traditional knowledge conference 2008 te tatau pounamu

include the goal that the eventual administration and organization of teams will be based in the“North” rather than Auckland. With the first teams established, the priority was that players be ofNgāti Hine descent. However, as it became evident that there was a lack of access to highlycompetitive players of Ngāti Hine descent, those that could whakapapa (establish ancestoral links)to Ngāti Hine were included in the teams. This enabled players to re-establish iwi and hapū linksand strengthen whakapapa ties to papakāinga (homestead/s) through a sport they alreadyparticipated in. In addition to the kaupapa that Māori Touch NZ sets for participating teams,traditional cultural practices—including participation at the pō-whakangahau, staying at maraeand upholding pōwhiri processes, tikanga and kawa (protocols) on marae―were practised leadingup to and throughout the tournament.Partnership ModelThis paper also debates the notion of partnership using the medium of sport. It outlines MāoriTouch NZ’s bid to represent Māori through Touch, whilst maintaining a partnership agreementwith the national body that does not compromise the indigenous rights and development of Māorithrough sport. The discussion prompted by this paper offers a solutions-based approach that hasimplications for policy in sport in Aotearoa/New Zealand and indigenous development. It doesthis through an innovative partnership model that is not unlike the “Treaty of Waitangi house” orthe Raukawa-Mihingare model (Winiata, 2005), in which the two “lower” houses of the threehousemodel remain distinctive in their approaches, while coming together under the Treaty ofWaitangi House on shared issues. In this case the vehicle for the partnership is the game of Touch.The political reality for Māori Touch NZ is that Sport and Recreation New Zealand (SPARC),the Government agency that funds and delivers sport and recreation in New Zealand, has a policythat states that they will only provide funding for one NSO (national sporting organization).Because Touch NZ is the NSO under SPARC, Māori Touch sits under the Ministry for MāoriDevelopment (Te Puni Kōkiri).MĀORI TOUCH NZTOUCH NZ PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT (2004)Figure 1. Touch NZ Partnership Agreement from 2004.The political actuality for Māori Touch NZ was that to enable it to remain autonomous yethave access to funding, the shift to reside under the Ministry for Māori Affairs was needed andremains a reality today. This relationship is not financially sustainable, however; Touch NZ222