My Mahi.
Storytelling.
Stories can be told in many different ways, from journalism to book writing to public speaking.
My awe for storytelling began as a toddler when my nan interviewed me and recorded it on a cassette tape. On the marae, I soaked up stories of my tūpuna. In other moments, I pored through the pages of my mum’s National Geographic magazines, dreaming of faraway places and big, untold stories.
As it turned out, I soon learnt that the greatest fulfilment in my life would be found in my backyard. My papakāinga (home) of Ihumātao has been my greatest gift and it’s where I’ve found my favourite stories.
I formalised my passion for storytelling by studying journalism at Auckland University of Technology. I went on to work at Mana magazine, before becoming Deputy Editor at SPASIFIK at only 25 years old. These early days of print production with independent media facilitated my growth as a writer and public speaker. I went on to write freelance articles and photograph stories for leading media like The Spinoff and New Zealand Geographic, and now, I write non-fiction and children's books (more on that here), and share my voice as a guest speaker, MC and workshop facilitator.
Where I come from, wāhine are respected and their voices are heard. When I enter traditionally Western spaces, such as the corporate world, I owe it to my tūpuna to speak loud and with clear intention. In a public speaking capacity, I adeptly capture an audience's attention (with or without a microphone!) and love to prompt deep engagement and transformative discussion.
I use my decades of experience across sectors, paired with Indigenous knowledge and practice, to support people in developing their personal and professional identities and understand their holistic wellbeing needs. My workshops also help businesses and organisations to better tell their own stories (written, visual and audio), using easy techniques, with the staff and tools they already have.
Want to learn more about booking me for keynote speaking or MCing? Or have a need for personal or professional development workshops?
NUKU.
NUKU is a multimedia movement I pioneered in 2019 to amplify Indigenous wāhine and champion story sovereignty. As a powerful and important snapshot of Indigenous women today, through wide-ranging voices, this ambitious social documentary allows you to obtain authentic insight into life as an Indigenous woman in a way like never before.
From Oscar-nominated filmmakers and award-winning musicians, to scientists, entrepreneurs, tribal leaders, artists, environmental champions, knowledge holders, mothers and more, their stories are shared through podcasts, photography, video, books, art and live events. Powered by, made by and made for Indigenous wāhine, NUKU cultivates the opportunity to shape the world we want. These are stories about who we are, not who we’ve been told to be.
Following a year-long research project looking at the healing power of Indigenous women’s stories, I am now writing a new book for wellbeing to add to the NUKU collection, due to be released in late 2025.
Meet NUKU’s wāhine toa here
Listen to the NUKU podcast here
“Wāhine are driving and equipping the next generation, unlock the wave of potential and you will have a multiplying, generational legacy. ”
Photography & Curatorial.
Documentary photography is the way I capture the world around me. My photographs record the mauri, or lifeforce, surrounding me, and I’m proud to have exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in Aotearoa and internationally.
One great achievement – and a full-circle moment – was being awarded the 2018 New Zealand Geographic Photographer of the Year Progear Photo Story award. As a kid, I read the magazine with wide-eyed admiration for the creatives who put it together. I won this award for my six-image social documentary series about the land campaign in Ihumātao. You can see more on the series here.
“For many years, photographers used a lens that either brutalised or romanticised Indigenous peoples. I’m changing that narrative by offering authentic insight into our communities.”
Keen to see more of my photographic work?
Activism.
I’ve attended marae meetings since I was eight. I learnt about governance and tikanga from my grandparents and community, and have carried those teachings through my life and into my activism.
Everything I do is activism because everything I do is about advocating for my people, and all marginalised peoples. Alongside my varied career as a creative, I’m also the co-chair of Makaurau Marae and lead the histories, resource development and communications portfolios for my hapuu, Te Ahiwaru.
My grandparents nourished my connection to my culture and people. Alongside teaching me kapa haka, mahi raranga, and Cook Islands hula, they instilled in me my responsibilities on and off the marae. I’ve used the seeds they planted as an opportunity to grow into a fierce protector of my whenua and my whānau.
A campaign I’m known for is the fight to protect land in our papakāinga, Ihumātao, which is the whenua that my ancestors were forcibly removed from in the mid-19th century.
In 2014 five of my cousins and I put out the call to protect our land. Alongside the many avenues we pursued in the campaign, in 2019 we made international front-page news when we reclaimed our whenua in a land occupation that demonstrated resilience and an unrelenting commitment to justice. My specific responsibilities in the campaign during that time included mobilising community, communications and media, political strategy and negotiation.
Today I am one of the whānau representatives working within the Roopu Whakahaere with Kiingitanga and Crown to advocate for our whenua to be returned.
You can watch footage from the campaign and learn more about the injustices of Ihumātao in this three-part series here
“People think activism only means protesting and holding a banner. But to live authentically, in your own mana motuhake, to advocate for your beliefs and to champion movements that create positive change for people and the planet – that too, is activism.”