Ara | Te Pūkenga Rōpū heads State-side for indigenous exchange

_{Members of the group rehearse waiata in the sun outside Te Puna Wānaka ahead of the trip}

When an Appalachian State University (ASU) and Cherokee High School group travelled to Ara | Te Pūkenga this year, they keenly wanted to reciprocate the manaakitanga they felt during their visit.

A group of ten first nation ākonga (students), a kaiako (teacher), a tumuaki (principal) and professor from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (Cherokee) in North Carolina spent two action-filled weeks here in April, immersed in a variety of cultural experiences.

It followed an earlier visit from an indigenous Wsáneć group from Camosun College in Canada.

Now, the promised return trip is taking place, with a group of six from Ara landing in Cherokee, North Carolina to be hosted by groups central to revitalising the Cherokee language and culture.

The exchange is part of the joint project: “Similarities of Struggle: A collaboration between the Cherokee in North Carolina and Māori in New Zealand towards the decolonisation of First Nation communities.”  The project seeks to develop a cross-cultural bridge and partnership, co-ordinate best practice to resist neocolonialism and support the preservation, promotion and projection of each nation’s traditional language and culture.

访问的成本由rōpūAra(集团)has largely been covered by the ASU through a US Government grant.  The final twenty percent of the required funds to reciprocate the April visit was made possible through an application to the Ara Foundation.

Te Puna Wānaka Pouwhakahaere (manager) Stan Tawa said the Ara Foundation grant allowed an additional student to join the trip.

“Ensuring maximum ākonga access to this trip was the driver for our application for funds and we were thrilled it allowed us to extend this opportunity,” he said. “The tauira are our greatest point of connection as they stand to have the greatest growth in this space – we are looking forward to giving the Ara Foundation feedback on what they experience.”

Tawa said expressions of interest were sought with the selection of delegates based on their attributes and aspirations and their demonstrated ability to strongly represent Te Puna Wānaka.

“These cross-cultural exchanges can create moments of deep reflection for our own contexts and challenges and can be catalytic for future endeavour, resilience and perseverance,” he said.

The rōpū (group) is made of a midwifery ākonga about to begin studying Level 2 Te Reo Māori, two Level 5 Te Reo Māori ākonga as well as two recent Bachelor of Māori Language and Indigenous Studies graduates. Stan Tawa was firmly invited in recognition of his input into the activities offered during the Cherokee visit to Ōtautahi.

Graduate (now a Te Pūkenga Governance Advisor) Louise Courtney said she was looking forward to soaking up the experience kanohi ki te kanohi (face to face).   “I’ve tried not to pre-empt the experience too much. I want to learn from our hosts directly and get the insights and kōrero from them as to who they are, what they stand for and what their journey is.”

Level 5 Te Reo Māori ākonga Te Atetangi Paris said he was looking forward to extending his learning and finding more common ground with the indigenous Cherokee people.

“It’s about deeper connection with those who live thousands of miles away and hearing about their language revitalisation plans to help not just survive but thrive in language, culture and in all ways,” Paris said.

It’s estimated there are only 100 Cherokee ‘first language’ native speakers left.  An ASU report into the April visit noted that students had mentioned ‘how life-impacting the trip was for them and how it was a catalyst for the renewed efforts to learn and use more Cherokee language.’

Courtney said she hoped the exchange would build on the warmth and energy shared earlier in the year. “It was amazing to see their young people here because that is where the future is.  If we can instil some further fire, hope and determination in them to continue to uplift their people and their language that is really where our hopes lie,” she said.

Ara has a thirty-year a relationship with ASU across a range of faculties from design to outdoor education and sustainability. 

It’s hoped this first exchange prompted by the “Similarities of Struggles” project will see the relationship grow and help meet goals to meaningfully ‘preserve, promote and protect indigenous language and cultures.’

Stan Tawa said the relationship would be one of ‘slow burn’ and but stands to have a real impact on te reo growth strategies going forward.

“Things aren’t going to change tomorrow but if we can have an impact on these travelling students and as a result, they become more involved in the growth and revitalisation of the reo as they carry on their journey - then that would be amazing.”