“My family, my tribe, my race, my nation – let this be my vision of the future. My extended family, all creeds, all races, all nations - let this be my new world.”
Dame Mira Szászy (dame mee-rah sah-zee), President Māori Women's Welfare League
“What’s good for Indigenous culture and intelligence is good for the entire world.”
Hori Ahomiro (haw-ree ah-hoh-mee-roh), social worker & Indigenous Studies master
“We define ourselves by the stories we tell about ourselves...It’s my business to tell those stories to my grandchildren, and it will be their business to tell those stories to their grandchildren.”
Witi Ihimaera (wit-tee ih-hee-my-rah), novelist, short story writer
“The essence of the guarantee of Maori sovereignty is the right of self-determination, the right to control, administer and decide our own destiny.”
Annette Sykes (ah-net sikes), lawyer & activist
“Our ancestors always had their backs to the future and their eyes firmly on the past. That is what makes us different from the Pakeha (White New Zealander).”
Joe Williams (joh will-yumz), Supreme Court justice
We are massaging the ricked back of the land with our sore but ever-loving feet: hell, she loves it! Squirming, the land wiggles in delight. We love her.
Hone Tuwhare (hoh-nee too-fur-ree), poet
“The Hongi (pressing noses) is something we do when we greet someone…The sharing of the breath connects our Mauri (life force). We are no longer separate. We are one!”
Carmen TePuke (kahr-men tay-poo-kay), culture holder