Hutia te rito o te harakeke, kei hea te komako e ko e? 

He aha te mea nui o te ao, maku e ki atu. 

He Tangata, He Tangata, He Tangata! 

I am privileged to be raised on tūpuna whenua in Te Rāwhiti by my parents, Hully and Harata Clarke, and by all my Ngāti Kuta and Patukeha koroua. The traditions of our hapū to tiaki the whenua and the mana of the hapū have shaped my life’s passion. My mum and dad have a long history of advocating hapū Rangatiratanga, as members of Te Roopū o Te Matakite (those who have foresight), the group responsible for the logistics of the Māori Land March in 1975. As taiohi, my siblings and I were always at hui, listening to the passion and purpose that initiated the intent to get our whenua back. We were present on the land march and many other land protests since then. You could say that hapū Rangatiratanga and Mana Motuhake are in my DNA. 

I Pipiri, our moana is also in my DNA. I am a moana girl! It is my place of peace, my place of restoration and my place for gaining clarity. Mana ki te Whenua, Mana ki te Moana are deeply etched in the fabric of my ngakau, my hinengaro, my wairua and my tinana, just as it is for all our Ngāti Kuta whānau. 

Our fight for justice, the return of our lands and the repatriation of mana motuhake spans many generations since the arrival of tangata Tiriti, and Ngāti Kuta still stands firm on its mission to see the restoration of our people and our mana through the return of our whenua. 

My role in Te Whakaaetanga is a doing role, taking instruction from Ngāti Kuta to deliver action that will advance them closer toward their day of restoration, and freedom to live on our own terms. As a grandmother, I want my mokopuna to be the inheritors of their vision, that they and all our mokopuna will have lives of value and opportunities deeply enriched in their Ngāti Kutatanga. 

I am but one of many, who rise each day, to serve and to advance the mana of Ngāti Kuta and to serve and advance the mana of Ngā Hapū Te Whakaaetanga.