Kia ora whānau!!!

My father was born and raised in Awarua in the far north and he was taught and grew up speaking te reo Māori. My father did not pass te reo Māori down to me & my siblings. Growing up in Kirikiriroa I went to primary and intermediate schools where I was a minority and few Māori attended. I was significantly disconnected from my culture & only started to learn about my culture when I attended Church College in which a signifiant majority of tauira were Māori. I started a more focused te reo Māori journey in 2017 through completing te reo Māori and tikanga courses through Te Wananga o Aotearoa, attending kura reo wananga's and personal ongoing study and learning. I recently completed my Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Waikato in June 2023 and am an aspiring Māori criminal lawyer. I hope to advocate for better and fairer representation for Māori in our justice system. I believe it is vital for me as a Māori & advocate for Māori to develop a competent understanding of tikanga & work towards becoming a fluent speaker in te reo Māori. I am currently pursuing further study in tikanga & te reo Māori which is a life long goal for me. Learning te reo Māori is a beautiful journey for me & is helping me to better connect with my iwi, whānau & cultural identity. I love the whakataukī Mā te kimi ka kite, Mā te kite ka mōhio, Mā te mōhio ka mārama. Seek and discover. Discover and know. Know and become enlightened.

Ngā mihi nui

Emmeline Sunnex