A leading voice for Indigenous rights in Aotearoa (New Zealand) will visit the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa on Thursday, October 30, to discuss the future of Indigenous governance and solidarity across the Pacific.
Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, co-leader of Te Pāti Māori and a member of New Zealand’s Parliament, will appear in an onstage conversation with Noelani Goodyear-Kaʻōpua, a political science professor at UH Mānoa. The free public event at the art auditorium is hosted by the UH Better Tomorrow Speaker Series and begins at 6:30 p.m. (Register online)
“We are deeply honored to host the Honorable Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, whose leadership embodies the courage and clarity our times demand,” said Goodyear-Kaʻōpua. “Grounded in the tino rangatiratanga (absolute sovereignty) of her people and a visionary in her pursuit of thriving futures for Aotearoa and Oceania, she is not only a parliamentarian but a protector. This dialogue is a rare opportunity to learn from her experience and to strengthen the ties between our nations, connected by our great ocean.”
Standing for justice
Ngarewa-Packer has spent decades defending Māori lands and waters. Before entering Parliament, she led her iwi (people), Ngāti Ruanui, in successful campaigns to block seabed mining off the South Taranaki coast. Those battles continue to guide her work in national efforts for environmental protection, poverty reduction and equity for Māori communities.
The Better Tomorrow Speaker Series, which is organizing the event, is a joint venture of UH Mānoa, The Learning Coalition and the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation, with support from the UH Foundation.
This event is made possible through the sponsorship of Kaiāulu by Kamehameha Schools, and with additional support from the College of Arts, Languages & Letters, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience and William S. Richardson School of Law.
