Lindsay Poutama
Ko wai ahau
Ka tū taku manu ki runga o Tararua, e rere mai ana i te take o te maunga, ki te hukahuka o te tai, ki te rohe e mōhiotia ana nō Ngāti Tukorehe mō ana uri, me ana moetanga katoa,
Taku tūranga ake ki runga ki ngā puke whakaruruhau o te marae nei, ko Pukeatua, ko Ōtararere, ko Poroporo, hei ahuru mōwai mo te marae o Tukorehe me ngā hapū o te whenua nei, ko Te Mateawa, ko Te Rangitāwhia, ko Ngāti Manu, ko Ngāti Kapumanawawhiti ki te Iwi nei o Ngāti Tukorehe e mihi atu nei ki a koutou.
Ko Lindsay Poutama ahau.
Profile
I have just celebrated 44 years of marriage to the love of my life Marina (Mina) who is from Ngāti Maniapoto and Ngāti Kino Haku. We have 3 children (Les, Taanaya and Tiffany) 11 grand-children and 1 great grand-child and live on the Kapiti Coast in Paraparaumu.
I am immersed in a māori worldview, the marae is my workplace, our people keep me balanced and motivated whilst the whenua sustains us in a spiritual and physical sense. Although I lead specific projects, I do so knowingly that I reflect the dreams and aspirations of the people I represent. I am very sure of my own identity and I am able to transit between a number of roles, worldviews and obligations with ease. The teachings of our elders those past and present remain deeply embedded within me and give strength and direction when required.
Leadership Roles
I am currently working part-time as a Cultural Advisor to IMAC (Immunisation Advisory Centre) at The University of Auckland and Hapai Hauora in Auckland to assist them with the development of a culturally appropriate engagement strategy and training programs for its Immunisation Staff involved in Covid Immunisation.
I have recently retired as CEO for Te Rūnanga o Raukawa representing 25 Hapū of Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga. This role placed me at the forefront of the political, social, financial and environmental issues affecting our people and our region especially during the height of our Covid Pandemic.
I also sat on the Te Ahu-a-tūranga Alliance Board for the Ashurst to Woodville roading project and have been responsible for guiding the key cultural imperatives which underpin this project. This Project also gained the NZPI (New Zealand Planning Institute) Best Practice Award for Consultation and Participation Strategies and Processes. One of the most memorable outcomes from this project was the process for the discovery of Moa Bones and the delicate negotiation with multiple Hapū / Iwi about how this would be handled.
Prior to and during this time I have represented both Te Rūnanga o Raukawa and Ngāti Tukorehe in the O2NL (Otaki to North Levin) Roading Project assuming a similar leadership role to that at Te Ahu-a-Turanga.
As well as these roles I have maintained Advisory roles to Manawatū, Remutaka and Arohata Prisons and Probation service as well as supporting Levin District Court and Muaupoko Tribal Authority with the Youth Court whilst Levin Court was being renovated.
Prior to answering a request to return to Levin to run the Rūnanga I was the Executive Chair for Te Korowai Aroha o Aotearoa.
My role as the Education Manager for Te Iwi O Ngāti Tukorehe Trust placed me at the forefront of our tribal educational aspirations as well as managing the many relationships between funders and staff who deliver our programs. We have been fortunate to have a long term relationship with Te Wānanga o Aotearoa as a Satellite Provider as well as relationships with the Ministry of Education and Te Taurawhiri I Te Reo, each relationship enabling the fulfilment of and educational aspiration for Ngāti Tukorehe and our wider community. We commit to placing tauira (students) in front of subject matter experts who are able to facilitate, expound, challenge and promote the successful transmission of knowledge. Outside of this role I manage a number of key and strategic projects and relationships for Ngāti Tukorehe which are separate to the work I perform for the Trust.
It is my honour to sit on the sacred Paepae Tapu of Ngāti Tukorehe and as a unit we help maintain the tikanga and kawa processes in celebrations of life (hui) ora, and celebrations of a life lived (hui mate).
I have been a past Chairman of the Marae Komiti and continue to support the marae in any decision making processes. Although I no longer serve as Chair I remain actively involved in marae events, maintenance and issues.
Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Raukawa is mandated to look after the social, political and aspirational needs of the 25 hapū of Raukawa. I have maintained a position on the Komiti Whaiti (Governance Board) starting in the CEDEC (Commercial and Employment Development Economic Committee in 1995.
Pou Here Kaupapa for Te Rōpū Kupenga ō Matakite Whare Tū Taua. I am responsible for the maintenance of the matauranga (knowledge) the kaupapa (ethos) and continuity of the ideals of harmony in action created by understanding of the roles of Tū Matauenga and Rongo and the subtle movement and transition between each of the states. I have maintained this role for over 30 years.
Chairman for Tū Te Manawaroa Porirua ki Manawatū claimant group. Started as a group of non-aligned claimants and discovered more in common with each other than the other claimants.
I have been appointed as the Cultural Advisor by the Tū Te Manawaroa Claimant Group in the Porirua ki Manawatū Waitangi Treaty Claim.
The Horowhenua District Council Memorandum of Partnership enables Ngāti Tukorehe to maintain direct access to the Mayor and the CEO as a Treaty Partner. I am fortunate enough to co-lead this relationship.
Roads of National Significance (RoNS) are looking to expand SH1 through Kuku. I was asked to complete the Cultural Impact Assessment for Ngāti Tukorehe and am leading the Ngāti Tukorehe response as well as helping to form and now be being part of a pan-tribal overarching strategy.
I serve as a Justice of the Peace and a Marriage Celebrant.
Cultural Roles
Te Whānau Kotahi Ora, was a Rongoā Clinic set up by Te Awhina Riwaka to continue the traditions of healing taught to her by Kapi Adams and Naki Kino. It was my privilege and honour to be an advisor and Manager of this organisation when I did. The people involved with this clinic provided a solid grounding in understanding your individual impact on your people, their wellbeing, the environment and your place in it.
In 2013 I assisted the Department of Corrections and Probation Service within the Lower North Island Region to setup the inaugural Māori Advisory Board to Manawatū Prison and Probation services, to ensure that the culture, processes as well as the wellbeing of māori incarcerated in the Justice system are understood from a māori worldview as well as having access to their culture from their particular area of origin. This created the formation of Te Ara Māori within Manawatū Prison was seen as a flagship program for prisoners seeking re-integration back into society.
This approach is being duplicated in the Wellington Prisons at Remutaka and Arohata I have been asked to represent Raukawa ki te Tonga along with Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Te Atiawa ki Poneke, Tenths Trust and Ngāti Tukorehe. The Wellington relationship is in its infancy but the expectation is that we will be able to provide better integration of people, needs and services to those people who are incarcerated and being integrated back into society.
In 2012 I was approached to sit on the Board of Te Korowai Aroha o Aotearoa, a National Indigenous Training Organisation which uses Indigenous knowledge and methodologies to create Iwi, Hapū and Whānau transformation. This organisation is at the forefront of applying indigenous and cultural training and knowledge to Social workers and Iwi Practitioners as well as providing training to Oranga Tamariki Caregivers and the implementation of a Youth Strategy Mahuri Totara. I was the Executive Chairman (Te Rau) managing this organisation until a new CEO was appointed.
Horowhenua District Council are committed to providing a māori perspective to all its staff and every year I provide cultural awareness training to new staff members. Over the last three years we have facilitated the creation of a staff waiata (which is practised and performed regularly) and staff have spent many days at the marae learning in more depth the aspects of māori culture. The clear benefits have been in challenging staff about how they apply basic concepts in māori into their everyday work environment.
Transpower is a State-Owned Enterprise tasked with maintaining power connection to all communities of Aotearoa. Recently I took staff through some key aspects of māori cultural values and recently undertook to train staff in some key āhuatanga (insights and values) māori, and explanations which produced a document that outlined what they in they mean in their own words for each of the cultural values and how they would be implemented into their work environment to underpin our relationships and their behaviour.
Lecturer – Certificate in Indigenous Research Methodology, looked at the application of āhuatanga māori to create a tikanga around the successful engagement with Iwi māori in research projects and the understanding, application and creation of a research plan based around these Indigenous methodologies. I have also presented to staff symposiums for Te Wānanga O Aotearoa in designing and implementing research plans.
Te Ōhanga Kukupā is the Ngāti Tukorehe Language Revitalisation Strategy. I co-wrote the strategy using language revitalisation methodology and then applying indigenous theory and tikanga from a tirohanga māori (maori worldview) to create “Kia Mau, Kia U, Kia Ita.” Based on capture, (the hearts and minds of our whānau) hold, (their interest with innovation and fellowship) and covert, ( the thinking to give priority to transmission and retention of te reo). This is being implemented by Ngāti Tukorehe and its wider whānau.
I also maintain a number of Indigenous and Academic Relationships with the University of Wyoming and the Wind River People from the Arapaho and Shoshoni, Commanche from New Mexico as well as MAO Farms in Hawaii and Ōhana in Keaukaha.