Māori and the natural environment from an occupational justice perspective

ABSTRACT

This paper posits a broader agenda for occupational science by exploring tribal ideology and practices in relation to the natural environment. Tapuika, a tribe located in the Bay of Plenty, Aotearoa New Zealand, share with other tribes and many other indigenous people, a traditional world-view that is holistic and all encompassing. The Māori world begins with the creation narratives. In traditional Māori thought, the entire universe is personified and both spiritually and physically defined. The progenitors of life, the primeval parents Ranginui (sky) and Papatūānuku (earth), are perceived to be ātua (gods). The spiritual and physical aspects of the natural environment can provide a platform to explore the concept of inclusion and participation from a Māori perspective. The mauri (life force) of this relationship is maintained through everyday occupations. While this suggests a positive engagement with the natural environment, the colonial experience alienated tribal people from their estates. However, recent Treaty Settlements have provided a means for tribes to access ancestral lands, much of which was previously alienated from tribal ownership or control. Tribes also are able to exercise a sense of traditional kaitiakitanga (guardianship) over these lands.

本文通过探索关于自然环境的部落思想和行为，提出了更广的休闲科学议程。 Tapuika是一个部落，位于新西兰奥特罗瓦的丰盛湾，与其他部落和许多其他土着人共有一个传统世界观，这个世界观是全方位的，包罗万象的。毛利人的世界从创世叙述开始。在传统的毛利思想中，整个宇宙都是拟人化的，在精神上和物质上均有定义。生命的祖先，原始的父母Ranginui（天空）和Papatūānuku（地球），被认为是ātua（神）。自然环境的精神和物质方面可以提供一个平台，从毛利人的角度探讨包容和参与的概念。这种关系中的mauri（生命力）通过日常休闲活动得以保持。虽然此点表明与自然环境的积极互动，殖民经历使得部落人民远离他们的土地。然而，最近的条约为部落获得祖传土地提供了一种方式，其中许多土地的部落所有权或控制权在以前被剥夺。部落也能够行使对这些土地的传统的kaitiakitanga（监护）感。

Este estudio plantea un programa más amplio para la ciencia ocupacional explorando la ideología trivial y las prácticas en relación al medio ambiente. Tapuika, es una tribu ubicada en Bahía de Plenty, Aotearoa en Nueva Zelanda, que comparte con otras tribus y muchos otros indígenas una visión tradicional del mundo holística e integral. El mundo Māori empieza con las narrativas de la creación. En el pensamiento Māori tradicional, el universo entero está personificado y definido espiritual y físicamente. Los progenitores de la vida, los padres primitivos Ranginui (cielo) y Papatūānuku (tierra), son percibidos como ātua (dioses). Los aspectos espirituales y físicos del medio ambiente pueden ofrecer una plataforma para explorar el concepto de inclusión y participación desde una perspectiva Māori. La mauri (fuerza vital) de esta relación se mantiene mediante las ocupaciones cuotidianas. Aunque que este hecho sugiere un compromiso positivo con el medio ambiente, la experiencia colonial alejó a las personas de las tribus de sus estados. Sin embargo, unos recientes tratados de asentamiento han proporcionado medios a las tribus para acceder a las tierras ancestrales, la mayoría de las cuales fueron alejadas de la propiedad o control tribal. Estas tribus también son capaces de practicar el kaitiakitanga tradicional (custodia) de estas tierras.

KEYWORDS:

• Colonisation
• environment
• guardianship
• occupational justice
• well-being

This paper presents a social justice agenda that could potentially assist occupational scientists and therapists to work with Māori individuals and their communities. This position is endorsed by Gelya Frank (2007) who added a ‘collective’ dimension to occupational well-being, espousing the use of occupation to support collective well-being and sovereignty. Occupational justice underpins the discussion because Māori communities have been disenfranchised by the colonial experience. The impact of colonisation on indigenous populations is well documented (Adams, 1995; Diamond, 2003; Fanon, 1975; Havemann, 1999; Kirmayer & Valaskakis, 2009; Maaka & Anderson, 2006). There is also compelling evidence supporting the correlation between the colonial experience and poverty, marginalization, racism and poor health (Bramley, 2005; Fanon, 1975; Krieger, Rowley, Herman, Avery, & Phillips, 1993; Lavallee & Poole, 2010; Marmot, 2005; Ministry of Health and University of Otago, 2006). As the International Working Group on Indigenous Affairs (2006) acknowledged:

Indigenous peoples remain on the margins of society: they are poorer, less educated, die at a younger age, are much more likely to commit suicide and are generally in worse health than the rest of the population. Even in developed countries such as Canada and Australia, statistics show that the life expectancy of the indigenous population is significantly shorter than that of their non-indigenous counterparts. (p. 10)

In Aotearoa New Zealand, “life expectancy at birth is 77.1 years for Māori females and 73.0 years for Māori males, compared with 83.9 years for non-Māori females and 80.3 years for non-Māori males” (Statistics NZ, 2015). Additionally, “Māori and Pacific ethnic groups typically have poverty rates that are around double those of the European/Pākehā ethnic group, regardless of the measure used” (Perry, 2010, p. 124).

Arguably, making a difference for Māori is contingent on an appreciation of the historical forces that have shaped and marginalised communities. Translated into the workplace, this knowledge promotes an understanding of the challenges that marginalised communities face and the impact this has on their health status. As such, the study contributes to a fledgling human rights agenda that is beginning to gain traction in the occupational science field (Beagan & Etowa, 2011; Bryant, 2010; Hocking, Townsend, Gerlach, Huot, Laliberte Rudman, & van Bruggen, 2015; Townsend, Beagan, Kumas-Tan, Versnel, Iwama, & Landry, 2007).

The Tapuika tribe presents a microcosm of the colonial experience of indigenous peoples, representing the extremes of disenfranchisement. As a raupatu (confiscation) tribe, Tapuika has endured unimaginable losses – nearly 95% of the original tribal estate had gone by the turn of last century. Consequently, the present relationship between Māori and the natural environment is decidedly constrained. This is a consequence of colonisation, which has shaped our relationship with the environment, which in turn can be described as occupationally unjust.

The evolving theory of occupational justice links the concept to social justice and to concerns for a justice of difference: a justice that recognizes occupational rights to inclusive participation in everyday occupations for all persons in society, regardless of age, ability, gender, social class, or other differences. (Nilsson & Townsend, 2010, p. 57)

Kaupapa Māori (the Māori world view) provides a holistic philosophical framework to explore this hypothesis. Māori concepts of heath include, but are not restricted to, spiritual, physical, psychological, social and spiritual dimensions of human well-being. This holistic approach takes into consideration the relationship between humankind and the environment. Even today, Māori relate wellness to the deeper philosophical tradition linked to interrelationships between gods, the universe and all living things.

There is an alignment between environmental health and well-being and traditional Māori concepts of wealth and wellness. Spiller, Erakovic, Henare and Pio (2011), addressing business interests, offered a comprehensive and relational definition of wealth that is embedded in a wellness framework. “Business can create, spiritual, cultural, social environmental and economic well-being. A well-beings approach entails praxis, which brings values and practice together with the purpose of consciously creating well-being and, in so doing, creates multidimensional wealth” (p. 153). This well-beings approach underpins this paper.

Additionally, kaitiakitanga (caring for the environment) benefits everyone. Arguably, the earth’s resources are finite and a short term, profit driven approach to using environmental resources is unsustainable. Senge, Smith, Kruschwitz, Laur and Schley (2010) argued that sustainability of the environment is a global dilemma which involves everyone.

Methodology

A cross-disciplinary, multi-methodological approach provides the best platform to examine tribal beliefs and practices. Occupational science provides the theoretical context for this paper to bring together three inter-related strands or themes; occupational justice, well-being and Māori epistemology. Hammell and Iwama (2012) maintained that human well-being is central to occupational rights, which in turn are inextricable from human rights.

Establishing Māori epistemology as a credible methodological approach is critical to this study because the concept to meaningful occupation is defined by Māori conceptualisations of wellness. The cultural imperatives that define wellness as holistic (spiritual, physical, psychological and social) are also interconnected. It is this approach that makes engagement with the natural environment meaningful to tribal members.

The case study of Tapuika is the platform to establish the relationship of wellness, Māori epistemology, occupational engagement and justice, thus facilitating in-depth interpretation of the complexities that shape the relationship between Māori and the environment. The case study research method is “an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context; when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident; and in which multiple sources of evidence are used” (Yin, 1984. p. 23).

The study draws on my background in social anthropology, which explains the underlying participant-observation positioning that is evident throughout the paper. This approach aligns itself comfortably with the following definition of occupational science; “simply put, occupational science is the formal study of the things people do; making a cup of tea, singing in a choir, working the night shift” (Hocking & Wright-St Clair, 2011, p. 29).

The case study is also strengthened by an insider researcher’s perspective. While there is considerable debate about the integrity of insider and outsider research (Kanuha, 2000; Merton, 1972; Taylor, 2011), I maintain that my position as an insider is methodologically sound.

The indigenous-insider endorses the unique values, perspectives, behaviors, beliefs, and knowledge of his or her primordial community and culture. He or she is also perceived by significant others and opinion leaders within the community as a legitimate member of the community who has a perspective and the knowledge that will promote the well-being of the community, enhance its power, and enable it to maintain cultural integrity and survive. (Banks, 1998, pp. 7–8)

I was raised in my early, formative years by my maternal grandmother within the takapū (tribal estate). I am now a senior member of the Tapuika tribe. Although I do not reside in the takapū, throughout my entire life I have maintained active participation with my tribal community.

More recently, my knowledge of traditional Tapuika beliefs and values has been strengthened by my involvement in the Treaty settlement process. I was part of the team that successfully negotiated settlement of Treaty breaches with the Crown. Through this process, which is central to the tenets of occupational justice, my tribe has recovered knowledge of the tribal estates that were previously inaccessible or unknown to them. This is the catalyst for renewed engagement with these areas, as discussed in more detail later in the paper.

A Brief History of Tapuika

The small township of Te Puke¹ is within Tapuika’s traditional tribal estate² known as Te Takapū o Tapuika (the belly of Tapuika), which aptly describes the fertility of the land. Tapuika identity is inseparable from the natural environment expressed in the pepeha (tribal proverb) which connects the tribe with the ancestral mountain and the river.

Table

Ko Rangiuru te maunga	Rangiuru is the mountain
Ko Te Kaituna te awa	Kaituna is the river
Ko Te Arawa te waka	Te Arawa is the canoe
Ko Tapuika te iwi	Tapuika is the tribe

The Tapuika tribe takes its name from the tūpuna (ancestor) Tapuika, who was born in Hawaiiki and came to Aotearoa on the Te Arawa canoe. His father, Tia, claimed the lands he saw from the waka as it lay offshore at the outlet of the Wairakei Stream at Papamoa.

Mai i ngā pae maunga ki te toropuke e tu kau mai rā ki te awa e rere mai ana, waiho te whenua ko te takapū o taku tamaiti a Tapuika

From the range of mountains in the distance to the hill which stands before me, to the river that flows towards me, I proclaim these lands as the belly of my son Tapuika.

The name Tapuika translates as ‘sacred fish’, in reference to the tradition that New Zealand was discovered by the demi-god Māui.³ Using the same theme, the tūpuna (ancestor), Tapuika named his son Makahae,⁴ which describes the slashing of the sacred fish of Māui. Tapuika flourished in their new homeland and maintained mana whenua (sovereignty) over their tribal estate through undisturbed continuous occupation. This was the status quo until the 1830s when the missionaries, traders and early settlers moved into the territory.

In 1840 the Treaty of Waitangi heralded the onset of colonisation and the separation of Tapuika from most of their ancestral lands. In the 1860s New Zealand Land Wars, Tapuika fought against the Crown’s encroachment on their land by destroying provided survey equipment and engaging in armed conflict. The Crown responded by using a scorched earth policy, which decimated the population and destroyed villages and cultivations. Tapuika were labelled rebels by the Crown. Today Tapuika (proudly) remain un-surrendered rebels.

The consequences of rebellion were land confiscations, exacerbated by Native Land Court proceedings, which further alienated the tribe from their land. This included coastal land. While Tapuika, a coastal tribe, has had access to the coast, exercising mana moana (sovereignty over the sea and waterways) has been challenging. Tapuika treasure their waterways but as a result of European mismanagement, those waterways have been modified and polluted, and wāhi tapu (sacred places) have been destroyed. Consequently, Tapuika’s traditional sources of food and water have been compromised. As a result, customary relationships with our waterways, which were previously sustained through everyday occupations, have been a challenge to maintain.

Kaupapa Māori Epistemology

Kaupapa Māori epistemology is the broad framework of beliefs and practices that inform Tapuika tribal knowledge. Māori share with many other indigenous people a traditional world-view that is holistic and all encompassing. The Māori world begins with the creation narratives, where cosmology is defined by whakapapa (kinship). In traditional Māori thought, the entire universe is personified. Māori believe that they are descendants of the gods. There is a Māori whakatauki (proverb) that encapsulates this truism:

Nā Ranginui rāua ko Papatūānuku tāua.

We are both descendants of the sky father and the earth mother.

At a tribal level, the focus is exclusively on tribal kinship ties to a common ancestor and their relationship with the land of their ancestors. Whakapapa (genealogy) not only connects the tribe to each other, but also to the natural environment.

The female ātua (god/deity) Papatūānuku personifies the earth. Therefore, it is incumbent on humans to care for the earth as we should our mother. It is this ideological relationship that dictates the behaviour between people and the land, through whakapapa (kinship). Through procreation, Papatūānuku was adorned with flora and fauna of the earth and Ranginui (sky father) with the stars. This Māori view of reality defined through whakapapa is physical (natural environment) and metaphysical (spiritual through gods).

Therefore, the natural environment, trees, waters animals and ultimately people are linked together. The role of humanity is custodial; we are charged with protecting the environment. Kaitiakitanga (custodianship) is caring for the natural environment and is, in a sense, a sacred duty because it is associated with the gods.

The inability of Tapuika to maintain kaitiakitanga over much of their tribal estate is a direct consequence of the colonisation of Aotearoa New Zealand. The Treaty of Waitangi is arguably the harbinger of the destruction of Māori lifeways, and the desecration of their beliefs and values.

The Treaty of Waitangi

The Treaty of Waitangi (1840) is inextricable to Aotearoa New Zealand’s colonial past. For most Māori, it is about the rights of the indigenous people and the responsibilities of the Crown. However, the distance been ideology and practice has been (and arguably remains) assiduously maintained since the treaty was signed. Notwithstanding, it is the Treaty of Waitangi that is the focus of contention for the tribes because, as an agreement, it abjectly failed in its promise to protect their resources (Moon, 2013; Orange, 2011; Walker, 1989). Interestingly, the wording in the Treaty of Waitangi is explicit about the rights of Māori to retain sovereignty over tribal resources.

Her Majesty the Queen of England confirms and guarantees to the Chiefs and Tribes of New Zealand and to the respective families and individuals thereof the full exclusive and undisturbed possession of their Lands and Estates Forests Fisheries and other properties which they may collectively or individually possess so long as it is their wish and desire to retain the same in their possession. (Article 2)

While Māori beliefs and values provide the philosophical framework, in reality the colonial experience has for the most part separated Māori tribes from their original tribal estates. The Treaty settlement⁵ process is designed to compensate⁶ the tribes for breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi. Irrespective, in 2010, James Anaya the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples visited New Zealand and claimed that: “The Treaty settlement process in New Zealand, despite evident shortcomings, is one of the most important examples in the world of an effort to address historical and ongoing grievances of indigenous peoples” (Anaya, 2011, p. 2). The ambivalence that tribes express about the treaty settlement process is also reflected in Anaya’s (2011) report, particularly the Treaty negotiation process.

An overarching concern is that the negotiation procedure is flawed from the outset because the party responsible for the breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi—the Government—is wholly responsible for determining the framework policies and procedures for redress for those breaches, resulting in a situation that is inherently imbalanced and unfair to Māori. (p. 12)

Ostensibly, it is difficult to understand exactly why the tribes choose to engage in a process that is so ‘unjust’. It appears that the reason is that the tribes have concluded that non-engagement further disempowers their people. While the process is blatantly unfair, the tribes have no other viable choices to improve the socio-economic status of the tribe.

Occupational Deprivation: The Impact on Tribal Knowledge and Practice

Occupational deprivation is defined as “a state of preclusion from engagement in occupations of necessity and/or meaning due to factors that stand outside the immediate control of the individual” (Whiteford, 2000, p. 201). Consideration of Tapuika’s experience of occupational deprivation expands this definition to include the collective.

Tapuika’s alienation from their traditional lands and waterways predicated the decline of tribal knowledge. The Waitangi Settlement claims provided a vehicle to revitalise the knowledge and practices associated with the river and environs. For the majority of Tapuika, knowledge of occupations such as traditional hunting and fishing practices have been lost. For example, in the process of completing the claims, Tapuika learned that the lower Kaituna wetlands of Kawa, Pūkaingataru, Parawhenuamea, and Nohonoa held important food resources. They were rich in fish, tuna, inanga (whitebait), pātiki (flounder), and waterfowl, as well as tī kōuka (cabbage tree). These resources have been severely depleted, but the tribe is in the process, in collaboration with local schools and the regional Council, of developing strategies to revitalise traditional plantations in these areas.

Similarly, the wetlands were used for growing taro, kumara and other crops, and for gathering rongoā (medicines), raupo (bulrush), and harakeke (flax). Along the coast, from Maketū to Wairakei, were the highly valued fishing grounds of Papahīkahawai and Ōkūrei, where kuku (mussels), kina (sea urchin) and kōura (fresh water crayfish) were gathered. The Treaty claims process affirmed Tapuika interests in these lands and in doing so restored the mana (sovereign rights) of the tribe. The knowledge about traditional fishing, hunting and gathering occupations are an integral part of the tribe’s reengagement strategy with the environment.

Pūrākau (Storytelling): Occupational Justice and Empowerment

The Treaty of Waitangi claims process also became the catalyst for the revitalisation of tribal knowledge. As the losses mounted,⁷ Tapuika became more introspective. One of the consequences was that ancestral knowledge was secreted away, held in trust by certain families – with the foresight to preserve them. This proved to be an asset because, when the tribe decided to pursue redress under the Treaty Claims, the concealed whānau (family) manuscripts provided a wealth of supporting evidence for the claim.

In gatherings around local marae (ancestral meeting places), manuscripts that had been lovingly preserved were spread out for the first time in public. Some tribal members wiped away tears as they read narratives written in the most exquisite handwriting. Until that time, most Tapuika were unaware that the Kaituna river is an ancestor. It was also revealed that the rivers and waterways are the veins and arteries of Papatūānuku (Ngā uaua toto o Papatūānuku). They were created by her son Tane’s penchant for procreation. In his quest for lovers, he turned to his mother, Papatūānuku, who sent him to the ancient ancestresses. The various unions produced the flora and fauna that adorn Papatūānuku. It is from those narratives that Tapuika describe the river as a sacred ancestor.

Ki a Tapuika, he tūpuna te awa

To Tapuika the river is an ancestor

It is because of this association with the gods that the river is sacred. But, tapu (sacred) and noa (secular) are dialectical concepts. As such, in Māori thought, all forms of life have both spiritual and physical properties. For example, although the river is considered sacred, it is also the provider of water, source of food gathering, transportation, recreational activities and other occupations people engage in. The sacred aspect is acknowledged in the reciting of traditional karakia (prayer, invocations), usually to place rāhui (temporary prohibition or restrictions) on food harvesting as a conservation measure. Traditionally, the first catch (e.g. first fish caught) or first snippet of watercress was returned to the river, in deference to the god Tangaroa. This spiritual endowment, which lies across the land, is transmitted through pūrākau (storytelling). These tribal narratives represent accumulated Māori cultural knowledge or cultural capital.

River Narratives

Occupational science is described as “the formal study of the things people do” (Hocking & Wright-St Clair, 2011, p. 29). I argue that storytelling falls within this definition, especially in the context of information gathering to provide evidence for the tribe’s Treaty claims. Moreover, the storytelling performs an important social function that engages whānau in an occupation that strengthens social bonds, and cultural identity.

All Tapuika who have lived in the takapū (tribal estates) have their own stories about the river which, despite pollution, remains the favourite recreational site of the young. The older generation reminisce about their own exploits on the river. The act of sharing stories reinforces the relationship with the environment that underpins our identity as a tribal people. Central to the narratives are foray with taniwhā (tribal mythical creatures). Taniwhā that are both feared and respected inhabit waterways as kaitiaki (custodians).

The taniwhā Te Mapu’s lair, known as te ana o Te Mapu, was located on a bend of the Kaituna River at a place called Te Kārangi. As children we were cautioned (or threatened) by our elders to avoid that spot. Although the taniwhā had long left his lair, his mana was such that it was still a very tapu (sacred) place. Furthermore, when Te Mapu occupied the lair he was known to capsize canoes and drown the occupants. This was particularly useful to Tapuika when warring parties were travelling down the Kaituna.

Despite the warnings, or perhaps because of them, I remember the feelings of bravado mixed with fear, floating on a log (with a few other kids) past the point of no return to check out Te Mapu’s lair. As we approached the corner a whirlpool started to form. Terrified, we bailed out, swam to the bank and fled. The embellished version of the story was that the log disappeared into the vortex. Many years later, when I was old enough to escape punishment, I relayed the experience to the ‘aunties’ who had issued the warning. They laughed as they related their own experiences of fraternising with taniwhā, regaling us with stories more fantastical than our own. However, these childhood experiences do not in any way diminish the mana (power) of the taniwhā and the respect they engender. Furthermore, knowledge of the location of taniwhā lairs is evidence of the tribe’s long standing association with the river. This proved to be critical to establishing Tapuika ownership of the Kaituna River and its tributaries during the Treaty settlement claims process.

Occupational Deprivation: Moving Beyond Grievance

The Treaty Claims process is promoted as ‘Healing the past, building the future.’⁸ The Crown apology is an integral part of the healing process. The following excerpt is the apology relating to the Crown accepting responsibility for the degraded state of the Kaituna River and its tributaries.

Mai anō i ngā tau 1950, kua tāhawahawatia, kua whakaparuparutia hoki ngā wai a Parawhenuamea e noho ai koutou, e whakamaimoatia ai e koutou. E ngaukino ana te manawa pā i te Karauna i te auhī i pā ki a Tapuika, mōna i kore nei e taurima i te hononga motuhake o Tapuika ki te Awa Nui o Tapuika me ōna hikuwai.

The waterways you live beside and cherish have, since the 1950s, been degraded and polluted. The Crown profoundly regrets the anguish this has caused for Tapuika, and failing to protect the special relationship Tapuika has with the Kaituna River and its tributaries. (Ministry of Justice, 2014, p. 19)

In 1840 when the Treaty was signed, the Kaituna River was pristine. In 2014, pollution levels preclude Tapuika from full engagement and enjoyment of the river and its tributaries. Effluent and human waste from an abattoir at Rangiuru, as well as agricultural run-off, have polluted and contaminated the river (Marsh, Callaghan, McNeill, & Maxwell, 2005). This statement is reiterated in the Waitangi Tribunal (2008), He Maunga Rongo Report, “The polluted waters of the Maketū estuary and of the lower Kaituna River were unsafe for swimming and for food-gathering” (p. 1445). The hope for clean-up provisions for the Kaituna River were dashed when, in 2013, Christopher Finlayson, the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, made it very clear to Tapuika negotiators that the Crown had no appetite for replicating the Waikato River clean-up provisions.

The Waikato-Tainui Deed of Settlement 2008 had included a $210 million clean-up fund and co-governance over the Waikato river environment (Ministry of Justice, 2008). This raised hopes amongst the tribe that there would be provisions in the legislation to clean up the Kaituna River. The disappointment was real but has not dissuaded the tribe from investing their own resources (financial and expertise) in restoring the health and well-being of the river. This investment reflects Tapuika’s believe that there is a correlation between the health of the river and the health status of the tribe.

The outcomes of the negotiations over the river were not all negative. The Crown’s acknowledgement of Tapuika’s sovereignty over their ancestral river gave the tribe an enormous sense of satisfaction. Of equal importance were the provisions in the Act for co-governance arrangements over the river. As a result, ‘Te Maru o Kaituna’ was established between the local Council, tribes and other stakeholders with an interest in the Kaituna River. This provides an instrument for Tapuika to have a voice in the management of the river and its tributaries. The main objective of Te Maru o Kaituna is to restore the health and well-being of the Kaituna River.

Establishing a collaborative, inclusive, co-operative model is essential to achieving this objective. Under the legislation, Tapuika was allocated two seats on the Authority, but in the spirit of inclusivity elected to assign the additional seat to a tribe with a minor interest in the river. The mana (authority) of the river under the Act validated Tapuika’s claim to ownership, however, the priority is the health of the river. In this instance power sharing, in the best interests of the river, took precedence over tribal positioning.

For Tapuika, restoring the health of the Kaituna River not only benefits the tribe but benefits everyone. In this respect, adding Māori concepts of wellness inherent in their attitude to the environment may also influence, or at least add another dimension to, occupational science discourses.

Conclusion

This paper set out to explore a social justice agenda that could potentially assist occupational scientists to work with Māori individuals and their communities. The interrelated issues of occupational justice, indigenous rights and well-being were viewed through an occupational science lens. Occupational justice provides an alternative approach that advocates empowerment, participation and meaningful occupation (Durocher, Rappolt, & Gibson, 2014; Townsend & Wilcock, 2004; Whiteford, 2000). In this sense it calls upon practitioners to advocate for the rights of indigenous people to full engagement with their tribal estates.

As a case study, Tapuika presents the experiences of previously colonised peoples and their relationship with the environment they occupy. The colonial experience has impacted on the social, economic, psychological and spiritual well-being of all tribal communities. Alienation of the people from that land has spiritual as well as economic consequences. The impact of colonisation on Tapuika is reflected in appalling health, education and employment statistics.

The Kaituna River has been used as a metaphor to investigate Tapuika’s relationship with the environment. The essence of this relationship was succinctly and poignantly described by a Tapuika tribal member who linked the status of the environment with the health status of the community.

Look at our Pakipaki,⁹ our whenua is pīrau (festering/polluted) - no wonder our people are sick! Because before it was such rich land and we had pristine waterways. We have no control over our whenua we can’t use it or care for it the way we would want to. The loss of our land has a huge effect on our health as a community. (McNeill, Aspin, & Te Kingi, 2009, p. 79)

Colonisation not only separated the tribes from their tribal estates and natural resources, but also from the spiritual ethos that lies across the land. The restoration of a meaningful relationship between the tribe and their natural environment necessitates moving beyond grievance. Informal storytelling provided the tribal negotiators with significant traditional knowledge to support our claim. We were able to locate wāhi tapu (sacred places) on the river such as taniwhā lairs. This knowledge was accepted as irrefutable evidence of Tapuika’s ownership of the river in the Treaty claims process.

The work undertaken to provide a case for Tapuika treaty claims was an extremely empowering process on many levels. Tapuika traditional knowledge is the theory that informs practice (praxis). Hammell (2008) suggested “using the term occupational rights to assert the right of all people to engage in meaningful occupations that contribute positively to their own well-being and the well-being of their communities” (p. 61). As a tribe, Tapuika pākeke (adults) aspirations centre on a better future for their tamariki and mokopuna (children and grandchildren). This vision is shaped by a view of the world that is informed by cultural beliefs, values and practices. In that world, wealth and well-being are synonymous. The reconnection between the tribe and their tribal estates must be informed by the principles of occupational justice through meaningful occupation. It is occupation that gives real meaning to the complexity of the relationship between people and the natural environment.

Glossary
Ātua	=	god, deity
Awa	=	river
Harakeke	=	flax
Inanga	=	whitebait, juvenile fish
Iwi	=	tribe
Kaitiaki	=	custodians
Kaitiakitanga	=	caring for the environment, custodianship, guardianship
Karakia	=	prayer, invocations
Kaupapa Māori	=	the Māori world view
Kina	=	sea urchin
Kōura	=	fresh water crayfish
Kuku	=	mussels
Mana	=	power, sovereign rights
Mana moana	=	sovereignty over the sea and waterways
Mana whenua	=	sovereignty over the land
Māori	=	indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand
Marae	=	ancestral meeting places
Maunga	=	mountain
Mauri	=	life force
Mokopuna	=	grandchildren
Noa	=	secular
Pākehā	=	non-Māori or European settlers
Pākeke	=	adults
Papatūānuku	=	earth, primeval mother
Pātiki	=	flounder
Pepeha	=	tribal proverb
Pīrau	=	festering/polluted
Pūrākau	=	storytelling)
Rāhui	=	temporary prohibition or restrictions
Ranginui	=	sky, one of the primeval father
Raupatu tribe	=	one whose land has been confiscated
Raupo	=	bulrush, a swamp plant
Rongoā	=	medicines
Takapū	=	tribal estate
Tamariki	=	children
Taniwhā	=	tribal mythical creatures
Tapu	=	sacred
Tapuika	=	a Māori tribe from the Bay of Plenty, Aotearoa New Zealand
Taro, kumara	=	root vegetables
Taumau	=	claim
Tī kōuka	=	cabbage tree
Tūpuna	=	ancestor
Waka	=	canoe
Wāhi tapu	=	sacred places
Whakapapa	=	kinship, genealogy
Whakatauki	=	proverb
Whānau	=	family

Notes

1. Te Puke is located in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island, New Zealand.

2. The lands within the taumau (claim) of Tia are known as Te Takapū o Tapuika and the tribal estate of his descendants, the iwi Tapuika.

3. According to Māori traditions, Maui fished up the north island of New Zealand and it is known traditionally as te ika a Māui (the great fish of Maui).

4. Tapuika dialect to describe slashing motion as the land/fish was cut up creating the unique topographical details across the landscape.

5. Historical claims relate to claims for Crown breaches of the Treaty prior to 21st September 1992 and contemporary treaty claims relate to claims after 21st September 1992.

6. The Crown acknowledges that full compensation for breaches of the treaty are unattainable.

7. Ngata/Stout Reports for the Native Lands and Native Land Tenure Commission 1907–1909 attest to these losses: “The Tapuika hapu living at Te Puke and Rangiuru have very little land, and the provision made for them, even if their areas now under lease to Europeans are taken into consideration, is not too ample” (Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1908, G-1d, p. 1).

8. Healing the past, building the future. https://www.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Red-Book-Healing-the-past-building-a-future.pdf

9. The Pakipaki River is a tributary of the Kaituna River.