Kaitiaki

Kaitiaki is a New Zealand term used for the Māori concept of guardianship, for the sky, the sea, and the land. A kaitiaki is a guardian, and the process and practices of protecting and looking after the environment are referred to as kaitiakitanga and include rāhui and tapu [ [http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/nqfdocs/units/pdf/17791.pdf "Environmental Tourism Māori", NZQA unit standard] ]

The term kaitiaki is also increasingly used in New Zealand for broader roles of trusteeship or guardianship—especially in public sector organisations, as these examples demonstrate:

* A proposed "Governance-Kaitiaki group" to oversee electronic authentication by government [ [http://www.e.govt.nz/archive/services/authentication/tikanga-200408/chapter7.html "Research of issues for Māori relating to the Online Authentication Project"] ]
* New Zealand's Chief Ombudsman is "Nga Kaitiaki Mana Tangata" in Māori (i.e. "The guardian of the people") [ [http://www.ombudsmen.govt.nz/] ]
* The role of kaitiaki in the management of the Koha software project [ [http://www.koha.org/about-koha/faq.html#faq19 "Who is this Kaitiaki person?", from koha.org] ]

ee also

* Māori influence on New Zealand English
* Māori language
* Māori religion
* Rangi and Papa

References

External links

* [http://www.kaitiaki.org.nz/ Kaitiaki.org.nz]
* [http://www.kaitiakitanga.net/ Kaitiakitanga.net]
* [http://www.teara.govt.nz/TheBush/Conservation/KaitiakitangaGuardianshipAndConservation/en "Kaitiakitanga – guardianship and conservation"] in Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand