Last week was the 50th anniversary of the seminal Māori language petition that was delivered to Parliament.
It was the catalyst for the recognition of te reo Māori as an official language in Aotearoa, which helped pave the way for the Māori language sector as we know it today, from immersion education settings to te Māori Language Commission and Te Mātawai.
It was a week when many were commiserating the life of a sovereign who had served for 70 years.
For many of us it was also a week dedicated to celebrating the life of a wahine toa who had fought for our sovereignty, a force to be reckoned with, Hana Te Hemara.
It was Hana, alongside those other ground-breaking activists, who delivered the Māori language petition to Parliament steps on September 14, 1972. A wahine toa, who the day after, spoke eloquently and forthrightly to the Education Select Committee stating "this lack of direction from above must cease! The Government must immediately end its criminal procrastination on this issue. It is high time civilised multi-cultural attitudes took over from the ignorance born of white racism."
I am Hana — I am vibrant, I am fearless, I am iconic, was an amazingly presented series of events hosted by Hana Te Hemara's whānau and Te Atiawa Iwi.
It was an event that was delicately weaved together to present the strength of Hana and her contribution to Aotearoa. The vibrancy of well-known artist Mr G's (Kereama Hoete) mural, engaged the whole community, beautifully capturing her essence and the scale of the impact she had on Te Ao Māori. And it was of course right to capture her this way, Hana knew the significance of arts as being the start of revolutionary change.
Revolutionary she was, indeed, she was a founding member of Nga Tamatoa. Listening to the members who spoke as panellists in a booked-out forum, this petite wahine was fearless. Described as fierce and focused by Linda Smith, who also shared the significance of celebrating Hana as a contemporary wahine toa, it was a relatable reminder of the sacrifices we make as wahine and how easily the story about our wahine toa can be lost.
She was an articulate and beautiful wahine who kept an eclectic mix of company and ideals. A rangatira who reminded us that we must stop relegating wahine to the sideline, encouraging that wahine step into their light, consistently showing the world how wahine are ready to step up and show their value. She was an icon for indigenous women globally.
Hana Te Hemara (third right), pictured at Waitangi in 1972, was among the activists who delivered the Māori language petition to Parliament in the same year. Photo / John Miller
I cannot explain the feeling of hearing stories about our own wahine (or Shero as many refer to them today), someone who died so young but achieved so much, a wahine who lived in times when we weren't encouraged to speak our truth.
A wahine who also held her femininity by making fashion statements, wearing heels to protests, who was taken off Waitangi wearing a one-off designed knitwear outfit (on display at her exhibition).
Growing up I needed to know her story, I needed to understand the fire in my belly was normal, that the imperfectness of our lives as wahine was perfect enough to challenge.
That even when we are not proficient in te reo Māori that we can still champion te reo Māori me ōna tikanga.
I am extremely grateful to her children, and whānau, to Te Atiawa for the sharing of their mama, whaea who so generously help us reclaim our stories, our dignity.
This event I have no doubt is the beginning of much more to come and I'm looking forward to that and the contribution to the continual growth of wahine toa, reclaiming our own stories, developing our own curriculum. I thank Willie Jackson for his tautoko to help this vision come to reality.
Hana Te Hemara was an icon, an icon whose legacy will always be with us. It is incumbent on us, the generations who follow her, to never let go of what she has taught us and the roadmap she laid for us to realise our tino rangatiratanga as tangata whenua in a Tiriti-centric Aotearoa.
I am Hana, I am vibrant, I am fearless, I am iconic.
