Enzo Giordani.

“If you tremble with indignation at every injustice, you are a comrade of mine” – Che Guevara

Matariki, to me, represents a transformation in Aotearoa – a country that never would have accepted a celebration like this when I was growing up in the 1980s. The idea of a public holiday that recognises and celebrates mātauranga Māori would have been laughed out of the room. And yet here we are. This transformation makes me think about my own comparable journey over the same timeframe.

I grew up with a total Pākehā worldview even though I was living right in the heart of Kiingitanga territory. I had no concept of privilege, and I had little empathy with Māori nor much understanding of where they were coming from. I was ignorant and dismissive of the injustice the people all around me grappled with every day.

The turning point came when I enrolled in a Bachelor of Arts degree at Waipapa Taumata Rau | University of Auckland. Taking papers delivered by inspirational academics like Kuni Jenkins, Alison Jones, and Rawiri Taonui really opened my eyes and challenged what I thought I knew in the best possible way.

Not long after that came Don Brash’s Orewa Speech and the National Party’s Iwi/Kiwi billboards during the 2005 election campaign, the emboldenment they gave for closet racists to come out into the light, and the way people’s hard wired prejudices, some of which I recognised from my own past, were deliberately stoked and channelled for political gain – much like they are again now. Viewing these things through my new lens made them utterly abhorrent.

Then I came to work at TEU. I had never before been part of a workplace that includes tikanga in its day-to-day activities. Writing my pepeha with former Te Pou Tuarā Lee Cooper, memorising it and reciting it at appropriate moments helped me to fully comprehend how much that history means to me.

Throughout this journey lightbulbs were lit bright as someone with Italian heritage who had never quite fitted in as a “kiwi.” It helped me locate myself in this country and realise how I belong.

I have recently spent a lot of time in my old hometown as a weekend photographer and engaged with the rugby league community there, which is deeply rooted in the Kiingitanga. I have felt deeply at home in a way I never did growing up in the same community.

Attending my Ngāti Porou wife’s grandfather’s tangi, and participating fully, made me realise how comfortable I feel in those spaces now, thanks to the learning I have done and the support I have received. I am so much better for it. It makes me love who I am and where I come from.

As for Matariki itself, it’s loved by a huge proportion of our population who celebrate it not just for the extra day off but participate in public celebrations, come together as families and educate their children about what makes our country unique and special. I know one thing for sure – this is the future of Aotearoa, not the nastiness we are currently giving far too much oxygen to.