I had the honor of making a Maori Korowai for my beautiful grandniece’s blessing. With the help and guidance of my older sisters, we were able to share our family love and hopes within this garment. A special musical playlist featuring family was listened to while the sewing and visiting took place. Since we are of Maori and Samoan heritage a Samoan print material was used as an inside liner. I’m looking forward to making more korowai’s in the future.

7 out of 10 siblings isn’t bad 😁
and in true fashion this was a last minute gathering since it’s hard for us to commit to planning in advance. I was blessed to spend time with a majority of my siblings and their family units. We rented a pretty awesome vacation home in St. George, Utah. The community had a fun water park that we all enjoyed . But most of all we enjoyed the company of each other and delicious family meals.

This past Saturday Ronan was able to participate in a kids Haka workshop taught by Dancer, Choreographer Amelia Butler. It was so awesome to watch the kids learn and absorb all the information Amelia shared. I’m so excited for Ronan and myself to learn more about the Maori culture. Luckily Ronan’s cousins joined the workshop and they made some loving memories during and after class.

Last week I was scrolling through my Facebook feed late Friday night. I came across a post from the New Zealand Consulate in Los Angeles promoting a new documentary film. Out of curiosity I clicked on it and saw they were having a special screening that Sunday in LA and that there would be a Q&A with the Directors and Producers of the film afterwards. I recognized 2 of the 4 names mentioned. Producers Clifford Curtis, a talented actor who’s played so many diverse characters in Hollywood, and Taika Watiti an accomplished film Director and voice of Corg from the Marvel movies. For my Mother’s Day gift, I asked if we could go. Of course my sweetie made it happen and got my sister Erana and brother Hagoth to come with us.

With only 24 hours before we would attend the screening I got my social media stalking on and followed the Directors of the film Heperi Mita and Chelsea Winstanley via Instagram. By doing so I found out that this was their big weekend release. They started there premiere journey in Aotearoa (New Zealand) on Mother’s Day and were continuing it here in California also on Mother’s Day. I enjoyed watching their IG stories of attending the different screenings and their adventures getting to and through the airports.

As a Maori woman, I wanted to watch the movie because I have a personal connection and desire to support other Maori. Aotearoa is my mother’s homeland and even though I was born and raised here in America I like to take any chance I can to learn about or be more connected to my Maori culture.

The film is an intimate look at Merata Mita's life as a mother, filmmaker, and activist. "Merata, was the first Māori woman, and first indigenous woman in the world, to write and direct a narrative feature film. She directed movies in Hollywood, interviewed Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe, and worked for various respected organisations around the world such as the BBC and National Geographic. Her independent political documentaries of the ‘70s and ‘80s highlighted the injustices for Māori people in New Zealand, and often divided the country" (meratathemovie.com). 

The film is directed and narrated by Merata’s youngest son Hepi. I loved how through creating this film he learned through book interviews , film, and his older siblings more about his mother. He stated how it was good to hear her voice again on film. I definitely could relate to his experiences. Being number 9 of 10 kids I definitely saw my mother differently and experienced life differently with her than my older siblings. I find myself looking for pieces of my mom and wondering what she was doing at my age or what would she think of me now. Luckily, I have my older siblings I can ask.

​I think one of the reasons this film hit so close to home was that my eldest niece had just shared a clip of my own mother singing with my Aunty Linda. It had been the first time I had heard her voice in several years. Hearing my mother’s and Merata’s voice encouraged me as a Mother to be mindful of the legacy I leave for my own posterity. I’m grateful for this reminder.

So it’s been a week since I’ve watched this amazing film. I’ve fallen into the rabbit hole of the Indigenous Women Movement, and I love it. I’ve found some wonderful podcasts, Instagram stories, and films to educate myself. I’m definitely fangirling over Director Chelsea Winstanley. She is also a powerful Maori woman who inspires and continues to create space for other indigenous women to rise up and bring about change.  I look forward to watching more of her films and following her future in the film industry.

As I watched the film “Merata Mita: How Mum Decolonised the Screen”, I felt this deep kinship with this woman I’ve never met or heard of before. Even though the things she thought and said were taboo in her time, she was a pioneer in the film industry as the first Maori and indigenous filmmaker. She paved a way and created a place for other Maori, Indigenous, and Women in the film industry. She stood up for her people and not only documented injustices to Maori people but also fought to change them.

​This film stirred a desire to want to learn more about indigenous women around the world and be a part of sharing a continued message of remembering who we are and the power of change we are capable of creating. I’ve always been a supporter of native and indigenous artists but Merata has inspired me to want to connect back to my Maori roots. I’ve been reading up on my interest in taaniko which is Maori weaving. I’m learning the stories about the strong women in my own family. I’m grateful for all who were a part of making this film happen. I felt empowered to focus on what’s really important to me. Best Mother’s Day Ever.

I wanted to share this Ted Talk that has motivated me to continue to write and create. I hope this helps you too! 😉

The month of January is quickly coming to an end, so here’s my first blog of the year. I decided to continue with goals I started last year. Putting family first and being successful in my Lularoe business. Last year was good, but I’m ready to make sure that this year is great. Family beach trips are definitely a plus. I’m so glad Ronan loves the ocean. It must “call to him” 😉. The newest addition to my goals is “Organization”. We have a lot of stuff 😅 but I’m ready to work on decluttering and reclaiming my space (home). I’ll keep y’all posted. 😁👌🏾

Ronan has been learning about orchards in preschool. So we decided to take him to Riley’s Apple Farm . It was such a fun experience. We ate some delicious apple pie at the tavern. Then we walked around the farm and picked some apples. Ronan had a blast running up and down the orchard. He loved picking the apples and filling up his bag. He ended up taking his treasures to share with his classmates. I’m looking forward to going back during berry season.