ONSLOW COLLEGE

AGE: 17

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My speech explores the importance of embracing the guiding wisdom of Te Ao Māori in our modern society alongside the knowledge other cultures bring. As Māori we must reclaim our stories while the wider community needs to review the misguided perceptions of Māori that have been handed down.

Māori are often labelled as drunks, dropouts and brutes and it is time to question why we have been fed this image and to confront our past. We must value indigenous wisdom as a unique power of Aotearoa which can help us a forge a better narrative for generations of New Zealanders to come.