Rauhina Scott-Fyfe.

Māori Archivist, Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka
Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe

I grew up with a thousand dreams. My mātua and kaiako nourished these dreams in me, encouraged me to believe in the power of words under the fiery autumn leaves falling on the union lawn where I played while my dad was studying for his Masters in Zoology. See, there is a history to everything. When I was 3, I called the university my ‘work’.

June 2024, on planet Earth, with Matariki about to rise,

I’m thinking about how difficult it can be to have dreams,

especially when the government is breaking promises

and promising tax cuts that do just about nothing

and inflation and rent and the cost of greed crisis

(and Papatūānuku nurturing us yet, despite everything).

This Matariki, I’ll be at my marae in Karitāne, remembering our loved ones who have passed, feeding the whetū with the hautapu, and reflecting on our hopes for the future.

I know I’ll be sending a few of my hopes up into the freezing early morning air (shout out to Hiwa-i-te-rangi!) for tertiary education and the world for the year ahead...

for SAFETY and RADICAL ACCEPTANCE for my rainbow, takatāpui, queer, trans, plural, ace and intersex community

for MORE ACCESSIBLE BATHROOMS

for the LIVING WAGE for everyone in Aotearoa

for CEASEFIRE, everywhere

for more COMPASSION and KINDNESS and HUMANE ACTION from everyone in positions of power

for SUCCESSFUL PAY EQUITY CLAIMS for all the library assistants and admin staff

also, for TINO RANGATIRATANGA. Let’s keep decolonising our minds, our ngākau, our institutions, together, friends and comrades. That is all.