Pou whakahere whakapapa

CELIA HIPPOLITE-HĀWEA – NGĀTI KOATA, NGĀTI KUIA, NGĀTI RAUKAWA, NGĀTI TOA, NGĀTI APA, NGĀTI WHAKAMANA, RANGITĀNE

Celia Hippolite-Hāwea was born and raised in Whakatū around a large and supportive whānau. Celia’s connection to Wakatū tūpuna are to Rīria Pakake through her mother’s whānau and Hohapata Te Kahupuka, Te Ratapu Hōani Akitini and Wetekia Hōani Hukaroa through her father’s whānau. Leaving Whakatū as a teenager, Celia then lived in Hamilton, Hawaii and Utah, USA. She is a mother of six, and has many mokopuna. Her family has always had a strong focus on whakapapa, and her faith as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is an important part of her life. She is passionate about all things Māori, including te reo Māori.

In 2009, Celia returned to Whakatū and joined Wakatū in the role of Owner Liaison. She believes she has ‘the best role at Wakatū because she helps connect whānau with their history, whakapapa and shares’. Marking ten years in her role this year, Celia tells us why she loves coming to work every day.

When I first came back to Whakatū in 2009 I wasn’t expecting to stay more than a few months. I only intended to be in Whakatū to write the breaches of the Crown as part of the Treaty claim of Ngāti Koata. While awaiting the Crown’s response to my report. my whānau told me about this role. Once I was in the role I quickly realised how much I loved working here. Ten years later and that passion has only grown and strengthened.

I remember, when I started, I had a large blank wall in my office and I requested to have the names of our tūpuna written on the wall. Their names and stories are my inspiration. It’s important for me, and important for everyone that comes in here, to see how they connect. I want people to know and feel that they belong.

My role is all about connection, communication and caring – I think of what I do as ‘heart work’. When I first started here, the role was much more transactional, with the focus around the administration of share transfers and dividends. While that is still an integral part of what I do, we now have a component of whakapapa and research, with a database of over 20,000 names from different families, including information from Māori Land Court records and other whakapapa sources. If anyone has photos of their tūpuna or other information you would like to share with us, we’d love to hear from you.

Over time we are building an amazing tūpuna resource, by collating whakapapa, court minutes, land interests, newspaper clippings, civil record information and photos. In some cases, by looking at the Māori Land Court minutes from the late 1800s, we can provide whānau with the actual words spoken by their tūpuna, which is very powerful and moving for them.

What I love about my role and what the team does is how we can help people see how they connect to Wakatū and Te Tauihu. To see the light come on in people’s eyes when they realise how they are connected to this wonderful, vibrant, diverse organisation is a taonga. We share with them their history, stories and their whakapapa.

Photo: Russ Flat

One area we’re focusing on is the importance of whānau trusts, to prevent land interests and Wakatū shares from fragmenting. Shares have become smaller and smaller down the generations. Sometimes when the shares get so small, people think it’s not worth keeping in touch. We’re here to help keep those share parcels all together – it seems a Māori kaupapa to keep things together in a whānau. We appreciate that sometimes the legal jargon can be a bit off-putting. We can help with getting the right consents from family, assist with filling out forms, drafting minutes for the Māori Land Court, and we can even help pay for the court fee.

Currently we have over $2 million of unclaimed dividends, and we really want people to claim them! The list of people who have unclaimed dividends is sent out each year, and it’s available on our website and messages on Facebook, as we try to track whānau down.

Sometimes the dividends are unclaimed because someone needs to succeed through the Māori Land Court; other times it is as easy as proving a bank account or address.

My biggest message to whānau is to contact us – your tūpuna want you to be connected, we want you to be connected. You can come and see us, email us, or talk to us on the phone or by Skype. We travel around the country, so we can meet one-on-one and talk with you and your whānau and, if necessary, help fill out the forms while we are there with you.

I’m very clear about whom I work for and why I love coming to work every day. Everything my team does is for our Owners. I want people to know that they belong to this amazing whānau organisation. I’m so lucky to have a role where I help people and where I am at the heart of a living legacy.

Celia can be contacted at celia@wakatu.org or phone 03 546 8648

CELIA’S TOP TIPS

Talk to your whānau about the benefits of setting up a whānau trust.

Contact us. We can help with whānau trusts and succession.

Once your trust is set up, make sure you understand the duties of a trustee – the Māori Land Court has factsheets in both Māori and English.

Keep all your bank account and address details up to date.

Make sure you are following Wakatū on Facebook and have signed up to receive our email pānui so you have access to all our news and opportunities.