At home, we didn’t have a lot of reo. And there wasn’t a lot in our whānau, or even our extended whānau. We’re getting more and more now, which is awesome. But Victoria University’s marae, Te Herenga Waka, was the first marae I ever went on in my life.
I was shit-scared about the pōwhiri. When I walked in there, I remember thinking: “Oh, my God. I’m the only Māori person in this world who can’t kōrero Māori. Everyone here is doing it.” All my mates at school had had some sort of exposure to the language. But I’m going: “Man, this is just me.”
Te Herenga Waka, though, was a huge turning point for me. A few key people around there accepted me as a Māori person — and they understood my journey.
Te Whanganui-a-Tara | Wellington | Wellington City | 2010-19 | Story is by tangata whenua
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