Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
See below for English translation
He hope kōpikopiko, he makawe ngarungaru āhua māmā hoki engari anō ko tona tino mana he wahine rawe ki te kōrero.
E te iwi anei tō tātou tuahangata ko Atutahi Potaka Dewes he tauira nā te wānanga Te Rito i Tamaki Makaurau otikau he urukehu tūturu nō Te Whakarewarewa.
'Nā te mea nō Te Whakarewarewa ahau i whāia rawatia e ahau te mana o ngā kuia tiaki manuwhiri, whakangāhau manuwhiri, tuku kōrero me te hakoke i te ao he ahakoa haere ai ahau ki whea ka kawea hoki e ahau te mauriora o tātou te Māori, nō reira kai te mea ake ahau nō mua noa atu tēnei ara e haerehia nei e ahau'.
'Ko taku kaupapa inaianei ko Te Rito. He kaupapa kawe reo ki te ruma whakapāoho kōrero takiwā , kai te kura tonu mātou, ā, he kaupapa e kaha tautokongia ana e te Public Interest Journalism Fund'.
He Ngāti Te Rangiteaorere, he Ngāti Wāhiao, he Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Uepōhatu, Raurunui Sāmoa a Atutahi. I whānau ai i Tamaki Makaurau nōna e toru noa ngā tau ka heke iho ki Rotorua nei ki te kāinga o ōna kaumātua ki a Kiri me Eru Potaka-Dewews.
Kua matemate noa atu a Eru.
"Mena kai te mōhio koe ki taku kuia ka nui kē tō mōhiotanga ki tona mate aroha ki te iwi me tō tātou whenua, ehara au i te tangata manene ki tō tātou iwi me ngā hui a marae koina tōku ao nōku e itiiti ai he whaiwhai noa i ōku pakeke. Ko te aka whakapapa o Koro e toro atu ai ki te Tai Rāwhiti. He mea whakatōkia e Koro ki roto ki ahau tēnei taha ōku. Nō reira hoki ōku ingoa ehara i te mea he ingoa noa engari he wahine whai mana rawa atu i pupuringia ai enei ingoa e Koro hai ingoa mōku'.
E hīkaka nei tōna ngākau ki tana umanga hou nei.
'He mea kapo kau i te wehi me te wana i ngā takiwā o te taiao engari ko te mea nui ki ahau kia waihongia ngā kōrero Māori ki te Māori me ngā kōrero a te Poronēhia ki te Poronēhia.
'Ehara i te mea kai te tukituki te taha Māori me te taha tauiwi o te ao pāpaoho engari rā ko te whakatairanga o te mana o ngā iwi taketake o Aotearoa nei, kāua e whakairingia tātou te iwi taketake ki te pātū o te whare pupuri taonga.'
E rua tekau mā wha ngā tauira i te kaupapa Te Rito ko Atutahi tētehi o rātou. I te timatatanga he kotahi rau ngā ingoa.
'Kai kōnei a Te Arawa , wheoi anō ko taku makawe pea te take kai te ihiiihi ai ahau i te karaehe. Tūturu mēnā kai te kōrero pouaka whakaata tātou, tirohia ngā tangata o naianei, kāore e kitea ana ngā tangata pēnei i ahau te hanga ne hā?
Kia kaha kē tātou te hunga māia nei pēnei i ahau, hope kōpikopiko, makawe ngarungaru ana. Kua waia kē tātou ki te murakehu iti nei ki te hahani me te whakaiti i a koe ake, nā te mea kāore e kitea ana ēnei tūmomo tangata ki te pouaka whakaata'.
Nō reira ngai tātou mā, maranga rā, tū kaha rā.
E wha katoa ngā rōpu o te huinga Te Rito ko NZME, ko Whakaata Māori, ko Pacific Media Network me Newshub.'
Kua whiria e rātou ētehi taniwha ki te tuhituhi, taniwha ki te kōrero me te aha noa atu mā rātou e kawe ake ō mātou oranga ki ngā rūmā whakapāoho.
'Me te huhua hoki o ngā iwi kai te kaupapa nei, Māori mai, Pasifika mai, Asian mai, LGBTQ+me te hunga hauā hoki kai kōnei katoa. Koina te tino mana whakaharahara o tēnei kaupapa e taea te wairua o te tangata ki a noa ai ki māoriori ai'.
Ka nui hoki te kakapa o tona ngākau i te rangona atu i te reo e rerere ana i te ao whakapāoho –' kua tika ō tātou waewae haere'.
'Ko te mea nui inaianei ko te whakapāoho i te reo me te āhuatanga o tō tātou ao kua roa kē tātou te iwi e manaakingia te whenua me te taiao. E tika ana te tangata taketake ki te ūpoko o te reo kawe kōrero kia tū hoki ai rātou ki te wetini o te kurutao , e mea ana ahau, ' Nō te whenua tātou tūturu!'.
He ahakoa ko te iwi te tāhūhū o tana haerenga nei kai ngā wāhanga katoa o te ao o te taiao te ihi rangaranga.
'Ka tūponongia he tangata, ā, he māramatanga ia, nōku ake te whakaaro kua piri mai tētehi wāhanga iti ōna ki ahau'. E tika tonu nei tōna wairua e pūare ana ki ngā reareatanga katoa o te ao hai tāna hoki kia kaha kē koe ki te pūpuri i te wairua rangatahi e pakiki tonu ai te hinengaro.
'Nā reira te koroingo ki te ako tonu hai taonga tuku iho , ko te tikanga o te kupu, kounga kia eke ahau ki tetehi taumata, nā, kātahi ka whakamahia taua mana hai painga kauaka mōku ake engari anō te iwi'.
He ahakoa e toru tekau ngā tau o Atutahi kāore anō ia ki a whakawhānau tamariki engari taihoa tēnā hiahia.
'Ko taku kare-ā-roto nō Tūhoe ko Karaitiana Rurehe '.
Ko te noho whare motuhake mōna, he moemoeā pae tawhiti hoki tēnā. ' Ko te pae tawhito mōku ko te mana o te kai, mā ngā iwi taketake anō tēnei kaupapa e arahi engari kia kāua e noho tūnaha nei ki ngā iwi taketake anake. Whakatahangia ake te whaiwhai moni, hai aha noa atu ngā whare pupuri moni, ki a hoki noa tātou ki te hokohoko , māku etehi kōrero pakiwaitara, māu e waihanga taku whare ana te hokohoko'.
Me te taha ki te hangarau, tirohia te kiriata I-Robot āhua tika hoki tēnā kiriata ki ahau, he wehi nōku ki taua kiriata nā.
'Pai kē ngā motukā ā hiko o te rā, mēnā kāore anō kia rāhuingia taua whakaaro kai te whakarāhuingia e ahau taua whakaaro inākuanei. Ko te hangarau e ai ki a tātou te Māori kai te pūtaiao kia kaha kē tātou ki te tō tō mai i aua pūkenga i ngā wā katoa kāua mō te Matariki anake'.
He wahine i puta mai i te ao turuhi a Te Atutahi, ae i raru hoki ia i te māuiui urutā engari kua huri te tai.
"E tika pea te whakaaro e kore te ao pākihi e hoki ai ki te ao pākihi i mua i te putanga o te māuiui urutā. E tangi ana te ngākau ki te hinganga o ngā wāhi turuhi pēnei me Tāmaki me Te Puia.
Engari anō ngā painga mō Te Whakarewarewa me Ohinemutu, he aha pea tetehi taima i puta ai ngā tangata ki te tauraki pūeru i te rā kāre kau ana he turuhi e mahi whakaahua ana. I enei tau e rua e hoa mā, kua rangatira ake ngā whakaaro auaha o tātou te Māori. Kai te mōhio ahau ka rere taku wairua i te ao noa, engari ehara i te ao iwa ki te rima pēnei ki te nuinga o tātou i ēnei rā. Ka puta mai te māuiui urutā ka hinga ahau, kua kore taku mahi engari ka ara ake kia wha anō ngā tūnga mahi katoa e ngākau tika ki taku wairua!".
E tika taua pepeha he ahakoa kati kau ana te tatau kotahi pūare ana tatau huhua.
He kupu ruarua hoki ēnei mā te rangatahi .'
Mēnā kai te tika ināianei, taihoa ka hē ai. Pai rawa atu ki a puta tō ihu whakaharahara me whakahīhī koe ka tika engari me whakahīhī hoki koe i ngā wā e noho koretake ana koe. Kia tika hoki. E hoa hoake koe ki ngā pakeke kai reira te puna o te māramatanga me te arero tika kai te kautā. Mā rātou koe e akiaki ai, mā rātou koe e whakatangata ai. Ko ngā whakaaro whakamutunga mō te pae tawhito ?
"He kupu itiit nei nāku ki ngā pakeke, kāua e wehi ki taku reanga e tere nei, ko mātou ko taku reanga ngā pikitūranga! Kia mahara ake e hoa mā, i tono awhina hoki te tīma Avengers."
— Na Raimona Inia tenei purongo i whakamaori.
She's curvy, has curly light-coloured hair and her special skill is talking.
Meet Atutahi Potaka-Dewes, a student of the Te Rito programme in Tamaki Makaurau, and an authentic Whaka Blonde.
"Being from Whakarewarewa, I followed the legacy of tour guiding, concert performing, narrating, travelling and telling the world all about the best lifestyle there is, being Māori. So I'd say the path that I'm on now, was preordained before my inception.
"What I'm doing is a new concept called Te Rito. It aims to bring more diverse voices into newsrooms. We're still training and it's supported by The Public Interest Journalism Fund."
Atutahi has hononga to Ngāti Rangiteaorere, Ngāti Wāhiao, Ngāti Whakaue Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Uepōhatu, Rauru nui Sāmoa. She was born in Auckland but at age 3 was brought home to Rotorua where she was raised by her kuia Kiri and her late koro, Eru Potaka-Dewes.
"Anyone that has met my kuia knows how much of a champion she is for her iwi and our whenua.
"I'm no stranger to iwi and marae hui having spent a lot of my childhood glued to nan's hip. Koro's roots run to the East Coast and he made sure I knew who and where I come from.
"Both my middle names are from prominent women in Koro's life — so carrying these names assures my connection."
Atutahi is enthusiastic about her current career path.
"I draw inspiration from all over, but at the crux of it all, ensuring that stories about Māori and Pasifika are told by Māori and Pasifika.
"It's not about mainstream media versus the rest — it's about 'New Zealand' acknowledging that we're not relics or tokens of a past they'd like to forget."
Atutahi is one of 24 on the Te Rito programme selected from more than 100 applicants.
"There are a few of us Te Arawa in the course — but maybe it's my hair that stands out.
"Honestly, on TV how many curvy, curly-haired women are we seeing? I think we need more. Too many of us say, 'I don't belong there' and that's because we're not seeing ourselves in those spaces."
There are four partners involved in Te Rito — NZME, Whakaata Māori, Pacific Media Network and Newshub.
"They've selected some really talented writers, presenters, speakers and videographers to bring forth our lived experiences into newsrooms.
"There's true diversity represented in Te Rito, Māori, Pasifika, Asian, LGBTQI+, people with disabilities.
"Knowing that just because you associate with one or more groups doesn't mean there's a stereotype for that life too — and that's evident in the cadets of Te Rito."
Atutahi said it was awesome hearing te reo spoken a lot more on general stream news — "we're taking steps in the right direction.
"What needs to happen now is the amplification of our reo, our way of life, the connection we have with all that is around us. Indigenous voices have long spoken about the land and environment.
"The world needs indigenous peoples at the forefront leading the charge on better care for individual self, better insight for community growth and better understanding for the environment.
"We are of the land not the other way around."
Atutahi says the backbone in her current journey is her iwi but she finds inspiration everywhere.
"Everyone we meet is a lesson to be taught or learned. I like to think they've all had a hand in helping me at some point."
She still has a "bright-eyed bushy-tailed" outlook on life and thinks it's a good thing to keep that child-like curiosity.
"It keeps me wanting to learn about everything so I can pass that knowledge on
"Success to me is one day having learned enough and done something with it that was worthwhile to my people."
Atutahi, 30, says she has not been blessed with children of her own yet.
"Of course there are plenty of people I call family. My love, Karaitiana Rurehe is of Tūhoe."
For Atutahi, becoming a home owner does not look likely any time soon. "The future to me is food sovereignty, where indigenous people lead the kaupapa. Where such concepts are not just indigenous ideas.
"Never mind the grind for petty cash, never mind banks altogether — we'll be trading with our skill set.
"I'll tell you stories while you build my whare."
So far as technology is concerned, for Atutahi the Will Smith movie I, Robot seems a bit too real.
"Maybe cars that are solar powered. If no one has invented that yet then I'm patenting that right now. Māori technology is in our sciences and we need to bring those learnings into practice all year not just for Matariki."
Atutahi, who worked in the tourism industry, was impacted by the Covid 19 pandemic but has had positive outcomes.
"We could say that we will never see our tourism industry like it was pre-covid. It was sad seeing places like Tāmaki and Te Puia let the majority of staff go.
"It was bitter sweet for our Pā in Whaka and Ōhinemutu — when was the last time some of our whānau got to hang washing out without being photographed.
"If anything, the past two years have shown us we are absolutely innovative and ever evolving.
"I've learned I thrive in an environment that isn't 9-5! Covid hit and I lost my job, but I've found about four others, all I absolutely love doing!"
She has some simple advice for rangatahi:
"What is right now — won't always be. It's OK to succeed and be proud, it's equally just as OK to be proud of your failures.
"Honestly, if you want real talk — go to the nannies in the kāuta."
Final thoughts on the future?
"Our leaders in Te Arawa should not be wary of my generation rising through the ranks.
"Think of us as reinforcements. Even The Avengers needed help."
The Rotorua law student who authored it says the support was 'overwhelming but inspiring'.