REFLECTIVE INSIGHTS #042 - KAITIAKITANGA IS NOT HISTORICAL PERFECTION: LESSONS FROM THE SOIL

A Honest Look Back

A fair question often gets raised whenever we talk about environmental stewardship in Aotearoa: how can Māori claim to value kaitiakitanga when early ancestors burned off vast tracts of native forest upon arriving here? It is a question we should answer with total honesty rather than defensiveness. Without getting caught up in exact numbers, our ancestors here and in other countries did clear forests, and that is undeniable.

One Era's Hero

When I was a teenager I read 'Mover of Men and Mountains', the autobiography of Robert LeTourneau, which was my Grandpa's book. Aside from pioneering many great engineering marvels, founding a technical college and successful businesses, he developed giant machines for clearing South American rainforests efficiently, and was considered a hero in his day, even when that book was published in the 1960s. As an environmentally aware teenager in the 1990s I was just flabbergasted. With the passage of time and new understanding of the importance of rainforests to the health of our planet and the indigenous people who lived there, one century's hero is another century's villain.

Wisdom Born From Crisis

Human history right across the globe is filled with people learning the hard way. When early Polynesian arrivals settled in Aotearoa, they encountered a cold land of seemingly infinite abundance. In their effort to survive, hunt moa, clear pathways, and cultivate crops like kūmara, fires spread across dry eastern landscapes. As forests shrank and flightless birds vanished, our ancestors faced an absolute ecological crisis.

The Birth of Tikanga

Kaitiakitanga was not an instantaneous, static philosophy brought fully formed from Polynesia. It was a framework born directly out of survival, trial, and error. Realising that unchecked depletion led straight to crisis, our ancestors adapted. They established sophisticated customary laws like tapu (sacred protection) and rāhui (temporary bans) to protect vulnerable ecosystems and allow the mauri of Tāne to recover.

Cultivating the Earth

This journey from trial to stewardship mirrors the original commandment given to humanity to care for the living world entrusted to us. As scripture reminds us in the book of Genesis:

"Yahweh God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it. "- Genesis 2:15 (Ethiopian Orthodox Bible)

Ge'ez text: ወነሥኦ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ አምላክ፡ ለሰብእ፡ ወወደዮ፡ ውስተ፡ ገነተ፡ ዔዴን፡ ከመ፡ ይዕቅባ፡ ወይሥራዓ።

Te Reo Maori, Paipera Tapu, 1868 translation: "Na, ka tango a Ihowa te Atua i te tangata, a whakanohoia ana e ia ki te kari o Erene, hei ngaki, hei tiaki hoki i reira." 

Inherited Lessons

Guided by Wairua Tapu and the loving example of Ihu (Yeshua's name in the Paipera Tapu), we see that true stewardship requires humility and continuous learning. As Māori, we do not view kaitiakitanga as a claim to historical perfection. Instead, it is an active responsibility inherited from ancestral lessons.

Leading the Way

Here in Te Tai Tokerau, our vision is to lead the transition to a better society where holistic well-being and the environment are prioritised together. By combining ancestral lessons with modern conservation, we can restore native bush, protect our waterways, and serve as a shining light to the rest of the world. We do not look back to boast of a perfect past, but to honour the wisdom born from the soil so we can build a thriving future for all.