I’m mindful that this weekend is Waitangi weekend and is an important time for many Maori in Aotearoa and around the world.
I remember the strength of my tupuna, my ancestors and their resilience to continue. I remember the loss of life, the sacrifices made by many of our people to continue a legacy of hope for future generations…

I also look to a new horizon in the hope that our efforts to move forward as a people are about living in harmony with each other and that we also remember our other indigenous brothers and sisters around the world who are also walking this path with us, to reconnect with who they are…

And I say now, I forgive all the wrongs done in the past, I refuse to allow the effects of colonisation to have control over me. I let go of that mamae, of that pain in the hope that healing may come for all.
It is a big risk to say this, but I believe it is through taking risks of exposing oneself that progress, change and growth can happen. I honor my tupuna by taking this pathway, and by being on my own pathway of tino rangatiratanga, of self determination because this is where it starts I believe, with me…