Twenty years on, we meet again in a mall. We raised eyebrows and beamed smiles to each other sending a signal to my little girl that everything was kapai with the man with the funny marks on his face.
What followed next after he passed by was priceless and could only come from a 2-year- old who could pick a genuine smile from a dozen paces.
'He's been a good boy eh dad', was her comment.
"Why do you say that sweetheart?", I quizzed her back.
"Because he's got lots of good boy stamps on his face."
I have held on to the lesson learned from a 2-year-old and replay it in my mind when Tame hits the headlines, as he has this week with the remembering of the Tuhoe raids 10 years ago, when 300 heavily armed police were involved in raids around the country using powers granted under the Terrorism Suppression Act.
Today marks the 10th anniversary of when masked police set roadblocks to raid Ruatoki, the tiny settlement at the mouth of the Urewera Forest.
No terror charges were ever laid against Tuhoe, most importantly, Justice Hansen said there was no evidence of imminent plans for violence.
The police walked away - while Tame walked into jail for nine months on arms charges leaving his people with the terror of these raids. Terror that has left a long-lasting effect on the innocent people of Ruatoki.
The Crown's attempt in court to paint Tame as a Che Guevara-type leader ready to embark on guerrilla warfare were almost farcical and about as scary to those who knew him, as a man with many good boy marks on his face was to a 2-year-old.
The lesson to be learned from the Tuhoe raids are many, none more so than the response of Tame this week to move on is akin to many of the world's peace loving leaders - Mandela, Gandhi, Dalai Lama to name a few - as it was many Maori peaceful leaders before him.
If anything, Tame is guilty of giving back what he gets when it comes to the Crown painting him as a Tuhoe terrorist and will always be a tutu in the Crown's nono (backside).
The images of him baring his bum and the whites of his eyes, shooting at the flag and spitting on what he considered kupapa (traitors) were pure cannon fodder to the media, and they fed off it like a fresh feed of wild Urewera poaka (pork).
These were calculated acts of protest to attract attention, says Iti, which were widely misunderstood at the time. It is theatre. It is a performance, a reminder to the Crown that Tuhoe is not going away.
Not that he is turning the other cheek or the cheekiness has gone, Tame is smart enough to know when to walk away.
"We had to let go - mentally and psychologically and spiritually," said Iti, drawing a deep breath.
"We had to let it go from the puku," he exhales loudly, "see you later ... bye bye. You can't keep it here, it's no good for you. Hold your breath and let it go."
Wise words for all to learn and live by from a man who only ever wanted self-determination ( tino rangatiratanga ) for his people.
What happened in Tuhoe 10 years ago could well go down in history as a turning point of understanding toward Maori and Tame will be remembered as a prophet of peace, not a war raging terrorist.
Next time you come face-to-face (kanohi ki te kanohi) with a Maori man or woman wearing a traditional ta moko, try to see what a 2-year-old sees.
Try to understand the story the face carries, not the story of fear taught to us by generations of judgment.
Most of all try not to look the other way. We have been doing that for the last 200 years.
tommykapai@gmail.com
