Me uaua ka kitea he tangata he nui ake tōna kohara i tō Dan Te Whenua Walker (Ngāti Ruanui, Ngaruahine, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa, Tūhourangi, Ngāti Maniapoto) ki te hono i te ao Māori ki ngā rongoā hangarau, hinengaro rorohiko anō hoki.
Ahakoa ko Taranaki tōna whenua tupu, i Ōtautahi kē a Walker i whānau mai ai, i pakeke mai ai anō hoki i muri i te hūnukutanga o tōna whaea ki reira mō te Kaupapa Whakangungu Māori Mahi ā-Rehe, ā, i reira tōna whaea i tūtaki ai i tōna matua Pākehā, ko ōna takenga ko te iwi Kōtimana me te iwi Airihi. Hei tāna, “I tupu ake au e tauwehe ana i tōku tuakiri, e tawhiti atu ana i tōku marae me tōku reo,” ā, e whakaahua ana ia i taua tūāhua he tairaru tuakiri. “Kāore au i tino whakaaro i rawa tōku tuakiri Māori, tuakiri Pākehā rānei."
I tētahi hokinga ki te kāinga ki Taranaki, i ako ia i tōna whakapapa i te taha o tōna kuia, ka kitea he whakaohonga i roto i a Walker. Ināianei kua riro ia he arero Māori whakahīhī o tōna tūreo motuhake o Taranaki. “Ko te tuakiri Māori tō tātou kaha,” tāna kī i a ia e mingokata ana.
Muringa iho i tana tūtaki ki tōna hoa wahine ki a Michelle, ka hūnuku rāua me ā rāua tamariki tokotoru ki Tāmaki Makaurau noho ai. Kua tāraitia e tēnei kaiwhakamakere kura tuarua whakahīhī he ara piki mahi mōna e tīmata ana i te ao hoko, me te aha, kua uru ia ki te pakihi hangarau hautupua, ki a Microsoft, ā, kua mahi ia ki reira mō ngā tau e whā kua hori ake nei. Nōna te tūranga Kaiwhakahaere Whakawhanake Hoa Pātui ki Ahitereiria me Aotearoa - Rongoā Hoa Pātui ā-Ao me te tūranga Ārahi Taketake mō Aotearoa New Zealand. E rua ana hoki āna tohu Paerua.
E kaingākau ana a Walker ki te whai wāhi mai a ngā iwi Māori me ngā rangatahi ki te ao hangarau, me te tuhi waehere tae atu ki te ao hinengaro rorohiko. E ai ki a ia, ahakoa kāore i te tokomaha i tēnei wā – “Ka taea pea e au te tatau ki ngā ringa e rua i roto i a Microsoft” – ki tāna titiro he āheinga nui tēnei mō te iwi Māori. “He rite tonu tāku kī atu, he pai te ao hangarau mō te ao Māori, he pai hoki te ao Māori mō te ao hangarau, nā te mea ka taea e tātou te whakaatu mai i ngā uara me ngā tirohanga ki roto i ngā kōrerorero kāore i te rite tonu te whakarongotia."
He rite tonu te whakahaere a Microsoft House i Tāmaki Makaurau i ngā wāhanga tuhi waehere mō ngā kura, e ako ai ngā ākonga me pēhea te tuhi waehere i roto i a Minecraft. Kua haria mai e ia tōna ake whānau ki Tāmaki Makaurau mai i Hāwera ki te tūhura i te tā Ahu-3. "E whakamātau ana mātou ki te waihanga wāhi mō te hapori.”
I tua atu i tōna tūranga hei Ārahi Taketake mō Aotearoa, i mua rā ko Walker te heamana takirua mō Indigenous ki Microsoft, ko tērā tētahi o ngā rōpū rawa kaimahi mō te umanga, ā, ko ōna mema nō ngā moutere o te Moana Nui ā-Kiwa, Ahitereiria, me ngā iwi taketake o Amerika me Kānata, tae atu anō hoki ki Amerika ki te Tonga me Hawai'i. “E 40 noa iho o mātou i tō mātou whakarewanga tuatahi, engari ināianei kua tata eke ki te 3000. He hapori tūturu tērā.”
Hei tā Walker i whakaaturia ngā nōnoke ōrite, me ngā rongoā anō hoki, mō te āhuarangi i waengarahi i ngā iwi taketake o Ahitereiria me Amerika ki tētahi taiopenga Indigenous Heritage Month i whakahaeretia ai e Microsoft mā ngā mahi whakahaere tahu ahi hei aukati ake i ngā ahiniwha. Ko te whakahaere i ngā wai me te whenua ētahi take e ārohia ana e ngā ahurea Taketake katoa. Hei tāna anō hoki, kua whakamahi kētia e ngā kaipupuri o ngā poroka whenua Māori ngā rongoā hinengaro rorohiko hei whakamauru i ngā tūraru āhuarangi me te whakahaere whenua. “Tērā ētahi tarahiti whenua tino auaha i te puku o Te Ika-a-Māui e whakamahi ana i tētahi rongoā hinengaro rorohiko me te Whakaipurangi i te Ao (IoT) ki te hono atu ki te huhua o ngā pūtoi raraunga hei ine i te hauora o ngā oneone, me ngā wai, me ngā āhuatanga katoa. Kua roa noa atu tērā e tū ana.”
Ko 'Lighthouse Project' tētahi kaupapa matihiko tōmua, ā, koia he kaupapa mahi tahi i waenganui i a Aware Group, me Te Manatū mō te Taiao, me ētahi atu hinonga mō Ngāti Toa Rangatira. Ka arotahi atu te pūtere ki ngā taupānga raraunga me te hinengaro rorohiko mō te aroturuki i ngā roma, me ngā wāhi tapu me ngā awa i te rohe. Mā te whakakotahi ngā rekoata hītori me ngā kōrero tuku iho o Ngāti Toa me ngā raraunga tūmatawhānui me ngā taputapu ako a te rorohiko a Microsoft, ka whakaaturia e te pūhara ngā āhua o te roma o Kenepuru me te whanga o Parirua i roto i te takanga o te wā, tae atu ki te whakawhenua ā-taipūwhenua anō hoki me ētahi atu awenga tangata. E whakaatu ana anō hoki tēnei ka panoni pēheatia pea ēnei rohe e ngā pānga o te huringa āhuarangi.
Tērā anō hoki a Tupu.nz, he tomokanga matihiko nā NV Interactive e whakaahei ana i ngā kaipupuri whenua Māori ki te hono anō ki ō rātou whenua, me ngā roma, me ngā awa, me ngā maunga.
“Ko ā mātou tirohanga mō te mana rangatira me te āhua anō hoki o tā mātou hono tūturu ki ngā tūtohu whenua katoa mā te whakapapa…Kātahi anō te ao ka tīmata ki te ako i ēnei āhuatanga katoa ināianei,” te kī a Walker. Ka kōrerotia anō hoki e ia tētahi whakaaro ka whakapātari pea i ētahi: arā, he mauri (iho ora) tō te hangarau me te hinengaro rorohiko.
“Ka mihi mātou ki te whenua, ki te moana, ki te maunga anō hoki. Kāore e uru ki roto i ngā kōrero te whakaaro ehara aua mea i te 'tangata'. He kaupapa anō hoki tēnei hei whakaaro mā te ao hangarau. Kei te mōhio tātou he mauri tō ngā āhuatanga katoa. Nā, he mauri tō te hangarau. He mauri tō te raraunga, he mauri tō te waehere, nā te mea kua whaona te mauri o tōna kaihanga.”
"Ka pēhea mehemea ka tīmata tātou ki te whakamahi i ēnei ariā anō nō te pepeha?" tāna pātai. "Hei AI - nō hea koe? Ko wai ō kaihanga? Nō hea tō whakapapa? Ko te hora atu i aua whakaaro ki mua e whakamātāmuatia ai ngā āwangawanga mō te rītaha, mehemea rānei ia i uru ngā Māori ki tōna hanganga.”
Ko te wero tonu, ko te whai wāhi. E ai ki a ia, he mea tika mā te hunga kua uru kē ki te wāhi e riro hei tauira ki ō rātou whānau, me ngā hapū, me ngā iwi. “Kia tīmata tātou ki te kite i ō tātou kahi, me ngā whāea, me ngā pāpā i tēnei wāhi, ka pakari ake te whakawhirinaki. Ko te korenga o te whakawhirinaki te hua o te korenga o te whakakanohitanga."
Ka whakamāramatia e ia ngā ara e whano ai ngā rangatahi ki tētahi mahi pūmau i te ao hangarau. “He kanorau ngā momo mahi tauira, ko te haere pea ki ngā wāhi e māoriori ake ana mō rātou, arā, ki ngā wāhi pērā i ngā marae, ko te whakapā whai take rānei ki ngā kura auraki me ngā kura Māori.”
Ka mutu, e ai ki a ia, ko te whakakore i ngā ārai pēnei i te rītaha i roto i ngā uiui me te 'tāke ahurea' (arā, te mahi ahurea tāpiri ka taka ki ngā ringaringa o ngā kaimahi Māori i ngā tūāhua rangatōpū) e rite ai he taiao haumaru ake hei whakapoapoa i ngā Māori.
“Me āwhina mātou i a rātou ki te waihanga hinengaro rorohiko urupare e aronui ana ki te ahurea me te pāhekoheko tūturu i runga i tētahi tikanga e āwhina ana i ngā pakihi e whakamahi ana i te hinengaro rorohiko pērā i a Microsoft, i a Google me Facebook ki te whakamātāmua i ō tātou whakaaro.
Ko tōna whakapono, me āta mahi whai take. “I ngā taha e rua me āta mahi whai take tātou – me āta mahi whai take Microsoft engari me pērā anō hoki te ao Māori.”
Mātakihia te katoa o te uiui me Dan Te Whenua Walker i konei.