Tikanga
Rangatiratanga
Under the canopy of ‘rangatiratanga’, Te Whē calls up a sense of responsibility to each other, to the whenua, and to the generations both before and after us. By taking on this mantle, we are invested in the work of leadership that fosters growth and connection to our taonga tuku iho.
Also, within this framework is a commitment to the tino rangatiratanga of each participant, and of the haukāinga stories referenced within.
Manaakitanga
The pakiaka that ground us in all of our decision making are determined by manaakitanga. For Te Whē, manaakitanga is especially concerned with the upholding and maintaining of the mana of all involved.
Contained within this context is the understanding that if there were any hapa to occur in the relationships or publication of the works, all involved will do the best to address this situation and, in that sense to whakamana each other.
Furthermore, as the mana of each edition ultimately belongs to the whenua from which it sprung, in most cases it will be appropriate to reference the haukāinga when publishing the work that came from that source. We believe that attribution is important.
Kōtahitanga
The collaborative aspect of Te Pū/Te Whē is a central concept that we cherish. We would like to emphasise the importance of the process and the coming together of all contributors to centre our work on the whenua. We see this as being a kaupapa Māori driven project that is concerned with nourishing the field of Māori literature, honouring the whakapapa of literary work from those who set this path before us, and recording the sound of the wind in the trees (the outcome) as a snapshot of a particular time and place. The publication of the journal is this record.
Te Tukanga
In January 2020, sixteen Māori writers from all over Aotearoa gathered at Tukorehe Marae to participate in a wānanga about our experiences and ask searching questions about what it means to work in a world where English is dominant, where Pākehā publishing values are paramount, and where individual achievement is rewarded. We wanted to create a journal that was bilingual. We wanted to bring values to the surface that we felt were important and to empower each other to make choices in our writing lives that uphold ngā tikanga a kui mā, a koro mā.
For us, we understood that publishing is only one aspect of the creative process. In te ao Pākehā, publishing is the goal, and if your work is well received, then you may receive accolades and acknowledgement. But we began by asking, what would it mean to work for hapū, for iwi? What would it mean to speak creatively in response to specific story given to us by the haukāinga? What would it mean to not seek publication as the outcome, but to seek to respond to the story of our whenua?
One of the first things we sought was guidance from pou in our communities who might be able to direct our thinking. Patricia Grace and Renee joined us to guide, support and participate in our wānanga. The rōpū āwhina tikanga that emerged after the wānanga began with Patricia and Renee and unfolded to include Haare Williams, Joe Harawira, Mike Ross, and John Huria for this edition. These became the Kāhui Ruruhau, and we approached them with complex questions about Māori literature that arose from our wānanga, and our creative works.