works by The Tu Wai Indigenous Resource Centre, Aotearoa

Essay by Te Tui Hoterene

TE WHENUA HARAWIRA - BIO

My name Te Whenua in literal meaning means the land. When my mother was pregnant with me, she was arrested during a land occupation that Government proposed to build a tourist lodge on. I was named in remembrance of this struggle at Bastion Point. My mother taught me the importance of my connection to our environment. She always reminded me that as Indigenous peoples, we have a responsibility to care for this land. 'We are all children of papatuanuku, protect her and she will nurture you for life'.
My father taught me the importance of our relationship to other Indigenous peoples. Even if they were from another country, they were still considered family therefore they should be addressed and respected like family.

Being born into activism meant that I had a pretty hard start at life. My family was always on the news for opposing the crown for some reason or another. Giggled at by other kids, I grew to protect myself from the media hype and tried my hardest to fit into society. I'm 24 now and think fuck the society. If it's as shallow and pathetic as it makes out to be, I don't want any part of it.

My mahi here at Tu Wai allows me to encourage people to resist the bullshit handed out by society, and fight for rights as guardians of the land. Creating awareness about our issues is important to me and so I try to develop through different styles of media.

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