Nau mai
The Ako room is built upon the Māori concept of ako - teaching and learning as reciprocal, embodied relationships.
The Ako room is creative resistance against colonial assimilation models of education.
By centering ako, we reclaim the fundamental Indigenous principle that knowledge flows in all directions, that teaching and learning are interconnected, and that wisdom comes from lived experience and ancestral connection.
WHAT WE’LL LEARN
Reo & Tikanga Māori
We facilitate conversation to better understand tapu & noa. Sharing how to observe tikanga, seek understanding and offer clarity.
We support those revitalising their reo through intergenerational language trauma.
Mauri/Ritenga
We learn to move mauri - moving stagnant energy, and weave together other worldviews, ways of being & disabilities.
We ritual.
Karakia/Waiata/Tangihanga
We learn to respond to signs of suffering
(co-regulation).
Maramataka
We learn to remember & respond to cycles in the taiao/natural environment.
We educate ourselves and each other on food sovereignty and land back.
Iwi Taketake
We create waharoa/entry points to learn and tautoko Aboriginal kaupapa and communities as accomplices.
We reStory* the narratives in our communities that erase Aboriginal & Torres Strait Island culture and sovereignty.
Puuraakau/Karanga
We nurture tools of the womb (the creative portal) from a decolonial & Indigenous matriarchal worldview.
*reSTory means to place ourselves as beneficiaries within colonial settler society of so called Australia.
Who are we?
the Hine Ngākau
The Hine Ngakau is an evolving creative framework nurtured by a collective of Māori women, trans men, non-binary and gender fluid practitioners of performance art, spoken word, well being, food sovereignty, sound and astronomy, grief care and community development - who are or have been settlers of the Kulin Nations.
Collectively we create learning experiences for and with our community to connect deeply to themselves and each other so that we may be greater accomplices of care and protection to community & Country.
Becoming a paid member of our collective, means you are calling in the invitation for reciprocal learning, to learn and grow with the Hine Ngākau kaupapa.
See below for more details and options.
OPTIONS TO ENTER THE AKO ROOM
PLEASE NOTE: ALL 3 OPTIONS REQUIRE YOU TO CONNECT TO OUR SIGNAL COMMUNITY AVAILABLE FROM THE APP STORE
PAID MEMBERSHIP
You support the kaupapa and would like to learn and grow within the Hine Ngākau framework.
And/Or perhaps you are not sure where you fit in within te ao Māori, or tikanga Māori.
Perhaps you are still learning what it means to be manuhiri or a settler on Aboriginal land.
AND you have pūkenga, time, resources, and capacity to share, communicate, endorse and nourish the kaupapa.
KAIAWHINA - FREE SUPPORTER
You support the kaupapa and would like to stay in touch via the Signal community group and newsletter.
You may not have capacity to learn and grow with the kaupapa but you’d like access to our community, and any resources we share.
Our kaiawhina help us understand where we need to shift and grow.
KAIAWHINA - KOHA SUPPORTER
You support the kaupapa and would like to stay in touch via the Signal community group and newsletter.
You may not have capacity to learn and grow with the kaupapa but you’d like access to our community, and any resources we share.
Our kaiawhina help us understand where we need to shift and grow.
You would like to contribute a one off koha/donation to help us grow the kaupapa and its reach.
Upcoming Events
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Te Hauhaki o te Tau
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Ohoata Marama ō Poutu Te Rangi
21st March 7:00am - 2:00pm
Braybrook, Naarm
- Reflect on the previous years harvest (manifestations, intentions)
- Walk the local community māra and discuss the benefits and importance of food sovereignty
- Wānanga the ritenga Te Hautuku ō Te Tau preparing for Hautapu
Limited numbers. Open to Members Only. -
The Hine Ngākau Framework
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Tamatea ā Āio marama ō Hui Tanguru
25th Feb 7.30PM
- Learn about the Hine Ngākau framework,
- Get a peek of our upcoming wānanga, ongoing wellbeing spaces and partnerships with Bunurong organisation Biik Bundjil.
Open to Members & Kaiawhina
Frequently Asked Questions
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Membership means you are actively engaging in reciprocal learning. Whether thats any of the many kaupapa associated with The Ako Room.
Kaiawhina means your keen to stay in connection to our community and engage by proxy but don’t have capacity to participate right now.
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When you purchase any of our content options, you'll create an account. From your account, you'll be able to access any content that you've purchased, manage your personal information, and more.
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Our community.
Our resources and how we are applying those resources to strengthening and equipping that community.
The kaupapa, practises and practitioners we are weaving with.
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We’re sticking to what we know best and prioritising those we can offer tools to and support and learn from reciprocally.
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Our kaupapa is contextualised to Naarm.
We welcome those from other parts of te whenua moemoea, or those wanting to learn more about lviing here and ask that all tools and resources and wānanga be contextualised to your traditional lands, owners and Lores.
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First off it means, you are a womb carrier of whakapapa Māori.
It means you are actively engaged with the tūāpapa of the Hine Ngākau, are being supported to lead or share in your own pūkenga and will uphold the tikanga of the kaupapa.
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We are a learning space so its necessary for us to get things wrong, to find resolution through understanding and seek our commonalities.
Our commonalities are revitalising our sovereignty as Māori, to decolonise our understanding and application of tikanga Māori and to be acommplices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island peoples.
Everything we create, share, say is up for wānanga.
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There’s a really great article here we recommend you reading : https://www.uow.edu.au/media/2020/where-do-you-fit-tokenistic-ally--or-accomplice.php
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Tohu, tuhi, ancestral callings, world events, community rage, personal suffering are our current commonalities. So we are actively building the tools and resources to support us, connect us and rematriate.
PLEASE NOTE THIS IS NOT A TRANSACTIONAL KAUPAPA.
YOUR MEMBERSHIP IS A COMMITMENT TO BUILD WITH US NOT TO TAKE FROM IT.