Ethnically and Culturally Inspired Music
About "Whina - walk of freedom "
Dame Whina Cooper (Te Rarawa) was known as Te Whaea o Te Motu (The mother of our country). She was an inspirational leader who spearheaded the march from Te Hapua in the far north to the steps of Parliament in 1972 asking the state to preserve the mana and Turangawaewae of the Māori people of Aotearoa (aka NZ).
This music video focuses on her mission to raise awareness around Māori land rights. She brought together a raft of kaupapa around racial equality, kaitiakitanga the right to govern our own land, alienation of land, loss of mana, and many grievances and claims of the Māori of Aotearoa. She put that all into the hikoi (march) and galvanized it with the term ‘NOT 1 ACRE MORE’. Made with the support of Te Māngai Pāho, we were able to create something that celebrates a wahine with mana and a vital message.
The full version released 24th June 2022 to coincide with the release of the movie ‘Whina’.
Special thanks to: Huia Hamon, Te Hiku Media, Greenstone pictures, NZ Herald, NZME, Te Karere, Screentime NZ, Greenstone pictures, Communicado, Mahingarangi Forbes @The Hui, Lance Kingi (engineer) Taupiri sound, Rongotai Lomas (videographer) David Duckworth (editor) South Island media productions, Dannii Vallely-Te Kani and my darling Flossie.
“In July of 2020 I rang my partner to tell her about a dream I just had, where Dame Whina Cooper had come to me with a vivid message. But before I had a chance to tell her this, she was excited to tell me that a kuia in the bed next to her mum in the hospital wanted to share her proudest achievement which was the walk on the march with Dame Whina Cooper in 1975 and the experience of walking over the harbour bridge. At that moment I knew that this was a tohu (sign)”.
This music video focuses on her mission to raise awareness around Māori land rights. She brought together a raft of kaupapa around racial equality, kaitiakitanga the right to govern our own land, alienation of land, loss of mana, and many grievances and claims of the Māori of Aotearoa. She put that all into the hikoi (march) and galvanized it with the term ‘NOT 1 ACRE MORE’. Made with the support of Te Māngai Pāho, we were able to create something that celebrates a wahine with mana and a vital message.
The full version released 24th June 2022 to coincide with the release of the movie ‘Whina’.
Special thanks to: Huia Hamon, Te Hiku Media, Greenstone pictures, NZ Herald, NZME, Te Karere, Screentime NZ, Greenstone pictures, Communicado, Mahingarangi Forbes @The Hui, Lance Kingi (engineer) Taupiri sound, Rongotai Lomas (videographer) David Duckworth (editor) South Island media productions, Dannii Vallely-Te Kani and my darling Flossie.
“In July of 2020 I rang my partner to tell her about a dream I just had, where Dame Whina Cooper had come to me with a vivid message. But before I had a chance to tell her this, she was excited to tell me that a kuia in the bed next to her mum in the hospital wanted to share her proudest achievement which was the walk on the march with Dame Whina Cooper in 1975 and the experience of walking over the harbour bridge. At that moment I knew that this was a tohu (sign)”.
