Indigenous Archives - Page 37 of 43

Riperata Kahutia

The protection and consolidation of her people’s lands was accomplished through her foresight, ability and tenacity.

Sophia Hinerangi, sometimes known as Te Paea (Tepaea), was the principal tourist guide of the Pink and White Terraces at Lake Rotomahana before the eruption of Mt Tarawera in 1886, and later guided at Whakarewarewa. As Guide Sophia she was the most famous woman of her time in Rotorua.

Maata Mahupuku

Ngāti Kahungunu woman of mana

Mākereti Papakura

Tūhourangi woman of mana, guide, ethnographer

Materoa Reedy

Ngāti Porou woman of mana

Miraka Szászy

Mira Szászy emerged from a humble upbringing to become one of the greatest Māori leaders and proponents of mana wāhine in the twentieth century. Throughout her life, Mira pushed for education, health and social reforms, and helped shape twentieth-century cultural and gender politics and forge new pathways for Māori women. She dedicated her life to te ao Māori, Māori women, and upholding the principles of humanity, social justice and equality.

Rehutai Maihi

While she may not always have achieved her aims, through her persistence she not only stood for Parliament but maintained on her own a Māori-language newspaper. Well known and respected among Māori and Pākehā, she was rightly remembered as ‘a busy wheel’.

Merekotia Amohau

Composer of traditional and contemporary Māori music and was one of the foremost authorities on historical chants of Te Arawa.

Dr Lowitja O’Donoghue

In 1989, Dr Lowitja O’Donoghue became the first woman chair of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission.

Lena Matewai Ruru

After her father’s death in 1943 Lena and her brother Eru continued his work, dealing with numerous issues affecting Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki and Te Whānau-a-Taupara land and the Mangatū blocks. She became one of the first women to chair a Māori block committee (Whaitiri No 2), and served on the East Coast Māori Trust Council.