(After Dark: Ka tangi te Pīpīwharauroa 2025, Photo by Renati Waaka)

On 29 April 1840, the Raukawa Moana Tiriti o Waitangi document was signed in Te Whanganui a Tara (Wellington).

Te Tiriti o Waitangi urges us to come together to learn, reflect, and recollect our shared histories, memories, and stories.

Hosted in Signs of a Nation exhibition, special activities will explore ways to interact with Te Tiriti o Waitangi:

Free educational sessions facilitated by Te Tiriti o Waitangi educators, Aperahama Hurihanganui and Rebecca Sinclair (registration required)

Ruri raranga poetry (Glossary: wānanga that weaves community healing through collective poetry) workshops facilitated by Hinemoana Baker (registration required)

Tiriti o Waitangi resources

Full schedule to follow.

10:00-11:00am 1st workshop with Aperahama Hurihanganui – Tangata whenua reo Māori (registrations required)

11:00-12:00pm 2nd workshop with Aperahama Hurihanganui – Tangata whenua (registrations required)

12:00-1:00pm 1st Ruri Raranga poetry workshop with Hinemoana Baker (registrations required)

1:00-2:00pm 2nd Ruri Raranga poetry workshop with Hinemoana Baker (registrations required)

1:00-4:00pm Workshop - Tangata Tiriti workshop with Rebecca Sinclair (registrations required)

RURI RARANGA

Ruri Raranga is a gentle wānanga where community, creativity, identity and healing meet. Through the use of voice and body as warp and weft, the group creates a collective, spoken poem from the experiences and reflections of each participant. A kaupapa Māori initiative, Ruri Raranga unfolds primarily in English, with te reo Māori woven throughout and translated when appropriate. The name itself reflects the intention: ruri is a short poem or ditty, while raranga speaks to weaving. Each Ruri Raranga session offers a calm and connected rhythm, with no preparation or prior experience required. The sessions provide a low-pressure experience of appreciation, expression and subtle repair, a poetic oasis that honours the power of sound, voice and poetry.

Aperahama Hurihanganui:

Wairarapa, Te Tai Rāwhiti, Te Arawa

Aperahama has qualifications in law (with First Class Honours) and arts (Te Reo and Tikanga Māori) and brings a wealth of knowledge in Te Tiriti o Waitangi; he completed a research paper and an Honours Dissertation on this subject while at Waikato University. His practical experience includes working as a Te Tiriti lawyer at Kāhui Legal and educating and advising various public and private sector organisations through his current pakihi Engaging Well Ltd.

Aperahama is passionate about Te Ao Māori especially in the practise of kawa/tikanga and the revitalisation of te reo. He is a recent graduate of Te Pōkaitara, the Ngāti Kahungunu School of Māori Excellence, and teaches at various Kura Reo.

Aperahama enjoys spending time with his whānau and friends, keeping fit and healthy, competing in sports and kapa-haka, and diving for kaimoana. Aperahama is an award-winning poet and is currently writing his first book: a collection of original reo Māori poetry.

Hinemoana Baker:

Ngāti Haumia ki Te Aro, Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Te Āti Awa, Kāi Tahu, Germany, England

(Pic with microphone and face-on pic in red shirt: Tim Gruar, photo courtesy of Randell Cottage Trust, 2024, Wellington)

A celebrated poet, musician, performer and educator, Hinemoana was born in Ōtautahi and raised in Whakatū and Whakatāne. Known for her power on the page and stage, her wry humour and deep sense of cultural and personal inquiry, Hinemoana's work spans poetry, performance, sound and song. She has published multiple acclaimed poetry collections and performed widely in Aotearoa and internationally.

In 2015 Hinemoana received the Creative New Zealand Berlin Writer’s Residency and lived for almost a decade in Germany. In that time her Ockham-shortlisted collection ‘Funkhaus’ was published in translation in German and Polish. Hinemoana is now completing a PhD in creative writing at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University, exploring how reading and writing Indigiqueer poetry can be a rongoā for queer Māori/takatāpui. She continues to contribute to creative communities as a mentor, collaborator and facilitator.

Rebecca Sinclair:

Rebecca Sinclair is a Pākehā educator, facilitator, and systems practitioner, and co-founder of The Pākehā Project — an initiative supporting tangata Tiriti to understand their cultural positioning and contribute meaningfully to honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi in Aotearoa. She is an Honorary Research Fellow at Toi Rauwhārangi, College of Creative Arts, Massey University, with 27 years' experience in tertiary education.

Rebecca's work explores how we move beyond compliance toward genuine relational accountability — drawing on systems thinking, embodied practice, and depth education to support people at the intersection of personal and structural change. She believes deeply in creating space where discomfort is held with care, complex ideas become genuinely accessible, and people feel empowered to show up in ways that matter.

Of Pākehā (Scottish and English) descent, Rebecca is raised on Ngāti Whātua and Tauranga Moana whenua and lives in Te Whanganui-a-Tara with her four daughters.

Contact the host of Te Tiriti Workshops: Me whakarongo pīkari Te Tiriti Workshops: Listening attentively