Negotiator Che Wilson foresees healthy future for Ruapehu iwi

Andrew Little and Che Wilson prepare to sign Ngāti Rangi's Treaty of Waitangi settlement. Photo / Laurel Stowell

The Ngāti Rangi people of 2048 will be culturally competent and connected to the world, says the tribe's lead negotiator, Che Wilson.

He committed a vision of the future to the heavens on March 10 at Raketapaumu Marae, just before the Ruapehu iwi signed its Treaty of Waitangi settlement with the Crown.

He wore a blanket that was once his grandfather's, because blankets were exchanged for land.

He first gave a snapshot of his people's trauma during the past 178 years. They supported European settlement, and suffered the consequences.

Their side of "Koro Ruapehu" was added to a national park in 1907. The Public Works Act took their land around Ohakune for a rubbish dump, a sewage pond, a road, a metal pit.

The plantation Karioi Forest, where their ancestor Paerangi was born, was established by proclamation. Waterways surrounding the mountain, 26 of them, were diverted to add water to the Tongariro power scheme.

A piece of their "zone 1" became the Army's principal bombing range.

Treaty Negotiations Minister Andrew Little apologised for these, and other acts and omissions.

"We must allow the apology to heal the pain," Mr Wilson said.

The journey to settlement began in 1990 when the iwi's first claim was lodged. The iwi made many attempts to get recognition, which finally happened after it hosted the Iwi Chairs' Forum.

The settlement will be no more than 2 per cent of what was lost and thus 98 per cent good will. And it will be 12-18 months before it becomes law.

Getting this far was like getting to third base in a softball game. The home run would be settlement of claims over the central plateau's mountains, the National Park District Inquiry.

Mr Wilson said those claims, by several iwi, will need a bespoke solution.

The settlement represents a new treaty with the Crown, and a seedbed for the future. He presented a picture of two members of his iwi in 30 years' time.

Mere and Tane would both have facial moko before they were 21. Tane would be the chief executive of the tribe and of an inter-iwi investment company.

He would travel the world and grow its assets. He would speak four languages, but only Māori when at home with his children.

Each whānau in the iwi would have people competent in marae protocol. Marae would be upgraded and added to, and relevant to everyday life.

The tribe's papakainga (tribal settlements) would be internationally recognised, and it would be a world authority on sustainable housing. Ngāti Rangi would be the hub for an indigenous volcanology centre and help run a world famous mountain park.

Waiouru would grow, and become a centre for leadership training.

The tribe's land and water would be healthy, and its households would be warm, loving and prosperous.

Government agencies at the signing were at one with this vision.

Tongariro Conservation Department operations manager Bhrent Guy said he had been working toward it for years.

"We need to bring our communities together for conservation and work with our partners, who are iwi," he said.

Ruapehu mayor Don Cameron said Ngāti Rangi's Ruapehu Whanau Transformation Plan had already done a lot, and been "a hell of a journey".

Whanganui/Taranaki Social Development Commissioner Gloria Campbell is working with the tribe on three different initiatives to create employment.