Colleen is taking me home to meet her family.
Her son-in-law Dennis and I have become friends, and he’s about to leave me with a lasting gift of Maori culture.
Watch Dennis give Simon a tattoo.
Watch Dennis give Simon a tattoo.
Colleen is taking me home to meet her family.
Her son-in-law Dennis and I have become friends, and he’s about to leave me with a lasting gift of Maori culture.
Dennis gives Simon a tattoo.
My time in New Zealand is almost over, but before I leave the community honors me with a special celebration. We come together at the Marae and their children perform a special dance for me. It’s so beautiful my heart swells.
It is such an honor to be here with these people, seeing their children share their cultural heritage with me.
I’m tearing up.
I raise my hands to them and in my own language say ‘osiem o siyeya’.
It is such an honor to be here with these people, seeing their children share their cultural heritage with me.
This has been an incredible experience, and an important first step on journey to find how the aboriginal people are connected to mother earth.
Only time will tell if the Mauri can be restored to these people’s environment. But while science tries to repair damage we inflict on the planet, I’ve learned that Indigenous knowledge can teach us to consider our relationship with mother earth before destroying it.