n exclusive interview with
April Bennett, Chairperson of the Steering Committee
in Issue 12 and are dismayed to hear that the postponement was due to low registrations. Considering that an estimated third of the Maori asset base (3.1 billion) is in agriculture, fishing and forestry it is a shame that this opportunity has been missed in 2006.
The conference, which has promoted the advancement of Maori land-based business, provided a forum for Maori in agribusiness to network and offered a platform in which to share ideas was in its third year. Conference organiser Diane Crow would not comment on any possible reasons for the lack of interest, but she said that the conference would go ahead later, possibly in the new year. We will keep you posted.
 AA has identified domestic tourism as an area of potential growth, and has launched the ' 101 Must Do's for Kiwis' campaign. From the Abel Tasman National Park to Tutukaka, the Poor Knights', from the Coromandel to Stewart Island, there's great information – the search is also on for the Number One thing to do in New Zealand. If you were to ask me, it would be either travelling between Lake Rotorua and Lake Rotoiti by floating down the Ohau Channel on a inner tube, or bike riding around Woodlands Road in Opotiki. Awesome stuff. What do you think?
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 Local Anglicans have expressed their deep regret and have apologised to Tuhoe Maori for a 100-year-old decision of the Anglican Church which supported a government decision to suppress the movement led by Rua Kenana, prophet and spiritual leader of Tuhoe. "The annual Synod of the East Coast Diocese of Waiapu met in Napier this weekend. It rescinded a motion passed by the Church in 1907. This motion targeted the Tuhoe prophet Rua Kenana, a faith healer and visionary leader of his people.
 "A recent visit to the site of Rua Kenana's community in the Ururewa by Pakeha of the Waiapu Diocese, including the Bishop of Waiapu, the Right Reverend John Bluck, and Archbishop Brown Turei, allowed them to hear the distress that had been felt by the Tuhoe people over the past century. The motion apologising for the 1907 decision was passed by the members of the Synod standing in silence, and then breaking into a spontaneous waiata" ( Gisborne Herald, 20 Sep).
We'd like to feature several important hui coming up in September. The following are some highlights:
Ngati Rongo Trust will be holding their AGM on 30 Sept 2006 at Tawerau Marae at 10am. For more information contact:
Frank Vercoe.
Whakatohea Maori Trust Board will be holding an Information Hui to discuss their upcoming Fisheries Settlement on 24 Sept 2006 at Omarumutu Marae, Opotiki. Voting papers must be returned by later than 5pm, Friday 6 October 2006. For more information email: info@whakatohea.co.nz or contact by ph: 07 315 6150 or
fax: 07 315 7968.
Waikare 81N Block will be holding General Meeting on 24 Sept 2006 at
Mangatangi Marae, Waikato. The hui begins at 11am. For further information contact
Patsy Maxwell by
ph: 07 296 0210.
There will be a Trustee Meeting and AGM at Taniwha Marae in Waerenga also on 24 Sept. The Trustee Meeting will be held at 10am and the AGM at 11am. For more info contact the
Chairman or Secretary.
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 The overall winner of the 2006 Maori Language Week Awards was recently announced. A joint partnership between South Waikato District Council and the Raukawa Maori Trust Board received top honours with the judges noting the "trust board's foresight and commitment to "nurturing te reo Maori as a living language for everyone in their community". Key initiatives that the district council and trust board worked together on were the macronisation and correction of misspelled street signs as well as the erection of bilingual signs "on key buildings in Tokoroa", in addition a great many plaques in te reo Maori were placed in local parks, nature reserves and areas of waahi tapu.
 Also receiving an award was Manukau Libraries in association with Auckland, Waitakere, Rodney and North Shore libraries which have won the libraries category of the Maori Language Week Awards in Wellington. The award was for Putumohio, an online catalogue in Te Reo Maori, launched as part of Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori, Maori Language Week, in July. Accessed via individual library websites, it allows clients to browse for books, CDs, DVDs, reference material and more, via a Maori language interface.
To read a full listing of finalists please click here. TangataWhenua.com also believe that the next step should be Te Marama o Te Reo Maori, Maori Language Month!
On September 13, a Parliamentary inquiry was told that the Te Kotahitanga achievement programme had produced dramatic results since it was
implemented
two years ago. The Programme focuses on
improving
Maori learning and strengthening teacher relationships with students and was developed in part by Professor Russell Bishop of the School of Education at Waikato University. To date 422 teachers have completed the programme which has recently been extended to include 2000 more teachers (Tait, 2006). Research suggests that teachers who had completed the programme had a 50% greater gain with Maori students studying mathematics which is considerable. The fear for many educators is the lack of a strategic direction for education, which Professor Bishop argues is crucial to sustainable and effective
programmes. The key he argues is ongoing teacher development and training using programmes which have proved to be effective in bridging the education gap that many Maori face.
 It has recently been announced that Te Roopu Raranga Whatu o Aotearoa, a weaving collective will work with Dr Leon Huynen, of Massey University "to extract and analyse DNA from feathers, skins and plant fibres in historic cloaks and kete hou  sed in museums around the world." The project has been awarded $763,139 by the Marsden Fund. The study will explore how the elements of kete (baskets) and kakahu (clothing) evolved over time as well as "how they varied as weavers adopted different materials".
A statement released by
Dr Huynen said that he hoped this three year study might even be able to track whether design and material choices were governed by what was available locally or whether feathers, skins and fibre were traded. A rapidly growing DNA database of New Zealand birds will be used to match cloak materials to species, and to specific geographic populations. Click here to read the full media release.
The Marsden Fund has also allocated over half a million dollars to two researchers
seeking
to write a history of the relationships between missionary teachers and Maori students before the Treaty of Waitangi was signed. New Zealand's first school, run by missionaries in the north of New Zealand, was opened in 1816.
 But Professor Kuni Jenkins of Whakatane-based Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi, and Professor Alison Jones from Auckland University said though Maori were enthusiastic about the western-style schools as a way to take part in a rapidly changing world, their optimism and ambition eventually gave way to disappointment and frustration. "The first Pakeha teachers were unable or unwilling to teach what Maori sought, and tended to refuse Maori knowledge," the pair said in a statement announcing the $518,189 grant from the Marsden Fund.
Professor Jones and Dr Jenkins will write about the schools, and key moments such as the Chief Ruatara's invitation in 1809 to Samuel Marsden to set up a school; the arrival of the first teacher; and visits to Cambridge University by Maori. Details of others that have received awards can be accessed by clicking here.
 Te Mata o te Tau Academy for Maori Research and Scholarship have announced their Inaugural Maori Language Conference, "To Tatau Reo Rangatira", which is to be held Nov 22-24 at Massey University.
Te Mata o te Tau will host this foundational reo Maori conference where te reo Maori will provide an analysis of the key issues and the position of Maori at the start of this third millennium.
Keynote speakers include: Chief Judge Joe Williams, Professor Aroha Yates-Smith, Carwyn Jones, Haami Piripi, Hekia Parata, Kevin Prime and kaitakawaenga Professor Taiarahia Black.
Click here for the conference programme and here to register. For further details and registration information please contact:
Conference Manager, Sarah Siebert, ph: 06 350 5117, fax: 06 350 5669, or email: conferences@massey.ac.nz
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 The National Primary and Secondary Hip Hop Competitions will be held 28-30 in Hamilton. Competitions will be held for top secondary and top primary school hip hop performance dance – battle, and for top song (solo-group) and top beat box-rapper. For further details contact:
Te Kawe Ratu Te Wharekura o Raka,
email: tekawe@rakaumanga.school.nz or ph: 07 854 6864.
 Te Pihopatanga o Aotearoa has launched its rangatahi page,
Te Mara is the official Rangatahi Ministry School of (the Maori Anglican Church, this interactive site has an online Ministry, Radio Ruia, an Online Chapel and an active online community. Definitely worth a look.
 And I do encourage rangatahi to join MTV Online (unless of course you think it undermines local music, but that discussion is for another day). Not only is it fresh and new, we were sent 2 free movie tickets to an exclusive movie preview (which was available in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch last night), Atutahi wanted to stay home so we passed on them but hey, not bad just for signing up. There's also an interesting article calling us ‘ Generation Y', check it out.
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 Well, we now have Thursday night Rugby, Friday night rugby, Saturday fixtures and Sunday matches (SKY TV is even pushing for Monday night rugby). Anyway not getting enough rugby now? Great for the players and the fans, and I do hope that fans and fans-to-be across the country get out there and support the teams by attending the matches or tuning in. MSN have a good rugby page, Rugby News will provide good coverage and TVNZ updates its info regularly. Take a kid to rugby, take your mates to rugby and if you can, take those international students to rugby, they'll love the experience.
 Boxing superstar David Tua is set to return to the ring, with Tua's promoter talking about a Heavyweight title challenge in 2007; awesome to see Valerie Vili take gold in the women's shotput at the IAAF World Cup of Athletics in Athens, and major congratulations to the Black Ferns for their highly impressive third win of the Women's Rugby World Cup, beating England 25-17 in the finals, played in Edmonton, Canada. A big well done, thanks and round of applause to the triumphant and retiring Hooker and Captain of the Black Ferns, Farah Palmer. The title will be next defended in 2010.
Here's a question – why does the website MaoriSport.com have almost nothing to do with Maori sport?
The 2006 National Maori Sports Awards are coming up on the 18th of November, these will be hosted in the Telstra Clear Pacific Events Centre, Manukau, so get your tickets now.
And finally, here is an interesting discussion on Maori content in PE curriculum.
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