Te Kahu o Taonui

The purpose of Te Kahu o Taonui was to create a taumata for our Te Tai Tokerau Iwi Chairs to come together, to wānanga, share ideas and concerns with each other and to utilise the power of our collective Iwi to create more opportunities to benefit all of our whānau, hapū and Marae. Me mahi tahi tatou mo te iwi te take.

Te Kahu o Taonui was established in 2006/7, as a collective of Iwi in Te Tai Tokerau. Te Kahu o Taonui now includes representation from the following Iwi: Ngāti Kuri, Te Aupōuri, NgaiTakoto, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Kahu, NgātiKahu ki Whangaroa, Whaingaroa, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine, Te Roroa, Ngātiwai, and Ngāti Whātua.

Mo Tatou Kaupapa
Me mahi tahi tatou mo te iwi te take.

Te Kahu
Kia hipokina nga kaupapa ki Te Kahu o Taonui.

Our Values
Whanaungatanga – We acknowledge and respect our shared whakapapa, tikanga and history.
Tika – We are transparent in our intent and collective mahi.
Pono – We work with integrity.
Aroha – We have love and respect for others.
Mana motuhake – We value and respect that each Iwi has their own Mana Motuhake.

Our Principles
Hipokingia o koutou mokopuna ki te kahu aroha a te whanau.
A commitment to He Whakaputanga o Te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Respecting mana motuhake to take a different position.
Equity.

Our Strategic Outcomes

Each Iwi has access to the capability, expertise and resource to realise their aspirations.
Constitutional transformation to each iwi to protect the mauri of resources for future generations.
The restoration of each iwi mana motuhake including oranga wairua, oranga whānau, oranga whenua and oranga taiao.
To wānanga, share ideas and concerns.
To create more opportunities ensuring we provide benefit for all iwi.

Our Poropiti, Aperahama Taonui

Our Poropiti, Aperahama Taonui 1810-1883, at the signing of the Declaration of Independence 1835 he said:

"He taniwha kei te haere mai - ōna niho he hiriwa me te kōura, ko tōna kai he whenua. Kaua e mataku i te hiriwa me te kōura engari kaua e tuku i te hiriwa me te kōura hei atuatanga mōu."
There is a demon on its way - it is a demon that will arrive with teeth of silver and gold and an insatiable diet for land. Fear not the teeth of silver and gold, just do not allow the silver and gold to become your god."

Te Tīriti o Waitangi is the founding document of this country and the beginning of building a new nation. It was signed in1840 at Waitangi and sets the parameters for a relationship between Māori and the Crown.

At the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi 1840, he threw his kiwi cloak onto the table for where the signing was to happen, when an armed constabulary threw the flag of the Union Jack over the top of the cloak on the table to which Aprehama called out:

"Kaua! Kaua e hainatia te Tiriti ki runga ki tēnā poukara, ina hainatia, ka riro o koutou mana ki raro i ngā panekoti a tētahi wahine kīhae tātou moiho ko wai, no whenua kē!"
Do not sign Te Tiriti on top of that flag for if we do then we would agree to place our mana below the skirts of a woman from another land for which we do not know. (At the time it was Queen Victoria.)

For Te Kahu O Taonui (Tai Tokerau Iwi Chairs Forum), Te Tiriti o Waitangi, together with He Whakaputanga o Te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni, provides the agreement to allow the beginning of a new nation, and the basis of Māori relationships with all New Zealanders as represented by Government, including local government.

Before his death in 1883, he gave his last prediction:

"He taniwha kei te haere mai - he taniwha tae kuhu, tae huna e kore rawa koutou e kitea, e kore koutou e mohio kua tae mai, kia kitea rano i ngā kanohi a o mokopuna. Ina tae ki tēnā, kaua e patua i o mokopuna - engari hipokingia o koutou mokopuna ki te kahu aroha a te whanau."
There is a demon on its way - it is a demon that will arrive stealthily and deviously and you will not see it coming, you will not even know that it's here until you see it in the eyes of your mokopuna. When you do, do not punish your mokopuna - you must wrap your mokopuna in the cloak of love of the Whānau.