works by The Tu Wai Indigenous Resource Centre, Aotearoa

Essay by Te Tui Hoterene

TUI HOTERENE - BIO

No roto te awaawa o Muhunoa ahau I am from, the rivers of Muhunoa
Tararua te paemaunga The ancestral mountain range Tararua
NgatiRaukawa ki te tonga te iwi The tribe NgatiRaukawa ki te tonga
Ngati Kikopiri te hapu The sub-tribe NgatiKikopiri
Me tahuri ki toku papa Turning to my father
He tatai whakapapa no maunga Motatau My genealogy derives from my ancestral mountain Motatau
NgaPuhi te iwi NgaPuhi tribe
NgatiHine te hapu NgatiHine sub-tribe

I was bought up beneath my mother's ancestral mountain range Tararua. I was named after the Tui (parson bird), an indigenous bird of Aotearoa that was in danger of extinction during the time of my birth. The Tui is in abundance now but my passion has remained around environmental rehabilitation and indigenous environmental guardianship. I now reside in Te Taitokerau (Northland) where I am studying Iwi (Tribal) Environmental Management and Trusteeship, at Te Waananga o Aotearoa. I am the Empowerment Education Director at Tu Wai, a facilitator of Decolonisation Workshops, and a pouako (mentor/facilitator) for He Tauira.

Tu Wai Indigenous Resource Centre
The primary objectives of Tu Wai are to facilitate and encourage the empowerment of Rangatahi Maori through education on issues pertaining to them, while laterally educating the wider community on issues of importance to Maori, thus contributing to positive social change in Aotearoa.

Tu Wai is made up of young people that descend from the tribes of Te Tai Tokerau and each individual brings different skills and experience to the organisation.

Tu Wai projects include:
· Designing and delivering empowerment education
· Developing learning media resources
· Developing Maori language games that teach children about our traditions
· Designing and Producing Landlord Apparel
· Hosting public debates on matters pertaining to Maori

Links: Natural World Summit for Young Indigenous Women http://aotearoa.wellington.net.nz/natural

Detail - Noku Te Whenua 2003

for information about works, please contact the Tu Wai IRC: tuwaiirc@hotmail.com