In Aotearo​​​a on Indigenous People's Day

Hawaiki nui, Hawaiki roa, Hawaiki pāmamao.

Te Rerenga Wairua (Cape Rēinga) is said to be the final departure place for spirits to Hawaiki, the eternal homeland of Māori. Not only is this the further most point of Aotearoa but the physical manifestation of the many stories explaining our connective identity as Pacific people. On indigenous people’s day, I’d like to acknowledge the generations of star navigators who hopped into their waka, va’a, wa’a (canoe) from Hawaiki. As Pacific people, ours is a shared history, distant cousins that come from the same place but have adapted differently to their environments. I am grateful that I get to learn from this whenua (land), and many incredible whānau (family) on this journey.