As part of Te Pūtea Whakatupu Trust’s annual grant funding round, a total of $65,000 has been awarded in recent weeks in support of kaupapa Māori projects and research across the community and ocean sectors.
This year’s funding round introduced the inaugural Pou Herenga Tangata Award and the Tonganui Scholarship, with funds designed to support rangatahi that aspire to community leadership, and mātauranga Māori in the marine environment.
A total of 37 applications were received and included projects ranging from Te Taitokerau to Moeraki.
Successful Pou Herenga Tangata recipients included 20-year-old Kaea Tibble (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Pikiahau-Waewae) who plans to use the funding to decolonise and re-indigenous the map of his whanau’s whenua in a bid to reinstate tūpuna names of local landmarks using GIS (Geographic Information System Mapping) technology.
“This proposal is bigger than decolonising maps. It is about reconnecting rangatahi, whānau, and the people of our valley. It is about enabling kaitiakitanga,” says Kaea.
Successful Tonganui Scholarship recipient Deane Gage (Te Whānau ā Apanui, Ngati Maniapoto, Tainui), plans to use the funding to facilitate a three-day kaimoana gathering wānanga this October, with the goal of improving the mana of local rangatahi to be of value to their whānau and then hapū and iwi.
“Using the intergenerational knowledge of my grandmother and father, the maramataka and the Māori principles as guidance, this programme will ensure food security, sovereignty, and significantly improve the mana of those who attend. It is more than just gathering food, it is also about empowering people to give back to the community,” says Deane.
As part of Te Pūtea Whakatupu Trust’s annual grant funding round, a total of $65,000 has been awarded in recent weeks in support of kaupapa Māori projects and research across the community and ocean sectors.
This year’s funding round introduced the inaugural Pou Herenga Tangata Award and the Tonganui Scholarship, with funds designed to support rangatahi that aspire to community leadership, and mātauranga Māori in the marine environment.
A total of 37 applications were received and included projects ranging from Te Taitokerau to Moeraki.
Successful Pou Herenga Tangata recipients included 20-year-old Kaea Tibble (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Pikiahau-Waewae) who plans to use the funding to decolonise and re-indigenous the map of his whanau’s whenua in a bid to reinstate tūpuna names of local landmarks using GIS (Geographic Information System Mapping) technology.
“This proposal is bigger than decolonising maps. It is about reconnecting rangatahi, whānau, and the people of our valley. It is about enabling kaitiakitanga,” says Kaea.
Successful Tonganui Scholarship recipient Deane Gage (Te Whānau ā Apanui, Ngati Maniapoto, Tainui), plans to use the funding to facilitate a three-day kaimoana gathering wānanga this October, with the goal of improving the mana of local rangatahi to be of value to their whānau and then hapū and iwi.
“Using the intergenerational knowledge of my grandmother and father, the maramataka and the Māori principles as guidance, this programme will ensure food security, sovereignty, and significantly improve the mana of those who attend. It is more than just gathering food, it is also about empowering people to give back to the community,” says Deane.
Deane also hopes to contribute some of the funding towards continuing his study in a Master of Applied Indigenous Knowledge, with the long-term goal of completing a PhD in marine science using mātauranga Māori as an indigenous approach to gathering kaimoana.
“This scholarship is not about me or financial gain. Instead, the funding will support my vision to share the knowledge of my tūpuna with people who want to enhance their mana, connect to Tangaroa, whakapapa, to whenua, and strengthen their cultural identity.”
Te Pūtea Whakatupu Trust Kaihautū (Executive Director), Te Pūoho Kātene, was “overwhelmed” by the calibre of applications received with this year’s funding round.
“Reviewing, and funding, some of these well-deserving kaupapa has been highly rewarding for our Trust and we are proud to have been able to support our people to realising their aspirations in the oceans and community spaces” says Te Pūoho.
Both the Tonganui Scholarship and Pou Herenga Tangata Award are part of Te Pūtea Whakatupu Trust’s philanthropic annual grant funding, with successful applicants officially recognised as members of Ngā Auahitūroa, Te Pūtea Whakatupu’s growing network of over 300 passionate and diverse previous scholarship alumni.
To read more about the successful grant applicants of Pou Herenga Tangata Award and the Tonganui Scholarship, click here.
