Ka pai, whānau! Together, Aotearoa has overcome COVID-19. This is a significant milestone and you should all be very proud of what has been achieved.

On behalf of Te Mana o Ngāti Rangitihi Trust – I mihi all of you, ngā uri o Ngāti Rangitihi, for doing your part to keep our people safe.

I extend sincere thanks to our office team who rallied together with our network of volunteers across the country to ensure our kaumātua and all those vulnerable and at-risk people had what they needed to keep going during the lockdown.

I thank you all for the feedback in relation to our support efforts as well. We received valuable information which will ensure that if something like this should ever happen again, we can respond even better to support our people.

I also acknowledge that this crisis has not come without loss – including the loss of lives, loss of livelihoods, and a temporary ‘halt’ to our tikanga. We’ve had to change our ways and adapt. At some points, we were unable to properly mourn the loss of loved ones, they way we are used to. This was difficult to accept.

Things are almost back to normal now, but we will always remember the sacrifices our people had to make over the past three months.

Alert Level 1 guidelines

While we are largely returning to ‘normal’ under Alert Level 1, we must acknowledge that ‘normal’ also comes with some caveats.

While we do not need to practice physical distancing anymore, maintaining contact tracing protocols and safe hygiene practices are still important. Read more about the ‘Golden Rules’ under Alert Level 1 here.

Tangihanga and other large gatherings

In Alert Level 1, gatherings for wedding ceremonies, tangihanga, and gatherings at home can take place as normal – as things were before COVID-19. There are no restrictions on numbers, but a reminder to please maintain good hygiene practices and keep a note of where you have been and who you have interacted with.

Rangitihi Marae update

Our Kāhui kaumātua will be meeting to decide on an opening date for Rangitihi Marae. At this stage our Marae is still closed. We hope to have more detail on this next week.

Looking ahead

We are still working to complete settlement negotiations. But things are looking positive. I look forward to providing you with a more definitive update on our settlement negotiations over the coming weeks.

Should we be able to hold our settlement ratification process this year, this will be a positive milestone in what has been a very tumultuous year.

In the meantime, make sure you are registered with us and your contact details are up to date. Register or update your details here via YourIwi.

Continue to stay in touch with us. We’re here to answer any queries you might have relating to our Iwi: 

He aha te mea nui o te ao. He tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata.