For 12 years, Cher Knight has worked for the Department of Conservation (DOC) with a key part of her role being to work alongside tangata whenua to uphold the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Although Cher loves her mahi and has always been in full support of working with iwi and tangata whenua, this aspect of her job often made her feel nervous and uneasy.

“Interactions with mana whenua filled me with dread – I didn’t know what I was doing. I was always concerned about offending or overstepping when working with Māori. So, I signed up for a tikanga programme with Te Wānanga o Aotearoa in Ōtepoti,” she says.

In 2022, shortly after completing Te Whāinga o te Ao Tikanga Level 3, she put her newly found knowledge to the test by taking over a project to develop and implement a sustainable management plan for the Tongariro Alpine Crossing.

This large on-going project is a partnership between DOC and Ngāti Hikairo ki Tongariro, a hapū of Ngāti Tuwharetoa, to address the degradation of the maunga due to over-tourism.

“I was now able to understand the kaupapa and engage with mana whenua in a much more meaningful way than I had previously been able to achieve. I understood what to listen for, how to have the conversations; and importantly, how to deliver their vision in a way that supported tikanga.”

The mahi that Cher and the project team implemented earned them a DOC Matariki Award (Ururangi), which recognised their exceptional partnership with Ngāti Hikairo and the innovative work they have so far delivered.

After completing the tikanga programme, Cher was inspired to make several additions to the project that were welcomed by Ngāti Hikairo.

“We included Manaaki Rangers on the ground 7 days per week, a compulsory annual wānanga to teach tīkanga to our concessionaires, and installation of the cultural footprint at the start and end of the track – pou whenua, wāhi tapu basin.”

Cher speaks highly of her kaiako, Alex Whitaker and the programme content, saying, “Noho marae learning really worked for me and I began to feel comfortable being on the marae and participating in the pōwhiri, mihi whakatau and even the hongi. I began to recognise the links between pūrākau, tikanga and te reo and this knowledge filled me with confidence within my work.”

“Alex was incredible! He made me feel at ease and provided a safe space for me to learn and grow. And finally, I want more! Now that Te Wānanga o Aotearoa Ōtepoti is running level 4 tīkanga, I will be signing up for 2025!”

Find out more about our Māori & Indigenous Development programmes.