I’ve explored, researched and joined Mum’s matrilineal heritage of being accepted into Ngāi Tahu iwi, to give my children a sense of balance in their history, and also to make myself proud of my own ancestry.
In 2022 Sir Tipene O’Regan was selected to be the Kiwibank’s New Zealander of the Year. That’s definitely something to lift your head up to acknowledge. But this year comes with significance for me Kristina, and my business, Creating Design Clarity as this is the year I launched it.
As the NZ Awards organisation stated “Carving a path through history, Tā Tipene has been relentless in his pursuit for equity and justice. He is one of our most respected and admired kaumātua, orators and teachers. And after a lifetime of work, he has hugely strengthened Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu’s ownership of its own past, while helping to build a future-focused iwi.”
Lisa Tumahai, Kaiwhakahaere from Ngāi Tahu iwi wrote in an email sent to me last week letting me know about the announcement but also sharing a video that had been made to celebrate this remarkable human. ” … To acknowledge his incredible contribution to our iwi and Niu Tīreni, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu has produced a video to mihi to Tā Tipene for his achievement …”
If you are interested, you can watch it here.
The article in the NZ Herald, Canvas by Shane Te Pou was also an enlightening read, especially the poem at the beginning of his article. I particularly liked this part, “… built by brave and courageous navigators. Never content to stay within the safe boundaries of their known world …”
As I reflect and look at my own path ahead, I promise I will take a tiny bit of this man’s courage and bravery – to never be content and settle on what I consider to be ‘safe boundaries’, but will endeavour to be influenced by such a formidable human as Tā Tipene O’Regan. To learn more about me – Kristina – click here.
