A dormant Ruapehu tribe is calling its members back home.
Raetihi township Photo: SUPPLIED
Ngāti Uenuku is based in Raetihi and is related to Ngāti Rangi and Whanganui River hapū.
Last year it established a new tribal entity to provide a collective voice for Uenuku whānau, hapū, and marae.
Now, it has called upon its descendants to return home to the Waimarino rohe on the central plateau with skills, determination and energy to support the drive to uplift the iwi.
The Uenuku Charitable Trust chairperson Aiden Gilbert said it needed people who could help it achieve cultural revitalisation to economic development.
"We're calling upon them because we believe now [that] we have a 'blank page' in the Uenuku rohe," said Mr Gilbert.
"I'm just calling back all those people with those necessary skills [including] strategists, business-minded [professionals], people that haven't lost touch with who they are and where they need to put their energies in, and where we need to go forward."
Mr Gilbert said it had three vacancies to fill including a financial accounts manager, administrator and a communications manager.
The Uenuku Charitable Trust has developed key strategies to uplift the iwi and support the vision Maranga Mai, Uenuku (Rise Up, Uenuku).
Its Strategic Plan, Uenuku 2020, encompasses the hopes of the iwi, and to make a genuine difference in the community.