Iwi case study report- Tarawera river: Tuwharetoa ki Kawerau, Te Arawa and Ngati Awa

Abstract

There is a deep sense of injustice and creeping despair that the cultural life of the Tarawera River has been destroyed. Cultural lore has been reduced to a perspective of the dominant cultures’ rule of law. The plea for the cultural voice of the Tarawera River to be heard echoes throughout this research, yet the silence of the response is deafening. This research informs on the cultural story of the Tarawera River, it examines the ways in which the relationship between Te Arawa, Tūwharetoa Ki Kawerau and Ngāti Awa and the Tarawera River changed since the discharge of effluent from pulp and paper mills into the river began nearly half a century ago. The research reported on here involves action research approached and informed by Māori epistemologies and what has come to be known as ‘kaupapa Māori research’, an approach that privileges indigenous values, attitudes and practices.