Kuīni Ngawai hono i te po has attended her first Waitangi commemorations as the Māori monarch, continuing the legacy of kotahitanga championed by her late father. Liam Rātana reports.
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It has been just over two months since Kuīni Ngawai hono i te po emerged to lead the Toitū Te Tiriti hīkoi on its final legs to parliament. Only her second major public appearance since ascending to the throne last year, her presence was more than symbolic. For those familiar with the Kīngitanga, it was a statement: the movement remains at the forefront of Māori aspirations for mana motuhake.
Like her father, Kīngi Tūheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII, Kuīni Ngawai has made her support clear for Māori-led movements towards self-determination. Speaking at last year’s hīkoi, Kīngitanga chief of staff Ngira Simmonds reiterated a key message from Kīngi Tūheitia’s final koroneihana celebrations – discussions on the future of Māori sovereignty should be led by the people.
“Take it away from the politicians and put it in the hands of the people – that remains our firm hope moving forward,” Simmonds said.
Momentum for such change is building. In May last year, following an earlier hīkoi to parliament, Te Pāti Māori issued a “declaration of political independence”, calling for the establishment of a Māori parliament. More recently, leaders from across te ao Māori convened to discuss the formation of Te Whare o Te Rangatiratanga, a pan-Māori assembly emerging from months of hui-ā-motu dedicated to advancing mana motuhake.
Yesterday, Kuīni Ngawai hono i te po was welcomed to Waitangi for the first time as Māori monarch, receiving a warm reception from her northern relations. Her visit marked a return to Te Hiku-o-te-Ika, following a recent haerenga as part of the kawemate for her late father. The queen’s whakapapa ties to the north run deep – her great-great-grandmother Kiritokia Paraone, the grandmother of Whatumoana Paki Sr (husband to Te Arikinui Te Atairangikaahu), hailed from Waimanoni near Kaitāia.
Wherever the Kīngitanga moves, it does so with presence. Busloads of supporters, clad in the movement’s signature black and blue-and-gold tartan, arrived at Waitangi to accompany the queen. It marked the Kīngitanga’s second successive year at the commemorations, breaking a two-decade absence that ended in 2024 when Kīngi Tūheitia travelled to Waitangi. The return came in the wake of a challenge at Rātana from government minister Shane Jones, who had framed Waitangi as the place for vigorous political discourse.
“If people want to debate in a robust set of exchanges… then please come to Waitangi,” Jones said at the time.
This year, amid ongoing political turbulence, a contested Treaty principles bill, and the continuing pursuit of kotahitanga and mana motuhake, the Kīngitanga returned to the political centre of Te Tai Tokerau – this time led by Kuīni Ngawai hono i te po.
A crowd of around 300 gathered under the summer sun on the lawns of Te Whare Rūnanga for the pōwhiri, which began shortly after 2pm. The haukāinga, including men, women and children, held hoe and rākau as they chanted and performed a haka pōwhiri for the Kīngitanga rōpū.
Labour MP Peeni Henare, son of Te Tai Tokerau, formally welcomed the queen and her contingent, followed by well-respected Northland kaumatua Taipari Munro, who acknowledged Kīngi Tūheitia’s passing and the queen’s recent trip to Te Aupōuri.
“Hoki ki te kāinga (we have returned home),” said Waikato-Tainui executive chair Tukoroirangi Morgan, recognising the queen’s strong links to Te Tai Tokerau.
Morgan also warned of the challenges ahead for te ao Māori, urging vigilance while reaffirming the role of the Kīngitanga in strengthening relationships between Māori and Pākehā. In a lighthearted moment, he spoke of uniting “the rivers of Waikato with those of Te Tai Tokerau”, teasing Far North mayor Moko Tepania about finding a Tainui wahine, which prompted laughter from the crowd.
Ngāti Kahungunu chair Bayden Barber followed, emphasising whakapapa ties between his iwi and the north, with the iwi’s tupuna Kahungunu himself born in Kaitāia. He reiterated Morgan’s point about the late Kīngi Tūheitia’s leadership in opening the door to kotahitanga and the need for the mahi to continue.
A common theme among speakers was the queen’s recent appointment to the Kōhanga Reo National Trust, alongside reflections on the recent passing of kōhanga reo stalwart Iritana Tāwhiwhirangi.
Earlier in the day, Te Pāti Māori announced its push for a Treaty commissioner – a policy that aligned closely with the sentiments shared on the taumata about the government’s recognition of te Tiriti. As Te Pāti Māori continues its quest for mana motuhake within parliament, the Kīngitanga and Kuīni Ngawai hono i te po carry forward the legacy of kotahitanga – a cause Kīngi Tūheitia championed throughout his reign.
Addressing the crowd, Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi spoke of the joint aspirations of previous Māori leaders for a Māori parliament, and questioned when te ao Māori would push through to finally bring these dreams to fruition.
With her first Waitangi commemorations as Māori monarch now behind her, the question remains as to what role Kuīni Ngawai will play in the shifting tides of tino rangatiratanga. The next steps for the Kīngitanga, and its relationship with the evolving political landscape of Aotearoa, are only just beginning to take shape.
This is Public Interest Journalism funded by NZ On Air.