Fostering a relationship with mana whenua that’s built on good faith and partnership is an important part of school leadership in Aotearoa, but relationships take time when you build them from a foundation. In this episode we talk about ways to begin, build, and maintain relationships with local iwi and hapū.

My guests this week are:

• Robin Fabish, former tumuaki of Tamatea High School in Napier, currently working as a leadership advisor for Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga, the Ministry of Education


• Melanie Taite-Pitama, former tumuaki and currently acting director of the Greater Wellington region for Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga.


• Regan Orr, Regan, principal of Central Normal School in Palmerston North, currently seconded to Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga as a leadership advisor for Taranaki, Whanganui and Manawatu.

This podcast was produced for the Ministry of Education as part of Te Ara Tīmatanga mō ngā Tumuaki - The Beginning Pathway for Principals.

You can learn more about this topic by accessing Te Ara Tīmatanga mō ngā Tumuaki - The Beginning Pathway for Principals e-learning modules on the Education LMS: https://training.education.govt.nz

Show notes

Episode themes:

• Understanding that building trusting, genuine, and reciprocal relationships with mana whenua is both a moral and a legal obligation


• Why it’s important to find out what tangata whenua want from kura in their area


• Building good relationships with mana whenua is like building a friendship – you need to get to know each other


• The importance of learning who the hapū are at the marae, who runs those marae, the names and the whakapapa, the history and the cultural narrative of the area and how to find that out - this is really important to getting off on the right foot.


• Where to start if your kura doesn’t have an existing relationship/a good relationship with mana whenua


• Importance of budgeting to acknowledge the contribution that mana whenua make to your school.

To learn more about this topic, see Section 2 of Te Ara Tīmatanga mō ngā Tumuaki - The Beginning Pathway for Principals e-learning modules [link].

Additional information

• Māori Achievement Collaborative https://www.mac.ac.nz


• Waitangi Tribunal website https://www.waitangitribunal.govt.nz

Questions

2:30 [to Robin] Why is it important for kura and their tumuaki to build a relationship with mana whenua?

4:06 [to Robin] What are some of the things that mana whenua might want from a relationship with a kura. What might they want a kura to be doing?

6:28 [to Regan] As a Pakeha principal, how did you go about building connections when you first moved into the tumuaki role?

8:13 [to Regan] How did you bring your staff along for that journey?

8:41 [to Melanie] Melanie what does a good relationship between a tumuaki and mana whenua look like?

12:23 [to Melanie] How do you find information about your local iwi and hapu?

14:22 [to Robin] If the kura doesn't have an existing relationship, or a good relationship maybe with local iwi and hapū or whānau, where does a new tumuaki start?

16:51 [to Regan] What should tumuaki should get their heads around before they start trying to build a relationship?

18:54 What should tumuaki keep in mind when asking mana whenua to help with things in a kura?