Abstract
The loss associated with flooding is symbolic of the loss associated with our history our Tupuna and our taonga tuku iho. In a small Maori community in Northland, severe flooding has impacted on the people and their environment. My aim was to investigate how the people in this community responded to severe floods, and explore the role of tikanga in their response. In a series of hui, I used video to foster discussion about how people had responded to past events. Participants were able to tell their stories about how they had dealt with floods, taking action by drawing on embedded community values and customs. The findings showed how a small population of people survive by simply doing what needs to be done, and when it comes to flooding on any scale they do all the work themselves with leadership from within the community. Aroha and whanaungatanga were the underlying values demonstrated through their actions. In the Aotearoa regulatory environment of legislation and council policies, local authorities often fail to recognise the practical usefulness of such values, and in the past have made decisions for the community without reference to them. This community could show practical tools based in tikanga that can enhance our relationships with institutions and the natural environment. Outcomes from this research have been: greater community recognition of their resilience and strengths, and a comprehensive flood management plan grounded in hapu values.
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Notes
- 1.
One example of this is the Warawara Forest, which is Crown-owned land administered and managed by the Department of Conservation. Although my hapū, Te Uri O Tai, claim mana whenua (customary authority over lands) over the Warawara, they have never had any say over its management.
- 2.
Article two of the Māori text of Te Tiriti O Waitangi guarantees Māori te tino rangatiratanga o o ratou wenua o ratou kainga me o ratou taonga katoa (unqualified chieftanship over their lands, villages, and all their treasures) (Orange, 2004).
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Proctor, L. (2014). Toi tu te whenua, toi tu te tangata: A Holistic Māori Approach to Flood Management. In: Rinehart, R., Barbour, K., Pope, C. (eds) Ethnographic Worldviews. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6916-8_9
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