An Indigenous delegation from Chile and Argentina has travelled to Kawerau to share experiences and build connections around mana motuhake, land, health and Indigenous development.
Members of the Mapuche people were formally welcomed onto Tohia o Te Rangi Marae on May 26, where discussions focused on strengthening communities through shared knowledge and Indigenous-led solutions.
The visit brought together representatives from Tūwharetoa ki Kawerau, Ngāi Tūhoe and local leaders to explore issues ranging from geothermal resources and Māori land to health services and environmental pressures.
Tūwharetoa ki Kawerau Hauora chief executive Kererua Savage said the visit was centred on understanding how Indigenous peoples across the world were responding to similar challenges.
“For us, self-determination, mana motuhake, is what drives us,” Savage said.
“For us to better understand what’s going on around the world and different nations, it’s really important for us to learn to see what they are doing and for them to see what we are doing.”
The Mapuche traditionally occupied large areas across southern Chile and Argentina before losing much of their land through nineteenth-century military campaigns and colonisation. Today, many communities remain on significantly reduced territories.
Mapuche spokesperson Sebastian Villagra said similarities between Māori and Mapuche experiences quickly became apparent.“We learn here that you have the same problems that the Mapuche people have seen and heard here,” he said.
“They are very connected because Mapuche means people from the land, and I think Māori people are people from the land also.”
Discussions also touched on environmental and resource pressures affecting Indigenous communities.
“Resource exploitation are also those things they are facing that are exactly the same for us,” Savage said.
“Those are definitely the processes we can collaborate to learn.”
Representatives from Te Tawa Kaiti Lands Trust, which administers land across the Ruatoki Valley, were accompanying the delegation during its visit through the Eastern Bay of Plenty.
The trust operates across land development, dairying, environmental management and community wellbeing initiatives.
Chief executive Hinehou Timutimu said she also wanted to share how Māori health services support local communities.
“Outside of agribusiness, there is also the element of hauora services, and Kawerau ki Tūwharetoa have that here,” she said.
Local rangatahi were also involved in hosting the visitors.
Youth leader Te Aramoana Brady said the visit reflected a shift from earlier approaches focused solely on Māori communities.
“In the past, the saying was, ‘By Māori, for Māori,’” Brady said.
“But now it’s more about Indigenous peoples supporting Indigenous peoples.”
Villagra said one of the strongest outcomes from the visit was reassurance that Indigenous communities were not facing those challenges in isolation.
“We want the Māori to know they are not alone.”
The Mapuche delegation also travelled to Ruatoki on Wednesday to continue discussions focused on land and local histories.
Nā Herewini Waikato rāua ko Piripi Taylor nō Pūkāea
