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1 Moriori achieved something v rare in human history: they created & maintained a peaceful, egalitarian, & environmentally sustainable society. We need to learn from the Moriori past. But the NZ state is compromising our ability to do this, by holding onto Taia reserve (thread)
2 Taia reserve covers 1,200 hectares on the eastern edge of Rekohu/Chatham Island. It is home to groves of kopi trees that were planted, picked, & carved by Moriori karapuna (ancestors). It includes the sites of ancient villages, and ancient burial grounds.
3 In 2002 the Crown promised to return the reserve to Moriori. Altho Moriori signed a Treaty deal with the NZ state last year, the reserve still has not been returned. Ngati Mutunga o Wharekauri, the iwi that invaded Rekohu & enslaved Moriori in 1835, objects to the transfer.
4 Now, instead of doing the right thing, the Crown is inviting submissions on whether Taia should be given back to its true owners. My recent visit to Rekohu showed me why Taia should be in Moriori hands, rather than run by the state.
5 On Rekohu I was given a tour of Kaingaroa Forest, which sits amidst Moriori-owned land in the far north of the island. Two rangers look after the forest. Both are employed by Moriori. Their indigenous training meant they could reveal the forest's history & meaning to me.
6 Moriori cultural traditions & knowledge were badly disrupted by the invasions & land theft of the 19th century. Altho texts & artefacts survive, the sites of Moriori forest settlements are vital clues we can use to understand the achievement of this pacifist & socialist people.
7 Because they were immersed in the Moriori worldview and had been trained at Kopinga marae, the Moriori stronghold in central Rekohu, the two rangers at Kaingaroa were able to 'read' the forest for me, & show me how Moriori lived, worked, & thought. A world opened for me.
8 The details of Kaingaroa forest tell stories. The carved kopi trees attest to Moriori arboriculture, religion, & art. The carefully weeded, park-like spaces round the trees show how Moriori integrated the human & natural worlds. Middens show boundaries between families, clans.
9 The Moriori rangers I met had worked to keep the forest in its ancient state. They protected the carvings, removing them to Kopinga when trees began to die. They weeded the ancient living areas, continuing centuries of Moriori practice. They respected the midden-boundaries.
10It is unrealistic to expect the Department of Conservation to be able to provide the quality & intensity of training that Moriori rangers receive. & if Taia is run by DOC, then it may take advice from Ngati Mutunga o Wharekauri, an iwi w/ a history of desecrating Moriori sites
11 The Moriori past is the future of Rekohu/Chatham Island. The pacifist & egalitarian culture of the island's indigenous people is already world famous. Like the Semai, a pacifist people of Malaysia, Moriori are drawing the attention of peace scholars round the world.
12 We need Moriori land in Moriori hands, so visitors to Rekohu can learn from the achievement of Moriori karapuna. I am writing a submission to the Crown, urging the handing of Taia to Moriori. You can too: https://www.facebook.com/susan.thorpe.71/posts/10221465972230506
