Meipara Poata, the youngest daughter of Tama Poata, shares about their life with Wai 262.  Tama was one of the rangatira who lodged the Wai 262 claim with the Waitangi Tribunal on 9 October 1991.  Tama was also an expert witness at Pakirikiri Marae, Tokomaru Bay in April 1998.

A Storyteller of Fearless Principles 

In 1987 the ground breaking film ‘Ngāti’ told the story of a small Māori town facing economic disaster with the closure of its local freezing works. Facing ruin, the community harnessed its rangatiratanga, purchased the works and took ownership of its future.

So how did this tale mirror the Wai 262 claim? Meipara Poata, daughter of “Ngāti” writer and original claimant Tama Te Kapua (Tom) Poata, explains. 

“Dad was really proud of “Ngāti” and I am too. He was proud of it because it reflected his aspiration that actually, the Māori community and all Māori, should be empowered and able to exercise their own mana motuhake, their own rangatiratanga over their own lives and over the things that are important to them, to us.”

“He’d look at it as…don’t let the Crown hold you back and don’t be forced to deal with the framework created by the Crown, create our own.”

A life of principles 

Tama has four daughters - Phyllis (‘Polly’) Herewaka, Rutu (‘Ruth’) Te Rangipai, Prudence (‘Prue’) Ruataupare, and Meipara Te Ao Kapurangi, Tama’s youngest. Tama was part of the original claim on behalf of Ngāti Porou and Te Whānau a Ruataupare. “Ngāti” was just one of many stories, scripts and essays Tama Poata wrote. Born and raised in Tokomaru Bay, as an adult he settled in Mākara Valley, just outside of Wellington where he lived until his death in 2005.

Meipara remembers her father as a man of principles. Initially working as a flax-cutter, truck driver, union organiser and hydro/freezing worker. The country came to know Tama as an activist, artist and long-time campaigner for Māori cultural and intellectual rights. He was a member of Ngā Tamatoa, campaigned against the Vietnam War and Springbok Tour, vice president of Te Matakite, organiser of the 1975 Māori Land March and was arrested alongside Eva Rickard and others at Whāingaroa/ Raglan Golf Course. 

The issues seeded in Wai 262 were values Tom carried from early life. For him, Wai 262 started well before the actual claim was lodged. 

“For example people talk about Wai 262 as a flora and fauna claim, but actually, that was a definition from the Crown and from the tribunal. For Dad and in my mind – yes it is about flora and fauna, but that’s only one of the many things it’s about. It’s about tāonga. It’s about recognising tino rangatiratanga. It’s about power sharing and it’s about recognising the value that Māori bring to New Zealand as a nation. 

“It’s actually about being aspirational for our country and wanting everyone to be able to benefit from the strength that Māori have and rangatiratanga and just properly recognising it.” 

He toi whakairo, he mana tangata 

Tom spent a lifetime advocating for the value Māori had to offer the nation and for fair recognition of those contributions. “It was a principled stance that he exercised every day of his life”. 

The arts, particularly film, writing and documentary making became close to Tama’s heart because he fiercely believed the Māori experience must be told, shaped and controlled by Māori. He explained this in a 1987 television interview. 

“My one fear is that if we don’t tell these stories then we’ll get people from outside who will come into New Zealand, make films and tell the stories... They’ll dream up theories about New Zealanders and in particular about Maori[s]… that’s been my fear. If we don’t do it, other people will”. 

Meipara agrees, “his decision to pursue film-making is reflective of his view that it was important that Māori be in control and for Māori to be able to tell their own stories. He talks a bit in his evidence about things like the New Zealand Film Commission and the archives, the way in which material was held at the time, in his work, in that industry.  One of the things that he focussed on was making sure that kaitiaki were able to maintain control of their own stories. He was one of the people who were involved in setting up the New Zealand Film Archives”.

In the footsteps of giants

The claimants are often referred to as ‘visionary’ and ‘ahead of their time’. Meipara says Tama would have debated those labels, referring to his strong belief that the Treaty is actually very simple, with clearly set out roles and responsibilities. The steps to negotiating those roles need to be pragmatic and common-sense.

“Being just and fair and looking at the Treaty and reading the words of the Treaty? He wouldn’t have described that as visionary. I think that probably, it’s ‘fearless’. They were fearless in their courage to be able to press on the views of the day. But he wouldn’t have described that claim as visionary, he would’ve described that as common sense.”

Meipara goes on to describe all of the rangatira as similar in their implacable leadership style despite their individual paths of determination.   “There was a fearlessness attached to the original claimants, which really came from the sense that what they were doing was right.” 

“They had all been involved in some of the other things that they did along the way, such as the Matakite and the Springbok tour. All of that was principled stands, where there was no violence, no threat involved. It wasn’t trying to do anything other than uphold principled stance in a very strong way. Strong and non-aggressive way, really."

"They were all gentle giants, all of those claimants I see as very gentle, aspirational giants in their own way.”  Dad vowed, and I believe a number of original claimants vowed, that it [the claim] was something positive for the nation and would bring us as a country real strength.”

Words of legacy

“He’d definitely say that we need to continue pressing boundaries and thinking. We need to hanga ki te kaupapa, we need to stick with the principles; kaitiakitanga, recognition of mana motuhake, recognition of tino rangatiratanga. We need to support people to get there and acknowledge that not all people get there at the same time… but that we don’t take the foot off the pedal in getting people there."

"To remain fearless, but fair.”