Ngāti Awa Education Scholarship Recipients
K)HayeAbEaa!Q=V"g)a During the nineteenth century my tūpuna Te Kahu Hawea and Hariata Te Houpepe (sister to Wi Patene Tarahanga) lived around the area of Te Houhi, located within the Waiohau block, situated by the lands of Matahina. Te Kahu was the eldest brother to Penitito Hawea who both alongside our other koroua, Te Kakara had an invested interest in the taonga tuku iho, Pūtauaki. My primary hāpu is Ngā Maihi who are an ancient tribe of the days of gone and my marae is Tu Teao. This is all that I have known since I was an infant until more recently during my doctoral journey that started four years ago at a Māori land meeting at Hawai. The Waikato line trace their genealogy from Te Kahu and Hariata who had a daughter Puau. Puau in turn had a son, Nane Waikato with Waikato Tarewa. Nane Waikato and Putiputi Watarawi had a son called Tom Waikato. Tom Waikato and Hazel Wanikau had the Waikato family who connect to many hapū of Ngāti Awa through toto, and whakapapa. I am the daughter of Mei Waikato and Terry Abraham. I have dedicated my life to transforming education outcomes for Māori in mainstream schooling across the primary, secondary and the tertiary sector. I am the first on both sides of my family, to embark on the doctoral journey which has allowed me to re(connect) and strengthen my ancestral connections to the whenua, the environment and to my people. Over many decades, I have been supported by whānau, hapū and iwi through a range of Māori education grants and scholarships. Without this support, it would not have
been possible for me to complete my doctoral journey. I owe a lot of gratitude to my nannies who are no longer here and to Uncle Charlie Blue, for their time in caring for us as young children when we visited Te Teko from Wellington and Wairoa. Nanny Mei and Uncle Charlie always had a yummy feed when we visited in the holidays. I am also very grateful to Koro Waaka Vercoe, Koro Joe Mason, Koro Dennis Vercoe, Uncle Alf and Koro Rangi Paul for their awhi, generous time and support over the years and especially to Ngā Maihi for letting me come and share my korero three years ago. I hope that in the future, we can together normalise educational success for tamariki Māori, and nurture a safe environment that enables all tamariki to succeed as Māori, across successive generations. I envisage continuing on the legacy set by our ancestors to remember your turangawaewae and hold onto our whānau and hapū histories that bind our kinship ties to each other. Matauranga Māori Scholarship Doctor of Philosophy
EDU CATI ON APPLI CAT I O NS RE C E I V E D BY H AP Ū Ngā Maihi Ngāi Taiwhakaea II Ngāi Tamaoki Ngāi Tamapare Ngāi Tamawera Ngāi Te Rangihouhiri II Ngai Tūariki Ngāti Awa ki Tāmaki Makaurau Ngāti Hāmua Ngāti Hikakino Ngāti Hokopu ki Te Hokowhitu-a-Tū Ngāti Hokopū ki Te Whare-o-Toroa Ngāti Maumoana Ngāti Pūkeko Ngāti Rangataua Ngāti Wharepaia Te Kahupaake Te Pahipoto Te Patuwai Te Tāwera Warahoe 18
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TE RŪNANGA O NGĀTI AWA | 2020 ANNUAL REPORT
