Arapeta Latus, a senior student at Whanganui City College, talks about the importance of hearing local history from local people, if possible by visiting sites of significance. He discusses how important this was for him as a young Māori growing up in a city where there was early conflict. Arapeta suggests that teachers build a relationship with local marae to ask kaumātua and kuia to help in setting up the process for hearing these important stories from the past.
Whanganui iwi have partnered with local schools to develop resources covering the different perspectives of the causes and events of the battle of Moutoa Island. For schools, the greatest learning is not so much about the battle itself as about the tikanga of engaging with the people of Whanganui river.
A group of students from Whanganui City College discuss the importance of learning about local history, and how using the Battle of Moutoa as their Stage Challenge theme gave them the opportunity to consider different perspectives. For some of them, it was the first time they had found out about their family history.
