Te Rōpū Māori sent a delegation of tauira to Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland in the last week of August – not only to escape the Dunedin winter, but also for Te Huinga Tauira, the annual national Māori students’ conference. Māori tertiary students’ associations across the motu gathered for a week of yarns, culture, and sporting activities.
Te Huinga Tauira welcomes Māori student associations to gather together to discuss and raise awareness of issues impacting their members. At Te Huinga, an AGM is held to elect positions on Te Mana Ākonga, the national Māori students’ association (arguably more functional than their NZUSA counterpart).
According to their website: “Te Huinga Tauira is also an opportunity for Māori students to nurture and maintain their cultural identity, access social and support networks outside of their institutions, and participate in activities that enhance, and add value to, their experiences within the context of their learning.”
Critic Te Ārohi spoke to three tauira from Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka who joined the Te Rōpū Māori trip north: first-year TK, third-year Matariki, and fourth-year Tomuri. Despite the week away meaning a chip into their studies, the three emphatically described the activity-packed week of waiata, kōrero, kapa haka (with all their practice apparently “paying off”), networking, and some cheeky parties. All associations stayed together at an Auckland marae.
A particular highlight for the about 30-strong group from Ōtepoti was winning the Ki o Rahi competition. Yet it was the mātauranga (knowledge) gained from the week that was the real winner, according to the TRM team. “All the mātauranga from the events and listening to each other and seeing how all the groups see each other [was a] really good takeaway,” TK said.
Tomuri shared how Te Huinga Tauira reiterated how much of a second family TRM can be. “One of the big things that our tutors always make sure we know is we have each other’s backs [...] [Dunedin is] one of the more white cities, so it's really driven the sense that we are more than just family,” he said. TK added, “It was really easy to connect with other Māori students […] and being able to do Kapa Haka, I personally don’t think we do as much as other universities”.
Te Rōpū Māori wanted to give a shoutout to its tutor team – Renee, Taraia, Kowhai, Teone and Ngaroma – for all their support as tutors for TRM this year. And in particular Gemella Reynolds-Hatem, who they affectionately refer to as “Auntie” for her ongoing efforts as TRM’s Tumuaki alongside Distance, who joined as co-Tumuaki midway through this year to share the responsibilities of the demanding role.
Tomuri also shouted out Te Rōpū Māori’s socials (@teropu.maori on Instagram) for any tauira Māori wanting to get involved with their full calendar of events, from tutoring to sports games.