Let History Rise Again

A Story of Healing, Memory and Quiet Regeneration

In a small coastal town on the East Cape of Aotearoa, something quietly powerful is taking root. Not as a reaction against modern life, but as a restoration of what was nearly lost.

At just 24, Ariana Te Rangi is helping to reawaken rongoā Māori - traditional Māori healing practices rooted in native plants, spiritual connection, and ancestral knowledge. What began as a personal journey through grief after losing her grandmother has become a gentle movement toward cultural reconnection and community wellbeing.

Ariana didn’t set out to prove anything. She simply began listening - to stories, to the land, to her own need for healing. She started gathering native herbs, preparing remedies as her grandmother once did and inviting others, especially rangatahi (youth) to learn with her. The results have been quietly transformative. People are not just feeling better in their bodies, they're feeling reconnected. Seen. Remembered.

The wider world is beginning to notice.

Just last week, Ariana’s work was formally recognised by her iwi and the local health board. Plans are now underway to integrate aspects of rongoā Māori into community health initiatives, working alongside clinical medicine, not against it. This shift reflects a growing openness within New Zealand’s healthcare sector to honour and include indigenous knowledge, especially as evidence builds around the holistic benefits of traditional healing.

There was a time, not long ago, when such practices were dismissed, seen as unscientific, out of step, or merely symbolic. But today, a deeper question is emerging in many hearts

- What if not everything we don’t yet understand is wrong?

For those who are searching for gentler ways of leading, living, and healing, Ariana’s story offers no grand declarations, no battle cries. Just an invitation -

To listen more closely. To respect what has endured. To let ancient wisdom rise, not as folklore, but as a living, evolving companion to modern knowledge.

As Ariana told her community during a recent hakari (celebratory feast):
“This is not about choosing the past over the present. It’s about remembering that healing has many languages. And sometimes, remembering itself is the medicine.”

In a world rushing to innovate, this story reminds us that not all progress moves forward.
Sometimes, true regeneration begins by turning gently back and listening.