Te Akerautangi Toataua talks youth, art and sport. / Bevan Conley
Local youth worker, Māori art teacher and Massey University student Te Akerautangi Toataua connects to Whanganui through his whakapapa “up the river”, but also through his partner and children. He also knows the ins and outs of secret local delicacies. He answers 10 questions from Te Kakenga Kawiti-Bishara.
So, straight off the bat, what is our hidden delicacy?
Well, when it’s not the famous golden arches, it has to be the kina or the pātiki [black flounder]. Any seafood or freshwater food, although there’s not actually a lot here.
The lack of it is probably how it remains secret - only the river’s true experts can find the best eating spots. Otherwise, the McDonald’s golden arches are reliable.
Why youth work? Why rangatahi?
Our young ones are very different these days. What I see is that their dreams and goals are achievable, but it’s the business side of things, the funding and lack of resources, that hinder their chances to succeed.
These days, you just can’t get anywhere if you don’t have money and have things to pay for. My role here at Te Puni Kōkiri - Ministry Of Māori Development is to support not only funding their dreams, but encouraging all of our youth by creating initiatives, interacting them with their environment, all the way to their holistic health and wellbeing.
What exactly is it about Whanganui, or in Whanganui, that inspires you to do what you do?
My partner and our tamariki - she’s from Whanganui, she grew up here. Whānau is from Pūtiki. Her tūpuna was actually a paramount chief from around here, Topia Turoa.
Now that our tamariki are immersed in their Whanganuitanga, they are growing up and learning about how to be staunch and true to who they are. Obvious or not, we are Māori, therefore everything about us and around us is Māori.
Everything I provide for my children is Māori common knowledge, right from where a leaf comes from [to] why the harakeke grows the way it does. To teach them with holistic, kinaesthetic views is what I want for them. Whanganui makes that happen for us - the beautiful river; our pristine natural environment, too.
Secret talent?
Probably kanikani. Dancing. Probably better than my dad, too. I grew up around Ahorangi Genesis, so [went] straight into kapa haka, but even street dancing with the bros - it was a good way to stay away from trouble, I suppose.
Matua Chris Winitana and Whaea Tinamaree, their children, the Winitana, Haitana, Paki and Whiu whānau and even my parents all nurtured us in the creative and performing arts.
If you were to provide our rangatahi with advice, what would you tell them?
That there is a structure in everything you do. Me and you don’t do what we do for the fun of it. Our tūpuna created a framework of unbreakable kawa, tīkanga that you just can’t ignore.
There’s a reason why kaupapa within our daily lives happen. I’d advise our young ones to listen to the taiao, look deep within and find the reason why we do what we do.
You participate in sport, too. Tell us which one, and who your top inspirations are?
[I] currently do Brazilian jiu-jitsu here in town, it’s good [for] hinengaro [mental health] and tīnana [the body]. You can’t go anywhere without thinking, so jiu-jitsu enables me to flow freely in my thoughts and probably inspires me to do what I do. Heroes? My jiu-jitsu heroes have to be, oh, probably Gordon Ryan or Khabib, the best grapplers in the world. It’s the way that they train, for me. Their mindsets, really.
You’re also an artist - tell us a bit more.
Yeah, I’m a part-time art teacher here in Whanganui at Te Kura Kaupapa Māori O Tūpoho. It is just an addition to the youth work I do already.
Lastly, tell us about the team you work with here at Te Puni Kōkiri and how they help you in the space where you work?
I got an internship here to complement my studies at Massey University in Palmerston North. With the rangatahi workspace being at the fore of what I plan to do, both now and in the future, the team here helps me. The likes of Aunty Donna and Aunty Cindy look after me very well here. They’ve been very helpful too, in all aspects, helping me every inch of the way to provide me [with] the tools to help our next generation, te reanga hou e hāere ake nei.
