Toi Māori Aotearoa Media Release
Monday 9 June 2014
Two waka representatives join the Northwest Coast Tribes of the USA and Canada to participate in the Annual Tribal Canoe
Journeys (est1990)
Ihaia Puketapu and Caleb Wharepapa have been selected as Leaders to represent Toi Maori at the Tribal Canoe Journeys
Paddle to Bella Bella 2014 in British Columbia with the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde. This is a 900 kilometre
journey by water, starting at Victoria British Columbia. Ihaia and Caleb are dedicated to kaupapa waka activities within
their own communities and also have a number of other skills and talents that they will be able to share while on the
journey.
The Canoe journey exchange with the Grand Ronde has been on-going since 2009 with their members also participating in
the Waitangi Waka Pageants on the 6th February since 2010.
Both cultures share in the life skills and art form of pulling a canoe together, experiencing all the ups and downs of a
journey. This journey is a course for success for all those involved and produces leaders for the future. Rituals are
exchanged at each Reservation the Canoe Families stop off at. Food is shared in their communal Long Houses. Rituals
begin immediately after with the furthest tribes beginning their ceremonies and continue late in to the night. Ihaia and
Caleb’s journey to Vancouver begins on the 22nd
ENDS