April 16, 2015
Education vital for Tuhoe legacy
Victoria University of Wellington plans to recognise Tuhoe negotiator Tamati Kruger with a distinguished alumni award.
He will receive the tohu in June alongside Olympian Ian Ferguson, businessman and sports administrator Alan Isaac, Anglican Bishop Penny Jamieson, curator and artist Helen Kedgley, and technology entrepreneur Derek Handley.
Mr Kruger, who graduated with a BA (Honours) in Maori Studies in 1978, says the award was a surprise.
He says it’s a reminder that education forces people to look beyond their own lifetime.
"Education is the way people attempt to immortalise themselves, their wisdom, their culture, their language, their identity, their values and principles, It is our human way of wanting to be permanent," Mr Kruger says.
He says for any indigenous people or iwi, the priorities should be to take control of their natural resources and to construct their own education systems so they can ensure the survival of their people and culture into the future.
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