He kōrero nā kaituhi pukapuka toa, nā matekite nā Wiremu Niania kua tae ki te wā kia noho ōrite te mana o ngā rongoā Māori me ngā tikanga ki ngā rongoā ā tauiwi, hei huarahi whakaora i te tangata.
Ko tā te tohunga nei ko te rongoā Māori te tino kaiwhakamaimoa māori.
“Our rongoā is natural, there's no chemicals involved,” i mea atu ia.
“I believe that it's time. Is it our rights as tangata whenua to have our rongoā and that recognised. Actually the mahi that we do recognised being tangata whenua.”
Ko tāna, ko ia te tohunga tuatahi kia whai utu i te Hauora Tairāwhiti, ā, e karanga atu ana ia ki te Kāwanatanga kia nui ake te tuku pūtea ki te rongoā Māori me ngōna tohunga.
“It's their lack of funding is something, because it's not a priority for them. A lot of the stuff that they do fund for what they do, is stuff given out by PHARMAC, where they should be starting to maybe fund some of the rongoā clinics, some of the rongoā people want to get hold of.”
“And fund more training for people like me.”
Nō te tau rua mano tekau mā rima ka rongo ai a Tania Filia, e rua anake ngā marama te wā ki a ia - ko te mate pukupuku te take. I reira, ka huri ia ki te whai i ngā rongoā Māori. Ināianei he whitiāhua poto e tapaina ko He Oranga Pumau, kei te kawe i tōna pikinga ki te ora, ā, e tono atu ana ia ki te kāwanatanga kia whakamanahia ai ngā rongoā Māori hei huarahi whai hauora.
“The government needs to give more funding in order for people to be able to research our rongoā. And they need to follow it. Some sort of research group or some monitoring group. If somebody starts with mate pukupuku or cancer, then follow it from day one to whatever happens.”
Kua tuku tono a Filia ki te taraipunara o Waitangi e pā ana ki ngā ture mō ngā rongoā Māori. Ko te matapae ka tīmata te pakirehua ā tērā tau.