Reflections on Te Pumaomao

"Karanga mai te kaupapa, karanga mai te aroha, karanga mai te wānanga e...."

The wails of the karanga ring out over the marae ātea, as mana whenua call us onto Papakura Marae in Tāmaki Makarau Auckland.

A small group of Te Pou and Blueprint for Learning kaimahi walk behind Philleen Dickson (Māori Lead Ringa Tohutohu Matua) as she responds on our behalf.

We walk through the waharoa (gateway) towards the wharenui. Whaikōrero are exchanged and, after a warm welcome from our hosts, we settle in for the first of two days of learning and discussion – an experience that, for many of us, is transformative.

Te Pumaomao Nationhood Building Course is an immersive, holistic experience taught by Takawai and Chris Murphy that explores the history and colonisation of Aotearoa New Zealand, and its devastating and lasting impact on generations of Māori. Te Pou and Blueprint kaimahi have been attending this training since 2017.

I was privileged to be part of a dozen or so kaimahi who attended the course in February 2025. The course was delivered with humour and grace by husband-and-wife duo, Takawai and Chris. There was space to ask questions and to think deeply about the state of race relations in Aotearoa New Zealand today, and how this has been informed by the past.

The interactive roleplays placed us in the shoes of Māori, offering a glimpse into the frustration, grief, and desolation of having one’s whenua (land), language, and identity taken. Alongside these exercises, Takawai and Chris shared deeply personal stories, filled with sadness and injustice, which were profoundly moving.

On the final day, we worked in small groups to develop goals and action plans which we will share with our office colleagues later in the year.

We also considered what we could do as tangata Tiriti personally and professionally. For me, it is pushing myself out of my comfort zone to speak te reo Māori. That means learning and sharing my pepeha when I have a chance, to putting my hand up to do a karakia in a hui. I also plan to visit historic sites around the Waikato with my tamariki to deepen our knowledge and understanding of the Land Wars.

Staying overnight at Papakura Marae was also a very special experience. We ate meals in their wharekai and were the recipients of their warm manaakitanga (hospitality). The two days were a great opportunity to come together as Te Pou and Blueprint kaimahi to learn and to unite in common purpose as advocates for Te Tiriti o Waitangi and te ao Māori.

Other reflections

For kaimahi who were born outside Aotearoa, but have since made New Zealand home, the Te Pumaomao course resonated strongly.

French-born Marion Fournier, who works as Commercial Lead at Blueprint for Learning in the Pōneke Wellington office said that attending Te Pumaomao was “a privilege”.

“As someone from the suburbs of Paris who has been living in New Zealand for almost six years, it has helped me deepen my understanding of Māori culture and history in a way I hadn’t anticipated.

“The facilitators, sharing their personal lived experiences, added such a powerful and authentic dimension to the two-day program, making everything feel more tangible and real. The role plays were especially impactful, stirring emotions that will stay with me for a long time.

“The language component was also incredibly insightful and beautifully presented, making me feel the profound challenge of not being able to speak my mother tongue and highlighting the importance of language in preserving cultural identity.

“The chance to participate in meaningful kōrero, share moments with others, and stay overnight on a marae added to the uniqueness of the experience. It was an incredible training, and I would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about Māori culture and New Zealand history."

Melody Ma, Operations Support Coordinator for Te Pou in the Tamaki Makarau Auckland office said that Te Pumaomao was “a transformative experience” which offered “a profound opportunity to engage with and reflect on the cultural and historical significance of Aotearoa”.

Originally from China, Melody said that respecting and understanding more about the history of Aotearoa, particularly the Treaty of Waitangi, was a key part of her learning experience.

“The program allowed me to deeply connect with Māori culture, particularly through an impactful role-playing exercise [which]... illuminated the profound emotional and spiritual impact of land and home loss for the Māori people, deepening my understanding of their struggles and resilience. It also reinforced the universal importance of preserving one's cultural identity and heritage, a sentiment that resonates across cultures, including my own Chinese background.

“I reflected on how my own cultural identity is rooted in similar values, such as the importance of family and ancestral connections. This shared recognition of culture’s core role in shaping identity creates a powerful sense of unity, transcending our diverse backgrounds.”

Another person who enjoyed the course was Shaheena Sulaiman, a Research Assistant in the Tamaki Makarau Auckland office of Te Pou.

“Te Pumaomao was different to typical trainings that I have attended in the past. It was a lesson in history through storytelling, she said.

“The experiences shared by the facilitators, their journey, which was a snapshot of the journey of Māori, made it real, relatable and personal for me.

Originally from Pakistan, Shaheena said that Te Pumaomao was “thought-provoking”, especially when she reflected on the parallels with colonisation in her home country. The Indian subcontinent, including Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Burma, were under British control for around a century, which had a significant impact on land ownership, language and society.

“This training was a reflective experience at different levels: as tauiwi, as a parent and as someone whose forefathers were colonised,” said Shaheena.

“I feel more informed now that I know a little more about the history from the other side and can filter through the dominant narrative. I wish this training was made available to all people who move to Aotearoa and make this land their home.”

Welsh-born Tom Petty, who works as an Operations Support Coordinator for Blueprint for Learning in Pōneke Wellington, said that “Te Pumaomao was a profound, moving, and energising experience” and “highly interesting and relevant”.

He enjoyed staying at Papakura Marae, which was “beautiful”, “warm and welcoming”, and the wharenui was “a special, evocative space” and “the perfect environment for our learning”.

He said that the cofacilitators Chris and Takawai “were an absolute wealth of knowledge and clearly were very experienced in delivering this training”.

“The exercises they used as part of the training were excellent; they were very adept at bringing to life the injustice Māori people would have felt and continue to feel.

“I was particularly interested by the discussion around te reo Māori, and how this was quite literally beaten out of children in a systematic fashion. This really resonated with me, as something very similar happened to Welsh children with their language, and so I was able to relate to this sense of shame about not being able to speak your own language fluently.

“It was great for us all to be able to share information about ourselves and our own whakapapa, as we could draw similarities and create bonds across the group.”