Gaille | Kelston

“Titewhai Harawira; she’s always been there, like her or not. Annette Sykes, Margaret Mutu, like those women; yeah they’re all up there in my view. They’re strong Māori women. They’ve got their eye on the ball. They know what we’re thinking, and if we don’t think it, that’s what we were thinking anyway. They’re educated, and they haven’t lost sight of their roots.

My mum’s from Tūwharetoa, she’s Waitahanui in Taupō, and my dad’s Kaikohe; Ngati Hine, up North. We just had the thing of the flagstaff the other day I think. The first time in 100-and-so-many years we’ve had the recognition of Hōne Heke’s act against colonisation of the time. So I think that’s absolutely marvellous. I think Māori in particular have always had very strong women role models and female role models. We’ve never ever lacked in that area. I think with Māori women, this is my view, is that we’ve been caught up in the colonial white woman’s arguments and that we’re having to find our own strength and our own mana as Māori women, not as adages to.

Well, we’ve got the new captain at the head of the ship, and she seems to be pretty cool. She seems to be more inclusive and real about it. Everybody seems to like her. She hasn’t put a foot wrong in terms of Māoridom. She wasn’t like Helen Clark, demanded that she come and save us Māori women, and speak, be the first woman to speak on the Marae up there. She wasn’t arrogant like that. She was humble, I like her approach and I think Māori can feel that sincerity in Jacinda, and I think it’s a global move going on, too. There just seems to be this feel of change going on. I don’t know, maybe I’m optimistic.”

What, if anything, have you done differently after visiting this site?

Related Stories

  • Nooks
    Nooks
    Nooks - Māngere Bridge. “Yesterday was my birthday so I shared a meal with my wife and kids. My wife is Cook Island Tahitian and I’m Māori so my kids are pretty much a fruit salad!" Read more...
  • Huva
    Huva
    Huva - Glen Innes. "What we really need is empathy. You just need to take life as it is. You only get one life, so you just have to be unapologetically yourself." Read more...
  • Lisa
    Lisa
    Lisa - Auckland. "The biggest challenge at the moment is just being a stay-at-home mum, and I’m kind of feeling a bit itchy and scratchy, so I’m going back to work in May." Read more...
  • Sara
    Sara
    Sara - Panmure. "The more connected we are the more we know we’re loved - the more we know we’re giving to people. That’s what makes us feel good as humans." Read more...
  • Peter
    Peter
    Peter - Te Atatu Peninsula. "When I can’t see someone on my left I bump into them, and they give me this really filthy look, like ‘why don’t you watch where you’re going!" Read more...
  • Nidhi
    Nidhi
    Nidhi - Auckland. "Surprisingly, it was like a huge weight off your chest, it was good conversation and I think food did that." Read more...
  • Rory
    Rory
    Rory - South Auckland. "I just like to help my family out, because they help me out a lot. It’s been good, doing what I can for my brother and my sister in South Auckland." Read more...
  • Cara
    Cara
    Cara - Te Atatu Peninsula. "Hāngi-wise; we have that now and then. That’s a real treat. I try, but I guess because I say that I am quite plastic Māori-wise, I’ve kind of lost all that." Read more...
Load More (10)

Stay up to date!

Join our mailing list to receive the latest videos and updates from our team.

You have Successfully Subscribed!