As many descendants of Te Mana and Sophie Tipene held a noho marae on Thursday 7th and Friday 8th Jan at the Cambridge Community Marae. Whanau enjoyed cooking, cleaning, organising, helping, having fun, waiata, kapahaka, sports, movie quiz, board games, cards, waka ama, family history, baby holding, family profiles and business, cemetery visit and planning for 2011 noho marae.
No human society is “primitive” or “simple.” Every society is primitive in some ways and complex in others. If we put aside our fascination with technology and material wealth, we may find that for many people in U.S. and European societies today, life is primitive and stunted in terms of family values, spiritual life, commitment to the community and opportunities for rewarding work and creative self-expression. These are the very areas most richly developed in traditional Native American communities. Nor can traditional Native American life be called “simple” or “primitive” in an intellectual sense. A typical elder of the Wauja people in the Amazon rain forest, for example, has memorized hundreds of sacred songs and stories, plays several musical instruments; and knows the habits and habitats of hundreds of forest animals, birds, and insects, as well as the medicinal uses of local plants. He can guide his sons in building a two-story tall house using only axes, machetes, and materials from the forest. He is an expert agronomist. He speaks several languages fluently; knows precisely how he is related to several hundred of his closest kin; and has acquired sufficient wisdom to share his home peacefully with in-laws, cousins, children, and grandchildren. Female elders are comparably learned and accomplished.
- Philip Tojitsu Nash and Emilienne Ireland [Writing about the Wauja of Guatemala]
Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu (born 1970) is an Indigenous Australian musician, who sings in the Yolngu language.
He was born on Elcho Island, off the coast of Arnhem Land, Northern Australia about 350 miles from Darwin. He is from the Gumatj clan of theYolngu and his mother from the Galpu nation.[1]. He was born blind, has never learned Braille and does not have a guide dog or use a white cane. Yunupingu speaks only a few words of English, and is said to be acutely shy.[2]
He plays drums, keyboards, guitar (a right hand-strung guitar left-handed) and didgeridoo, but it is the clarity of his singing voice that has attracted rave reviews. He sings stories of his land in both languages (Gälpu, Gumatj or Djambarrpuynu, all Yolŋu Matha) and English.[3]Formerly with Yothu Yindi, he is now with Saltwater Band.
Tiddas are Sally Dastey, Amy Saunders and Lou Bennett, an Aboriginal folk band from Victoria Australia. Their 1994 album Sing About Life was awarded the “Best Indigenous Release”
Click here to check out eyeballnz blog
The aerial and local photos are amazing by Steve and Penny Bicknell. They are road and sky nomads! 16,000 photos spending $500,000 to create a stunning pictorial journey of NZ.
Pete and I supported the Church College of New Zealand Boys and Girls A1 Basketball Teams in Palmerston North last week. Four of our kids played for the A1 Basketball Teams in years gone by so going to support CCNZ was not negotiable!. What a privilege [also sad] to witness the last ever national games ever to be played by our old school CCNZ. Players to stand out for us personally were Jah Soloaia-Skelton, Jarom Burgess [Boys] Moengaroa Subritzky, Tenille Wilkinson and Shanae Amato [Girls].
Congratulations to the coaches of both Church College teams and those players who made the Tournaments Teams, particularly Letava Whippy who was chosen Most Valuable Player for the Girls. The school record of wins will never be beaten by any school in New Zealands history. Altogether 36 wins!
This is one day a year where everyone can go crazy and commit some serious fashion crimes by stepping out in their loudest, brightest shirts. You’ll have a whole lot of fun and also be helping give deaf children a voice!
Loud Shirt Day is the annual appeal of The Hearing House and the Southern Cochlear Implant Paediatric Programme, two charities who are dedicated to enabling deaf children with a cochlear implant to listen and speak like their hearing peers.
What is your full name, why were you given that name and do you have a nickname?
My name is Pele Maria Lolesi.
Pele is Samoan and means ‘Darling’. Maria is after my mamma.
I am the only child out of my family to have a Samoan name so I think it’s really special.
How many children and mokopuna [grandchildren] do you have?
I have 6 children. 5 sons and 1 daughter.
They are my life blood! Keep me smiling! Keep me real!
What are your tribal or cultural affiliations?
My beautiful Dad came out from the Islands in the 1950′s, so I have a Samoan Heritage.
My mumma is a European Kiwi, born and bred in Kihikihi.
Which High School did you attend?
Mc Auley High & Te Awmutu College
Who or what gives you strength?
True Love gives me strength.
Believing that my life is making a positive difference gives me Hope.
What work [paid and unpaid] do you do?
I’m a mumma…A busy one too!
I take photographs, and some are quite good too 
If you have travelled overseas, where or what was your most memorable adventure?
India at 18 years opened my eyes to real life. I have never forgotten the people & their shear determination to live although they have little!
Name two women you admire or remember and why?
* Mrs Lydia Willets who was an old woman my mum rescued from a rest-home that was closing down near by.
She was 80 when she moved in and shared my bedroom. I was 4yrs old. She taught me to sing the alphabet backwards.
We sang old war songs together at night snuggled up in our beds, and she would tell me amazing stories of her life.
She reminded me to always do my best. I remember her because she had the kindest blue eyes ever in the whole world.
And the true heart of an angel. She had met the ‘real’ Santa Clause too!
* Pauline Lindberg who raised the most amazing son, all on her own back in the 70′s.
Her beautiful love lives on in her only son who is my soul-mate. She has given me the greatest gift.
*My Precious mother Colleen Lolesi, Quiet, gentle, solid. She is my darling. Always a constant in my life. Always True.
If you could write a book for your daughters what would it be?
It would be about Love.
What have you always wanted to do but never done?
Nothing … That I can think of… I’m actually just ok living this life I have for now. (Boring- I know!)
If you could teach children for a year, what three skills would you focus on?
I would teach them Sharing, helping, playing.
What are three adjectives which describe you?
Loving, Kind, Happy
Who is the most “famous” person you have ever met?
Mother Teresa. Wow! This tiny, hunched over, most humble little lady ever. She reached out and held my hand…bowing and saying a blessing as she passed me… I was touched by God that day. Amazing!
What is your favorite material possession?
My bed.
What do you consider your greatest achievement so far in your life?
Having my gorgeous husband Damian as my best friend – and knowing our kids see our example everyday.
What is the strangest and scariest thing you ever did?
Wandering through a slum in Bombay- realising at that moment these people were my brothers & sisters.
If you could change the world for your grandchildren what would you do?
I would ensure that all children were raised with true love and devotion.
Favourite Quote:
Life isn’t about waiting for the Storm to pass,
- it’s Dancing in the Rain.
What is your full name, why were you given that name and do you have a nickname? My name is Kaye Dawn Nonoa (nee Matenga). My parents just liked the name, however my grandmothers name was ‘Kangahine’ and she wanted me to be called ‘Kate’ and so I guess they just compromised.Oh yeah..my nick name is KK
How many children and mokopuna [grandchildren] do you have? I have 6 beautiful children; 2 sons and 4 daughters with our first mokopuna due in September.
What are your tribal or cultural affiliations? My father was born in Bartlett which is just in the outskirts of Gisborne. My mother was born in the Waikato so we have affiliations with not only Tainui but Ngati Porou and Kahungunu….
Which High School did you attend? Church College of New Zealand
Who or what gives you strength? Most definitely my Heavenly Father, and CHOCOLATE!!!
What work [paid and unpaid] do you do? I have been employed in various positions over the years; from waitressing at an early age to labouring in factories, administration duties, and volunteer service for the church.
If you have travelled overseas, where or what was your most memorable adventure?I have traveled to the United States and Australia a number of times I attended BYU HAWAII for not quite a year to go to school and I had a blast.
Name two women you admire or remember and why? Without doubt this would be my mother and my mother in law. They are strong , independent, made to endure, and much much more!!!
If you could write a book for your daughters what would it be? My Life Story!
What have you always wanted to do but never done? A marathon and go to Greece..
If you could teach children for a year, what three skills would you focus on? Self esteem, self worth, expectations…..through MUSIC
What are three adjectives which describe you?I asked my daugher this one and she said humble, loving and caring
Who is the most “famous” person you have ever met? Our beloved prophet at the time ;President Gordon B. HInkley
What is your favorite material possession? My piano that my mother and father bought for me when I was 10 years old.
What do you consider your greatest achievement so far in your life? Understanding my own worth and seeing my children deomonstrate that same trait.
What is the strangest and scariest thing you ever did? It was taking famly photos at my daughters wedding believe it or not..Being the first wedding in the family since my husband passed away. It was scary standing there for the photos with no husband beside me…it was truly a huge turning point for me..a strange one. I remember the feeling quite vividly.
If you could change the world for your grandchildren what would you change? Of course everyones wish would be to be peaceful and everybody live in harmony and we are all safe and we have no worries and we live happily ever after…just like Pleasantville!!!…But realistically with the knowledge that I I along with millions of others have being members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints we kmow that we can make the world a better place
Favourite Quote: President Brigham Young… Let us...Show to the world that we have talent and taste, and prove to the heavens that our minds are set on beauty and true excellence.”
What is your full name, why were you given that name and do you have a nickname?
My name is Michelle Lynn Cook.
How many children and mokopuna [grandchildren] do you have?
None.
What are your tribal or cultural affiliations?
My maternal clan is Honágháahnii, (One Walks Around You Clan), my maternal grandfather is Ta’baaha’ (Water Edge Clan) and my father is Biligana (Anglo Clan). My mother’s family is from Oak Springs Arizona on the Navajo reservation and my father is from the Appalachian mountains of Virginia. I come from a Navajo family of, hataalii, “singers, chanters, or ceremonial practitioners” of the Hozhoji’, or “Blessing Way”, one of the many ceremonies of the Navajo people. We use these ceremonies to attain, what we call hozho, or the “beauty way, the path of dew, the path of pollen”. Hozho is living a life of beauty, balance, and harmony with all things in the universe in all aspects of ones life, physically, emotionally, spiritually, and socially.
The name of my people is the Diyin Nohookáá-Dine’é which means “holy earth surface people” or Diné “the people” or as some say Navajo. Our land is between four scared mountains, to the east: Tsisnaajini’ – Mt. Blanca, east of Alamosa, CO, to the south: Tsoodzil – Mt. Taylor, near Grants, NM, to the west: Doko’oosliid – San Francisco Peaks, near Flagstaff, AZ and to the north: Dibe’ntsaaa – Mt. Hesperus, west of Durango. Our reservation is 27,000 square miles, and crosses into four states Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah. We have about 250,000 tribal members with the median age of 25 years old; we are one of the largest tribes in North America today, and still growing.
We have our own government “Naat’áá”, our own language, “Diné bizaad”, and our own legal system called, “Diné Bi Beenahaz’áanii”. The essence of our people is “Sá ah Naaghai’ Bik’eh Hozhon”, which roughly translated means the “holistic or holy path of male and female beings” or as some have said, “sacred family, who proceeds and journeys into eternity with blessings”.
Which High School did you attend?
Tazewell High School
Who or what gives you strength?
My family and my Grandma, she is the strongest person I know. She raised 10 kids, without ever working a “9 to 5″ job. She speaks only Navajo and supported her family by weaving.
What work [paid and unpaid] do you do?
I am a student, activist, and scholar.
If you have travelled overseas, where or what was your most memorable adventure?
I have had the privilege to go to many Indigenous communities throughout the world. My world view changed when I visited North Eastern India as a 19 year old. It was my first trip outside the USA. I travelled to an area that was heavily occupied by the military. I saw violence, imperialism, conflict, and militarism and how this impacted the peoples living there in the Northeastern part of India. In North Eastern India the Armed Forces Special Powers Act is in force, this draconian act allows the Indian army and government to act with impunity and to kill people on mere suspicion! We should all be outraged that such blatant human rights abuses continue against the people of North Eastern India.
Name two women you admire or remember and why?
Marcella “Sali” Grace Eiler [1987-2008]. I admired her she was always full on, organizing, helping people, and never slowing down. She was tragically murdered just before her 21st birthday.
She was the first woman to take part in the all women tree sit in Oregon protecting the largest timber sale in US history.
Another women, Commandanta Ramona [1959--2006], I admire her because she did things people say that women cannot do. In 1994 she made history. She was an indigenous commander in the Zapatista Liberation Army, leading the people in an uprising against the bad government in Mexico.
I try to remember these women in my writings; they are courageous and remind me what women are capable of. They were committed to social justice and indigenous rights they risked their lives for the welfare of others.
If you could write a book for your daughters what would it be?
I would write my memoirs, my stories. What a strange life I have come to live and that no matter where you come from you can do great things.
What have you always wanted to do but never done?
Visit the Amazon and Africa.
If you could teach children for a year, what three skills would you focus on?
I think I would teach language, conflict resolution, and empowering young women.
What are three adjectives which describe you?
Curious, rebellious, and compassionate.
Who is the most “famous” person you have ever met?
Probably, Maynard Keenan, from the band TOOL.
What is your favorite material possession?
My life and turquoise and silver jewelry
What do you consider your greatest achievement so far in your life?
Listening and trusting my own heart, truth, and visions. If you can’t do that you can’t achieve anything.
What is the strangest and scariest thing you ever did?
I guess going caving, crawling around, in the caverns can be scary but that the fun part. Going to Iran when the US was threatening war was tough. I was on edge the whole time.
If you could change the world for your grandchildren what would you do?
Give them a clean earth to inherit, clean water, take care of climate change problems, make war a thing of the past.
Favourite Quote:
Kia mate ururoa, kei mate wheke.
“Fight like a hammer head shark, don’t give up like the octopus”. Dewes 1975
Michelle is a Fulbright Scholar at Waikato University this year.
What is your full name, why were you given that name and do you have a nickname?
Aroha Wikotu – my mum knew a girl named Aroha and liked it, Our family name started 4 generations before me when my ancestor Wi Kotu’s children took his name and has been passed down since
How many children and mokopuna [grandchildren] do you have?
I have 1 Daughter Kharma who is 6yrs old, I hope to have more and lots of mokopuna one day too.
What are your tribal or cultural affiliations?
Ko Whakatohea Taku Iwi, Ko Rongopopoia ki Upokorehe taku Hapu
Also of Tuhoe descent
Which High School did you attend?
Kawerau College
Trident High School
Who or what gives you strength?
My Daughter, Family, Friends. Knowing that there’s no such thing as failure
What work [paid and unpaid] do you do?
Business Owner/Operator – Shikoba Clothing
Trustee/Secretary – Rongopopoia Marae
If you have travelled overseas, where or what was your most memorable adventure?
Back Packing through Australia – Woofing on a farm in the Byron Hinterlands with a bunch of Hippies – Awesome eye opening experience
Name two women you admire or remember and why?
My Mum and her mum, (my grandmother)…They are both hardworking, practical women and I admire their roles as strong family women in times that were a lot tougher than today.
If you could write a book for your daughters what would it be?
The ups and downs of life and how to ride them!
What have you always wanted to do but never done?
Learn Te Reo
If you could teach children for a year, what three skills would you focus on?
What are three adjectives which describe you?
Determined, Independent and Compassionate
Who is the most “famous” person you have ever met?
Jonah Lomu
What is your favorite material possession?
I have 2, My grandmothers old treadle sewing machine and my Nan’s glassware collection
What do you consider your greatest achievement so far in your life?
Giving Birth to my daughter….
What is the strangest and scariest thing you ever did?
If you could change the world for your grandchildren what would you do?
That people would learn to accept and respect other peoples differences
Favourite Quote
“Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained”
What is your full name, why were you given that name and do you have a nickname? Sharyn Tumataroa – I’m not sure where Sharyn came from or why its spelt that way. My infamous nickname in the Navy was “Tomato”. I can’t believe i’m telling you this one, my sister used to call me “Shazza”, I told her I hated it so she changed it to “Shagga” to annoy me more. That name has now stuck with my family….bless them.
How many children and mokopuna [grandchildren] do you have? One 14 year old daughter – Braydin.
What are your tribal or cultural affiliations? Ko Ngati Kahungunu taku iwi, Ko Ngati Pahuawera taku hapu
Which High School did you attend? Turakina Girls College and Wairoa College
Who or what gives you strength? God, Holy Spirit and the Angel Realm
What work [paid and unpaid] do you do? Writer
If you have travelled overseas, where or what was your most memorable adventure? Stuck in the back of a plane on the tarmac at Denpasar airport, Bali in sweltering heat trying to dodge brawling Italian and American tourists. Not kidding – the flight did not improve.
Name two women you admire or remember and why? My mother, Lily Tumataroa. She was an extremely talented woman who put motherhood first. She passed away last year and I miss her everyday. Also the author JK Rowling. She brought magic back into our young peoples lives and gave us our imaginations back. She started out as a struggling single mum who never gave up on her dream. Now thats one chick I would love to share a bottle of red wine with!!
If you could write a book for your daughters what would it be? My biography although that could also come back to haunt me – ha ha.
What have you always wanted to do but never done? Get my helicopter pilots licence. Thats next on the bucket list.
If you could teach children for a year, what three skills would you focus on? Firstly I would allocate each child their own garden for a year. They will decide what seeds to plant and where to plant them. The child will then nurture and tend to their garden for the plants to grow. Once the plants have grown, the children will reap the benefits whether by eating the produce or admiring the beauty of the flowers. They have learnt Faith, Trust and Love……
What are three adjectives which describe you? Determined, Independent and Kind.
Who is the most “famous” person you have ever met? My daughter – WATCH OUT WORLD!!!
What is your favorite material possession? My best friend Louise drew me a picture for my 40th birthday. It is done in crayon and depicts myself writing with a blue eyed male standing behind me in a supporting role. Its wicked.
What do you consider your greatest achievement so far in your life? Paved the way for New Zealand women to serve on warships.
What is the strangest and scariest thing you ever did? Too many to mention during my time in the Police. Trust me, they not joking when the advertisement says… “better work stories” ha ha.
If you could change the world for your grandchildren what would you do? Putting a stop to people cutting down trees for Christmas for the sake of having one in their homes for about a week. C’mon everyone, fake it – think about the environment.
Favourite Quote: ’I do not want my headstone to read..she could’ve, she would’ve or she should’ve. It will read.. SHE DID IT.” my quote, Sharyn Tumataroa.
