Returning home to whenua as a process of reclaiming belonging, identity, and everyday kaitiakitanga

Natasha Koia (Ngāti Porou, Te Aitanga a Mate, Te Whānau a Rākairoa, Te Whānau a Tāpuhi) is a kaitiaki and systems-thinker living in Makarika, Tairāwhiti (Gisborne), where she and her whānau built their whare on ancestral whenua beside Rongoitekai Marae. Opening the series, her kōrero is shaped by her grandparents’ reo and values. Tarsh bridges lived practice and deep insight, reminding us that belonging is inherited and that there is space for everyone to return: home has always been waiting, and there is enough space for everybody.

No runga, no raro kare i whakapapatia

We are all connected, there is no separation

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