A ‘relentless’ advocate for Māori

Titewhai Harawira

Titewhai Harawira was relentless in pursuing justice for Mā ori and her absence at Waitangi will be felt this year, Mā ori leaders say.

Harawira’s death was announced by her son and politician Hone Harawira on Wednesday morning. She was 90 years old.

Actor, activist and Ngā Tamatoa member Rawiri Paratene (Ngā puhi, Te Rarawa), said he was proud to have known Harawira.

‘‘Moe mai e te rangatira whaea. She was a fighter. So much of a fighter. Now she’s going to rest.’’

Paratene said he was thinking of Harawira’s whā nau, including her son Hone and his wife Hilda.

‘‘I’m proud of her, and I’m proud of my own association because we were both from Ngā Tamatoa. Moe mai. Moe mai.’’

For decades Harawira was a visible political activist and staunch campaigner for Mā ori rights. She helped found the Waitangi Action Committee in 1979 in a bid to halt Waitangi Day celebrations until the Treaty of Waitangi was properly honoured.

In 1990 she went to the Netherlands to ask their government to take back the name New Zealand so Aotearoa could be used instead.

On Waitangi Day in 1998 then Opposition leader Helen Clark had gained permission to speak at a powhiri – a right Harawira said Ngā puhi women were not afforded.

Harawira objected to Clark being allowed to speak and she approached Clark and asked her to sit down and remain quiet. The situation escalated and Clark was seen in tears soon afterwards.

Harawira remained a fixture of Waitangi Day commemorations, and was often seen guiding leaders and dignitaries at the historic site.

Tā me Iti (Ngā i Tū hoe) heard of Harawira’s passing overnight on Wednesday, when Hone Harawira posted a pā nui to her friends and whā nau.

Iti, an activist and artist, spent ‘‘a lot of time’’ with Harawira in the 70s as Mā ori activism took off across the nation.

A phone tree of those activists had been calling each other this week to acknowledge the woman Iti called ‘‘the whaea of the motu’’.

He remembers her as a woman who was always on the go, and would lay down a wero (challenge) when one was called for.

Iti recalled with a chuckle when Harawira challenged former prime minister Clark for speaking on ‘‘her marae’’.

‘‘You need people to not just challenge the system, but challenge our people,’’ Iti said.

‘‘She was a real character. Very Shakespeare, very theatrical in the way she dressed and her ā hua (character).

‘‘She could be a bully, but a good bully. Some people need a bit of shaking, especially from a Ngā puhi woman.’’

Harawira and Iti share the same birthday and had been trying to arrange to celebrate together over the past few years. It was sad that they wouldn’t get that chance, or the chance to meet again at Waitangi, Iti said.

‘‘She was the face of [Waitangi], not just for Te Tai Tokerau, for the north, but for the motu.

‘‘It’s sad, but you don’t live forever. I just really acknowledge all the mahi she’s done over the years. ‘‘Aroha to her, she will be missed.’’ Iti said he would be making his hīkoi up to Hoani Waititi Marae for her tangi.

Waitangi National Trust Board chairperson Pita Tipene (Ngā ti Hine) said he was surprised to hear of Harawira’s passing.

AActivist b 1932 d January 25, 2023

bout two weeks ago, Harawira led a Ngā puhi hui for more than 300 people, Tipene said. ‘‘She was sitting up the front, effectively she was the champion of the meeting and so when she spoke she was strong – she was in a wheelchair but she was strong – so the news certainly came as a surprise.’’

Her legacy as the matriarch of Te Tai Tokerau, if not the nation, was contentious, but her unwavering commitment to upholding the promise of Te Tiriti and caring for her people could never be called into question,

‘‘The gathering was testament to her lifelong staunch commitment to activism and action to advance political aspirations for te ao Mā ori,’’ she said.

‘‘There are not enough words in the world to express the gratitude for her mahi and focus and legacy – the fruits of which can be seen all around us today in te reo rights, land rights, fishing rights and succession in activism movements, to name a few.’’

‘‘Moe mai rā , e te whaea, e te mā reikura, e te tō tara i te wao nui a Tā ne! Be at rest now, my esteemed friend, oh great tō tara in the forest of Tā ne!’’ Davidson said.

Online there was an outpouring of messages acknowledging Harawira and the role she played upholding te ao Mā ori.

Disabilities advocate and lawyer Dr Huhana Hickey (Ngā ti Tā hinga, Whakatō hea) said her commitment to te ao Mā ori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi was admirable.

‘‘That generation, they never compromised what they believed in.

‘‘They are the ones that set the foundations that many younger Mā ori

Tipene said.

‘‘She demanded accountability, demanded attention. You couldn’t ignore her because of her strength and her sharp tongue – her sharp mind for that matter.’’

Tipene said he was confused when he first started working with her because she appeared to be a walking contradiction, criticising the government, yet guiding prime ministers on to her marae.

‘‘She was very critical of politicians in general, and yet she would hold the hand of the prime minister and guide her on to the marae, ensuring our prime minister’s safety. It made me think, ‘How can she be so critical of politicians and be a person to pamper them?’

‘‘[But] it quickly became evident that she could separate the politics from the person.’’

Kelvin Davis, the MP for Te Tai Tokerau and Minister for Mā ori Crown Relations, said Harawira was a loving mother and grandmother who would be missed, regardless of whether people agreed with her.

‘‘Ā e, i te tuatahi, he mā mā , he nanny, he kuia, engari ko te mea nui, i whawhai tonu ia mō ngā moemoeā mō Ngā puhi. Nā reira e pā pō uri ana mā tou katoa o Ngā puhi i te hingatanga o tē nei o ngā kuia.’’

She was a force, a formidable opponent and a staunch supporter in equal measure, said Davis.

The pair had spoken as recently as last Sunday about upcoming Waitangi Day events and the recent Waitangi Tribunal report.

‘‘She fought for what she believed in, she fought for what she thought was right. She fought for what she thought would progress Ngā puhi in the first instance but also Mā ori…’’

Harawira was highly proper, Davis said, the kind of person to drink out of bone china teacups rather than a mug.

She also had a softer side that many didn’t see.

‘‘I remember one time [Harawira] and her family were in a cafe´ and there was a Pā kehā mother with a young baby who was crying…’’

‘‘Titewhai said to her daughter: ‘Hinewhare, go and take that baby off that mother and give her a break.’’’

Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson said she had been looking forward to serving Harawira breakfast again at Waitangi next week, as she had done in 2019.

Davidson paid tribute to Harawira’s decades of ‘‘feisty, staunch activism’’, adding that the Northland kuia’s passionate commitment to progressing te ao Mā ori aspirations should be honoured.

‘‘Massive mihi to her lifelong dedication to advancing te ao Mā ori interests,’’ Davidson wrote in her tribute.

‘‘Auē ka tangi! – Ohhh, we mourn! Kua mate a Titewhai Harawira. Me mihi ka tika ki a koutou o Ngā ti Hau, Ngā ti Wai, Ngā ti Hine – te whā nau whā nui koutou ko te whā nau pani hoki. Titewhai Harawira has passed away. We must acknowledge all of Ngā ti Hau, Ngā ti Wai, and Ngā ti Hine – the wider whā nau, and the mourning whā nau too.’’

Davidson said she attended Harawira’s 90th birthday celebrations at the end of October last year. have grown from.’’

From the Mā ori Language Commission, the Waitangi Tribunal and the increased presence of te ao Mā ori in everyday life, Harawira, and activists like her, have been there consistently challenging the status quo for decades to ensure the promises of Te Tiriti would be honoured, Hickey said.

‘‘She never retired. Once you stand up you can’t sit back down.

‘‘Of course she put down the wero on those people, and followed through with them. I admire her greatly.

‘‘We’re losing a generation of leaders… now the next generation are going to be our kuia and kaumā tua.’’

Rawiri Paratene

Dame Naida Glavish (Ngā ti Whā tua, Ngā ti Hine) said Harawira had been true to her work to protect the intentions of rangatira who signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

‘‘The North has lost a mighty tō tara before her, and there will be still mighty tō tara standing to ensure the work, the legacy left by our ancestors is carried out.

‘‘In terms of Titewhai, she never lost sight of the spirituality of the cause. She never lost sight of the psychological impact of the purpose.’’

Glavish said Harawira was an amazing mother, grandmother and greatgrandmother who always held herself with dignity.

‘‘She never lost sight of the fact that she was, and is, to the day she closed her eyes … a woman.’’

Such a huge loss and at such an important time, says Waitangi curatorial manager Caitlin Timmer-Arends.

‘‘She was an absolute powerhouse. She had a confidence and strength of will and character that could be felt at just the mention of her name. In 2016, Te Kō ngahu Museum of Waitangi opened, and with it opened the exhibition Disenchanted Prophets: Matakite Matekiri.

‘‘I remember seeing such a strong photograph in the exhibition of Titewhai standing with Whina Cooper and Eva Rickard. John Miller captured these three wā hine toa standing together in 1985, these three pillars who had and continue to inspire generations of people to stand up for Te Tiriti and for Mā ori.

‘‘My favourite memories of Titewhai at Waitangi all revolve around the same thing – when she arrived, word would make its way through the staff, and we all seemed to stop for a moment to acknowledge her presence.

‘‘It was never a conscious thing but all of us would momentarily stop what we were doing, look over to her, and only once we had sighted her would we return to our jobs.’’

Te Pā ti Mā ori president John Tamihere said Harawira was relentless in advancing Mā ori-related matters. ‘‘She polarised people and in any national discourse, people that polarise often ensure that we land in the middle somewhere where we get a great accommodation,’’ he said.

‘‘But if you don’t have people that polarise, you never get there.’’

He called Harawira a remarkable person who showed courage and said she was the ‘‘foundation mā mā ’’ of Auckland’s Hoani Waititi Marae.

‘‘Her kids grew up in our hood, I went to school with a couple of them. They had a very difficult upbringing because they lost their father early,’’ he said.

‘‘So they did it pretty tough, and she did very well as an early widowed mother of eight. A lot of people don’t appreciate that she went through struggle street even there.’’

– Ripu Bhatia, Christine Rovoi, Maxine Jacobs and Katie Doyle

‘‘Moe mai e te rangatira whaea. She was a fighter. So much of a fighter. Now she’s going to rest.’’

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