Championing mana motuhake

• Published date: 10 March 2022
• Publication title: Taupo Weekender

As someone who identifies as a proud Māori wahine your Christian name Qiane is unusual for any ethnicity. Please share its origins and your culturally mixed whakapapa. I whakapapa to Te Waiohua ki Te Ahiwaru me Te Akitai, Waikato, Ngapuhi and Ngati Pikiao in Aotearoa; Aorangi Rarotonga and Oneroa Mangaia in the Cook Islands. My name was made up by my mum who wanted a unique name no one else had. My English teachers would sigh as it’s spelt with a Q but no U

On the subject of names, how and why did you choose to title NUKU for this pukapuka (book)? The ingoa NUKU is derived from Papatuanuku, our earth mother and ultimate female essence. The word Nuku in the Cook Islands represents the blowing of a conch shell calling people to attention. In Māori it means to move, we are a growing a movement and shifting mindsets through this mahi.

What is Nuku’s kaupapa? To amplify the voices of indigenous women to change the narrative for future generations. We’re all about showcasing the diversity of what it is to be an indigenous woman today, redefining what success looks like to us. NUKU cultivated the opportunity to shape the world we want. We invite audiences to look at the world through a personal lens, a cultural lens. The women featured dare to carve their own portraits.

Who or what inspired you to compile it?I have been inspired by the incredible indigenous women in my life and motivated by my daughter. When I fell pregnant with her I knew I was raising a Māori-Cook Islands-Tongan kotiro (girl) in a western, patriarchal world. I wanted her to see role models who...