La razón trascendental y las teofanías especulativas
2. Preliminares necesarios: conocimiento y metafísica
As mentioned earlier in this thesis, CYF will be restructured to facilitate the findings of the Expert Advisory Panel reports. Its current operational functions will be integrated in the newly formed Ministry for Vulnerable Children – Oranga Tamariki, which will have a new model of service arms and focus (Ministry of Social Development, 2016). The Investing in Children Programme is
90 presently tasked with working on the transformation process which in its entirety is expected to take up to five years. This section will highlight specific areas of focus, which have resulted from this project, concerning CYF operational structures with a view on achieving better outcomes for Tūhoe children.
Tūhoe identity and connections
Starting from the beginning of child welfare engagement with Tūhoe children there needs to be a dedicated and specialised focus on correctly identifying and recording Tūhoe children with the greatest detail possible, i.e. whakapapa, hapū, marae, wider whānau names and locations, other iwi affiliations, journey (including generational) of the child’s immediate whānau to where they are now. CYF social workers believe that the task of comprehensively and consistently establishing Tūhoe identity and connections (and ultimately those of all other iwi) is not realistically achievable by a workforce specialised in and tasked with child protection. While it is highly desirable that they are well-versed in key concepts or tikanga Māori and bi-cultural obligations, workforce development efforts towards child protection social workers being experts in Māori identity and belonging are not advisable since placing an intensified focus on this area may in turn come at the expense of social workers’ core child protection tasks, e.g. comprehensive assessments of safety, risk and supports, investigations, referrals to FGC or to agencies, Court reports and proceedings. Therefore operationally Tūhoe identity and connections should be planned for separately, first as a comprehensive catch-up effort and then ongoing systems to ensure the information about vulnerable Tūhoe children remains accurate in real time. How this can be achieved in detail needs to be planned in partnership with Ngāi Tūhoe and needs to tie in with Tūhoe-internal whakapapa and registration efforts; only Tūhoe experts can ultimately verify or find Tūhoe identity and connections.
The details of Tūhoe-internal efforts are for Tūhoe to determine. Tuhoe participants suggested establishing or supporting whakapapa expert committees in each tribal authority or hapū collective with the aim of quickly establishing children’s exact Tūhoe identity. There could be key roles for Te Uru Taumatua as an overarching organisation, the tribal authorities Waimana Kaaku, Tūhoe Manawarū, Te Komiti o Runga and Waikaremoana Tribal or any committees and services which may be formed by these. For frontline social workers the relief and support this would bring would be tremendous, especially if one was to imagine this to ultimately occur for all Māori children. From the moment of a report of concern received, child protection social workers could focus fully on the functions they are qualified and experienced in, knowing that Māori experts are simultaneously working on providing the exact identity and location of the child / children within Māori whakapapa and society and resulting options for interventions.
Planning for and supporting children with high needs
Differing CYF site operational structures determine the intensity of efforts made for children in care who are most in need of intensive support. The CYFs participants in this research suggest
91 that only where caseloads and teams are solely dedicated to children in state care can the required intensive planning, social work assessment and the consulting and involving of hapū for Māori children be achieved. This alleviates the danger with generic caseloads where social workers are continuously forced to prioritise the urgencies and crises in intake and investigation areas and to meet the associated timeframes.
The interface between Tūhoe and CYF
Once a baseline knowledge about Tūhoe children in state care or in danger of coming into care has been established, operational planning should clarify communication pathways between CYF (or the future ministry) and Tūhoe. I believe that establishing portals on either side are practical since unregulated two-way communication pathways between several Tūhoe authorities or services and over 50 CYF sites are not likely to be efficient. Whichever contact point Ngāi Tūhoe determines, i.e. Te Uru Taumatua or a specific team or service, it would be overwhelming and potentially chaotic if all or many CYF sites communicate and attempt to negotiate with that contact point directly. It is likely that such contacts would include some attempts to transfer urgent needs for placements and other crises to Tūhoe without the required preparation and resourcing. This in turn may create negative experiences and frustrations rather than better outcomes for Tūhoe children and sustained effective state child welfare – Ngāi Tūhoe relationships. I am not certain where the most sensible bundling of information and planning for Tūhoe children should be located within CYF; the answer to this also depends on what the future organisational structure will be. Under CYF’s traditional centralised structure similar projects typically sit within a regional or national office. To enable face-to-face relationships and regular consultations, the CYF operational centre for Tūhoe children could be at those sites closest to Tūhoe which under current CYF structures are the Gisborne, Rotorua and Whakatāne CYF sites. Of those Whakatāne site is closest to Te Uru Taumatua. This would of course need to entail a rethink about site responsibilities, structures and resourcing, which are currently placed with those sites in whose area the children reside.
Information sharing and partnership negotiations
From what I was told by Tūhoe participants and considering international models for indigenous children (Libesman, 2014), it should become mandatory that Ngāi Tūhoe authorities are informed when Tūhoe children come into state care. They should be invited into the planning, solution seeking and decision making at pre-FGC, FGC and Family Court levels. Since the Family Group Conference continues to be a mandatory institution for higher level interventions and state care, there should be partnership negotiations with Ngāi Tūhoe how FGC’s for Tūhoe children should be held in order to entail hapū and iwi rangatiratanga. There should also be partnership negotiations whether pools of suitable caregivers could be identified within hapū in preparation to the potential need of placements for children of that hapū rather than in reaction to that need.
92 Appropriately supporting and resourcing caregivers is a key focus of the current transformation planning as well as the need for those supports to be inclusive of health, education, housing and any other specialist therapy. As that planning matures, Tūhoe should be included in how Tūhoe hapū caregivers should be supported and by whom. Some possibilities were suggested by Tūhoe participants:
• Each hapū to identify suitable households which could be approached in respect of care for children in state care who belong to that hapū. In case of need, these households should be approached by Tūhoe first, i.e. Te Uru Taumatua or hapū committees.
• Homes established throughout Te Urewera to provide intensive residential care for Tūhoe children including the specialist supports to address the effects of abuse / neglect as well as relating them back to their whakapapa, tikanga, kawa and Tūhoetanga.
• Some programs, residential or otherwise, could be parent-children inclusive where safe and appropriate. Programs should be holistic and address all needs of a child rather than segmenting needs and address them with different services, i.e. health, education, mental health.
Conclusion:
Throughout all such or other negotiations and planning state agencies need be mindful of their obligation under the Treaty Settlement that practical steps will be taken for Tūhoe to manage their affairs within their core area of interest with the maximum autonomy possible in the circumstances. And that this is a long-term commitment which acknowledges the historical context, spans over coming decades and therefore needs to be done sustainably, responsibly and with the highest integrity. The timing could not be more opportune with having the Crown- Tūhoe treaty settlement in place with specific inclusion of child welfare matters while state child welfare structures and operations are at the beginning of the most significant transformation process in recent times.
The mutually agreed goal of improving outcomes for Tūhoe children and young people in state care or at risk of coming into care and ultimately not to have any Tūhoe tamariki and rangatahi in state care is entirely possible, but requires sustained dedicated effort. The task might initially appear daunting especially when thinking about what might work for all iwi, but it is entirely possible if there is the operational will on both sides. Tūhoe with its leadership in including social issues in its settlement negotiations would be an ideal and deserving candidate for such a project; the motivational impact of having one iwi, whose presence within the CYF client population we would know with certainty, would be significant. Over time the messaging about Tūhoetanga standards on appropriate conduct within Tūhoe whānau and care for Tūhoe children needs to again be firmly located within Ngāi Tūhoe.
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Glossary of Māori terms:
Ao world
Aroha love; compassion; love is a somewhat simplistic translation of Aroha. Pere (1997): “Evil or negative forces cannot flourish where absolute aroha reigns. In a climate of aroha, the psyche, the spirit of a person can soar to great heights” (p.6).
Atua god
Hapū sub-tribe; consists of more than one whānau, all members can trace (whakapapa) back to a common ancestor. One can only belong to a hapū through being born into it; also: pregnant.
Hinengaro mind; intellect
Hōhā annoyed; bored
Iwi: tribe, people; as with hapū, belonging is determined through birth and whakapapa;
also: bone.
Kai food; to eat
Kaitiaki guardian; caretaker
Kawanatanga government
Kingitanga kingship
Koha donation, contribution, offering
Mahi work
Mana: prestige; closely related to personal tapu; “while an increment of mana is inherited at birth it is possible to build onto it through one’s personal achievements” (Mead, 2003, p.51).
Maunga mountain
Mihi whakatau welcome speech / ceremony
Moana sea; lake
Motuhake special; independent; absolute
Muru confiscate; plunder; “ritual redistribution of wealth as compensation / punishment for an offence” (Mead, 2003, p.363).
Ngāi / Ngāti the people of … (used with tribal names)
Oriori lullaby
Pākehā non-Māori; European
Pikopiko young edible fern shoot; also: to wander, meander
Rangatahi youth
Rangatira chief; noble
Rangatiratanga sovereignty; chieftainship Reo language; voice
Rohe region; boundary; territory (of an iwi)
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Taiaha long club; fighting staff
Tamaiti child
Tamariki children
Taonga treasure, not necessarily in the material sense; highly prized object.
Tapu: sacred, taboo; “state of being apart” (Mead, 2003, p.366).
Tauiwi foreigner; non-Māori Te Ao Māori the Māori world
Tikanga literally: correctness or: “a set of beliefs associated with practices and procedures to be followed in conducting the affairs of a group or an individual” (Mead, 2003, p.12).
Tinana body; physical
Tino very; absolute; main
Tipuna / Tupuna ancestor
Tohunga priest; skilled spiritual leader; expert
Tōhatu distribute; disperse
Waiata song; chant; to sing
Wairua spirit
Wairuatanga spirituality
Waka canoe; vehicle; container
Whā four
Whakamā shame; shy; embarrased
Whakapapa genealogy
Whakatauki proverb, motto, saying.
Whānau family; to give birth; family group, could be a household unit or extended families; the fundamental social building block (Mead, 2003).
Whānaungatanga relationship; kinship
Whāngai nourish; care for; adopt child
Whare house
Wheke octopus
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Table of illustrations:
Figure 1: Panekire bluff, Lake Waikaremoana within Te Urewera – Tūhoe heartland; Source: Private collection of Klaus Herrmann.
Figure 2: Ngāi Tūhoe rohe – Tūhoe tribal area / Central North Island Aotearoa - New Zealand; source: Lanma726 on Wikipedia (2017): 2007 New Zealand police raids. Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_New_Zealand_police_raids
Figure 3: School bus shelter in Ruatāhuna. Source: Warne, K. & Quinn, P.J. (2013). Tūhoe: Portrait of a Nation. Auckland: NZ. Penguin Group.
Figure 4: Poster displayed at Ruatāhuna Wild Food Festival on 14 November 2015. Source: Private collection of Klaus Herrmann.
Figure 5: Tūhoe-Crown treaty settlement day, 22 August 2014. Source: Private collection of Klaus Herrmann.
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