As Māori and Mapuche communities celebrate their respective new years, a group from Ngāti Porou has travelled to Chile to exchange Indigenous knowledge, environmental practices, and responses to the climate crisis.
Turuhira Reedy is one of six members of Te Weu Tairāwhiti taking part in a four-week journey across Chile and Rapa Nui.
“Kei konei [mātou] e ako ana i ngā tūmomo āhuatanga ka whakamahia rātou hei tiaki i tā rātou taiao, otirā i wā rātou whānau hoki.”
Reedy promotes mahinga kai, regenerative farming and food sovereignty through her Facebook page, RuaKai.
“I truly believe that mahinga kai is one of the most powerful ways that we can reconnect to the taiao,” she says.
The delegation is learning from Indigenous communities in Chile, restoring and protecting their environments amid climate change, while sharing kaupapa from Te Tai Rāwhiti.
Ngā uri o te iwi Mapuche
The Mapuche, Chile’s largest Indigenous group, make up about 80 per cent of the Indigenous population.
This week, they joined the Lafkenche community for We Tripantu, the Mapuche New Year, which Reedy said felt similar to Matariki and life for many whānau at home.
“If you go to your nanny’s house or to your papa’s house and they’re still living off the land, it’s very similar,” she explains.
“They also rely heavily on their lakes and their rivers and the ocean, te moana, to feed themselves.”
Reedy says hapori around the world are already seeing the impacts of environmental damage from large-scale development and resource extraction, highlighting the need for stronger local food systems and resilience.
She is currently involved in research with the University of Otago, examining the link between food sovereignty and mental health.
“We’re researching is how food sovereignty impacts mental health and how being food sovereign not only helps your own mental health but also puts you in a position of kaitiakitanga.”
Te rangatiratanga o te kai
The question of food sovereignty is also at the centre of debate in Aotearoa as the Government reforms rules around gene-editing technologies.
The Gene Technology Bill, introduced to Parliament in 2024, would allow wider use and testing of gene editing in plants and other organisms.
Overseas, the European Parliament has backed new rules allowing gene-edited crops without foreign DNA, with supporters saying the technology could improve climate resilience, increase yields, and reduce chemical use.
Melanie Mark-Shadbolt, Tumu Whakarae of Te Tira Whakamātaki, says while some are optimistic about the change, many hapori Māori are concerned.
“Some see gene technologies as a potentially important tool for biodiversity and pest management, many remain uncertain.”
“Māori respondents told us consistently that decisions on emerging technologies must be guided by Te Tiriti, by tikanga and by meaningful iwi and hapū involvement at the table, not after the fact.”
She says submissions on the Bill reflect that caution, with about 14,000 received: close to 80 per cent opposed, and less than one per cent in support.
“Gene technology in itself can be fantastic - we’re certainly not against science, and we’re not against progress.”
She says this is not only a scientific matter, but one of rangatiratanga.
“Gene technology touches everything of importance for us, it touches our taonga species, it touches our whakapapa, it touches our mahinga kai.”
Mark-Shadbolt says there is a clear difference between medical uses and environmental uses.
“For treatments in things like cancer, most people are actually okay with that.”
“But when we talk about gene technology use in the environment and especially in food, we have very different views.”
Te whakatinana i wā rātou mahi
Reflecting on the trip, Reedy says it has encouraged her to think long-term.
“Our ancestors worked really, really hard to preserve our mātauranga Māori and to preserve all of our tikanga. And so we honour them in their mahi mā te whakatinana i wā rātou mahi.”
The rōpū will finish their trip connecting with iwi in Rapa Nui.
