Meet Dame Whina Cooper, the kuia who championed Māori rights, women’s rights and led a famous hīkoi for positive change – te reo Māori edition of Mother of the Nation, translated by Stacey Morrison.
A Maori-language, illustrated true story for children about Dame Whina Cooper, one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most exceptional leaders: a courageous and outspoken wahine toa whose legacy lives on today.
TĒRĀ TE PŌ, KA MOEMOEĀ A WHINA KEI RUNGA POTI IA, E HAUKUME ANA I TĒTAHI TAMAITI I TE MOANA. KO TANA WHAKAMĀRAMA I TĒRĀ, KO TE POTI TANA HAERENGA I TE AO, KO TAUA TAMAITI TE ANAMATA O NGĀ TAMARIKI KATOA . . .
Ka tamaiti tonu ana a Whina, i mārama kē tana matua he kaitātaki tūturu a Whina.
I a ia e 18 tau ana, ka whakarite i tana porotēhi tuatahi, hei tiaki i te whenua o te iwi.
I a ia e 56 tau ana, ka āwhina ki te whakatū i Te Rōpū Wāhine Māori Toko i te Ora.
Nāwai rā, i a ia e 79 tau ana, he inati tana hīkoi i te 1000 kiromita ki te Pāremata, hei tuku i te kōrero:
Kia kaua e riro ko te Kotahi Eka Anō o te Whenua Māori.
Ko tēnei te kōrero pono mō tētahi tino wahine toa – ko tētahi o ngā tino kaiārahi o Aotearoa, nāna te takimano o ngā Māori me ngā Pākehā i whakakotahi ki te whakatika i ngā hē, nōna hoki te mana me te manawanui e whakaoho tonu nei i a tātou i ēnei rā.
Also available in English as Mother of the Nation: Whina Cooper and the Long Walk for Justice.
