Ae Marika!
A column published in the Northland Age
By Hone Harawira
Te Reo Motuhake o Te Tai Tokerau
29 March 2011

To comment on this column please go to my website www.hone.co.nz

TAKUTAIMOANA

Last week was a very special time, with the return of the Hikoi Takutaimoana to parliament, the manner in which they conducted themselves, the solemnity and dignity of the occasion, the presence of so many very special kaumatua and kuia from the north, and of course, the way in which the hikoi itself was so ably led by our rangatahi.

The laying down of the flags, the Acts, and the parekawakawa, was a very powerful and symbolic act, which went right over the heads of a lot of the politicians in attendance, but which would have been well noted by all the Maori people there - except the Maori Party MPs, who chose to snipe about the numbers on the hikoi.

The crew in charge of the hikoi did a bloody good job all round; different to how we would have done it in our day, but the leadership they showed and manner in which they presented themselves publicly was a credit to them all. Big ups to Wikatana and Reuben for fronting well, to the women who never get the kudos they deserve but who are always there to cover things in the background, to the regional organisers for making sure each stop went smoothly all the way to Poneke, and of course, to our kaumatua and kuia, who bring that very special touch, that mana, to every occasion, that you just can't buy. Congratulations everyone, and I hope you all got home OK ...

I was pretty scathing about Tau Henare's comments about dumping the taonga that were presented by the hikoi, in the rubbish, but the very next morning, Tau brought the collection of Acts (suitably shredded), the flags, and a rather nice taonga, to the Maori Affairs Select Committee meeting where Parekura did a karakia and blessed it all, and Tau promised to dispose of it in the most appropriate way. Just goes to show how much I don't know about my whanaunga ... good one Tau.

Oh yeah - and one other note about the hikoi too ... one of my daughters rang the night before the hikoi to ask whether she should come down? My wife said no. My daughter said "what would you do if you were 23?" to which my wife simply said, "I'd be here." My daughter hung up, and the next morning, her and her cousin turned up at the hikoi, having driven right through the night to make it down from Kaitaia. Hmmmmm .... You just can't tell young people what to do anymore can you?

When we finally got to the speeches in the house on the Thursday, it was all fairly predictable, although Shane took the opportunity for some vintage fire-breathing at the expense of the Maori Party for what he called their betrayal of their people, and the kaupapa on which the Maori Party got into parliament in the first place. A bit rich coming from a Labour MP, but Shane's oratory always makes me smile anyway.

The Maori Party's decision to give the casting vote allowing the Marine and Coastal Area Bill to become law was very, very sad. It still hurts, and will probably do so for some time yet. But life moves on, and I look forward now to setting new goals with people committed to a more positive future.

PS - 9 months after a hikoi, we normally see new baby or 3 ...

Ends

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