Opinion: Te Arawa rangatahi are future leaders and successors

Te Maori columnist and chairman of Te Tatau o Te Arawa, Rotorua Lakes Council partnership, Te Taru White. Photo / File

Tēnā koutou katoa,

Recently a group of rangatahi attended a United Nations forum on indigenous issues in New York.

Five of the rangatahi had Te Arawa affiliations and I had the privilege of briefing them before they left.

To me, they were future leaders and successors to my generation.

They wanted to know from a Māori perspective, what an ambassador was, what to expect, how they should position themselves and what was expected on their return.

I responded by saying that they carried the mana and aroha of their people, culture and place with them.

They needed to be diplomatic but assertive when the need arose, with a sense of humility.

Māori are seen as leaders in the international indigenous arena so they could expect to be the centre of attention.

Remaining sensitive to the position of others and remembering that we have a long way to go would keep everything in perspective.

Providing feedback to our people on their return could provide a solid foundation for leadership succession and a much needed rangatahi voice in our future directions.

So was this just a talk fest or did the above happen? Judging by their recent feedback session with me, it clearly happened.

They felt aroha for other indigenous youth and saw for themselves the gap between what we have and they don't.

They are still talking treaties and we are settling.

Our political voice is strong and theirs is muzzled which led to Māori rangatahi often being the front for their views.

The cultural ability and use of te reo in our group was strong, theirs was diffuse.

The whanaungatanga within our group was obvious, theirs was mixed.

Despite this, constructive discussions with other indigenous rangatahi and future connections and networks were opened.

One presentation that captivated our rangatahi was a presentation from the Bolivian President.

They had established legislation personifying Papatūānuku across their entire lands and so recognising the rights of Papatūānuku as a living being.

We have started this with Te Awa Tupua in Wanganui and Te Urewera, so is there potential to introduce this across our whenua? Our rangatahi think so.

Is this the solution to climate change and environmental management we have all been looking for? I think so.

So to Te Mauri Kingi, Te Rua Wallace, Mana Vercoe, Te Wehi Wright and Rangiamohia Dansey-White and to all our rangatahi kia kaha, kia maia, kia manawanui!

Te Taru is from Te Arawa, Tainui and Ngati Porou descent and is the chairman of Te Tatau o Te Arawa, Rotorua Lakes Council partnership. His website is http://tetaruwhite.com.