aotearoa
Utilizing
a sciencific approach to environmental protection
reflects the value attributed to scientific and non-scientific systems of knowledge - in this case Maori and western knowledge.
The Waitaha Executive Grandmothers Council is working with their families, volunteers and legal representatives to protect their land and rivers and ensure the participation of Maori people in Ateroa New Zealand's governance and society.
"One of the first things that happens [...] was that when you are in survival mode, there was no way that you can get cultural enhancement. When you are in survival mode, your mind is coping with the day to day incidences as they happen. And just coping to stay ahead of every trouble that is coming at you from every direction that you see."
- Waitaha Executive Grandmothers Council
"So when Europeans arrived here, we didn't have that sort of survival mode other than the climate and everything else. And so, I don't think our ancestors realised the threat."
- Waitaha Executive Grandmothers Council
