Land court opens doors to eager students

Merania Karauria | 30th July 2010

Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori was a good time to give back to the community, and so Te Kooti Whenua Maori, the Whanganui Maori Land Court, yesterday opened its doors for the first time to students to find out about the workings of the court.

MLC advisory, land registry and records preservation team manager Andrea Joseph said the visit coincided with Maori Language Week.

"This first visit by a school this week has opened the way for the court staff to build on for students from other Whanganui schools to come and learn about what happens in the land court."

Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Tupoho Years 9-11 students spent a few hours at the court listening and watching presentations about how they would find their land interests in the Aotea region, and what the Maori Land Court  did.

Mrs Joseph said it was an empowering exercise for the Tupoho kura students who were enthusiastic about their new knowledge.

  Students were  given a "kete of knowledge" that contained information they could share with their whanau.

"The students can then research their whanau land interests," Mrs Joseph said.

Schools interested in visiting Te Kooti Whenua Maori can call Andrea Joseph, 3490770.

The Chronicle asked the students what they learned from their visit:

• Tengoimaika Mason (Ngati Hinearo, Ngati Tuera): "We learned about how much land we have along the Whanganui River."
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• Jonathan Katene (Ngati Pamoana, Nga Paerangi): "Maori had so much land in the past - millions of acres, and now we only have thousands. It makes me sad because it was people just being greedy."
• Rae-Vasanthi Kereopa (Ngati Maniapoto, Ngati Kahungunu): "I learned a lot about the Whanganui River and this is also about whakapapa."
• Troy Stanley (Ngati Hinearo, Ngati Tuera): "I learned a lot about the Aotea region."
• Arnold Poutini (Ngati Hau): "I learned how to find where our whanau land is."