Te Wananga o Aotearoa Summer Graduation...

Totem pole outside the centre

Graduation Ceremony of TWOA at the Vodafone Events Centre

 Yesterday, I attended the TWOA (Te Wananga o Aotearoa) summer graduation ceremony with my family. We went there to honour one of our family member's efforts upon completing her computing course. 

This was also the same course that I completed but due to having completed quite a few different courses over the course of my being at TWOA, I thought it more important to let our family member enjoy her night with a nice dinner and supper afterwards.

One of the neat things about having the TWOA Graduation ceremony at the Vodafone Events centre in Manukau, is being able to enjoy time with family a graduation ceremony without having to go into Auckland city with it's traffic jams, often an austere environment and expensive parking. 

It also allows local families from South Auckland, the opportunity to be able to enjoy the day and to see the sights such as the very tall Totem pole outside the centre which resembles Native American and Canadian totem poles with a distinct Maori artistic flavour in the carving.

There is also the new Vero Wero: Whitewater rafting course directly behind the totem that was newly opened last year as the first man-made water course in NZ. I haven't yet been in but looking forward to taking our family there as we all love the water, whether it's swimming, or kayaking, paddling in an outrigger or just having fun. Our love for water must be through our Pacific genes.

So now it's at the end of another learning journey and the start of new learning journeys for both of us. I was asked a few days ago what me being an "educator" means. I guess for me it means as in the Maori work "ako" and Samoan word "a'o" to teach and also to learn. It's about learning so that we can pass it on to the next generation...

SSAB Opening in Mangere - stocking my books!...

Ribbon cutting at opening of SSAB 17 Nov 2016

Had an amazing opportunity open yesterday as I attended the opening launch and ribbon cutting ceremony of SSAB Samoan Stationery and Books in Mangere at the Samoa House (Samoan Consulate) now moved from the city. There I met the Managing Director, Fiti Leung Wai, and when I approached her to discuss about stocking my books at the store, she agreed (cheehoo!!!) and promptly made an appointment to talk with the Auckland Managing Director whom I know too. Wow! I thank God for these amazing miracles since first self-publishing last year.

This is quite out of left field as I had first approached SSAB at their megastore in Samoa late last year but as they were gearing up for Christmas and the opening of their new Pago store in American Samoa she was too busy and I had to fly back to NZ before being able to show Fiti the books. We also got to see their Savaii store and so I think I've seen all their stores except for a Hawaiian store that I joked with Fiti about but they do have some Hawaiian products selling too.

Now, upon returning from Fiji next week, I'll be able to sit down and discuss/negotiate terms and conditions of stocking the books and am amazed at how things have turned within a week of seeing the SSAB store stock up for their opening and looking forward to seeing my books promoted there too. I also want to thank Jackie Curry for the invitation as this was so unexpected and I also thank the Samoan business network association for keeping me in sinc with what's going on.

What I like about the store is that I can see me doing my Christmas shopping there where they also have a Christian literature section and an array of gifts for birthdays and special occasion buys at reasonable prices plus I would be supporting Samoan enterprises rather than the multinational brand companies or made in China products that I have bought in the past.

They have an amazing variety of earrings and jewellery, some even for the high end shopper, shoes, clothing, Samoan books (yeah!) as I can now restock on some of the titles that I had lost as family members would ask to read and then forget to return. There are also toys, games, some of the latest gadgets and they are also opening a section where goods can be bought in Auckland and paid for whilst picked up in Samoa.

Wow! still smiling at this great opportunity and looking forward to a break in Fiji, as I really need one to recover :) Thank you God!

View from Mangere Mountain "Te Pani o te Mataoho"...

View from Mangere Mt of what used to be Mangere sewage pond (crater)

My research journey with my class in Indigenous Research this year has been very interesting and I am painfully aware of the many decisions that were made by past local government and businesses to disrupt the beautiful landscape in Mangere to make way for modernisation as Auckland grew from the 1950s onwards.

I also found out that the name of the mountain for local Maori is "Te Pani o te mataoho" in which there is a story behind the name Maori name of the mountain and I have encouraged some local Maori from the iwi (tribe) to write about it as few know the incredible story behind the name but that is story is for them to tell.

One painful decision to the land was choosing a dormant crater which used to hold Maori canoes before European settlement to become an open sewage system for Auckland. You can see the crater in the pic above viewed from Mangere Mt and Ihumatao in the far distance. I remember it used to be sectioned off and there would be different colours to the sewage that was contained within the crater.

I remember as a child and into my 20s driving past the area and it would smell from the sewage and we would try to hold our noses or breath as we drove past. I wrote a poem about Mangere Mt which is in my first poetry collection in paying homage to this beautiful landscape that was mistreated and still being used as a sewage treatment plant although now using treatment tanks for the sewage waste etc.

Since the early 2000s modern treatment of sewage is doing away with the open sewage system and now there is a drive to restore the waterways back to it's former glory but that will take years and hopefully within our lifetime to see people swim, eat fish and seafood from there.

Presently, it's just nice to look at and have heard that there are plans afoot to change it into an aquicentre of some sort that will allow people to enjoy the area as a aquatic sports centre but not so sure how that will pan out.

Still, to see how the seabed is starting to restore itself with birds slowly returning and sealife hopefully sometime in the future, the landscape will one day return back to it's former glory, if left quietly alone ...

"Aunty Ma" a brilliantly moving story told through Maori theatre...

The cast of "Aunty Ma" script by storyteller William/Wiremu Davis

At Te Wananga o Aotearoa, I get the privilege of being able to experience Indigenous arts through a Maori lens as a NZ Samoan artist/author/academic etc. and it's a real privilege to share in the stories, performances, songs, whaikorero (speeches) and toi (the arts) at this Maori Indigenous tertiary institute of learning. It's a far cry from my former days in mainstream education and often challenges the perceptions of what I used to think as "the norm" in my former days as a student and then teacher professional.

Last night, I got the opportunity to take my class (Indigenous Research/ers) to view the play "Aunty Ma" in it's entirety as we had been invited to watch a rehearsal by the Maori performing arts class earlier but hadn't watched the ending. I was again blown away by the amazing script and story telling qualities of the performing arts students who used waiata (songs), te reo (language), taiaha (Maori weaponry) and many other elements to tell the story of a lady of grace whom we affectionately know at Te Wananga o Aotearoa as "Aunty Ma."

The story is about her life and the influences that made her what she is today as a passionate educator who was one of the founding members of Te Wananga o Aotearoa. This year she is leaving us due to her failing health etc. having spent 33 years as a stalwart of Te Wananga o Aotearoa. The story tells of what she encounted as a young Maori growing up in Te Awamutu and the story of how Te Wananga began.

I would highly recommend that every one watches this amazing story. The story was such that a number of the earlier trustees mortgaged their homes at least twice in order to be able to pay for the establishment of the buildings in Te Awamutu and were given a rubbish tip to build on top of for a $1 per year for 30 years (so symbolic of the racist attitudes of the day).

Today, Te Wananga o Aotearoa is the second largest tertiary education community in the country. It boasts teaching many Te Ao Maori (Maori world knowledge) courses as well as several degrees including the Bachelor of Social Work, Bachelor of Education and now Masters in Applied Indigenous Knowledge as well as heading towards a PhD or doctoral studies.

There are many campuses scattered throughout the North and South Islands and encourages multicultural communities of learners and staff throughout the motu (islands) where I also teach now in sharing the story.

The performances are free at the Mangere Arts Centre, today and tomorrow at a 1pm Matinee and a 7pm evening show. Well worth the watch...

Earthquake tremors felt in Mangere...

Large volcanic dormant crater 100 metres from where I live

Early this morning at about 12.20 am, my husband and I were talking when we felt our bed moving beneath us and I could hear the creaking of the door which had been closed. We stopped talking and listened in the dark as we could still feel the tremors for what seemed like 30 secs before it stopped. I then got up and asked my beloved to confirm if he thought it was an earthquake as I suspected. He knew that it was and checked around the house before turning on the TV to see if there was any news on the matter. I checked briefly outside which was very quiet, returned to bed and asked my husband to pray before we went to sleep after an eventful weekend.

I woke up as my beloved got ready for work and after he left I checked on Facebook feeds and there saw the news that I had been concerned about played before my eyes in the news feeds and various other forums. I then turned on the TV and saw that indeed it was a sizeable earthquake that we had felt the tremors of and thanked God for our safety in seeing the devastation that it has caused to parts of the South Island.

I think what is scary about this scene is that on 29 September 2009, my family and I were in Siumu, Samoa on a family holiday and had just woken up at about 7 am at my husband's family's house when the earthquake struck. As we were in their house on the mountain we felt and heard the earthquake rubbling and things moving in the house and we knew that this was seismic activity and there was nothing we could about it except to wait until the tremors subsided.

Only to be within 15 minutes later faced with a tsunami at the coast, a 5 minute drive down the hill where the school was. No one could have predicted what we were to witness next on that day when bodies were driven up the only main road in the village hours later and the next day when we drove around, we were astounded at the devastation of the earthquake around Samoa.

After that event, we discussed our plan in that should something of that nature happen that locating our children was a priority and family members, as well as checking out on our neighbours etc. We have water stored and now reminded to check on exit supplies as well as communications to be ready and available.

Today was a timely reminder that we never know when these things will happen but we need to consider what we need to have prepared and planned in the event that it may happen....

Visit Pania Warrior Princess of Ihumatao...

https://www.facebook.com/papatuanukuprotectors3/videos/1692887011026866/

 Had an absolutely stunning day yesterday with my class on our hikoi (research fieldtrip) around Mangere. Our first stop was to meet the whanau at Ihumatao headed by the beautifully eloquent Pania a.k.a. Warrior Princess of S.O.U.L. (Save our unique landscape) a group from the area who were formed to try to fight against a big corporate company i.e. Fletcher building 480 houses on their back doorstep right on their sacred lands - our own "Standing Rock" likened to the Dakota pipeline protests in the US with united tribes of Native Indians standing up to fight for their lands and waterways.

Their campsite is a quiet and respectful occupation of their ancestral lands and Pania explained how the land was taken off their people when they wouldn't pledge allegiance to the English queen (a treasonist act in those days) back in the 1860s and they were ordered off their lands and told to leave for the Waikato where the Kingitanga movement (Maori king) had been formed in resistance to the new settlers (Pakeha - Europeans) taking over their lands all over New Zealand, since the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. They were later allowed to return but to a smaller reserve whilst the bulk of the lands were sold to the new European settlers and used for mainly farming and horticulture.

As she told the story of the history of her people, I was moved by her steady and measured eloquence, her patient and respectful discussion of what to me has been the continued raping and pillaging of their lands, a remnant of what we see today of what must have been an amazing testimony of early Polynesian now Maori technology. As we looked atop of maunga, with panoramic views, I knew that we were standing on a last bastion of a historical Polynesian settlement/s soon be buried under concrete and urban sprawled housing, a testimony to our technological advancement.

We then walked on the Otuataua Stonefields and listened to the history of what was once a thriving community with horticultural advancement, a trading post with stunning views for hundreds of years before European settlement and now reduced to rubble (in parts) by the vicious quarrying of many of their maunga (mountains) some of which no longer exist today. The stories of how some of their ancestors bones are buried in some of the lava caves soon to have houses built on top of them - incredible!

After sharing stories, we then shared lunch, parted ways and headed for Mangere Mountain, as it is known today, but it's Maori name is Te Pane o Mataoho which has an amazing story behind it. I obviously support the stand of Pania and her people and have encouraged them to tell their story and will koha (gift) my time to seeing this become a reality as so many people do not know the important history of Maori mana whenua (original indigenous descendants) in Mangere and the histories that need to be told to the next generations.

After walking around the maunga (mountain) and listening to the history while viewing the various features and the panoramic view of the other volcanic mountains of Auckland from the vantage point, I realise the importance and the magnitude of the what needs to be done in order to ensure that this encroaching does not continue to advance further and would implore that many, many more local and national iwi (tribes), communities, academics, churches, schools, families, friends, neighbours etc. need to visit Pania (our local warrior princess), hear her story and then respond in doing something about it i.e. "the right thing" to ensure that our next generations not only hear but can "see" history/herstory...

Huia Publishing - sharing our stories with the world...

Over the last couple of days I spent time at Te Wananga o Aotearoa in Hamilton in a workshop with other Researchers/lecturers from the Wananga with Huia Publishers. The above youtube clip is an encouraging history of the first 21 years of establishing the Publishing house and the influence/impact it has had on the New Zealand literary landscape.

Robin Bargh was the director who first started the business back in 1991, in seeing the need for Maori literature to be available for New Zealanders in schools, homes, bookshops etc. It was her vision that has seen many Maori and also Pasifika peoples publish their stories in various forms and has added colour to New Zealand literature.

I remember as a high schooler reading Witi Ihimaera's early books and being able to relate to the stories, even though they were about Maori, it resonated with me more so than a lot of the English literature that I read in schools. Patricia Grace, was another Maori writer who also inspired me as young adult and particularly "Potiki" in what I see now happening to the landscape in Ihumatao with "dollarman".

I came out of the workshop even more inspired to write more stories and to consider where too next in my writing journey. In fact, many participants came out of the workshop buzzing with writing ideas and new considerations about about why, who and how we write to inspire and encourage other generations to share stories, to continue in their journeys as Maori as Pasifika peoples.

So encouraging and with so much more to come. Thank you Huia Publishers...

Ancient lifeways of Tamaki lectures...

Ian Lawlor, archaeologist at Mangere Arts centre

It was interesting to listen to the "Ancient Lifeways of Tamaki" lectures/talks last night. There were quite a lot of people who come to listen and I was very interested in Ian Lawlor's presentation of the Mangere Ihumatao area's history which was both amazing and disturbing.

The amazing part of it was that there was documentation from excavations that showed the area had been inhabited probably as one of the first areas that Polynesians came to live and cultivate in New Zealand and then adapted into what we now know as Maori practices over time.

One of the sites excavated even had Moa bones carbon dating to around 1100s well before the English discoverers came. The early Maori even had sophisticated garden systems whereby they were even able to support the growing city of Auckland in the 1800s when the first English settlers were still growing accustomed to the land.

Unfortunately, due to Western ways of thinking and the economic growth of Auckland, he spoke about how many of the volcanic mountains were decimated and quarried in providing for the road ways of Auckland and it's progress.

Today many of those mountains no longer exist except for aerial photographs of the area back in the 1800s and 1900s. Therefore, many Maori descendants of the area are only seeing a part of the landscape that hasn't yet been destroyed although the current occupation of Ihumatao is challenging Fletcher Living to not buy or build on their sacred lands.

From an Indigenous Researcher's perspective it was also interesting to note that the Intellectual property of the matters discussed did not explain how Maori would benefit from this knowledge. I suppose it is something for us to continue to talk about...

Neat time at the NZ Book Festival with some creative authors ...

Claire Bunt, author and teacher

I had a neat time at the NZ Book Festival in Mt Eden yesterday meeting lots of authors (many of whom we'd met at the festival last year) and I will be blogging about some of the creative authors I met and some of their stories. One of whom I'll introduce to you today as children's author, Claire Bunt.

She is an amazing woman in that we shared similar stories as she was a teacher at Mangere Intermediate when I was there as a student between 1977 - 1978. Although, I wasn't taught by her I vaguely remembered her on staff.

There I had a teacher in my first year, called Mr John Toetoe, who was a handsome young Maori teacher that many girls/ladies liked but boy was he strict, however, I think he had a soft spot for me and encouraged me to do by best in my school work when I was slacking off and he loved for us to run around the large field as our fitness.

He was also good at teaching us Maths and I began to excel in Maths from his class through to High school. He was one teacher whom I'll never forget and Claire Bunt also remembered him and other teachers at the times that we were both there.

Claire Bunt writes children's books and also sends them off to Tuvalu and the Solomon Islands for free by the box for children in schools to read. She has such a neat heart for communities and also supports UNICEF. In fact, she even gave me a couple of books for to read to our youngest child and was very blessed by her.

The two neat books that I read are featured at the front of her stand as: "A Day of Surprises" and "The Green Hat that blew away" both are from the "Life in the Solomon Islands" series and beautifully illustrated by Philip Webb. She also has another book called "Whatever happened to Milo?" and these stories have literacy activities associated to them.

And looking forward to sharing many more stories of neat authors that I met throughout the week...

Art work for cover of "Sacred steps of Tigilau"...

This pic is the new painting for the upcoming book launch of our last book offering for the year, for the play "Sacred steps of Tigilau". The carving was carved by my middle child as a part of her technology project at school and I loved it on the spot and asked for her permission to incorporate it into my artwork for the cover of the book.

In some cultures and areas in New Zealand girls/women are not accepted to learn carving but there is a growing interest in carving for woman that at Te Wananga o Aotearoa where I work, they have allowed women to learn carving too.

The other amazing opportunity is that with the 50th Golden Jubilee of my primary school, Robertson Road School, they've accepted for me to launch our book on the Gala Day on the 2nd of December between 6 - 7 pm which is a real honour.

It was a neat school that set me on a good stead for the rest of my academic journey and now I feel that I am able to give back to the school by launching and advertising my connection with the school and where it has taken me to now. I also hope to encourage and enthuse current students to also reach for their goals and to go as far as they are able to in their studies at school.

Also looking forward to tomorrow with the NZ Book Festival day and with so much going on, I really thank God for these great opportunities!...

50th Celebration Robertson Road School...2nd Dec...

Robertson Road school 50th Golden Jubilee celebrations on 2 Dec 2016

Wow! hard to believe how fast time has passed by with the 50th Golden Jubilee of my Primary school, Robertson Road school, now coming into fruition. The dates that I attended the school was between 1970 - 1976 and then I matriculated (as they used to say) to Mangere Intermediate for the following two years and then completed my high school education at Nga Tapuwae College now known as Southern Cross campus.

The date for the formal Ball is on 28th Nov (Tuesday night) at the Holiday Inn for $75 from 7pm - 12 midnight with special prizes etc. and the Friday 2nd of Dec is set for a big Gala day from 3 - 7pm. I'm hoping to have an announcement for that day but just confirming and then will be able to discuss details.

I remember having some neat teachers at the school and my mum even bought the photos of all the years that I was at school there. Starting with black and white photos and then graduating to colour photos (yes, I was around at that time :)

Primer 1: Miss Race (Real strict, and I was very careful not to get in trouble with her)
Primer 4: Miss Brookbanks (A neat teacher who didn't finish the year but I liked her nice manner)
Standard 1: Miss Mitchell (Scottish - did some amazing art projects with her i.e. string art)
Standard 2: Miss Sharkey (Very strict and gave me talks about my behaviour - to be good)
Standard 3: Miss ? Really liked this teacher and went to say goodbye to her when she left the school
Standard 4: Mr Meikan (Maori - lots of singing and worked hard but very strict and with a neat sense of humour).

Looking forward to this event as the school was foundational in assisting me to have a great start to what has become a career in education as well as now writing and painting etc. I remember having some neat art classes that really nurtured my interest in art from a very young age and still continuing it today with the books. Looking forward to more details to come...

Attending NZ Book Festival this Sat 5 Nov in Mt Eden...

This Saturday, I'm exhibiting at the NZ Book Festival that's being held at Mt Eden Memorial Hall on Dominion Road from 9am - 4.30pm. It also happens to be the day that a school that I am on the Board of Trustees with is also choosing a new principal so it's going to be a bit of a juggle to be at both places at once but will see what can be done.

This will be the second year that I have attended as a self-published author as last year, I was just getting started and it was a whole new learning curve for me. Now, I'm still on the learning curve but so many different opportunities have opened up for me with now venturing into poetry, upcoming art exhibition/s and academic work.

Still, I think it's important to remain within the various communities, as a writer, and to be available to discuss ideas and thoughts with those who are interested. Unfortunately, some of my books are not available with the need for re-printing but will be happy to take orders for upcoming Christmas.

I've also just found out today, that 3 of my poems have been accepted to be published on a New Zealand literary online magazine (I think that's what it's described as) but more of that story in future blogs as these opportunities unfold.

So really looking forward to setting up for this Saturday and taking along the various books on offer to discuss with interested book lovers. Last year, I think I was the only Pasifika/Samoan self-published author that attended the festival and maybe this year there may be more but all the same looking forward to an eventful day... Oh, and it also coincides with Guy Fawkes celebrations in the evening...

It takes a village to raise a child...

Woke up early this morning with this idea in my head as a pivotal concept in my Doctoral thesis. It's been something I've been thinking about for a while in skirting around the fringes but now considering how it brings my thoughts together.

In trying to make sense of this: my parents were both brought up in villages in Samoa on both ancestral sides in fact I'm currently seeing how far I can go back (with the help of my family) to see how far back our family tree can be traced. So far it looks like at least 7 generations in using www.familysearch.org, a Morman website, to link with other family trees and trace back to different villages in Samoa.

However, when my parents moved here after my paternal grandmother had already settled in Auckland, the village dynamics changed and in a sense the church became our village, in many respects, with the functions of the village as was my experience growing up. This translated as the church playing a pivotal role in raising families through shared beliefs, experiences, it took a teaching and instructional role and set out the norms of behaviour.

In retrospect, it was my father's strong stance with my mother's support that brought about this foundation into our daily lives that I often took for granted growing up. It was a norm that I shared with other first generation NZ born Samoans whom I attended school with and I was aware then that not every Pasifika child was raised in similar environments.

I now wonder, for those Pasifika families whose roots are no longer in a church, who their village system was with? and now have school communities or sports communities taken over this role for some? or have many now turned to the nuclear family and friends as being their village setting?

The village concept is a powerfully positive idea for raising a child if it is a positively empowering village environment that grows an individual to be confident spiritually, physically, mentally and holistically in their wellbeing as they enter into the wider world. It is definitely a concept that I'll be looking into with more vigour...