Unutai e! Unutai e!

Kia ora. We invite you to immerse yourself in our tribal story and reflect on this pivotal moment—one that calls us all to take action in protecting the world around us.

Unutai e! Unutai e! harnesses the power of contemporary art to shed light on an urgent environmental crisis: the deteriorating state of fresh water across Ngāi Tahu tribal lands. In 2020, Ngāi Tahu filed a statement of claim with the High Court in Ōtautahi Christchurch, seeking recognition of our rakatirataka (authority) over wai māori (fresh water) within our takiwā (territory).

To support this claim, Te Kura Taka Pini, the division of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu responsible for the case, enlisted photographer Anne Noble to capture and document the crisis. Her role was to provide an impartial perspective—capturing our people in their chosen waterbodies while also revealing the widespread environmental degradation we witness daily across Te Waipounamu. What began as a photographic assignment evolved into an extensive visual archive, illustrating not only the devastation but also the resilience of whānau, hapū, and iwi striving to restore wai māori, uphold rakatirataka, and protect mahika kai practices.

These practices are integral to Ngāi Tahu identity and survival. They compel us to ask the existential question: Who are we when we can no longer feed our manuhiri (guests) with the kai for which we are renowned?

The individuals in these photographs represent the many who have supported us over the past decade, and we are deeply grateful for their dedication, wisdom, and commitment. The landscapes captured are just a glimpse of the hundreds of waterways that are taonga (treasures) to Ngāi Tahu.

This exhibition begins at the pūtake mauka—our ancestral mountains, the source of fresh water. It then journeys through the polluted waterways before concluding with a vision of hope—projects dedicated to restoring balance and finding solutions.

But this is not just our story—it is a shared responsibility. The degradation of wai māori is not isolated to our takiwā; it is a crisis that affects us all. Water is the essence of life, binding us together across cultures and generations. The images you see are not just records of loss but calls to action. They remind us that with knowledge, persistence, and collective effort, we have the power to heal our waters, restore our ecosystems, and honour the legacy of those who have come before us.

Without our collective efforts, the status quo remains. The future of our wai māori, our people, and generations to come depends on what we do now.

Unutai e! Unutai e! working group - Gabrielle Huria, Edward Ellison, Paulette Tamati-Elliffe, Tūmai Cassidy, Connagh Wesley, Bob Penter, Anne Noble, Cam McCracken & Lucy Hammonds.

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Kia ora. Tomo mai koe, kia ruku mai ki te kōrero o tō mātau iwi, ā, ka āta whakaarohia tēnei wā whakahirahira – he mea e karaka mai nei, he mea e whakaaraara mai nei kia korowhiti atu mātau ki te kaupare i te ao e noho nei tātau.

Ka whakarērea e Unutai e! Unutai e! te whakaaweawe o te toi o nāianei kia whitikina ki tētahi āhuataka totoa, ki tētahi āhuataka mōrearea: ko te whakaparahako haere o te wai māori puta noa i kā whenua katoa o Ngāi Tahu. I te tau 2020, i te tāpaetia e Ngāi Tahu tētahi tauākī kokoraho ki te Kōti Matua ki Ōtautahi, ko tō mātau rakatirataka ki te wai māori ki roto i tō mātau takiwā te take.

Hai taunaki i te kokoraho nei, i taritaria e Te Kura Taka Pini, tētahi peka o Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu e kawea ana te mana o tēnei take, te kaiwhakaahua Anne Noble, kia whakaahuria, kia whakapūketehia tēnei tairaru pōautinitini. Ko tāhana, he whakarato i tētahi tirohaka matatika – Ka whakaahuria tō mātau iwi ki ō rātau ake wai, kai huraina ana te rakiwhāwhātaka o te tūkino ki te ao tūroa e kitea ana e mātau puta noa i Te Waipounamu rā atu, rā mai. I tīmata hai hinoka whakaahua, ā, i kukune ake ki tētahi pūraka wharaurarahi ā-kanohi, ehara i te mea e whakaaturia ana te whakamōtī anake, ekari he whakakiteka hoki o te kiri tuna o kā whānau, o kā hapū, o kā iwi e whakapau werawera ana ki te whakamāori anō i te wai māori, ki te tū rakatira anō kā rakatira, ā, ki te pupuri tou ki te mahika kai.

Ka noho ēnei mahi hai pūtake māria ki te tuakiri me te oraka toutaka o Ngāi Tahu. Ka ākina tātau te ui atu i te pātai tauoraka: Ko wai kē mātau e kore e taea te whākai i ā mātau manuhiri ki te kai i rokonui ai mātau?

Ko rātau kai ēnei whakaahua, ka noho hai kanohi o te tini mano i noho hai tuarā mō mātau i te kahuru tau ko hori, ā, e whakamānawanui ana mātau ki tā rātau ū titikaha, ki ō rātau kura, ā, ki tō rātau manawa tītī hoki. He karipihaka mata anake kā horanuku ko whakaahuaria o kā taoka arawai e hia rau nei o Ngāi Tahu.

Ka tīmata te whakaaturaka nei ki te pūtake mauka – ko ō mātau mauka tipua, te matatiki o te wai māori. Kātahi ka whāia ka ara ki kā arawai parakino i mua i ā rātau putaka atu ki te arokanui o tūmanako – ko kā hinoka e ū tou ana ki te whakatikatika, ki te whakataurite, ā, ki te whai rokoā anō hoki.

Ekari, ehara tēnei i tā mātau kōrero anake – he haepapa tahi tēnei o te katoa. Kāore te whakaparahako o te wai māori i tētahi pāka kino ki tō mātau takiwā anake; he parekura ka pā ki te katoa. Ko te wai te toto o te whenua, ko te whenua te toto o te takata e tuia nei tātau ki a tātau, puta noa ki ahurea kē, ki whakatipuraka kē. Ehara i te mea he mauhaka kōrero o kā mea ko karo, ekari ka karakahia nei mātau ki te poupourere. Kia maharatia mai, mā kā kura o nehe, mā te manawa tītī, mā te tū pakihiwitahi te oraka māria o ō tātau wai, te mana ki te whakarauora i te ao tūroa, ā, te whakarakatira i kā tukuka ihotaka o rātau mā.

Ki te kore tātau e tū pakihwitahi ana, ka mau tou ki taua āhua tou. Ko te anamata o tō tātau wai māori, o tō tātau iwi, o kā uri whakatipu ka whakawhirinaki atu ki ā tātau mahi o te nāia nei.

Te ohu o Unutai e! Unutai e! – Ko Gabrielle Huria, rātau ko Edward Ellison, ko Paulette Tamati-Elliffe, ko Tūmai Cassidy, ko Connagh Wesley, ko Bob Penter, ko Anne Noble, ko Cam McCracken, ko Lucy Hammonds.