as kākahu (cloaks) and tāniko (borders and other decorative work). Waimeha supplied Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui with raw products, including rongoā and weaving materials. The two main industries associated with Waimeha, pakohe and fishing, utilised large quantities of flax. The harekeke wetland areas and associated lowland forests provided an important habitat for nesting birds and fish species. A large number of freshwater fish species were harvested including kōkopu, paraki (smelt), īnanga, piharau (lamprey), tuna and kōaro. Waimeha was also an important eel harvesting site for Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a- Māui. Gathering and processing tuna was a customary practice that strengthened the kinship of iwi and whānau. Customary management practices followed the lifecycle of the tuna, and harvesting was regulated according to the seasons. Mātauranga associated with the collection of resources from ngā awa is central to the lives of Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui. The Waimeha River is immersed in Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui history and there are numerous wāhi tapu associated with this abundant food basket, linking present day iwi physically and emotionally with our tūpuna. Waimeha is intertwined with the cultural identity of Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui. Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a- Māui has mana, whakapapa and history here. We have tikanga and kawa which involve tapu and noa in this catchment. We have responsibilities and obligations to this place and its cultural, spiritual, historical and traditional values as tangata whenua of the area. MOTUEKA RIVER AND ITS TRIBUTARIES Ko Motueka te awa, Ko Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a- Māui te Iwi For Te Ātiawa o Te Waka- a-Māui the Motueka River is an Awa Tupuna. Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui ancestral ties bind us to one another and to our ancestor - the Motue ka River. Te Ātiawa o Te Waka- a- Māui has mana, whakapapa and history within the Motueka River and its tributaries. Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui has kaitiaki responsibilities for the Motueka River and its tributaries. The Motueka River is part of a complex framework connecting all levels of our identity as an iwi. Our landscape defines us and our customary use of traditional resources is the context in which we most often engage with the natural world, thus providing for the transmission of intergenerational knowledge and the maintenance of identity. Our tikanga is the manifestation of our responsibilities and interests, including access and use, water quality, regulation of prohibited behaviours and maintenance of activities, sacred sites, ceremonies and rituals. The Motueka River is a central element to our hospitality, and is linked to all of the customary foods of the land and sea. The health of the Motueka River is integral to our health and cultural identity. The health and the mauri of the River, as well as Tasman Bay, derives from the need for flowing water from the head of the River and its tributaries to the point where it meets the sea. The Motueka River is of immense significance to Te Ātiawa o Te Waka- a-Māui iwi. Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui tūpuna had an intimate knowledge of navigation, river routes, and landing places, and the locations of food and othe r resources on and around the Mot ueka River. The relationship Te Ātiawa o Te Waka -a-Māui has with the Motueka taonga is central to Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a- Māui identity and our cultural and spiritual we llbeing. The first heke into the Motueka area was led by Te Manu Toheroa and Horoatua of the Puketapu hapū (Ngātiawa). From the Moutere, the taua went to Motueka. Te Manu Toheroa saw the wood then called Te Matu Ka tuku-tukua ki te hokowhitu o Ngati Te Tau Ihu Statutory Acknowledgements Page 124 of 163