We need to “empower each other with the knowledge to understand and the skills to armour up!”
Dr Kiri Tamihere-Waititi says we need to “empower each other with the knowledge to understand and the skills to armour up!”. Dr Moana Jackson says, “an intended outcome of colonisation is that people lose faith in themselves then become self-loathing". So those are our kupu akiaki mō tēnei rā. We need to empower ourselves with the understanding that we can perpetuate our own oppression. We need to recognise the trauma of our history, shed it like stripping back the bark of the tōtara, and reach into hard wood - the taikākā - where our strength resides. Stand in your power. Strengthen your character and your resolve. Use the heart of the tōtara to arm yourselves with knowledge and power.