Aotearoa Star
Renewing culture, building community, and caring for Māori homelands
Our Story
Aotearoa Water Patrol
Aotearoa Water Patrol is leading water safety and drowning prevention training for Māori in Waikato, Wairarapa and Hawke’s Bay. Their work is grounded in Māori culture and language and is helping build confidence in the water and strengthen connections to the ocean. Recently, Dr. Jordan Waiti provided training for teachers at Te Kopuku High School. They have also led multi-day gatherings for Māori men focusing on freediving, ocean food harvesting, and water safety. Dr. Waiti is also working with a group of Māori speaking surfers to develop a Surfing Papakupu (dictionary) in the Māori language.
Whenua Wai Ora
Whenua Wai Ora (Matariki Wainohu and Tihema Makoare) is a whānau-, hapū- and papakāinga-led kaupapa. It is based in the Pukehou district in the region of Te Matau-a-Maui. The mahi is carried collectively through shared responsibility, trust and long-standing relationships. The kaupapa is guided by environmental and seasonal indicators, including maramataka and the stars, which inform the rhythm of the year when to act, when to pause, and when to pivot.
Whenua Wai Ora is involved in a variety of activities grounded in the land and advancing Māori wellbeing. They have established maara kai as sites of food sovereignty, healing and knowledge transmission. Their water safety kaupapa reinforces relational responsibility to waterways and the moana. Through whenua- and wai-based practices, they support whānau impacted by alcohol and drug harm. They practice ongoing care and advocacy for whāngai and vulnerable tamariki, supporting stability, cultural grounding and re-engagement with learning.
Whenua Wai Ora recently supported He Maunga Ka Taea, a 10-day hīkoi on horseback across Hawke’s Bay to raise funds for the repurchase of Kahuranaki Station after more than 100 years in Pākehā ownership. They have also contributed to wider Indigenous spaces through MC roles at Waitangi Day, Matariki celebrations, Hautapu ceremonies, Te Whare Tū Taua o Aotearoa Hui-a-Tau Facilitator, and the Kahungunu Fashion Awards, and the East-West Center Indo-Pacific Futures Fellowship.
Ongoing relational mahi through tangihanga, hākari, kaumātua support, wānanga and whānau advocacy is essential. While often unseen, this mahi forms essential social and cultural infrastructure within Indigenous communities.
