Ngā hau e whāFrom the managing editor

Returning to ancestral land can be a therapeutic process. That profound sense of connection and belonging that comes with communing with whenua that carries the footsteps of our ancestors.

The whenua is alive and breathing – it is part of our whakapapa, part of our past and our future. It has nurtured and fed generations of us. Today that very soil also continues to provide opportunities for employment, training, education and commerce.

At Kokourārata, the rūnanga has been able to create a commercial garden that is an outstanding example of cross-pollinating traditional Māori gardening practices with innovation, promising fertile growth for the future.

In this issue we also tell Jane Steven’s courageous and heartfelt account of her son Nicky’s death in 2015. Suicide, in particular youth suicide, is a blight upon indigenous communities across the Western world. The driving factors behind it may be numerous but one thing is certain: Māori, and in particular Māori youth, commit suicide at a greater rate than the rest of the population.

Jane and Nicky’s story highlights the devastating and lasting impact of suicide on families and communities struggling to come to terms with their loss and the searching for answers.

There is much debate on whether the government is providing adequate support around mental health care and in particular whether there exists the cultural competency to provide tailored care to our Māori communities. However, at the end of the day, government is not a solution in and of itself and it is imperative that whānau and hapū provide a supportive, caring and nurturing environment, where people who are going through difficult times and psychological turmoil, feel confident in asking for help.

nā Phil Tumataroa

Editorial Team

Managing Editor
Phil Tumataroa

Editor
Adrienne Anderson

Sub Editor
Diana Leufkens

Web Editor
Belinda Leslie

Contributors

Tremane Barr
Arihia Bennett
Anna Brankin
Helen Brown
Raoul Butler
Craig Ellison
Ranui Ellison-Collins
Tracey Cooper
Alan Dove
Beck Eleven
Maania Farrar
Angus Hawke
Ross Hemera
Madison Henry
Nic Low
Hana O’Regan
Mark Revington
Matt Scobie
Richard Sutcliffe
Dr Eruera Tarena
Nuku Tau
Lynne Harata-Te Aika
Rob Tipa
Diane Turner

Design
La Fábrica Design Studio

Advertising
Pam Graham: [email protected]

Printing
Spectrum Print – Blue Star Business

Publisher
Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu
PO Box 13 046
Christchurch 8141
Phone 03 366 4344
Fax 03 365 4424

Send contributions and letters to the editor to:
The Editor
Te Karaka
PO Box 13 046
Christchurch 8141
[email protected]

© 1995 The entire contents of TE KARAKA are copyright and may not be reproduced in any form either in part or in whole without the written permission of the publisher. All letters addressed to TE KARAKA will be assumed intended for publication unless clearly marked “Not for Publication”.

Opinions expressed in TE KARAKA are those of the writers and are not necessarily endorsed by Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu.

Issue 70 published June 2016
© Ngāi Tahu Publications Limited
ISSN N0. 1173/6011

Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu has used Blue Star Group, which is an FSC® certified print supplier. The paper used for this publication is FSC® certified, promoting sustainable forest management through independent third party forest certification.

Front Cover
Tautahi with his father Huikai and tupuna, Tūhaitara, represented in pouwhenua carved by Caleb Robinson. Photo by Madison Henry.