January 23, 2024
Hui sets stage for mana Māori motuhake
Veteran activist Annette Skyes says the weekend’s hui aa motu at Turangawaewae in the weekend was a show of strength.
The lawyer and Ngāti Pikiao kaikōrero says the 10,000 strong crowd reflected a movement woven together through decades of struggle and efforts to protect ways of life and tino rangatiratanga.
“Moving forward, they set quite clearly a context for how the objectives of kōtahitanga, rangatiratanga, and mana Māori motuhake, will acts as beacons to guide te ao Māori in what must be one of the most difficult times with the New Zealand crown since they arrived in the early 1840’s,” Ms Sykes says.
The discussions from the hui are expected to continue at this week’s celebrations at Rātana and on to the Waitangi commemorations.