October 13, 2016
Dawn raids part of shared struggle
Mana leader Hone Harawira says the Polynesian Panthers were a source of inspiration and support for the emerging Maori protest movement of the 1970s.
The group is this week celebrating the 45th anniversary of its formation in the inner-city Auckland suburb of Ponsonby.
Mr Harawira says the Polynesian Panthers tried to take back control of their communities, keep their people safe, support education through homework centres and make sure children were fed.
They also fought the government's dawn raids for overstayers, which brought them into contact with Nga Tamatoa.
"The cops back in those days didn't care, if you were brown they chucked you in. A number of Maori got picked up in the dawn raids and chucked into jail, even though it was obvious from the way they were talking they weren't fresh off the boat from anywhere except maybe from Taranaki or the South Island. Nga Tamatoa was involved in supporting that issue that was very much led by the panthers, and the Panthers supported a lot of the things Nga Tamatoa was trying to do in terms of Maori rights, treaty rights and te reo," Mr Harawira says.
He says as a teenager what impressed him about the Panthers was their look of black leather jackets and berets.
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