He W'akaputanga Mai o te Rangatiratanga - A Proclamation

Artist statement/Artworks: Ka whawhai tonu matou (Never give up) Over 200 Government Acts, traditions altered, imposter thoughts, beliefs, name calling, people of status, change champions or motivational thinkers have come and gone. Events, overall effects of colonisation and continuation of colonisation from the early 1800’s just before the signing of the Whakaputanga document up until now - The outcomes and continuing struggles of Māori women, Māori men, Māori children, what our tupuna survived, what we have survived and what our children have survived in every area of life itself.

Disconnected, disassembled, disorientated, despair, disempowered and for many disowned, whanau violence, generational violence, has come in many shapes and forms. 'Where has it come from it was not a part of our Māori world?'

- but today’s media machine now highlights that its is a Māori thing. We have become pin cushions, poked and prodded, blood-stained, run ragged. some used and abused as doormats, our gut feelings (which many have become disconnected from), cut off. Internal questions - 'Why is this happening to me?

To my tamariki? To my mokupuna? When will it end? How can I change a whanau cycle which has now become the norm/normal?'.

So let’s make it important to go back, take a look, address and acknowledge the past. This is just some of the many hours of research recorded I have sifted through. From the first observers, writers and researchers, to recent 37